A careless step can so easily crush out the life of these new growths – and this is unfortunately already happening. Following the fire, the formal pathways are all but invisible. So walkers easily walk alongside or veer away from the established pathways.

Apart from the potential direct damage to emerging Fynbos, the footsteps compact the ground. If other walkers follow these steps a new, undesirable, path will be formed that effectively will remain there well into the future – creating opportunities for erosion etc.

Apart from the above, walkers, without a clear path to follow run the risk of getting lost – perhaps you may think this a low risk – but CapeNature is concerned about your safety as well as protecting the new Fynbos.

This has resulted in Cape Nature making the hard decision to close the Hangklip and Brodie Link Trails. The PBRA supports this decision by CapeNature as it will help preserve the Fynbos in our area that is so important to our lifestyle and our local economy. 

We ask you to share the above explanations with any locals or visitors that have not yet heard the message. To further support this initiative, the PBRA is looking at putting up some simple signage to advise people of the current status.

If there are residents who would like to contribute towards this initiative to protect our Fynbos in any way – time, skills or a donation – this will be most gratefully received.