Retha Fitchat
VANDERBIJLPARK. – For Gary Peter, a competitive bass angler and businessman from Randburg, Sunday June 14 started out as a day of boating, fun and fishing at the Barrage, but it turned out to become the most horrific day of his life.
Around 16:30 Gary and his son (16) where on their way home, driving on the R57-highway near Bophelong, when they suddenly saw burning tires and a crowd of rioters blocking the road.
“I guess there were more than a hundred of them, with no Police or Army vehicles in sight. Motorists slammed on their breaks and were making u-turns but because I was towing the boat, I couldn’t easily reverse or turn around and got stuck in the middle of the lanes.
“The next moment stones, some the size of my head, were raining down on my vehicle and windscreen. I also heard gunshots which I later found, hit the seat of my boat.
“I managed to keep going through the approximately 300 meters of banging and violence and pulled over some 4 km further to inspect the damage. I called AA as a member but was told that because the damage wasn’t as a result of mechanical problems, they couldn’t arrange roadside assistance.
Gary eventually succeeded in getting help to load his vehicle and boat on a low bed truck to take it to Randburg. The damage amounts to more than R200 000.
“The Vaal River area is so beautiful and ideal for bass fishing but I won’t recommend it to anyone anymore. The area is not safe. We were left to fend for ourselves with no visible policing in sight. We had a hellish, traumatic experience. I won’t come back to the Vaal,” says Gary.
* An international bass fishing competition was hosted twice in the Vaal Triangle in the past but Gary says he can’t see a way that it will ever be safe enough to host it here again.
