Nature in all its magnificence has caused havoc at the Port Shepstone Country Club. Firstly there were the Freak Tides caused by the Planet Alignment. The amazing power of the Sea that caused so much damage to the Coast was a sight to behold. It was actually very exciting to witness those enormous thundering waves pummeling the Coast, over the entire beach into the natural vegetation. Places where Man had intervened to make his life easier by disturbing nature, building and clearing the vegetation were the worst hit areas. Fortunately for the Club, even though we are situated on a flood plain, we were not to badly hit. However the course was flooded to a certain extent on the second nine with the water seeping over the bedrock under the main road and onto the 16th as well as coming up from the river. Coupled with the Tides were quite heavy rains which forced the closure of the 2nd nine and left the1stnine water logged for a few days. OK so we got over that and things were looking good. But then Nature, once again in all its magnificence, decided to deliver another foul blow and closed the mouth of the Mighty Umzimkulu. This is a natural phenomenon which is caused by the prevailing North East Wind which blows the sand and closes the mouth. A number of years ago this happened to us often and the settlement up the river would get flooded and they would come and open the mouth. Umzimkulu Sugar Mill would also be affected by the high salinity of the water and would open the mouth. This however turned out to be against the law and the Department of Environment placed guards at the mouth to prevent opening. It had to happen naturally. As a result of the recent closure of the mouth thousands of liters of water are now flowing onto the course as the river rises. It is not only coming in along the water ways which have been designed to take it but along the side of the river where ever there are low areas. Goodness gracious it is actually a beautiful sight to behold. So much bird life and the water!!! Not only is the mouth closed but we are also in a Spring Tide Cycle which once again produces High Tides to add to the already high water level. Furthermore there are huge rains predicted for the next two days. So what can we do? Unfortunately our hands are tied…and we can do nothing about it. The big wigs from the Department visited us this morning and said that under no circumstances were we to open the mouth and that the problem is not Life Threatening. Yes for Humans maybe… but what about the birds and fish who are feeding on the water that is busy soaking up years of pesticides; fertilizer and chemicals. Will this not harm them and even humans who eat the fish that is caught in the river and on the Sand Spit – four legged ducks and coelacanth looking fish – is this what we are now going to produce from these chemicals???. Check out the photos and give us a call with suggestions. The Restoration Trophy Golf Tournament that is this year being revived may just have a very important role. This tournament dates back to the days of the 1959 flood when the Club was virtually obliterated. A couple more days of rain and mouth closure and we could quite possibly be back in 1959 when the water level rose to almost 2 meters in the hall.
