Once again, the Cape of Storms has earned it's name. Over this weekend we had a whopper of a storm - parts of the Cape registered over 100cm of water in 24hrs (yup, over 5 inches). For the first time in longer than I can remember (I think I must have been a kid the last time this happened) the canalized river near our house burst its banks! That's one HECK of a lot of water.
WE had gone away for the weekend, to a small holiday town called Kleinmond. The road we drove back on (past Rooiels, for those in the know) was closed a while after we got through. As we were driving along it, there were a number of small rockfalls, and where the water pouring off the mountain hit the ocean there was a clearly visible, massive patch of brown water hugging the coast. When we got to Gordon's Bay, we had to turn back and take back roads because it was so badly flooded the car would either have been washed away or at least been flooded if we'd attempted getting through. (It reminded me of a trip home from Blombos across the drif... the Suzuki got across fine, but the other cars had water pouring in the doors, and then it stalled. I was so grateful to have been in the Suzi.)
Driving along the N2 was terrifying - the squalls were so bad that visibility was only about 100m in places. What was worse was that some cars (why is it always the dark ones?) were driving along with no lights on!
The roads around our house were flooded - even driving in the middle of the road I was worried about water coming in the doors. Fortunately, our house sits high enough above the road that it would take some serious flooding before the house was at risk. Unless, of course, the roof and doors weren't doing their job....
Yup, we have discovered that the Happy Doors we bought from Builder's Warehouse weren't glazed properly. The water comes in between the glass and the wood. So - now we have to wait for warmer, drier weather to fix them. In the meantime, we're trying to protect the carpet from getting soaked beyond repair. This morning we also discovered a leak in the roof above our bedroom. Further investigation revealed that part of the roof had blown off. At least, that's what we surmise, because part of it that was there before is now missing. Not just blown off, but blown away. It's not in our garden, or the adjacent land... nope - it's just GONE. Given that, it's rather quite amazing that the roof didn't leak more than it did. So again, we now have to wait for a warmer, drier day to get up there and fix it. (At least it's a slow leak, unlike the leaks in my dad's house - their carpets and ceilings are ruined. They will both have to be removed and replaced at some point.)
With all this destruction by water around us, it's rather incredible that I managed to enjoy the sound of the rain this afternoon. Of course, I was wrapped up in nice warm towels, having a fantastic massage and slowly drifting off to sleep. I guess that helped a lot! Somehow, listening to the gentle pitter-patter of rain under those circumstances wasn't scary at all. (Thanks to Charlotte & the rest of our small group for that incredible gift!)
The dams are now all full, so we'll have water this coming summer. However, there are over 1000 people who are homeless tonight, and a further 8000 or so who have been affected.
The other not-so-pleasant side effect of the near-constant rain over the past few days is that the temperature has dropped. It's FREEZING. So we decided to give our new fireplace a trial run. Bad idea. (also bought from Builder's Warehouse... hmm) Smoke filled the house and we had to open all the doors and windows for ages to get rid of it. Light a fire and then get colder... hmm... not such a hot plan. We'll try again on a nice warm day, so we can figure out what's wrong without having to freeze our behinds off while we do that.
So, let's summarise then - rain, rain, rain. Cold, cold, cold. Yup, it's definitely winter here in the Cape! On the plus side, we've passed the equinox, so we're already heading on our way towards summer again. Another plus - Nate has incredible colic and gas at the moment, so I get to have him as a hot water bottle sleeping on my chest. This is great because a) I get to have lots of cuddle time with my gorgeous son and b) I get to keep warmer and c) he gets comfort for his sore tummy so sleeps better, so d) we all sleep better!!
Still, I'd quite like the rain to stop. Has God forgotten the promise he made, symbolised by the rainbow? I doubt it, but this past weekend sure did make me wonder.
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