Disaster declared as Kruger National Park among flooded regions

Heavy rain and flooding in tourism areas including the Kruger National Park has seen the South African Government declare a state of disaster.

The response came after ongoing catastrophic weather has ravaged multiple provinces mainly in the north of the country since late December 2025, local media reported. 

The declaration came after weeks of torrential rain, lightning, and damaging winds that have devastated Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and the North West.

It was confirmed in a statement by Dr Elias Sithole, head of the National Disaster Management Centre,

IOL online reported. 

"I regard this occurrence as a disaster and, in terms of Section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. I classify the disaster as a national disaster," Sithole said. 

He noted that the severe weather has "resulted in the loss of life, damage to property, infrastructure and the environment, as well as the disruption of basic services."

Sithole has called upon all organs of state to "further strengthen their support to the disaster management structures" and to ensure that contingency plans are fully activated to deal with the ongoing effects of the floods.

The worst impact is in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, where the fatalities occurred, as well as in parts of neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe. 

Tourism drawcard the Kruger National Park was closed and Hoedspruit, the airport that serves the wildlife zone, shut down. 

The park is one the biggest game reserves in the world. 

Image: Kruger National Park, Winsor Dobbin   

UN Tourism wants to promote Africa as a gourmet destination

Many people in Africa eat just to survive, but UN Tourism wants us to focus on the continent as a gourmet destination. 

The junket kings from this organisation often post media releases full of politically correct posturing, but lacking in serious content. 

UN Tourism has just completed its inaugural Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa - in that hotbed of gourmet delights: Zimbabwe.

The organisation described the forum as "marking a significant step forward for both the continent and the host nation". 

But wait, There's more. "The forum also highlighted Zimbabwe’s commitment to leveraging gastronomy as a catalyst for sustainable tourism development across the country and Africa."

The forum brought together around 200 junketeers (sorry, delegates) from 33 countries, including 11 ministers and deputy ministers, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

"It is only right we now meet in one of the world’s most exciting gastronomy regions - Africa," said UN Tourism secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili, his tongue firmly in cheek. 

The national dish of Zimbabwe is sadza (top image), a blend of white cornmeal and water that has a stiff porridge consistency.  It is most unlikely to have gastronomes in raptures.

The World Food Programme reports that an estimated 6 million people in Zimbabwe are expected to be food insecure during 2024-2025 lean season.

Would it be unfair to suggest that be addressed first?

But no. 

"We leave Victoria Falls with a roadmap that will enable us to build an Agenda for Gastronomy Tourism in Africa, to ensure that we do work to make gastronomy tourism benefit people and planet.”

Participants discussed the need for effective funding and the significance of combining tradition, innovation, and quality to create unique food tourism experiences. Bizarre, to say the least.