Durban - Utter relief swept over the families of two Pietermaritzburg advocates when they heard their voices from Nepal early on Tuesday.
Shane Matthews, 59, and his partner Elsje Bezuidenhout, 46, were on a hiking trip when the 7.9 earthquake hit on Saturday. At the time, they had been travelling between two small Nepalese towns.
Their families had not heard from them since Thursday, until they made contact early on Tuesday. Advocate Wesley Matthews said the landline rang at 4am on Tuesday and his brother Tyler answered.
Their dad was on the other end saying he and Bezuidenhout were safe. “It’s not the best time to get a call, but it was great news. It was a huge relief.” He called again at 5am.
Matthews said his father did not speak of his living conditions or say much except that they were fine. He said friends and family were very concerned when no one heard from the couple. “People were sending messages of love.”
The couple were meant to return on Friday, but Matthews had no idea when they would get back home. Bezuidenhout’s family was also overjoyed at the news. Her brother Eben Strydom said his sister had contacted his mother around 6am on Tuesday.
“They are not hurt, they’re safe, so everything is good.” He said the couple were in the small town of Lukla and the challenge was to get them out of the country. “We are doing everything to try to get them home.”
He said he spoke to an official at the International Relations Department but was told there was no other assistance they could offer apart from keeping in contact with the families. Strydom said the family remained “positive”. “I have made a couple of contacts.
“There is someone in Kathmandu who is involved in rescue who posted on Facebook that he has pilots available to assist, so I am trying to make contact with him.”
Television news channel, eNCA reported on its website that the couple had sent an e-mail from Lukla on Tuesday.
Bezuidenhout said they were staying at a lodge and things were rough in Kathmandu, and the airport was closed.
“We are afraid we won’t be able to fly out on April 30 and need help! Wish Mom a happy birthday.”
The couple were regular visitors to Nepal and the Himalayas and had been going there for the past six or seven years.
Meanwhile, climbers Sean Wisedale from uMdloti, Rob Bentley from Kloof, Nico Oosthuizen from Newcastle and Joburg climbers Marlette Hegyi and Wilmien van der Merwe have left the Mount Everest base camp.
They survived an avalanche on Mount Everest after the quake on Saturday.
Wisedale’s wife, Katherine, said the team had not yet made plans to leave the country.
“They are adopting a wait-and-see approach because Kathmandu is a mess right now, so they are probably going to Gokyo Lake to regroup.”
Wisedale has been posting on www.seanwisedale/blog about the team’s experience since the avalanche.
On Tuesday he wrote: “My team - Rob, Molly (Hegyi), Minki (van der Merwe) and Nico have been unbelievable during this crisis - altruistic in every way. When the injured needed to be hauled into a makeshift medical tent - Rob was there.
“We are quite uncertain about our future because decisions can’t be made immediately.”
The Mercury