The forces of nature have been harsh, leaving catastrophes in its wake in many parts of the world!
Climate change, global warming, call it what you like, but something is afoot in this everchanging world of ours, and the changes are happening at a rapid rate!
Our lives here at home naturally have been affected by the storms of April 2022, making us realize that our little paradise could have been destroyed within seconds, as that is how fast a landslip moves, mowing everything in its path!
I would say we should get used to expecting the unexpected - life has a way of throwing curve balls but thankfully also brings unexpected blessings!
We became much closer to friends down the road, and learned a couple of life lessons from these two angels disguised as people.
The school for children with special needs, where the landslip originated, managed to raise funds to restore the massive bank and is now planning a small workshop that will be used to teach the older children some basic skills that could possibly help them gain employment
Our once tree-lined road is changing its face with gabion walls so will never be the same again, but that's the most cost-effective and likely safest way to restore the massive crater left by the landslip from the school bank which destroyed two homes below it.
We have been assured that the school will be planting in front of the gabions to have some greenery hiding most of the wall.
What is a Gabion Wall?
A Gabion Wall is a type of retaining wall which is constructed by stacked stone filled with gabions fixed together with wire. Gabion retaining walls are generally battered (angled back towards the slope), or stepped back, rather than stacked vertically.
This is exactly the method they are using to retain the ground and secure the massive bank to prevent future disasters.
The landslip could have been prevented if the school had followed strict engineering practices when they installed an action soccer pitch, but I will not bore you with those details, as I've told the story over and over.
This is a School for children with special needs, and the soccer pitch is just one of their ways of raising funds for the school, as our Education Department does not provide sufficient funds for maintenance, let alone projects like this!
I would like to show you the progress of the restoration of the landslip thus far, starting with how it looked before the storm from a Google Earth image. The red shape is the approximate site of the slip.
Immediately after the storm - a massive landslip destroyed our friends' home and a house further down the valley.
I took this pic the morning after they had cleared all the mud away with a grader; that section still has trees.
To our dismay, the trees that survived the landslip were cut down, but we saw why later on; it was to make way for machinery plus they wanted the wall exactly on the boundary.
Site clearance with an entry to reshape the land; we had a bobcat moving to and fro from early morning till dusk, as they're racing again time before the rainy season starts.
The delivery of stones for the gabions sounded really frightening as the noise is deafening when they tip it out!
I'm glad to say that this team of skilled workers really know what they're doing and are making speedy progress.
This photo was taken today and although it's not a pretty sight, we at least will have peace of mind that the bank reinstatement has been done correctly as they are following engineering principles to make provision for drainage.
Thankfully all the damage has not affected our BnB at all, in fact we've been busier than ever before, so we are thankful.
Is this your idea of the lifestyle of a retired Silver-haired blogger?
I would think your answer would be a definite no!
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