Cape Town - Farmers and townsfolk from the central and eastern Karoo are overjoyed by the good rains that have been falling over their arid home since the weekend but motorists face flooded roads and bridges.
Rain has drenched the veld, filled water canals and sent spates down dry river beds as between 20 and 55mm of rain was recorded across a wide area.Good rains also fell along the Garden Route, prompting national park managers to warn hikers and walkers not to try and cross fast-flowing rivers.
Although no flood damage has been reported in the Karoo, the Meiringspoort in the Eden Municipality, between Oudtshoorn and and Prince Albert was closed when flood waters covered bridges and drifts.
Fast-flowing, swollen rivers made some roads temporarily impassable, but locals considered this a much lesser evil compared with drought.
People rejoiced on the Karoo Facebook page, posting photos of full canals, wet roads and large tracts of standing water.
Farmer Johan du Pisani said the manager of his farm at Klaarstroom reported that the road from Vondeling to Willowmore had been closed because the Traka River was in spate.
Vehicles could not pass through the drift at the Traka as a result.
“It is going to be the prettiest spring and summer in years.
“We had a soft, drenching rain from last week and I have now had a total of 65mm on my land,” he said.
“Last year we had a very dry winter and in spring we did not even have 10mm.
“It is so long ago, I cannot even remember when last we had so much rain this time of year. This is a good time for the Karoo veld.”
Along the Garden Route, SANParks managers gave warning of swollen rivers.
“SANParks managers of the Garden Route National Park have requested citizens to not cross fast-flowing rivers in the forestry areas of the park,” the organisation said on Tuesday.
“The Piesang River in the Knysna Forest is flooded, so are most rivers,” said Johan de Klerk, area manager of the Knysna section.
“All hiking trails in Tsitsikamma are closed and hikers have been escorted to respective huts.”
When senior section ranger Brent Whittington went to inspect the Grootrivier in Nature’s Valley (Tsitsikamma) at 3am on Tuesday, the river was fairly low but by 6am the camp there had flooded.
The Grootrivier mouth in Nature’s Valley was breached, Whittington said.
“Both river mouths in the Wilderness section of the park are open (Touws River and Swartvlei) and water is expected to subside as the rainfall decreases as per the weather forecast,” said Jonathan Britton, senior ranger in Wilderness.
Cape Argus