Weekend break a scary affair
George and environs were spared the massive rain and storm damage to roads and infrastructure suffered in huge parts of the Western Cape at the weekend, but a family from George experienced their share of panic while visiting Onrus near Hermanus.
Liberto and René Carelse, their threeyear-old son Benji and Liberto's mom, Helen, were attending a family reunion at Habonim campsite at Onrus.
They were enjoying themselves despite some light rain that started to fall on Saturday, but on Sunday afternoon it turned into a nightmare experience when it really began to pour. "We had to act fast to move our vehicles to higher ground as water was damming up around the log cabins where we were staying. It ended up about 1,2m above ground level. The wind was blowing so strong that we could feel it plucking at our cabin, which was on stilts," says René.
On top of that they could hear the sea roaring on the other side of a nearby embankment, and with the coastal storms of the previous week still fresh in their minds, they conjured up all sorts of frightening scenarios.
Needless to say, they did not sleep much.
On Monday nobody was able to return home as planned, because all the roads were closed. "We were without electricity from midnight on Sunday which meant that, among others, we could not charge our phones and had to figure out how to save at least one phone's charge. We were at least able to reach the bathrooms that were on higher ground."
On Tuesday morning they phoned Hermanus Police and Hessequa Municipality who confirmed that they would be able to return home via the Stanford road and Riviersonderend. "It was quite a mission to get our belongings to the car.
“The dammed-up water in the campsite was not receding and some trees had to be cut for some families to reach their cars."
On Tuesday afternoon, all the families reported to one another that they were safely home. "Finally, after 48 hours of high stress levels, anxiety and uncertainty, we were very relieved and grateful that we were all safe," says René.