A driver who overestimates his abilities or that of his wheels isn’t the only recipe for an oops on a 4x4 excursion. This is what can happen too...

Us 13 guys (11 from the Cape and 2 from Walvis Bay) were looking forward tremendously to our fishing safari to Angola, but no one expected such a casualty when we arrived at Flamingo Lodge, south of Namibe, in September last year.

Dr Hofmeyer (Hoffie) Viljoen from Walvis Bay got his fishing line stuck, he tried to yank it loose, and when it dislodged, the hook got stuck in his cheek.

Medical help was very far away and we had to make a plan right there on the beach with what we had with us. Brian McKay of Melkbosstrand has first-aid training, and with Hoffie’s directions they managed to remove the hook from his cheek (a bottle of J&B helped to kill the pain).

Hoffie was supposed to be the team doctor, only for us to have to doctor him! He was very worried that the hook might be close to a nerve and that he could suffer permanent damage to his sight.

Fortunately, Hoffie had enough antibiotics in his suitcase at the camp, and there were no complications. On the beach we naturally rechristened the bottle of J&B “Jonty Biotica”.

We ribbed him during sundowners that evening, saying his drink was squirting through the holes in his cheek. He then stuck a plaster over it.

The next day Hoffie was out fishing again in earnest and landed a big one.

As told by Ronnie Beukman from Melkbosstrand