Representatives given grand tour of Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail
We want them to talk with authority when they go to exhibitions and act as ambassadors for this particularly neglected corner of Mpumalanga.
Local economic-development representatives from various municipalities in Mpumalanga conducted a study tour of the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail last Wednesday.
This was an event hosted by Barberton Community Tourism.
The visitors were given an information-rich tour by wildlife ecologist, Tony Ferrar, and German professor and geologist, Christoph Heubeck. The aim was to inform and show the representatives the geotrail’s features. This tour will also let the public know more about the exciting experiences on offer.
Ferrar and Heubeck gave their theories with regard to their fields and research.
According to Nathi Masango, senior tourism officer, local municipalities always attend exhibitions in places like Swaziland, Durban, and Gauteng, so they wanted everyone to understand what the geotrail is.
“We want these representatives, who are responsible for tourism in their local municipalities, to be able to explain and inform people about the geotrail when asked about it during shows. With this tour, I feel they learned a lot about geology and creation. They managed to see and understand what geology is, and they will be able to inform others.”
Masango said he was grateful for the opportunity they were given by local tourism.
“After this experience, we have a lot to tell about this place.” Ferrar said they wanted the representatives to understand the interest, values and attributes of the area. “We want them to talk with authority when they go to exhibitions and act as ambassadors for this particularly neglected corner of Mpumalanga. Learning the details is complex and requires a lot of studying. We have books and they need to familiarise themselves with all this information. They need to buy books and guides so that they can reply to questions which require more details if people ask.”
According to Ferrar, his message to municipalities which are still not well informed about Barberton heritage is, if their seniors think they are ambassadors for tourism in Mpumalanga, they are really missing out.
“This place has been neglected by so many agencies for so long, and we have been talking about this for years. Even if we know the reason why some neglect this area, we cannot solve it until there’s a demand for it to be fixed. We got tired of shouting, and this is our way of trying to influence people in middle management who are responsible for tourism in other areas to make this area more known.”
