Drakensberg Cable Car

Long story as to why, but random question - does anyone have an adult ticket from going up the Table Mountain cablecar somewhere around 2003 (give or take 5 years)? Trying to find the ticket price from around that time, no luck so far.

Never mind - found it in the 2000 study. R75 in October 2000

On a recent hike up India Venster on Table Mountain, we were able to express our views on cable cars more eloquently:

Stijn's post has made me think of a point that is of interest to me - most of us are against the cable car, but it would be interesting to find what each person has against it.

For me the presence of a cable car that functions well isn't great, but that isn't my problem with it - although the accompanying litter and the prospect of dynamite being taken to the summit of a khulu (Singati Wall) to build a structure is relatively horrific.

My biggest problems are that they are in essence looking at getting a government grant (by means of 60% financing through a low interest IDC loan) when this money could be better applied to practically anything else - especially seeing as the high school by MCC only has something like 3 classrooms.

My other major problem is that the operating company will be insolvent within a few years, they won't have the money to remove the structure and we'll have an ugly eyesore of a structure on the escarpment.

To add to Ghaz's list here, in order of importance (most important first), are my reasons for personal objection to the cable way:

1. The cable way is a gross destruction of wildnerness. It brings with it lots of people, structures, litter and so on that are in no way consistent with the wildnerness. It is the wildnerness of the Berg and in particular the Mnweni area, that I like. I do not go and put up my tent in a casino and make tea on my MSR stove near a roulette table. It would not be appropriate to do so. Likewise, I do not want people who can't be bothered to walk up a mountain at the top of that mountain. They belong at the bottom, with gravity in charge of their fate.

2. The cable way is one further undoing of the wilderness area. The road up to the Sentinel and the chain ladder is another example. The area lost its charm because of those things and I don't go to that part of the Berg as a result. When you build a road through a rain forest, you lose much more than the area covered by the road. It is the start of the destruction of the area. Same with the Sentinel road and the cable way. It won't just be that part of the scarpment that will be changed by the cable way, it will be much of the Mnweni.

3. The cable way will not be viable and it will be an eye-sore that bangs in the wind for years after the corrupt politicians have walked away with their kick-backs.

4. The lack of integrity on the part of the consultants who did the assessment and engineering reports sickens me.

1. The locals will not benefit, and do not want the project. It is their land, after all.
2. It will not create any meaningful employment.
3. There will be no knock on effect on any local activity, bar tourism - to an extent. I.e. even if it brings more money, there will be no new schools or hospitals in the area. And how many 'berg faithfull, whose money emplys guides and rangers, will desert the area?
4. At the expense of world heritage, a handful of politicians and engineers will pocket a few million - this is the real objective...
5.

Main issues for me are:

1) First and foremost, the destruction of Wilderness during construction processes will be big. No getting around this. Then subsequently, the further gradual destruction of wilderness as tourists, many of whom with little regard for conservation, starts using this thing, probably not in large numbers but enough to have a dire impact.
2) Secondly, being an engineer myself, I absolutely scoff at the current studies, clearly executed with a pre-determined outcome. I hate the way they will be throwing money down a toilet on this: it makes little economic sense and current feasibility results are based on figures of other worlds, i.e. those numbers will never be possible at the ill-proposed Berg cable car. As much as I enjoyed Stijn's pic at the top of this page, I am not against the Cape Town cable car for instance as it is a huge part of the area's tourism products offering and makes perfect sense here. The Berg site is vastly different and it, frankly, makes no sense here. It will be a massive waste of money that could've been applied elsewhere to much higher benefits and returns (either financially or socially).