Cape Town pensioners looking to make the most of the warmer months have a relatively affordable way to explore some of the city’s best-known natural attractions.
Photo: Unsplash
The My Green Card, reportedly available to qualifying Cape Town residents, allows pensioners 12 entries across six Table Mountain National Park sites after paying a once-off fee of R212. This works out to about R17.67 per visit if all 12 entries are used, considerably less than the standard South African visitor rate at most of the participating sites.
Six places covered by the Green Card
The card can be used at:
- Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point
- Boulders Penguin Colony
- Oudekraal
- Silvermine
- Tokai Picnic Area
- Newlands Forest Picnic Area
For many Cape Town residents, these are familiar weekend destinations, from the coastal views around Cape Point to the penguins at Boulders and the picnic spots scattered across the mountain and southern suburbs. The biggest savings come at the two more expensive attractions.
South African visitors normally pay R110 to enter Cape Point, while entry to Boulders Penguin Colony costs R50. At the other participating locations, the standard adult rate is R44.
Using the Green Card for all 12 visits therefore makes the initial R212 payment particularly useful for pensioners who plan to get out regularly rather than making just one or two trips.
You can take family and friends along
The benefit is not limited to the cardholder.
A Green Card can also be used to obtain entry for up to five additional visitors. Those guests do not need to live in Cape Town, although they must have a South African ID to qualify for the associated entry benefit.
That makes the card potentially useful for pensioners who want to turn a day out into a family trip or spend time exploring the city’s natural spaces with friends.
How to apply for the card
The Green Card is limited to Cape Town residents, so applicants must provide proof of residence in the city.
The Tokai Plantation Office handles applications and is open on weekdays from 08:00 to 15:45. The office closes for lunch between 12:30 and 13:00.
Applicants should take:
- Their South African Identity Document
- An ID-sized photograph
- Proof of address dated within the past three months
The proof of address must be in the applicant’s name and show a Cape Town address.
There is also an important practical detail to remember: the Tokai office is cash-free, so applicants need to bring a bank card to pay the R212 fee.
The card has a 12-month lifespan
The Green Card is valid for 12 months from the date it is purchased.
Each time an entry is used, the card is clipped. Once all 12 entries have been used, the cardholder cannot simply purchase another card immediately and must wait until the existing card expires.
There is, however, an option for households that want to make use of the scheme more regularly. Residents over the age of 18 from the same household can each have their own Green Card.
Published by Cape Etc.
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