The Hennops River, the longest river in Gauteng, whispers of bygone beauty and abundance, but is now in shaggy disarray, coated in sewage and layers of plastic.
I grew up overlooking a river in Pretoria next to the Moreleta Spruit. It flooded one day, washing our lounge furniture into the garden, and I remember my mom putting on her favourite burgundy velvet evening gown, grabbing her jewellery box in haste, and shouting, "Kids, we have to get out of here!" Fortunately, the storm subsided and all was not lost, bar ruined curtains and carpets. My philosophy after that was: never live next to a river.
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