Take note of KNP gate quotas during this festive season

Visitors are urged to make prebookings prior to their arrival. There are three time slots to choose from:

• Time slot 1: 05:30 to 07:30
• Time slot 2: 07:30 to 09:30
• Time slot 3: 09:30 onwards.

“For busy periods such as the school holidays and the festive season, we aim to better manage the volumes that we expect, as well as our visitors’ expectations.

“The three different time slots are aimed at improving the spread of vehicles and, as far as possible, preventing unnecessary waiting periods at gates,” said KNP GM: communications and marketing, Ike Phaahla.

The day visitor quota is applied throughout the year, although the park mostly reaches carrying capacity during long weekends and school holidays, causing visitors to be turned away.

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They will be able to book up to 80 per cent of the day visitor quota per gate via the SANParks reservations offices on 012-428-9111 and online at www.sanparks.org/bookings/.

Prebooked day visitors will get preference over non-booked ones, but they must ensure that they arrive within their reserved time slots. 

Arriving outside this period will be regarded as non-booked, and therefore visitors will not receive preference and risks being turned away. 

These bookings can be changed as well through the SANParks reservations offices if need be.

Phaahla also reminded visitors to read the permit received at the gates, as all the rules and regulations of the park are clearly stipulated on it. 

“Day visitors may not bring liquor due to the alcohol ban in public areas of the park. Furthermore, they must refrain from committing other infringements such as littering, feeding the animals, speeding and alighting from vehicles in places where it is prohibited. 

“These and other park rules are emphasised to ensure that visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience, while not impacting others, and hence must be adhered to at all times. 

“We also request people to remain cognisant of the Covid-19 regulations by adhering to the those that have been put in place,” he advised.

Visitors can report infringements of any rules and regulations they may witness to the emergency call-centre numbers on 013-735-0197 or 076-801-9679. 

It is, however, important that the following information be provided:

• Vehicle type and colour
• Vehicle registration
• Date and time of incident
• KNP OSV sticker showing vehicle number (for open safari vehicles)
• Details of incident
• Photographic evidence
• Location of incident.

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“Visitor management vehicles will be on patrol providing information to guests, visibility on the roads and law enforcement. 

“Tourism monitors will be on standby to attend to areas such as swimming pools, however, we would like to take this opportunity to warn parents not to allow children to swim without supervision to avoid drowning,” concluded Phaahla.

Visitors should also take note of the following important information:

• Day visitor prebookings are subject to a non-refundable fee of R48 per adult and R24 per child.
• Those who have prebooked will still be required to pay conservation fees or use a valid Wild Card to enter the park. 
  The conservation fee for SA residents as well as Zimbabwean and Mozambican nationals (passport required to prove this) is R105 per adult and R52 per child (aged two to 11). For nationals of the Kingdom of eSwatini (previously Swaziland) and other SADC countries, the conservation fees are R210 per adult and R105 per child. For all other guests, the standard conservation fees of R424 for adults and R212 for children apply.
• Guests planning to use Wild Cards are requested to ensure the membership is valid before arrival and this can best be done online at www.sanparks.org/wild_new/.
• The number and profile of persons (adults and children) on the reservation and actual persons arriving should correspond.
• All guests (both drivers and passengers) will be required to identify themselves upon admission (by producing a South African driver’s licence, identity document or passport). Please ensure you are in possession of one of these documents and have them ready.

Quota limits per gate are as follows:

Guests are encouraged to continuously provide feedback on their experience at customer.care@sanparks.org