The South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has announced the creation of a new large National Park that will cover areas in both the Western Cape Province and the Eastern Cape Province.
In total it will cover 121 000 hectares, of which 52 500 hectares will be new and the rest will comprise of the already existing Wilderness and Tsitsikamma National Parks. It will be known as the Garden Route National Park and is aimed at preserving this area of outstanding natural beauty.
As an area already popular with tourists, the government is determined to protect the indigenous forests and wild coastline for the future and say it is a step towards their pledge of turning 8% of the whole country into protected areas.
To see the Garden Route for yourself, look at our
Garden Route tours.