Unexpected drama

Took a stroll along the boardwalk to the lighthouse this evening, enjoying the promised milder weather and taking pictures of the sunset. There were four paragliders riding the thermals above Slangkop for about an hour while we strolled and we remarked on how good the conditions were for them and whether they got bored up there after a while. We got home and started to shut down activities, as one does on a Sunday evening ready for the week ahead, when a helicopter buzzed up the Fish Hoek valley and flew in low overhead towards the lighthouse.

We had been watching a tunny boat heading out to sea earlier, which was odd in itself, and also a strange-looking vessel with a large fore superstructure, long flat deck and two pillars at the back for which we could think of no purpose. So when the helicopter flew out and sirens were heard right behind, we thought 'aha! drug smugglers doing a pick up!' We obviously watch too many movies!

The next thing to do was to jump into the Mini and dash up the road that winds around the mountain above Slangkop lighthouse to get a bird's eye view of what was going on. The helicopter was hovering nearby, just out of sight. When we got up the hill, there were about 5 emergency vehicles and twenty civilian cars out for a gawk, just like us. We immediately realised it had to be something to do with the paragliders.

It turned out that one of the gliders had parted company with the strings that hold the parachute to the person (a real case of no strings attached!) and he had crash-landed. Fortunately he was not badly injured, but the number of emergency vehicles and a helicopter coming to the scene made us grateful that we belong to this emergency service and that it is thankfully incredibly efficient. Some things still do work! Actually, most things do, to be honest.