A weekend away turned into a weekend of loss for a couple from Durban.

Visiting the West Coast over the weekend of 1-3 May, Gavin and Lisa Welsh decided to stay over at the Tietiesbaai campsite, as per a suggestion op social media.

However, instead of the serene communing with nature such outdoors pursuits promise, the experience turned out to be a nightmare. The couple woke up op Saturday 2 May to find their belongings stolen from their vehicle.

According to Gavin the thieves made off with clothes, a drone, an inverter, a Mac devices, among other things.

Speaking to Weslander, Gavin related how he and Lisa had gone to bed around 21:30 op Friday and he woke up around 06:30 the following morning to find the doors of his bakkie open and clothing scattered all over the ground.

The theft occurred while the couple was asleep in their tent, literally pitched overhead. They were grateful to be unhurt and that circumstances were not worse than they were.

“I heard some noises during the night, but I just put it down to the wind. You wake up to a noise and think it’s just the wind flapping against the tent. We always lock our vehicle doors, but I have keyless entry to the car. So it’s quite possible the thieves used a ‘repeater’ to deactivate the doorlocks, because there was no forced entry or broken windows.

“They literally just opened the doors and helped themselves.”

Scouting around afterwards Gavin found the gas geyser the couple was using in nearby bushes.

He said what angered him was the decided lack of warning about the risks of camping in the Western Cape, and particularly in this area.

“This was a first for us, and apparently it’s not just a South Africa problem; it’s a worldwide issue where levels of safety are quite simply deteriorating.”

The Tietiesbaai campsite forms part of the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve, which falls under the Saldanha Bay Municipality.

Municipal spokesperson Ethne Lawrence disagreed with the Welshes about levels of crime at the reserve. She said over the past year there had been one theft-related incident reported.

“Security measures are in place at the reserve and were active op the night in question.

“These include one guard stationed at access control during the day, and two guards at night, one at access control and another deployed at or near the main camping area, conducting patrols from the central ablution facility.

“Twenty-four-hour guarding and patrols form part of the site’s safety requirements, which were met. Moreover, routine inspections of security personnel are conducted by the appointed service provider.”

However, she said, offenders may still gain access to parked vehicles undetected several kilometres from anywhere along the coastline under cover of darkness or via adjacent farm areas.

To date the Welshes had not received any feedback from Cape Columbine or any other parties involved.

Gavin believed those in charge ultimately were accountable, encouraging the public to come forward to relay their bad experiences.

“If we don’t hold these places accountable when things go wrong, they will get away with it. South Africa remains a beautiful country to live in. The grass isn’t always greener op the other side.”