If you needed reminding that it’s best to hike in larger groups, consider this it.

A violent robbery took place yesterday at Newlands Ravine, with four victims, ranging in age from 31 to 58, held at knifepoint. Five attackers “tied them up, stripped them and robbed them of all their possessions”, in an incident since confirmed by police spokesperson FC van Wyk.

Worse still, three of the four victims were stabbed, with the 58-year-old rushed to hospital.

Van Wyk says that four suspects have been arrested, although the fifth escaped after he “ran away in the direction of a residential area with the victims’ cellphones and cash”.

More via IOL:

Police recovered clothes and takkies belonging to the victims that were in the possession of the four suspects, as well as a silver flick knife, car-breaking implements and one large, self-made Allen key in possession of a suspect.

“The victims identified their belongings and pointed out the suspects to the police, and their belongings were handed back to them. The suspects will remain in custody until their first court appearance, at which the police will officially oppose bail,” said Van Wyk.

A self-made Allen key? This is no fly-by-night operation.

According to experienced hiker Kosta Papageorgiou, a lot of planning goes into these crimes:

“The hiking culture is quite intense, and the criminal mind has noted it as a place to go shopping. Criminals are becoming bolder, and with winter gone everyone is coming out,” he said.

Papageorgiou said SanParks rangers were often busy in Noordhoek or ­Silvermine, and couldn’t be everywhere.

“Hikers also go out in expensive gear that attracts criminals. As much as it’s a free country, we need to avoid being naive,” he said.

That’s the really terrifying thing – when a hike with friends is considered naive.

He’s right in that the SanParks rangers are already stretched thin, but there are also additional safety measures:

SANParks regional spokesperson Saskia Marlowe said the Table Mountain National Park had a Visitor Safety Team whose role was to keep crime to a minimum in the park.

“This team is supported by a dog unit consisting of 12 security-trained canines.

“The park is also a member of the Table Mountain Safety Forum.

“The other members of this forum are the SAPS, the Department of Community Safety, the Metro Police, Law Enforcement and Civil Society, who do joint patrols.

“Given the extent and remoteness of the park, it is a challenge to have a presence everywhere at all times,” she said.

Marlowe said “High Crime” warning signage had been erected in the park in locations where there had been repeated incidents. She said the signs had been placed at entrances across the park.

Newlands Ravine is definitely considered one such hotspot, with Table Mountain Watch (TMW) spokesperson André van Schalkwyk saying that yesterday’s attack is the fifth incident in that area since early September.

He spoke with News24:

“They were [active] in the late afternoon and now suddenly we have an earlier, morning scenario. We have been looking for two men [who] have been responsible [for the other attacks],” Van Schalkwyk said.

In these incidents, people were robbed of valuable items after being threatened at knifepoint.

“We want people to be very cautious in that area… We are asking people not to retaliate. In most cases where people have been hurt, they retaliated in some form or another,” he said.

Mountain users were warned not to go into remote areas alone.

“If you are hiking or running on your own, you need to consider how far away from help you want to be, assuming you can still phone and are not severely injured, and where waiting an hour is actually critical,” said Van Schalkwyk.

He added that authorities are working on an “integrated plan”, with the details to be revealed at a later stage.

We are in for a bumper weekend weather-wise. If you’re planning on trekking around some of our city’s hiking trails, please be careful out there.

[sources:iol&news24]