With any natural disaster, such as our recent floods, there is plenty of heartbreak and quite a bit of ugliness from people trying to profit from the misery of others.
Sometimes though, some good comes out of these events.
The first thing that springs to mind is that it rids river systems of a large amount of invader alien species of trees.
Unfortunately, tons landed up at the dam walls, causing further headaches for officials.
On the plus side, all waterways are rid of debris accumulated during dry periods and water can now move more freely.
Though large amounts of invasive tree species were destroyed in the river course, so too were indigenous species of all sorts.
Unfortunately, without proper control, the invasive species will return and flourish at the expense of our indigenous flora.
This would therefore be the perfect opportunity for authorities to step up plans to rid catchments of new growth of alien vegetation, especially trees which suck up millions of litres of water.
“Bend the tree while it is young” is the adage that comes to mind, and it is most apt.
Unfortunately, as we know, the authorities tend only to address water issues when there is a crisis.
Floods have even uncovered buried bodies and have led to the solving of long unsolved crimes and mysteries.
Throughout history, storm surges and floods have also exposed long-lost hidden gems and treasures.
Closer to home, we have in recent times seen rubber bales being washed up on some of our local beaches after storm surges.
These bales originate from the SS Helmspey, a British freighter torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in 1943 off Cape St Francis, about 110km west of Gqeberha.
The heavy rubber bales had remained trapped in the deteriorating wreck for decades.
Recent storm surges dislodged them, causing the buoyant bales to float to the surface and drift ashore along the Eastern Cape coastline.
When the mighty Kouga River burst its banks during the floods in May, everything in its path had little chance of survival.
Considered a one in 100-year event, the rise of the river was regarded as the worst in living history by many long-term residents.
In places, the river rose well over 10m above its normal course.
It is only natural that anything overgrown or covered with sand over time would either be washed away or exposed.
One such gem exposed by the flooding of the Kouga River was a small clay outdoor baking oven near a low-water bridge in the Kouga Mountains, just outside Assegaaibosch.
This garnered plenty of interest among the locals, who were keen to discover the history and origin of this remarkable little oven that stood the test of time.
A resident, who somehow recalled that my wife’s family came from that area, contacted me to find out if we knew anything about the origins of this quaint oven.
I was contacted by Francois Strydom and he and my wife had a long conversation, reminiscing about bygone days and memories of the past.
This oven brought back fond memories of her grandmother and the carefree visits to the old family farm.
The fondest memories were camping at the river near the low-water bridge, where her aunt and uncle had built a semi-permanent lean-to for camping.
The outdoor oven with cast iron lining was built by her uncle, who was well-known for his handyman skills.
Many a great night was spent under the stars with the family, the grown-ups enjoying the local homemade honey beer and Aunt Annie baking her delicious bread in that same old oven.
That it has now been uncovered in near-perfect condition, after an estimated 40 to 50 years, can only be described as a miracle.
Incidentally, the beer is an indigenous traditional South African honey beer with roots in Khoekhoe and early Afrikaans cultures.
In Afrikaans, it is called karrie (also spelled karri or karee).
Many locals mistakenly claim that the town Kareedouw got its name from this beer, Karee (honey beer) and douw (dew), though Karee is a Khoi phrase which means “praise”.
Others say it translates to “path by the Karee trees” or “road past many Karee trees”.
The discovery of the oven and reminiscing about the “good old days” fuelled the fire and Mrs Guru is hard at work planning a trip to her beloved mountains soon.
As for the little stove, a well-known local is planning to remove it and relocate it to a safer area to preserve it for future generations of the area.
This week in history:
1983: Floods are experienced in areas along the Langkloof to the wider Nelson Mandela Bay area.
Dam levels
100.2% down from previous week at 100.3%
Impofu 100.18%
Weather safety tips:
In winter dew is more common, especially on tiled surfaces. Take extra care in the early morning when walking on tiled surfaces. Avoid smooth shoes such as crocs. I threw mine away after a bad fall.
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