Pretoria - Arts and culture deputy minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi has officially opened the 2014 South African National Parks Week at the Tsitsikamma National Park.
The week is in its ninth year.Access to all national parks for the duration of the week is free.
Of the 21 national parks in the country, only Boulders Beach in the Table Mountain park and Namaqua have been excluded from the campaign because they are seasonal, said Abe Sibiya, acting chief executive officer of the South African National Parks.
The rest, including the Kruger National Park and others, are open to the public until the end of the week.
Delivering a keynote address, Mabudafhasi said the survival of national parks as well as natural and cultural heritage truly lay with the people of South Africa.
"The national parks week provides us with the much-needed opportunity to establish a new multicultural visitor profile and establish a deep sense of national pride," she told guest in a marquee a few steps away from the sea.
"This will build a strong constituents and ambassadors at conservation through affordable local holiday destinations."
The launch coincided with the 50th birthday of Tsitsikamma and the relaunch of the Otter trail, one of the oldest and most popular hiking trails in the world.
Mabudafhasi challenged South Africans to invite at least one person to a national park before the end of the week.
Pretoria News