Last year, I moved to the Garden Route so that I could find a place of quieter contemplation and endless beauty.
Then, this past week I found something greater – a place of stalwart, kind people who have determination and generosity of spirit, unequalled.
The fires that tore myriad paths through the coastal plain changed a place of unmatched beauty into an enormous ash pit. Homes obliterated, properties razed to the ground, families fleeing, pets gathered into arms and buckets and boxes, vital documents snatched from safe places, clothing stuffed into pillowcases, cars loaded up, buses sent in convoy from nearby municipalities, firefighters squashed onto flights from other metropolitan areas, trucks bearing drinkable water and babies’ nappies.
SIX MILLION TREES 