"You need Wayne the Bug," said the fisherman, clamping his stompie between yellow teeth. Our KZN South Coast holiday had been uneventful up to that point, filled with days of sun and nights of cold beer and pub grub: a perfect getaway. Then an unidentified angler, probably overwhelmed by his catch, had released a 1m-long shark into a rock pool.
The result? One fed-up, splashing shark (it's a small pool), and tear-stained children staring in horror at the churning water. Something had to be done, and fast.
Wayne turned out to be a short, barrel-chested man with the leathery skin of someone who spends all day, every day outside without sunblock or a shirt.His bullet head and chubby cheeks gave him the innocent look of an adult baby.
He readily agreed to help and we waited for him to fetch a net or other equipment, but he was already striding off down the beach on powerful legs.
Slightly breathless, we arrived as he was standing at the rock pool - now deserted as the kids had left in search of safer paddling - assessing the situation.In a blurred second, Wayne stepped into the waist-deep water, grasped the shark by its thrashing tail, and, with a wrenching motion of immense strength, flung it over the rocks into the open water. There was a splash and the creature was gone.We stared open-mouthed. My husband applauded and offered to buy Wayne a beer.
It turned out that he was known as the Bug as he was the go-to guy for crayfish or "bugs" (they do look like insects).
He could free-dive to over 30m (his stocky body must have been all lungs), and he was a delightful rogue of note.
He was chums with everyone and anyone: crew members sneaking a Black Label out of Tops in brown-paper packets, the cruise- and fishing-boat skippers, the beach bums.
He'd been there himself, and had slept rough for a while. Ingeniously, he'd wedged a wooden palette into a rainwater drainpipe that spilled onto the beach, creating a safe sleeping platform.
I promised to write a book about his escapades. This might be chapter one.
• 'The Notebook' is about chance meetings and unforgettable encounters people have had on their travels. Send us your story - no more than 400 words - and, if published, you'll receive R500. Mail travelmag@sundaytimes.co.za with the word Notebook in the subject line...