Cableway Speculation
Speculation, ignorance and fears regarding the visual impact on the environment of the proposed Garden Route Cableway can easily be countered/neutralised by taking an objective and intelligent look at the available facts."
So says Claude Pretorius, the project engineer of the Garden Route Cableway this week. He explained how unfounded those fears are.
"Being inquisitive by nature, people are fascinated by movement such as waves, streams, waterfalls, trains, aeroplanes, ships, fire and of course, cableways.
"Hundreds if not thousands of people daily stare at the moving gondolas plying up and down Table Mountain. Millions of photos and postcards of the very prominent Cableway station on top of the mountain record the arrival and departing movement of the gondolas (a highly profitable eyesore earning around R9-million a month for tourism).
"It is a great pity that the Garden Route Cableway’s gondolas may therefore only be visible from some sections of the Outeniqua Pass and by using good binoculars or a telescope and nothing will be visible from the Montagu Pass. The lower station is more than 4 kilometers from the Outeniqua Pass and close to a railway tunnel in the deepest part of Tierkloof 640 meters above sea level will not be visible at all," says Pretorius.
"Nine pylons, each 8 meters high, will be difficult to identify even with binoculars. The 100mm wide galvanised steel sections used for construction will reflect atmospheric conditions.
"Animals do not see colour and are not disturbed by noiseless mechanical movement. Consequently the 24 brightly painted gondolas will only interest visitors and especially photographers.
"The top station and Rotunda 2 kilometers further away from the lower station and entirely of glass construction may be even more difficult to see.
"The cableway, half a kilometer higher than Table Mountain and thereby the longest in Africa, shall however reflect a visible and enormous sustainable income for bed and breakfasts, hotels, shops and businesses of diverse nature. In fact, the Cableway will generate a substantially larger income for the environment than for itself, mainly due to the extended stay of visitors.
"Would you like to see where all this is going to happen? Please e-mail your name and phone number and with sufficient interest, we will arrange a visit," said Pretorius in closing.
*He can be contacted at: gardenroutecableway@yahoo.co.uk, or phone 044-873 6090.
*Pretorius has built two cableways (one at Hartebeespoortdam and one at the Pretoria Zoo). He is currently involved in establishing a cableway at the SANParks Tsitsikamma nature reserve.
