(c) climb.co.za
First of all, CN are committed to getting the Kliphius campsite back on track, and they envisage it costing up to R1m in terms of infrastructure etc, and the funding required isn't an issue. The main issue at the moment it that they need to create a new post for the area, i.e. a new job role that requires new funding. As the meeting was getting under way they found out that the funding for the position has been frozen temporarily, but they did commit to resolving the issue internally so that they could move forward on the management plan. So the primary issue at the moment seems to be that CN need to get someone working out there to supervise and manage everything going forward. The costs around that are tricky, as funds obtained from managing permits effectively in the area do not translate to extra funds to be used in the management of the area at all. Hopefully CN can resolve the issue.
(c) climb.co.za
The next item that was brought up was the zoning of Rocklands [when I say Rocklands I'm only referring to the CN land], and this is something that is still being decided upon. The land will be zoned as "Wilderness" or "Nature", where wilderness is more sensitive, and nature is less sensitive. Nature allows more visitors and classifies the area as a more casual experience, as one would expect to see many visitors there. In any case CN stated that the zoning would not ultimately affect anything, as if the area is classified as wilderness it will be given a special zoning to allow the use that it currently sees. The issue that most of us were very concerned about was the impact assessment that CN made of some of the bouldering areas. Some of the areas in Rocklands have been worn down and cleared to quite an extent, but as CN believe that the impact is very localised to the favoured boulders it is not likely to spread and is not an immediate problem that requires anything to be changed. If problems do arise, the first step will be to limit numbers in the areas via permits, which will be monitored much more if CN have an active person in the area.
Some slacklining at the Kliphuis campsite...
There was some concern over how the expansion of the bouldering areas would be managed, and it seems that CN will basically designate areas that allow bouldering, and if expansion passes that then CN would be consulted and they would give their judgement. This was still very much up in the air. The last thing brought up was the education of all visitors to Rocklands; hopefully through more signage and a better CN presence in Rocklands there will be greater communication on how to look after the areas and respect the more sensitive ones.
So there was a lot of good feedback from the meeting, and it definitely seems like CN are keen to get back into the picture in Rocklands, and hopefully we'll be able to camp at Kliphuis in the near future... Right at the end I did ask about fee's etc, and the fee structure for Kliphuis will likely be R180 per site per night, with 6 people permitted per site, so it definitely seems like it'll be good value. Now we just have to wait and see if CN get going with all this...
