Drakensberg Cable Car

This will be bulldozed through the red-tape and is for all intentions a done and dusted decision.
The ruling party is under massive pressure to address the unemployment issue, especially as there is very little good stories to tell before the next gov elections.

The strategy from those against the project should maybe change from "prevent it from happening" to "how can we minimise impact".
-Building site management
-Building waste management
-Green building methods and technologies
-Minimising building site impact on the environment

I am sure there are a hat full of other topics or points that can be focused on to keep the project on the straight and narrow, with the aim to minimise environmental impact.

EDIT - Impact can be categorised into 4 distinct phases, each with it's own set of potential issues to address:
- pre-building phase
- building phase
- post-building phase - short term
- post building phase - long term

Seeing as I represented VE at the conference, I guess I owe you guys some feedback.

The conference can be sumarised by a few quotes - ones not included in quotes are where I didn't get the exact wording:
In the welcome speech, we were told that they will be breaking ground in the next few weeks
“Your presence here shows your support” - Councillor Sibeko
“we call on all participants that they offer no opinion” - MEC Zikalala
Something along the lines of the community being well behind the project - Nkosi Miya
We are 4 years behind the Mount Wellington Cable Car, which should be built in 2020 - Adrian Bold (Executive Director of that cableway project)
"The train has already left the station" - HOD for Tourism in KZN
"We cannot fail on this project" - HOD for Tourism in KZN
"Will this make a profit in the next 5 years? No" - HOD for Tourism in KZN
It is a myth that birds fly into cable cars or that they cause any environmental damage - Dominic Bosio – a cable car salesman
The cable car will be very profitable - Graham Muller
Oscar Mthimkhulu of KZN Wildlife somehow walked a line of pointing out a lot of reasons why the cable car is environmentally devastating (including that birds of prey look down while flying, which is why cableways kill them) - and took a look of hard and insulting questions in his Q&A session. Siza Sibanda (Municipal Manager) actually mocked his comments on how it kills birds by saying that this could be prevented if the line was painted red.
Siza Sibanda told us that they are expanding Ladysmith Airport to increase visitor numbers, building a Berg Wine Route, a Berg Business Centre (including a light industrial park) and they want to build a Water Park in the area as well.

I did have a chat with each of the 3 international cableway guests, and all 3 of them had significant concerns about aspects that are being ignored. It is notable that the Armenian Cableway is heavily subsidised by donor funding, and is a similar model to what I would expect in the Berg - i.e. the State will accept the Berg cableway as a blood bath (financially, that is), knowing that it reduces grants and increases taxes in the area.

Both cable cars have been built to have basically no visual impact, and the Ausie one is expected to be the same.

Regarding guest speakers - only the Israeli representative represented a profitable cableway, and it is notable that the Ausie Cableway hasn't even been built yet. Seeing as SA has one of the most successful cableways in the world (Table Mountain), I would say the omission of any speaker from Cape Town is notable.

I do have a lot more info, quotes, stats etc - all of which have been sent to the MCSA committee and to Intrepid.

Coeta wrote: The strategy from those against the project should maybe change from "prevent it from happening" to "how can we minimise impact".

Exactly what I am thinking right now.

I guess we can smile that the route goes nowhere near anything we usually would hike through. To me - the most obvious sites would have been Corner Peak or Cleft Peak (using the management tracks to drive to the contour path, thus cutting down on cableway distance and costs), so I guess everyone can smile that those sites weren't chosen.

Thanks for the update Ghaz. Very interesting, and massively concerning too.

Captain wrote: www.iol.co.za/travel/travel-news/investors-keen-to-back-berg-cable-car-project-2036829

This article says, "A 2014 feasibility study estimated it would cost about R500m to build the cable car."

However the news24 one says 5 billion. Oh yes, I forgot, we need to throw in a few aeroplanes and luxury houses for the puppets pulling the strings.

Table Mountain is very successful because of it's close proximity to the city! And hundreds of other huge tourist attractions for that matter. From the Wikipedia, "In February 2016, the Cableway welcomed its 25 millionth visitor." Can you imagine the erosion and litter up in the Drakensberg after that? It was also funded by none other than Sir Ernest Oppenheimer - founder of Anglo American, and to the best of my knowledge it remains a private enterprise.

A quick browse through the most popular tourist destinations on many popular websites and Cape Town comes out tops. People land, and a short drive later they've got hundreds of options. Whilst the Drakensberg is an incredible area and outstanding in it's beauty, it isn't exactly down the road, nor it is surrounded with the large variety of options other areas like CT have. So looking at that model and thinking that they can emulate it, is a false belief. An intermediate cable station already adds significantly the capital outlay and running costs. It is foolish to try to copy cat other successful people and I believe it is true here with the cable way too. I think the money would be far better spent on other projects within the area to generate meaningful employment. Sending a cable to the top isn't one of them. I say meaningful because the officials talk a lot of hogwash about how they're going to empower the community but when it comes down to the crunch they don't use local labour anyway because they're too unskilled! Just look at building Katse dam. Few locals were used. Few are used to maintain it. The locals did not emerge as winners. I guess it's the same as voting.

Give a guy a fresh t-shirt and a promise and he's on your side for the win. A great short term strategy that ends up failing, miserably, for all.

The R4b quoted (not sure why the media upped it 25%) refers to total State investment in the area, the cableway is only a part of that. Increasing capacity at Ladysmith airport could easily eat up R1b.

Some new articles:
afkinsider.com/128312/it-worked-for-table-mountain-can-the-drakensberg-handle-a-cable-car/
www.iol.co.za/travel/travel-news/investors-keen-to-back-berg-cable-car-project-2036829
www.ecr.co.za/news-sport/news/drakensberg-cable-car-development-long-term-investment/

There are some who think with reality!!
www.dakzn.org.za/cdesigned-to-shift-focus-from-kzns-real-tourism-issues/

I feel sick to my core.

As usual, Greed wins the day.

Crazy how people that have no intimate connection to the Drakensberg ultimately call the shots on its future.

I wonder if the fat cats who are pressing forward with this have ever taken a step further into the mountains than beyond their glass of Moet at Champagne sports.

Sad times.

I am filled with disgust.

This whole Cable Car thing should be left alone and buried. Organized by idiots.

I visited the top station as per the proposal this last week. Here are some photos:

This is the top station from the top of Mount Amery:


Panoramic shots from the proposed top:


It is a 14km walk from Sentinel Car Park to the top, and roughly a 200km drive from Sentinel Car Park to the proposed bottom.

www.dakzn.org.za/drakensburg-cableway-has-already-cost-kzn-taxpayers-r6-million-and-counting/

6M could have been used to manage the greatest water producing mountain range in SA.....what a waste of money!!!

and to crown it all, the fracking does not go away....

Shame on a handful of greedy and ignorant officials!!