This momentous occasion was attended by over fifty past and present serving trails officers, including Mike English, and Trevor Dearlove, who started the wilderness trails in the park, senior officers of SANParks, the first person to have been taken out on trail in the Kruger, invited guests such as ourselves, and representatives of the media.

WAG members at the wilderness celebration

Mike English, one of the first wilderness trail rangers recounted his visit to the Gonarezhou National Park in the 1970's to see how the then Rhodesian National Parks and Wildlife conducted their walking trails. Trevor Dearlove, another early trail ranger, said that when he worked in the Umfolozi Game Reserve he witnessed the impact of the Natal Parks Board wilderness trails had on visitors and the staff. When he joined the Kruger National Park, he met Mike English and learnt about his quest to motivate for the introduction of wilderness trails in the Park. They subsequently worked together to establish wilderness trails in the park. Mr Mbongeni Tukela, the first black trails ranger to be appointed gave an indication of the importance of the wilderness trails programme and its value as a key product of the overall tourism attractions of the park. He is now the Regional Manager of Marula Region in the park.

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