Cape Town - Twenty seconds was all it took for the Le Grange family's world to be turned upside down.
A leisurely stroll on Noordhoek beach turned into a nightmare on Saturday when a man pulled a knife on them and demanded their belongings.
Dewald Le Grange said his wife is still suffering trauma after the attack which saw the attacker hit a bottle against her head, cutting her deeply. Le Grange said the whole incident happened in about 20 seconds.
“This guy came up to us and I said 'morning sir’ and he asked where we were going. He started attacking us and I used my bag to protect me. By some miracle, after the fourth or fifth stab, the blade broke off.
“He ran and picked up a bottle and hit my wife with it and then threw it at me. I asked him what he wanted and he said ‘phones, phones’ I gave him my cell phone and he ran away. People ask me what he looks like, what was he wearing. When someone tries to stab you, you don’t look at that,” said Le Grange.
He said his entire family was in shock. His daughter ran to get help and luckily a surfer and a medical doctor were on the beach to assist the family to get to a gated community where Neighbourhood Watch members called paramedics.
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Le Grange said his wife received stitches at a local clinic and is recovering.
“In the Echo (newspaper) SANParks said that they have the situation under control. After my wife was stabilised in the gated community, there was four or five SANParks guys who only ran out after that. I don't blame them, but making a statement that they're in control is not true.
“If you Google Noordhoek attack, 20 attacks come up. They're not in control. Neighbourhood Watch said that they (SANParks rangers) were 500 metres away from where we were attacked. Rather tell me people to be aware of the dangers,” he said.
Le Grange said that he is working on establishing a "Taking back our Nature" campaign to make the beach a safer space.