A German couple who were violently robbed on a hiking trail above Kalk Bay in Table Mountain National Park have spoken out about their frightening ordeal in which the husband was stabbed in the face — almost losing an eye.
Accountant Holger Priskornik, 56, and his wife Claudia, 57, a postal worker from Ratingen near Düsseldorf, were ambushed two weeks ago on the Echo Valley trail by three men.
The couple, who have been married for 11 years, were almost one month into their holiday when they were attacked.
Two of the men appeared about 15 minutes into the trail armed with what looked like hunting knives, they told TimesLIVE Premium.
One grabbed Holger, but when he fought back to defend his screaming wife, he said he was stabbed in the forehead — the knife blade narrowly missing his right eye.
Blood poured down his face from the deep wound, blinding him as he tried to resist. However, one of the muggers then pounced, punching him repeatedly in the face. Another grabbed Claudia, forced her to the ground and put a knife to her throat.
They gave Holger an ultimatum: stop fighting or they would kill his wife.
“I had no choice. I could not risk Claudia’s life for the sake of a phone and some cash, and I could hardly see to fight due to the blood. They took our body belts with all our credit cards and cash and our hire car keys and took Claudia’s phone then gave us back our water bottles and just vanished,” he said.
“There was so much blood from the knife wound, and my nose and lip were pouring with blood from the punches to such a degree Claudia thought I was dying. We made our way to the bottom of the mountain and summoned help, and the police were there quickly and along with park rangers went up looking for the gang. They found our belt bags, they were empty, but no sign of the three men.”
Claudia said: “I thought we were both going to die, I saw my husband stabbed then being punched hard and I was pulled down and a blade was put to my throat. I just screamed, and he warned me to shut up and my husband to stop fighting.”
The pair were assisted by a woman who took them to hospital, where Holger had three stitches.
“They said it was very deep and an inch lower and he would have been blinded,” said Claudia.
Police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk said a case of robbery was opened for further investigation and statements had been obtained. No arrests have been made yet.
Andy Davis, chairperson of the nonprofit organisation Friends of Table Mountain, told TimesLIVE recently: “While we appreciate the efforts of law enforcement agencies, more needs to be done to achieve international standards of crime-free status and ensure visible policing in less frequented areas.”
SANParks spokesperson JP Louw said Table Mountain National Park rangers and SAPS responded immediately and assisted the victims.
“The safety and security of visitors remain a priority, and SANParks has begun implementing measures that are yielding positive results in combating criminal activities,” he said.
Turning to the couple's stolen goods, Holger said: “They ran up £140 (about R3,220) on Claudia’s credit cards, took her phone and £20 (about R460) in cash. The hire car company charged us £275 (about R6,300) for a call out charge and to supply a new car key.”
It was the couple’s fifth holiday to South Africa.
They return home on Friday but said the incident would not deter them from holidaying again in South Africa.
“We love it here and though it was extremely scary and I fought for our lives we won’t let these robbers win. We will take stock and learn lessons for the future,” said Holger.
“Fortunately, we took our wedding rings off before we went up the mountain trying to reach Echo Valley, but we should have left our credit cards behind as well.
“It was very scary and I consider myself lucky to get away with my eyesight.”
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