As many of you know there have been heavy rains down here in the Hoedspruit area over the last week. While not quite as intense as last year’s rain around this time which caused major flooding and damage – with only about half the amount of rainfall this time round – there was still quite a bit of damage to our roads and overflowing dams and rivers.

I unfortunately was in Johannesburg this last week on my off days, so I didn’t get to experience first hand just how much rain there was and the damage that it can cause! However, coming back to my house here on Kapama on Wednesday night, I did get to experience some of its effects. What should have been a quick 15 minute drive along my normal route home turned into a nearly 2 hour adventure of me trying to find my way back! Road after road that I came to seemed to be an impassible barrier of water and mud.

After many U-turns and quite a few times thinking I was about to get stuck, I finally came to the dam near my house. Just when I thought I’d be home in 2 minutes as I approached the dam wall, I suddenly had to put on my brakes as the road had disappeared – literally. The force of the accumulated water in the dam had broken the wall leaving a 5 meter gap in the road that I needed to take! After about a second contemplating whether I could make the jump, I was forced to turn round and try yet another path home.

About another 20 minutes later, after a bit more back-tracking and trying different roads, I eventually made it back to my house. Quite an adventure to say the least! I’m hoping now that the sun keeps shining so that our roads can begin to dry and recover.

Despite all the damage, the water was much needed for the upcoming winter months.

Kevin – Kapama River Lodge
25/01/2013