Shifting sands

This morning I took the dogs down the Hout Bay River again. No-one had walked the path before me, so I was hoping to see some birds there. I could hear the chitter of the pied kingfishers (Ceryle rudis) on the other side of the dune, but when I got there they all flew away. I sat down on the sand and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The wind that had been blowing for days had died down and there was only the muted sound of the surf on the beach further away. Sun was shining hotly from the blue sky.

A couple of Belgian shepards came running to me. Ivan, a retired gentleman who I met yesterday, was out with his dogs again. We walked to the beach and round the secure complex back to the road together. A surprise waited for us at the beach: The strong wind had blow so much sand up that the long westerly loop of the river was completely dry! The river had broken a new exit through the sand closest the sea shore. The river had been really shallow already yesterday, but did not expect such a drastic change.

Ivan told me that the loop had been there only since last year. It had eaten away the dunes and threatened the new complex built on the sands. Now things were back to normal. There were men shoveling meter high sand dunes away from the pavement and porches of the houses.