Three hikers had a harrowing experience on the Banhoek Mountains last weekend when they were struck by a rockfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to reports the group was on a rock ledge when a large rock fell close to them, shattering on impact and sending sharp shards of rock flying towards them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Nel, spokesperson for the Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), said in a statement that the rocks rained down on the hikers and they suspect the rocks had been dislodged by baboons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nel said the group of seven hikers ventured into the gorges above Banhoek outside Stellenbosch early on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They spent the night in the mountains and returned via Volstruiskloof on Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a break for lunch they noticed a large group of baboons above them. According to the hikers the baboons seemed \u201cexcited\u201d and \u201ccurious about the people\u201d, so they were not particularly worried and kept walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo members of the group completed a 55 m abseil when a rock of around 60 kg hit the small rock bank on which the remaining five hikers were standing,\u201d said Nel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three hikers were hit and injured by sharp pieces of rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three injured walkers could not walk when rescue workers arrived on the scene. It is suspected that they suffered broken bones due to the impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlthough the signal was not good, one hiker managed to make an SOS call at 14:57,\u201d says Nel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provincial department of health\u2019s Air Mercy Service (AMS) helicopter was mobilised with a WSAR team on board, who were lowered to the patients. The most seriously injured patient was airlifted by helicopter and the remaining two were hoisted down the edge using harnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remaining four walkers managed to walk to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nel said one of the injured apparently required surgery, but all were recovering well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three hikers had a harrowing experience on the Banhoek Mountains last weekend when they were struck by a rockfall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"e3cb9d2c-a89a-4c8a-b7e9-39474dd43c75","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-50905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50928,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/three-hikers-hurt-after-rockfall-20230208-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":50905,"position":0},"title":"Three hikers hurt after rockfall","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"9 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Three hikers had a harrowing experience on the Banhoek Mountains last weekend when they were struck by a rockfall.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":265000,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/solo-hiker-caught-in-storm-rescued\/","url_meta":{"origin":50905,"position":1},"title":"Solo hiker caught in storm rescued from Jonkershoek","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"10 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"An international hiker was recently rescued after an overnight in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rescue_97482.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rescue_97482.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rescue_97482.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rescue_97482.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rescue_97482.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53716,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/faulty-sos-the-problem-20220511-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":50905,"position":2},"title":"Faulty SOS the problem","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"12 May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Great confusion and consternation led to a large-scale search when a Boland couple\u2019s satellite phone incorrectly sent out emergency signals while they were hiking the Fish River Canyon in Namibia.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":266206,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/activists-march-in-simons-town-to-stop-removal-of-cape-peninsula-baboons\/","url_meta":{"origin":50905,"position":3},"title":"Activists march in Simon\u2019s Town to stop removal of Cape Peninsula baboons","author":"People's Post","date":"29 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Activists marched in Simon's Town to save Cape Peninsula baboons from forced removal. \"This campaign demands accountability, not just for baboons, but for how we treat the wild spaces and beings who share this land with us,\" said activist Chad Cupido.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsAppImage2025-07_42841.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsAppImage2025-07_42841.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsAppImage2025-07_42841.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsAppImage2025-07_42841.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsAppImage2025-07_42841.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46343,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/hiker-dies-below-jonkershoek-trail-20240306\/","url_meta":{"origin":50905,"position":4},"title":"Hiker dies below Jonkershoek trail","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"7 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A 41-year-old hiker died after falling 40 metres from a section of a hiking trail at the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve near Stellenbosch on Friday (1 March).","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/c03d713c588047519b6cc40091724d3d.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/c03d713c588047519b6cc40091724d3d.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/c03d713c588047519b6cc40091724d3d.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/c03d713c588047519b6cc40091724d3d.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":265652,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/police-release-identikit-of-suspect-in-brutal-table-mountain-attack\/","url_meta":{"origin":50905,"position":5},"title":"Police release identikit of suspect in brutal Table Mountain attack","author":"Novus Media","date":"18 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Police have released a facial composite of a suspect wanted in connection with a vicious assault on Table Mountain.","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Camps Bay police are searching for a man they believe can help them in connection with a brutal attack of a female Table Mountain hiker.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Table-mountain-suspect.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Eikestadnuus","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50905"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=50905"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=50905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}