Drakensberg Cable Car

I had exactly the same experience as Viking5.

I am 50, not the most healthy and have only 1 eye. If I can haul my sorry butt up Mnweni Pass in just one long day I expect to have some peace and silence up there. Sleeping in a tent next to an icy river with water cleaner than that found in any bottle is what make me go there.

Too many times I have hiked up Table Mountain enjoying the company of fellow hikers just to run into the slip-slop brigade on top. It's noisy and messy up there. Lately I avoid the Western Table entirely. Jonkershoek with it's quiet paths and many links to other hiking routes is preferable to Table Mountain any day. It is more like the Drakensberg, clean and quiet. So dont put a cable way in Stellenbosch either!

The day that cable car is up there I wouldnt trust any of the mountain streams in that area. I dont want to battle up Icidi just to run into slip-slop clad tourists. If you are too laxy to even bother with the chain ladders at Sentinel then rather go to the 50th floor of the Carlton. The view from there will most probably more to your liking.

In the Mercury today:

Also notice the reference to "all" - I have never had a room of 20 people where 20/20 agree on a matter. Even something obvious like whether or not today is a hot day...

Also note "advertised extensively".

I know what they mean by the 10 000 at the meeting, but the fact is that 300 000 people per year (growing at 8.2% p.a. - the weighted average of 10% growth on local and 1% growth on foreign visitors) need to give it a thumbs up for the forecasts in the business plan to work.

The biggest issue that is often encountered with market research is that people will often tick the box "I will come back to South Africa" and "if I do come back I will use the cable car" - but if they return, for whatever reason, not all of them will in fact use it. Think of how often you fill in an online questionnaire - they ask whether or not you would be prepared to pay slightly more for a vendor to bring you a coke in your seat at the cricket, you tick yes. Then they try to sell you a can for R15 and even though you genuinely thought it would be nice, you suddenly aren't willing to actually part with the extra money.

This is why market research must be conducted carefully and as much detail as possible must be provided to the parties involved.

Conversation I had recently with a person I work with:
Colleague "you know I am actually in favour of the cable car. I will take my kids up it once its built"
Me "are you aware that tickets will be R350 per adult and R200 per child, so you'll be paying R1 100 for the four of you to go up? It will also be over 200km away"
Colleague "you're joking, really? I'm not driving over 200km to spend that much just to see the top of a mountain"

Market research equivalent:
Would you take your family up a cableway if it was built? yes
Would you pay R1 100 for the 4 of you to go up? No
Would you drive over 200km from PMB to the site if the roads are in a good condition? unsure, but seeing as its only "yes" or "no", they select yes

People often forget to discuss price in market research - but it is crucial due to the price elasticity of demand (a nice term for the fact that demand will usually decrease as the price increases).

I have driven 4000km and walked another 120 to see the top of the Naukluft. Trouble is, there are not 300,000 like-minded people who would do that. Suites me, but there is little money to be made. Only on this forum am I part of a majority.

The only way to get 300,000 people a year in the Mnweni area is to build a Sun City like complex there... I hope I will be dead before that happens. There are so very, very few places left where an ordinary man with ordinary means can find the peace and beauty offered in the High Berg. Sacred? Certainly!

Hennie wrote: There are so very, very few places left where an ordinary man with ordinary means can find the peace and beauty offered in the High Berg.

That, for me, is the crux of the issue.

mnt_tiska wrote:

Hennie wrote: There are so very, very few places left where an ordinary man with ordinary means can find the peace and beauty offered in the High Berg.

That, for me, is the crux of the issue.

Thank you

And when the day comes when I am no longer strong enough to carry a heavy pack up there, who am I to deny the next generations the privilege I have had to visit this wonderful wilderness area by having to walk up, being able to drink the water and enjoy silence so absolute I could hear the blood in my head flowing? I will look at my many pictures and join those up there in my heart.

I posted the link to the petition on facebook, and surprisingly I got some pro-cablecar resistance from some of my contacts. I was told that I should get two sides of the story before making any posts with petitions. In addition, I was told that the facts in the petition were skewed, and that I should speak to guy "X" (a friend of the person scolding me, name with held) who has been involved with the EIA before I make my reservations.

I did a bit of digging, and found that this Mr X is quite like ourselves: an avid outdoorsman/hiker (at least, if his pictures on facebook where anything to go by). I wonder if he is around on these forums, but is too afraid to speak up about his work?

Anyway, I had posted the petition without having read the petition information (usually a schoolboy error, but I am familiar with all the facts already). So I asked myself, if the facts have indeed been skewed, what would my reaction be? Additionally, if I were to take them as factual, what would a counter argument be? Let me know if I am missing something.

We have:
1. Claims by the locals that they weren't adequately consulted.
If this were false, why have they released a statement about it?
Perhaps they were consulted but the consultation was brief, due to the mourning period. The contractors could decide otherwise, and that the consultation had been completed. At the very least, they have claims that someone agreed to the cableway, which the petition disputes. The consultation therefore needs to be redone, because we have conflicting information.

2. The existence of the cableway will affect the world heritage status.
I havent really been able to find any concrete evidence about this, aside from personal comments(I havent seen any links to a credible source where it says as much). However, from what I have gathered, the location of the cableway is in an area that is not defined as part of a world heritage site. I know they are trying to make it a park, essentially connecting the malotis with the drakensberg. But until that is done, I dont see how the cableway will affect the world heritage status. This is probably the argument which is being made. Arguing that you hope it will be part of the world heritage site some day probably wont cut it, they are essentially trying to sneak the cableway in before that happens.

3. The cable way will harm the environment.
Pending the EIA, anything they say in this regard isnt credible. But lets suppose for a second that their engineering skills will limit the impact such that it is not a major issue. We will still have litter bugs on the top. Every time I go to monks cowl and walk in the vicinity of the sphinx, and blind mans corner, I see litter(commonly toilet paper) strewn about by all the human traffic from the local hotels. In addition, we will also have an eye sore.

4. The economic viability of the project is questionable.
Ok. I dont know to what extent they have done their research, but who am I to question it, sitting on the sidelines and all? It does seem a bit dodgy, but I am trying not to argue the numbers here. I wonder, if the proposed budget for this project includes the restoration of the Oliviers hoek pass?
Because if it doesnt, then people from up north will have some complaints about making the trip (of course, I personally prefer the N3 to winterton route. But the point is we have poor infrastructure elsewhere which could affect the tourism). We already have the closing down of little switzerland as a casualty of the neglect of the road (Perhaps it should have been etolled years ago?). Their counter argument is that the cableway would boost the tourism in the area, providing the tourists for places like little switzerland, and perhaps even motivation for Oliviers hoek to be fixed asap. To me, it sounds like too many variables. WRT little switzerland, that horse has bolted.


Now, suppose all the facts in the petition are false. We would still have an eye sore, the real benefactors will still not be the community, and we would still have the litter(I would dispute any counter claims about litter). In addition, I am pretty sure we will get some other companies jumping on the bad wagon, and before we know it, we will have restaurants up there (like the ones at the top of the magaliesberg cableway). These are my reservations, so why should I get both sides of the story? Since the pro-cableway people would not be able to dispute them, unless all the infrastructure is invisible, no corruption takes place, and everyone suddenly cares enough about the environment not to litter.

To conclude, both sides have their arguments which may or may not be skewed. But those arguments aside, there is still more than enough reason not to go ahead with this project.