Heritage Cases

The main activities to be provided by the safari lodge include the following: • Accommodation in tented units; • Main lodge with pool area; • Restaurant; • Conference venue; • Family Centre; • Wellness Centre / Spa; • Curio shop; • Riverside meander, river footbridge and catering deck; Support services and infrastructure will include the following: • Potable water supply and purification (abstracted from boreholes @ approximately 36 cubic meters per day); • Water storage (approximately 350 000 litre off stream reservoir). • Power supply (off-grid generation via a hybrid system including 300kW solar PV with battery storage and 400kW diesel powered back-up generators); • Sewage treatment (centralised on site facility with a capacity of 50 000 litres per 24 hours); • Refuse collection, recycling and off-site disposal; • On-site storm water management; • On-site roads and pathways (footpaths and golf cart routes) • The realignment of approximately 3km of the S114 road (which currently runs through the proposed site) and the rehabilitation of the redundant section of road; • A new access road to the lodge and service area; • Laundry, offices, stores and staff facility; • Vehicle wash bay; • Irrigation (via purified effluent); • Communications and data. In addition to the above, the application includes the development of a ‘Park and Ride’ facility at the Malelane Gate (south west of the existing staff housing). This will be developed as a partnership between the proposed Safari Lodge and Kruger National Park. • Components of the facility include an electric fence and gate, offices, reception, vehicle wash bay, ablutions, a kiosk, a waiting area, an outdoor rest area and parking areas. • Eskom power, potable water and sewage treatment will be linked to the existing systems at the Malelane Gate staff village. These services will need to be upgraded. • Sewage will be linked to the current system at Malelane Gate • Storm water Management will be site specific. Five site alternatives are under consideration, and are all located within the ‘Peripheral Development Zone’, as per the Kruger National Park’s Conservation Development Framework (CDF). The Peripheral Development Zone (PDZ) has a width of of 2km from the Kruger National Park (KNP) boundary in this area.This zoning was approved by the Minister of Environmental Affairs in 2013 and allows for the development of tourist accommodation facilities of up to 240 beds. The study area (including all site alternatives) lies within the Kruger National Park and is thus under the jurisdiction of the South African National Parks (SANParks). The study area extends from the Malelane Gate in the south, along the west bank of the Crocodile River, up to the confluence of the Timfeneni River in the north. Land uses on the eastern bank of the Crocodile River (i.e. beyond the boundary of the Kruger National Park) include the Leopard Creek Golf Estate, the Pestana Kuger Lodge, irrigated crop lands and scattered urban settlements.