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WHEN THE RIVER RAGES — WE LISTEN, WE BOW, WE MOVE, IN MEMORY OF MY OLD MAN

Riverbend Camp | 26 April 2025

Bloemhof Dam Outflow: 3200m³/s

This morning… the news dropped like a bomb.

The floodgates at Bloemhof opened wider —

and the mighty Vaal flexed again.

This time, it’s no longer just water rising.

It’s life itself, thundering down this ancient artery of the land.

A second wave.

A second chance to show what you’re made of.

A second reminder of how small — and how strong — a human heart can be.

And so… we pack.

In silence.

In reverence.

Not in fear — but with respect.

Respect for a force greater than ourselves.

Respect for the river.

Respect for life’s unstoppable flow.

Because living next to the river teaches you something no city street ever could: You don’t fight the storm.

You don’t curse the water.

You listen.

You move.

You bow your head — and you trust the ground under your feet, and the people beside you.

“Let THY will be done.”

— whispered today in honor of my old man, a soul preparing to exchange the temporary for the eternal.

A man who stood through storms with his hands clasped in silence, bowing not to fear — but to understanding.

The rawness.

The loss wrapping itself around pride.

The beauty of memory tangled in the brutality of the now.

It’s all here, alive in every heartbeat pounding through my chest as we roll up sleeping bags, lift dogs and cats into bakkies, and find higher ground.

This life…

Living on the edge, loving fiercely, losing bravely —

is a privilege.

And when my race is run, I hope to skid into the grave sideways, mud on my boots, heart pounding, a wild grin on my face — shouting:

“YEAH! WHAT A RIDE!”

Today isn’t about giving up.

It’s about giving respect.

It’s about feeling your place in the story — not the hero, not the victim —

just part of the river’s song.

Part of the passing shadow that is all of us.

We don’t just survive here.

We live.

We feel.

We fight the right fights — and surrender to the ones that deserve it.

Riverbend stands proud.

Not untouched.

Not unscarred.

But unbroken.

We’ll be back.

We always are.

Vaalharts Weir | 19 April 2025

Today… I stood before the mighty Vaal.

And for the first time in weeks — it was quiet.

Still.

Breathing.

Behind me stood concrete — weathered, stained, and unshaken since 1935.

Before me… the remnants of a roaring race.

Did you know?

The Vaalharts Weir, part of one of the largest irrigation schemes in the Southern Hemisphere, was engineered to handle 14,200 cubic meters of flood water per second. RAW FORCE!.

And yet today…

I witnessed the quiet rise of just one of its three fish belly plates.

They call it a “vismaag plaat” here — and rightly so. It’s a massive steel slab designed to brake water flow with sheer force, like a giant hand calming a furious stallion after the final stretch.

That’s exactly what it felt like:

A brutal, raging race run through valleys and banks… now slowed… reined in.

Within just 10 minutes, this colossal plate rose — throttling back the flood.

And suddenly…

Silence.

Behind the gate, only flapping chaos remained — hundreds of fish left behind, exposed on damp riverbed like nature’s quiet offering to the locals who now bent over with buckets and hands, harvesting tonight’s supper.

I stood there with gooseflesh on my arms and a lump in my throat.

Not just at the sight of the mighty river finally tamed…

But because I could see the flood’s path — carved into the brown water-stain on the old weir wall. A reminder. A signature.

It came.

It passed.

And it left its mark.

Always does.

And then, as if the river had taken a deep, calming exhale…

Just four hours later, on the same Vaal’s shoulder, a small group gathered.

Clad in white.

Dipping into the now-peaceful waters — baptising.

From chaos to calm.

From destruction to life.

River of Hope. River of Rebirth.

I don’t push beliefs — everyone walks their own path.

But let me tell you:

Today, I was simply grateful to be alive.

To see it.

To feel small in the presence of genius — of engineers from 90 years ago who built this weir…

…and even smaller in the face of the ancient river it was built to tame.

I left that site with silent respect.

For man.

For nature.

And for the invisible line where the two meet.

Vaalharts Weir Facts

Built: 1934–1935

Capacity: 14,200 m³/s

Fish Belly Plates: 3

Purpose: To divert flow from the Vaal into the Vaalharts irrigation canals — feeding one of SA’s greatest agricultural lifelines.

Today I didn’t just see the Vaal.

I felt her.

And just by the way — the whole damn structure? Still standing. Still operating. Still managing floodwaters like it’s 1935 and it’s got something to prove. No rusted bolts, no smoke signals, no panic meetings under a tree. Just calm, calculated engineering brilliance doing what it was designed to do. So for the old tannies screaming “poor management!” from the safety of their WhatsApp groups… maybe just take a sip of your rooibos and breathe. The river’s in better hands than your Facebook feed suggests.

[Watch the clip] – As the water retreats… Riverbend breathes again.

What you’re seeing here is our Waterfront Riviera Rendezvous—Panache campsite with its floating canopy, the glamping tent bases that stood the test, and the riverside campsites now blinking back at the sun.

We’re not rebuilding from scratch this time. Just a few veranda tiles, a splash of plumbing reconnections, and we’ll be welcoming our next guests on Thursday morning.

From underwater to unshaken — this isn’t just recovery.

This is Riverbend.

Bloemhof Dam Update (15 April 2025, 07:00)

• Gauge Plate: 17.970 m

• Capacity: 1236.628 million m³ (99.62%)

• Outflow: 1100 m³/s

• Rain: 0 mm | Evaporation: 5 mm

• Area Covered: 23,276.3 hectares

Vaaldam Update

• Level: 110.71%

• Inflow: 266.59 m³/s

• Outflow: 793 m³/s

• Evaporation: 6 mm

TODAY’S PLANNED REDUCTIONS – BLOEMHOF

10:00 → 1000 m³/s

11:00 → 900 m³/s

13:00 → 800 m³/s

14:00 → 700 m³/s

There’s even been a clever suggestion from downstream to reduce in smaller steps – to avoid suction damage like in 2023. A good reminder: not all water drama happens above the surface.

To everyone who’s followed the journey, messaged, shared or simply cared:

We’re nearly there. We can feel it.

The tree sanctuary is whispering again, the sun’s warming the stoep, and soon… the coffee will be brewing at sunrise for the next Riverbend guests.

April 14 2025

After days under the mighty grip of Oom Vaal, the legendary Broodershade glamping tent base structure has resurfaced — and guess what? She’s standing proud!

Watch this short clip!

It’s not a comeback — it’s a comeback with attitude. Only a few floor tiles got shaken loose. We’re replacing them as we speak, and by Thursday morning our first guests will be sipping coffee under canvas again.

Bloemhof Dam Update (14 April 2025):

Gauge Plate: 17.960

Discharge: 1401.0 m³/s

2PM Target: REDUCE to 1100 m³/s

Capacity: 1234.300 million m³

Percentage: 99.44%

Area Flooded: 23,249.8 ha

Time: 12:00

It’s not just a structure — it’s a symbol.

Broodershade stood her ground, stared into the storm… and winked.

Bookings resume Thursday morning — unless Oom Vaal decides to throw one more curveball. But until then…

Team Riverbend is back in the game.

Bloemhof Dam Update 13 April 2025 – 16H10

Gauge plate: 18.060

Dam Capacity: 1257.697 million m³ (101.32%)

Discharge: 1701.3 m³/s

Area covered: 23,518.0 ha

And now for some wonderful news!

The roofs of our 4 Private Ablution blocks have finally made their appearance above the water!

Yellow Fish

Barble Bliss

Perch Haven

Carp Cove

And here’s the miracle:

Back in the 2023 floods, all four of these blocks completely disappeared beneath the water — gone without a trace.

This time, seeing them stick their heads above water brings a massive wave of relief.

It means:

We don’t have to rebuild them from scratch

The structures have likely remained intact

All that’s needed now is cleaning out, reconnecting plumbing and electricity… and we’ll be ready to welcome back our guests for all the pre-arranged bookings.

We also have a clear view of Gen Grootblaar, and yes — our iconic Plataan has once again withstood the onslaught and emerged victorious.

If that tree could talk… imagine the stories it could tell.

Maybe you should pay him a visit and exchange some heartfelt stories with each other over a good old “skemerkelkie” at sunset.

Our Panache signage also reappeared – “Carika Keuzencamp hier” (Chris Kreef) shining proudly again. And yes, the legendary floating canopy is now gliding freely where it belongs!

The sun’s been out in full swing, drying our earth and lifting our spirits. The mood? Swinging in the branches of our tree sanctuary!

With all signs pointing to recovery, we might just be up and running sooner than anyone expected. The visible impact of this passionate, family-run business is already showing…

Hope rising. Hope rooted. Hope flowing.

All through “River Hope” — uplifting Christiana one revived booking at a time.

13 April 2025

There’s been a lot of speculation around the current flooding and dam releases – some of it rooted in frustration, some in misunderstanding. So let’s break it down in plain terms: what happened, why it happened, and what it means.

How Much Water Was Released From Bloemhof Dam Over 5 Days?

To manage massive inflows and protect communities downstream, Bloemhof Dam released enormous volumes of water this past week. Here’s the breakdown:

Days 1–3: Released ~777 million cubic meters of water (3000 m³/s)

Days 4–5: Released ~432 million cubic meters (2500 m³/s)

Total 5-Day Release: ≈1.21 billion cubic meters (or 1.21 trillion liters)

That’s about 99% of Bloemhof Dam’s total full capacity, which is 1,220,388,000 m³.

In simple terms: they’ve let out the equivalent of an entire dam in just five days. Wrap your head around that!

So Why Not Just Empty It Sooner?

We’ve seen the uninformed suggestions online: “They should’ve emptied the dam before the rains!”

Really? Think about it: To release the entire dam’s water (1.22 billion m³) in just a few days would flood everyone downstream before the actual flood arrived.

And what if it didn’t rain after that? We’d be sitting with a completely empty dam and no water for crops, drinking, sanitation — remember the droughts in 1984–1988 and 2016?

That’s why dam management is about balance. You can’t open the floodgates blindly. You protect downstream areas, but also keep water safely stored. These are high-stakes, calculated decisions, made under immense pressure.

Flood Control: Where Dams Help – and Where They Can’t

Dams like Bloemhof are excellent at reducing moderate floods. They catch the early water and let it out slowly to avoid sharp flood peaks downstream.

But here’s the reality: no dam can stop an extreme flood entirely. If the inflow exceeds the dam’s capacity, water must be released – or the dam risks overtopping or failure.

Even then, these controlled releases are far safer than uncontrolled flooding. It’s about managing what you can and softening the blow.

Today’s Update (13 April 2025):

Gauge Plate: 18.250 m

Percentage Full: 104.96%

Discharge: 2139.1 m³/s

Port Arlington: 7.600

Evaporation: 3.0 mm

Rainfall: 0 mm

Dam Area: 24,044.9 hectares

Capacity: 1,327,050,000 m³

From 12:00, outflow recommended to reduce to 1900 m³/s – a hopeful sign that things are stabilising.

Massive Respect Where It’s Due

To the flood management teams, engineers, dam operators, and decision-makers — we see you.

Operating in this pressure cooker of uncertainty, criticism, and risk, your decisions are protecting thousands. You’ve released a full dam’s worth of water without losing control of the system. That’s no small feat.

To everyone reading: This is how the system works. It’s not perfect, but it’s carefully engineered, constantly monitored, and managed by people who understand the consequences of every valve turned.

Think before you comment. Not everything is poor management – sometimes it’s just the raw power of nature… met with the best of human ability.

Christiana, NW | Vaalrivier | Panache Edition

Yes, yes… we saw the comments.

“Tot iets jou hap daar onder!”

“Nie ‘n manier dat ek eers my voete daar insit nie!”

We hear you, Michelle & Linda.

But while the rest of the world walks around in tekkies, we’re over here testing our immune systems in floodwater like it’s a post-apocalyptic Olympic event.

This pic? That’s Panache.

Not a houseboat, not a pontoon, not Noah’s new design.

It’s our wheelchair-friendly ablution block, complete with a “floating” canopy built two days before the flood.

Turns out “floating” wasn’t just a figure of speech.

Panache is bobbing proudly in place, like a stubborn granny at the bingo table refusing to go home.

To those sending good vibes: julle is ysters.

To those telling us to “watch for crocs” – don’t worry, I’m the apex predator in these parts.

(Unless something actually bites me… then all bets are off.)

Bloemhof Dam update this morning:

Gauge: 18.350 m | 106.91%

Discharge being reduced to 2,100 m³/s

So yes, the mighty Vaal is slowly loosening her grip.

Thanks again for every joke, every prayer, and every pun!

And if I do get swept away, Lientjie – ek sal gil! Kry daai visnet reg!

And just a little note for the Facebook “engineers” asking:

“Why do you build under the floodline?”

Well… should you feel inspired to build your own campsite along the Vaal, you’d need to place it about 2km from the river’s edge to meet floodline safety recommendations. That puts you just past the informal settlement, closer to the dust and diesel than the birds and breeze.

You could then enjoy the full Gauteng camping experience: traffic, noise, and a morning hike with a fishing rod just to get near the water.

Here at Riverbend, we chose the front row seat—with its risks, rewards, and unfiltered river magic.

Because any place worth loving is worth braving a flood for.

Christiana | Vaal River

11 April 2025

They say every tree has a story… and this week, our legends are writing a chapter of endurance in bold ink.

Pictured here:

Generaal Grootblaar – standing 4 meters underwater.

Ou Oewerwagter – submerged 2 meters deep, holding the line like a true veteran.

Both are calmly weathering the flood—silent, steady, unshaken.

These photos were taken today at Riverbend Camp, as the Vaal River reminds us of her raw and untamed beauty.

Riverbend remains temporarily closed due to safety protocols.

So many people keep asking: “Why Christiana? Out of all damn places. You had Namibia. You had the dunes, the coast, the freedom.” And every time, I smile the same dry smile because don’t you get it? Thought of me stealing the drum?

Truth is, I didn’t steal a thing. I picked it up. Carefully. Quietly. Like a man picking up the old man’s tools after a long day of work, knowing well he’s got no choice but to carry on. This drum didn’t come easy, and it damn sure wasn’t taken without weight. It was handed over by time, by legacy, by blood. And I knew exactly where I needed to take it.

Christiana isn’t just a name on a map to me. It’s where the rhythm of the old man still echoes. That faint Vaal River ripple. His half-grin over a tumbler of whiskey while floating in life jackets in the Vaal River. The stories told without saying a word. The small things… those are what shape a man. Not the headlines, not the glory. But the calm voice that tells you when to row, and when to drift.

I came here to beat that drum not for show, not for applause but to keep a rhythm going that mattered to one man who mattered to me. And if you don’t understand that, maybe you never listened close enough to your own old man’s heartbeat.

No, I don’t trust people easily. I’ve seen the flaws, the betrayals, the thieves with their shiny smiles and empty souls. I know what a stolen drum sounds like… it’s off. Always off. Doesn’t matter how hard you hit it. The beat’s broken before the first note lands.

But this? This is different. This is sacred ground. Not because it’s perfect but because it was his. Soul, sweat all over the place. And because when I beat this drum here, in this dusty little place forgotten by most, the beat finally fits. It belongs.

Riverbend is that place where this drum has been beating for the last quarter century. And I’ll keep beating it, humbly, with a plain, simple life.

This Vaal River is no tame stallion. Sitting next to it demands respect. It took away, in the blink of an eye, so much that was written here in bricks and mortar, and it all needs to be rebuilt. How could I not enjoy that challenge? That alone is worth spending my years of experience and my curious nature on. But it has to be next to this river, the main vein running 1200 km through the southern Africa continent. If it’s not here, I might as well sit in Hermanus, or Swakopmund, or wherever. But as long as I’m granted this piece of land, I’ll learn how to coexist with this mighty, living, life-giving, calm, resilient, raging monster and enjoy every part of it while being entertained.

So no, I’m not here to prove anything. I’m not here to perform. I’m here to protect something. And maybe, just maybe, to pass that rhythm on to the next in line when it’s time. It’s called… The cronicals of Riverbend. Where camp fires burn out, and stories are born.

Look at this. Freshly baked bread, still steaming out the oven. Baked by the daughter I call my wife just like it used to be during those rare, high moments when I visited this meaningful piece of earth. Real bread. Real farm butter. Apricot jam. And a strong cup of coffee.

Is it possible for life to get any better?

No. Absolutely can’t be.

And later me and Leia, cruising into a sunset that doesn’t beg for filters. Just silence, peace, and Panache cutting through the Vaal. Yes, Panache the boat. The campsite too. Named for its meaning: “flamboyant confidence of style or manner.” That’s not marketing. That’s life