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Don and Yvonne Cormack were stabbed and robbed in Cape Town
Don and Yvonne Cormack, from Harlow, Essex, were knifed on Table Mountain, in the city of Cape Town, Western Cape province, south-western South Africa.
Mr Cormack, 71, has been left in hospital after being stabbed nine times by the robbers on the Silvermine hiking trail near the picturesque Kalk Bay.
Mrs Cormack, 67, tried to protect her husband from the two knifemen and was also stabbed.
She told how the couple had been with a group of seven other hikers when they were attacked on Saturday.
Mrs Cormack said: “We were walking and the guys came running at us with knives.
“They first attacked one of the women, who was standing on a rock taking photos.
“Then they told us to throw our phones and bags to the ground.
“Next they started attacking my husband Don, who they stabbed nine times all over his body.
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Police have arrested two men following the robbery while security in the area has been increased
“I took a stick and started hitting at the robber then he started stabbing me too. He stabbed me in my arm and back of my head.”
The robbers attacked five of the group using rocks and knives to inflict terrible injuries.
The Cormacks got off lightly compared to another member of their party who tried to raise the alarm.
Mrs Cormack said: “I screamed at Don to give him his bag which Don did and I also gave them mine. Then they attacked Don again.
“The other robber followed one of the other hikers, who ran to get a phone signal to call for help.
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Ex-pats Don and Yvonne Cormack were forced to fight for their lives
“His face was brutally damaged after he was hit with a rock. He is in a critical condition in hospital.
“They operated on him for four hours. Another hiker’s face was also smashed with a rock.”
Mrs Cormack explained how she had been hiking on Table Mountain for two years but had never experienced anything like this before.
After the frenzied attack, the robbers fled the scene carrying bags and phones.
Nature’s Secrets
Thu, August 21, 2014
All creatures great and small from the four corners of the earth showing us the beauty of mother nature were winners in a photography competition.
Finalists in the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers Nature’s Secrets competition were picked from hundreds of entries. Winner was French snapper Michel Hagege with a picture of a baby monkey clinging to its mum in a hot spring in Japan as the snow fell. Michel, 55 said: “It was taken at Jigokudani, close to Nagano in Japan. It was snowing, windy and cold, about minus 5 and the monkeys were relaxing in the hot spring.”Runner up was Csaba Toth from Hungary with a duck in the morning mist on the Danube and third was South African Bridgena Barnard, 48, with her picture of a happy-looking gecko in the Namib desert.
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Winner: Michel Hagege – Baby monkey clinging to its mum in a hot spring in Japan
The remaining members of the group ran for help and a rescue helicopter was dispatched.
Mrs Cormack said: “The others luckily found a group not far from us who had a doctor and rescue officer with them.
“Because Don and the other guy could not walk I waited with them till the rescue helicopter came.
“I have been hiking on the mountain for two years and it is the first time something like this has happened.
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Table Mountain is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Africa
“We are lucky to be alive. I won’t forget that knife coming at me and cutting into my skin.”
Mr Cormack was then taken to Victoria Hospital by helicopter where he is awake and table to talk.
He says he is traumatised by the attack and that his memory of events is a bit vague.
Police have arrested two men following the violent robbery while security on Table Mountain has been increased.
The body responsible for tackling crime on Table Mountain, SANParks, moved to reassure visitors to the national park.
We are lucky to be alive
A spokesman for SANParks said: “Table Mountain National Park has appointed a visitor safety team whose role it is to keep crime to a minimum in the national park.
“In addition, the park also boasts a ranger corps which has as one of their roles law enforcement in the park.
“These teams are supported by a dog unit consisting of 12 security-trained canines.
“Resources will be deployed to the mountain side above Kalk Bay where a criminal incident took place over the weekend.
“Given the extent and remoteness of the park, it is a challenge to have a presence everywhere at all times.
“Our team is deeply concerned about any incidents and we request that hikers please save our emergency number.”