Two locals who recently visited popular spots said they found it hard to explain just how appalled they were at the state of the toilets.
Quinton Lodewyk of Grassy Park visited Tokai Forest with his family for a braai on Sunday and said he was "disgusted" by the state of the toilets."The ladies toilets were overflowing and they (female relatives) had to use the men's toilet. When I got to the male toilets there were ladies and children queueing and even the men's urinals were disgusting.
"It smelt and the faeces were coming up to the top.
"I was concerned with women and children using the men's toilets because what if someone gets raped. Anything could have happened because people get so intoxicated there and they do what they do in front of the kids.
"There were people using the bush because the toilets were so disgusting."
Lodewyk said on another occasion he heard about a group of Australian tourists who went to braai at Tokai Forest and fled after a group from several taxis got drunk and started running around the area with knives.
Even during the week, when Tokai Forest is virtually empty, a Weekend Argus team found the stench from the toilet unbearable; toilet paper, sanitary towels and broken beer bottles were lying around the fetid facilities.
Other visitors to the busy braai spot said lousy lavatories were a regular feature of Tokai every weekend and the pong was enough to make even the most hardy wince.
Another Capetonian, Helen Logie, said she had recently visited two major tourist spots in Cape Town where the facilities were "unacceptable".
She took her 90-year-old mother-in-law and friends to Chapman's Peak, what she called "one of the most beautiful spots in the world".
"I cannot find enough words to express my utter disgust at the state of the toilets. They are sophisticated long drops. There is no toilet paper, no basin to wash your hands and you need to gag yourself before you walk in."
Later in the week she went to Signal Hill and again reeled in horror during a visit to the toilets. "This was even worse than Chapman's Peak and other people in there were just as disgusted. The floors were wet and the long drop was just as disgusting, but the smell was nauseating to the point that I nearly got sick.
"I had no overseas visitors with me on the day - I would have been so embarrassed.
"There was no cistern and no chain so you can't flush, it was just disgusting; just this long porcelain bowl that never gets cleaned because water never gets washed over it."
Table Mountain National Park spokesperson Phumeza Mgxashe said: "We thank the public for bringing our attention to the matter and we will investigate and make sure the facilities are well maintained."
- Cape Argus
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