The HAT Team in the Ntsubane Forest Station in the Eastern Cape is hard at work in clearing out alien invasive plants.

It was in 2013 when devastating fires swept through the Mkozi Valley in Western Pondoland. Situated in this valley are two spectacular waterfalls which form part of the Western Pondoland tourist route.

‘‘As result of these unfortunate fires it resulted in the germination of countless thousands of sallow wattleseeds which threatened to choke up these magnificent tourist attractions,’’ said the Regional Manager, Phillip Vorster.

He said that since August the HAT teams based at the Ntsubane Forest station began the formidable task of clearing this valley to preserve it for future generations of tourists. ‘’On the first day of operations they pulled out over 17000 wattle seedlings over a two hectare area,’’ said Vorster.

They hope to complete the project by end of September this year.