Table Mountain National Park management has issued a warning for recreational users of Noordhoek Beach to be on the lookout for quicksand near the shore.
This follows an incident in February when a horse became trapped in the sand. Park authorities are urging beachgoers, especially those on horseback, to exercise caution and maintain a safe distance of 15 to 20 metres from the lagoon.
In February, Marilize Burger and her horse, Bitou, got stuck in quicksand during a routine ride along Noordhoek Beach.
At the time, Ms Burger, who is familiar with quicksand, told the Echo that the patches of quicksand that they had encountered looked completely firm and dry when it usually looked almost glossy or shiny.
Her horse’s back legs sank to its knees and despite trying to jump out several times, it couldn’t (“Quicksand lands horse and rider in tight spot,” Echo, February 8).
Dr Ryan Tucker, a senior lecturer in sedimentology and palaeontology at Stellenbosch University, said quicksand formed when granular materials such as sand, silt, or clay interacted with water, and saturation between loose sand grains created a soupy, liquefied substrate that lacked competency so that anything applying weight would sink into it.
Although the odds of sinking entirely were pretty slim, he added.
