INFERNO HOLIDAY

Family and friends are struggling to come to terms with their loss after the fire that claimed 10 lives at a luxury Kalahari getaway spot

- JOANIE BERGH

THEY had toys they ’d bought as gifts ready and waiting. It had been so long since they’d seen their grandkids. Johan and Winnie Jordaan were counting the days.

En route home from a holiday in the Kalahari, their daughter, Dané Carstens (32), her husband, Hendri (39), and their two sons, Pierre-Johan (5) and Magiel (3), would swing by in Barrydale in the Klein Karoo, Western Cape, for a long overdue visit.

Because of lockdown Johan and Winnie hadn’t seen Dané and her family, who lived on a farm near Prince Alfred Hamlet about 200km away, in months.

But then came the phone call that sent Johan and Winnie reeling. A fierce fire had struck the luxury holiday home where the family were staying with friends.

Dané and the boys had died and Hendri was being rushed to hospital, his life hanging by a thread.

“They would’ve visited us on the Wednesday,” Johan says, his voice breaking.

“We had the kids’ toys ready and waiting for them.”

Now they’ll never see any of them again. Hendri was airlifted to Cape Town but succumbed to his severe burn wounds.

“It’s especially hard because all four of them were taken,” Winnie says. “The loss is immense and will get worse.”

A HUDDLE of people has gathered to comfort one another in a barn on the farm Dennekruin near Prince Alfred Hamlet. In the orchards blossoms herald the arrival of spring, but inside the barn the atmosphere is sombre.

Everyone on the farm is struggling to come to terms with the devastating news about farm manager Hendri, his wife and kids.