Kruger National Park, 03 May 2020 – South Africas’ Tourism Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, would do well to spend just R30 of her R200k monthly salary to buy nature guiding veteran Frank Watts’ short story, ‘Lockdown SA: Through the Eyes of a Nature Guide.‘
The transition to level 3 lockdown regulations from the first of June may have allowed travel agents, tour operators and tour guides to operate but the continued ban of leisure travel certainly defeats the purpose of their return.
How Kubayi-Ngubane expects tour operators and guides to make any sort of income when the government continues to ban tourists clearly demonstrates that the Minister has no understanding of the tourism supply chain.
Frank Watts’ short storybook will certainly enlighten not just bureaucrats, but anyone who has been on safari. “This is a true story that comes from the heart,” said Frank Watts in an interview with Dianne Kokkonidis on the Wilds Wings Safaris website.
“This is not just a story about the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on my life and my family’s life and the tears I’ve shed over what we’ve lost. It’s also about the tears I’ve shed for my colleagues. For my friends who are sitting in a shack somewhere watching their starving dogs scavenge for something to eat. We are the wildlife guides who used to take people into the African bush so they could live their dreams of going on safari.”
The man who gained fame from an epic wildlife encounter known as The Battle at Kruger now faces ruin as his chances of guiding again diminishes day by day.
Find out more about Frank Watts and buy his short story, Lockdown SA: Through the Eyes of a Nature Guide, at Freedom Writer.
