Update

GEORGE NEWS - The recent chaos caused by two trucks colliding around a bend in the Kaaimans Pass led to arguably the longest wait and the longest queue due to an accident there in recent memory.

At one stage on Sunday 2 November, the traffic was backed up all the way from Wilderness to Sedgefield - and then some.

Many motorists were stuck in their cars for hours on end with children, pets and elderly family members, or alone with their radio, as the temperatures climbed into the high 20s. 

It turned into a hot, long and frustrating day for those trapped on the roadwork-burdened pass - the only legally available route between George and Wilderness.

Repairs on the alternative road in the Seven Passes had been expected to start in October this year, with the estimated opening date being sometime in the last quarter of 2026.

However, this does not mean full completion, and the road is officially still closed for traffic.

Even so, in their desperation, some motorists ignored that fact, and the prospect of waiting for hours on end with no way to turn around was simply not an option. This created further chaos as the Seven Passes Road quickly backed up with slow (yet moving) traffic between George and Wilderness.

The others who were already too deep into Kaaimans Pass, wedged between vehicles, had no choice but to sit it out for more than four hours.

Flights, dogs and medical supplies

When the 80-year-old George resident Alan Cove decided to drive his dog, Tessa, over for a walk in Wilderness, he had no idea he'd be stranded on the wrong side of the pass for the rest of the day.

Cove and Tessa set off on Sunday morning for a stroll on the beach and, after a well-deserved coffee in Wilderness, they began their trip back home, blissfully unaware of what was waiting.

As they approached the pass, Cove noticed that the traffic was backed up and decided to wait it out. "It'll just be a short delay," he thought.

Hours passed. Afternoon turned to evening.

Finally, at about 17:00, word spread that a stop-and-go system had been put in place. But 'stop-and-go' turned out to mean 'stop-and-stay'. "Cars coming from George were sailing through, while those heading up from Wilderness were crawling," said Cove.

Eventually, a very tired and hungry octogenarian and his dog arrived back in George - at about 20:00.Alan Cove and his dog, Tessa.

A medical technologist working with the Western Cape Blood Service, Dieter Maritz, commented on one of George Herald's Facebook posts about the accident, saying that some hospital drivers who were fetching blood products for patients had to wait for hours, which, unfortunately, could mean the difference between life and death. 

"It was frustrating to wait for the hospital drivers to bring the patients' blood specimens needed for compatibility testing, but can you imagine how frustrating it must have been for these hospital drivers to sit in this chaos?

"I salute them for doing this to ensure that patients get their much-needed blood products. I also hope the patients received their blood in time," he said.

Many people missed their flights, including Inge Erasmus. "We moved our flights to the latest outgoing flight and made our way from Sedgefield as soon as there was a stop-and-go in place," she said. They missed their flight anyway and decided to sleep in George before driving to Cape Town early the next morning.

According to Sanral, the roadworks in the Kaaimans Pass are scheduled for completion in 2026, along with the Seven Passes Road.

Kindness amid chaos

Amid the chaos, Hoekwil residents Peter Leppan and David Daniel kindly offered their services as aircraft owners and pilots to assist in cases of medical emergencies or transport to George Airport.

This was not a once-off gesture. "If something like this happens again and people need to get somewhere urgently, we are happy to assist," said Leppan.

He added that the recent incident gave him a sense of déjà vu, as he recalls the heavy rains of 2006 when a large section of the Kaaimans Pass collapsed into the sea, forcing the closure of the N2 between George and Wilderness. At the time he had also offered assistance with his aircraft.The accident in the Kaaimans Pass where two delivery trucks, of which one belongs to Checkers, had collided.