National Park Pass or Wild Card in South Africa

 Posted by on January 8, 2013  national parks, South Africa, travel
Jan 082013
 

Do you have a National Park pass?  If you visit more than 4-5 national parks a year in the US you certainly should.  Saves you money on entrance fees and helps the parks.

Orpen Gate Reception Kruger NP Mpumalanga ZA

Orpen Gate Reception area Kruger National Park

South Africa’s SanParks operates much like our National Park Service with a mission to “develop, manage and promote a system of national parks that represents the biodiversity and heritage assets by applying best practice, environmental justice, benefit sharing and sustainable use.”

Zebra Kruger NP Mpumalanga ZA

And they offer the Wild Card which gives unlimited access to more than 80 Parks and Reserves around Southern Africa.  Membership is valid from date of purchase for 365 days and is available for an individual, couple or family.

Wild Card South Africa National Park pass

I’ll purchase a new Wild Card at the first park I visit as my old one expired and a few things have changed since 2010.

How do you support national parks?

 

Capturing the present for future memories of the past.

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Park Meme

 Posted by on June 17, 2010  most and least visited, national parks
Jun 172010
 

a175 Morning over Bright Angel Canyon from Lodge NR GRCA NP AZ (1024x768)

Lockwood started it and I saw this on Silver Fox’s site http://highway8a.blogspot.com. He grabs two new lists from National Geographic: the Ten Most Visited National Parks and the Ten Least Visited National Parks (in the U.S.). Says Lockwood: Bold the ones you have visited, and italicize the ones you’ve never heard of before.

Most visited:
10: Glacier
9: Acadia
8: Grand Teton 7: Cuyahoga Valley
6: Rocky Mountain – One of the first western parks I fell in love with. 5: Olympic 4: Yellowstone – spent part of my first honeymoon there.
3: Yosemite – briefly passed thru and need to return
2: Grand Canyon I work HERE!
1: Great Smoky Mountains – a long time ago

Least Visited:
10: City of Rocks NR, Idaho
9: Cumberland Island NS, Georgia
8: Florissant Fossil Beds NM, Colorado
7: Chiricahua NM, Arizona
6: Tonto NM, Arizona
5: Dry Tortugas NP, Florida
4: Katmai NP & Preserve, Alaska 3: Kalaupapa NHP, Hawaii
2: Hagerman Fossil Beds NM, Idaho
1: Russel Cave NM, Alabama

Wow, I need to get out more often. What about you?

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Death Valley Junior Ranger

 Posted by on November 25, 2009  Death Valley National Park, Junior Ranger, national parks
Nov 252009
 
Pledging to protect the parks
Because I’m a Ranger I like to earn my Junior Ranger badge while learning about all parks I visit. After our tour of Scotty’s Castle my book was done, yet we still had more exploring to do in the park.

I may get funny looks yet promise to finish all the activities in my book. This made number 13 badge. Hey, I got a late start.
Good point brought up by a reader not from the US so I will explain. Within the National Parks system here, which includes almost 400 sites, a program for kids to learn about the individual park’s cultural and natural history requires completing a certain number of learning activities, by age, to earn a Junior Ranger Badge. Some of the kids I have pledged in have many badges they proudly display on a backpack, jacket, vest or hat. It’s a great way to get kids involved with their parks. Oh yea, I hang mine on a curtain in the living room.
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