Days of heavy rainfall in the Greater Kruger National Park have rendered dozens of game lodges in the regions private reserves temporarily inaccessible and forced the cancellation of flights from Hoedspruits Eastgate Airport HDS.
Unrelenting rainfall since January 9 has triggered the flooding of rivers within the Kruger National Park KNP and adjoining private reserves. Chris Stamper , Co-Founder of tour operator Safari for Real, said over 300mm of rainfall was recorded in Hoedspruit a key gateway to the regions high-end lodges.
We have chopper pilots constantly flying in and out to assist lodges with the evacuation of guests and staff. We have no access to our two camps in the Timbavati Game Reserve and previously dry river beds are now bursting their banks. A lot of camps have closed and even access to the town is difficult as low-lying areas of the road are flooded, Stamper said.
