The year that was: Part two
We take a look back at stories that included strange sightings.
POLOKWANE – Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it is a recap of all the weird and wonderful sightings that made headlines throughout the year.
A number of strange and unexpected things were spotted on or along roads across the city.
We at Review take a look back at some of these:
Contrary to some people’s believes, a real-life version Madagascar movie was not shot on the R71 road between Haenertsburg and Moria on February 18. At around 21:00 that night a hippopotamus was spotted strolling along the road, to the amusement of residents in the area.
Read more: [WATCH] Hippo takes an evening stroll on R71
Another strange sighting on our roads that captured the eyes of our readers, was that of three Traxtion Sheltam trains that were spotted in Polokwane on March 31. The trains were spotted along Witklip Street and the R521, and were moved from Gauteng to Musina where they will be used at the mines.
Read more: [VIDEO] Trains take a detour through Polokwane streets
From trains to a story that captivated Polokwane residents. Our annual April Fools Day prank ruffled a few feathers, while also creating awareness about the massive decline in Indochinese tiger numbers. The ‘strange sighting’ spotted on the N1 bypass, was eventually ‘captured’ in the bushes near Ster Park and turned out to be ‘Tommie Tier’.
Read more: Roaming tiger captured near Ster Park
On June 1, another animal created havoc as it was spotted on the city’s streets. Review was alerted of the ‘strange spotting’ when a reader sent photos of a crocodile that was being transported on the back of a bakkie. The crocodile was later ‘found’ and identified as a mounted crocodile.
Read more: Croc spotted in Polokwane ‘found’ in Gravelotte
June was a month filled with unusual sightings and on June 4, a man from Polokwane gave ‘get your head out of the gutter’ a literal meaning. He was freed from a steel gutter downpipe at the Polokwane Municipality’s Visitor Information Centre by the Polokwane Fire and Rescue Team.
Read more: [WATCH] Polokwane man gives ‘get your head out of the gutter’ a literal meaning
A story that left readers in awe was a Boeing 727 that passed through Polokwane on June 9. The Boeing headed for Hoedspruit where it would be turned into a hotel.
Read more: [VIDEO] Boeing 727 passes through Polokwane
The final ‘strange sighting’ we look back on was when residents from across the province thought was a meteor. The sighting on the evening of August 25, was later said to be the re-entry of the Chinese Yuanzheng-1S rocket.
The ball of light lit up the sky at around 18:20 and was visible across South Africa and even as far a field as Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Also read: ‘Meteor’ most likely re-entry of Chinese rocket – expert
