Garden Route National Park: 4 additional hiking trails received Green Flag Trails accreditation!

An additional four hiking trails in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park in South Africa received Green Flag Trails accreditation from the Hiking Organisation of Southern Africa (HOSA). The four trails include the Half Collard Kingfisher trail (9,65km), Dune Mole Rat trail (8,2km), Woodville Big Tree (2km) and the Circles in the Forest trail (3,4km). This brings the number of accredited hiking trails in the Garden Route National Park to 18.

• Tsitsikamma secion - 12 Green Flag Trails
• Knysna section - 2 Green Flag Trails
• Wilderness section - 4 Green Flag Trails

Green Flag Trails is a voluntary quality and sustainability eco-label for trails that seeks to offer hikers all the information needed to ensure the hike meets their expectations. By assessing the environmental conditions as well as safety along the trail, Green Flag Trails ensures sustainable trails in terms of conservation of the environmental resources as well as the quality of experience had by hikers. The eco-label accredits trails through its unique audit procedure and identifies, acknowledges and rewards those trails that demonstrate and practice responsible management. Green Flag Trails recognizes trails that meet minimum standards in terms of reliable information on:

• accommodation (either luxury (work sheet) or standard (work sheet)
• trail facilities and services rendered (work sheet)
• difficulty level
• type of environment the trail runs through (work sheet)
• proof of the conservation of natural and cultural resources
• assurance of hikers’ safety (work sheet)