The Kaaimans River mouth, crossed by the old railway bridge, is a scene known and loved by South Africans and visitors the world over. It is in danger of being built on -  your help is needed to halt this development in its tracks. George Municipality has received an application to build a sprawling private dwelling - 80m wide and 20m deep - right next to the railway bridge, just above the waterline, slap bang in the middle of this iconic Garden Route scene.

A house at that spot would be bad enough - it would spoil the view and impact negatively on the fragile environment and bird life. But MUCH WORSE is that this beautiful, fragile estuary would become the driveway to and from the house. This is because the only reasonable access to a road from this site is right across the mouth of this changeable tidal estuary! This would be disastrous to the delicate wetland ecology, to this iconic view, and to public enjoyment of the area.

The application to build does not mention these issues of access. It claims that all structures will be 5m above high water mark. Of course, once a house has been built, immediately there would be demands to establish structures in the tidal zone to enable access, even during high tides, storm and floods. Imagine what that would look like, and what it would do to the estuary and the natural beauty of this spot.

Please help to stop any such development and save this beautiful, iconic spot from being spoiled and degraded by private development. Let the Municipality know how you feel by supporting this petition to reject this application, and any proposal to build closer to the mouth than the existing houses.

Note: Indicated location is approximate. Based on information in OSCAE application for Portion 36 of Farm 195, Wilderness.

Photo credit: Photo 141770272 © Javarman | Dreamstime.com