Richard's Bay - Wheels24 reader Jaco van der Walt sent us some images of a Land Rover stuck in some mud along a beach in Richard's Bay.
A TLB and an excavator were used to recover the 4x4 but both of these vehicles ended up bogged down in the beach sand.
READ: Driving on SA beaches? Better have a lawyer on speed dial
Jaco van der Walt posted images of a stranded Land Rover in Richard's Bay on Friday, November 17. The images show the Landy completed submerged by the high tide. Incredibly, two construction vehicles, sent to remove the 4x4, also became stranded in the wet sand.
Van der Walt said: "First the Landy got stuck at the Causarinas in Richards Bay. The first TLB was brought in to take the Landy out but ultimately both the Landy and TLB were stuck on Saturday morning. After high tide on Saturday evening, an excavator was brought in to take out both the Landy and the TLB.
"The Landy was removed though both the TLB and the excavator were stuck."
Image: Jaco van der Walt
According to Van der Walt, the vehicle belonged to a holiday maker from Gauteng who was visiting Richards Bay.
He says: "The sand is very difficult to understand in that area. That area is part of the old wetlands before they had built the harbour. The holiday maker did not know about this problem. He went fishing and got stuck just before the tide started pushing in.
"He drove over thinking it was sand and sunk into the mud before making it through. The tide caught up with him and he landed himself into big trouble. That area is well known for people getting stuck and being swallowed up by the rising waters. It has happened many times before.
Image: Jaco van der Walt
"A TLB was called in to assist the Landrover but got bogged down. They tried for hours to get him out but were caught in the tide as well. They tried to bring in an excavator from the North East side of the Causarinas because there is no other way for them to reach the TLB and Landrover because it is quite big. As he tried getting onto the bank, the excavator also got stuck in the muddy sand.
Image: Jaco van der Walt
Van der Walt says after this incident two other vehicles were stranded on the beach: "Vehicles are not allowed to drive on beaches nor areas like that at all."
Images: Jaco van der Walt
Driving on SA beaches
According to the Regulations for the Control Use of Vehicles in the Coastal Areas as published in the Government Gazette, driving on South African beaches for recreational purposes is restricted. To drive on local beaches, drivers would need to obtain a permit. There are different permits for different purposes.
This permit can be issued to carry out a non-recreational activity in terms of a right, permit or exemption granted under a number of Acts, as under the Gazette.