Alfie Cox fined R10,000.00 in Transkei
16 July 2007 - 2:26pm
Off-road legend Alfie Cox hit with R10 000 fine
By Deon Van Der Merwe East London Correspondent
TOP international off-road motorcyclist and Wild Coast tour operator Alfie Cox was slapped with a R10 000 spot fine on the Wild Coast on Saturday after allegedly being forced to the ground by a furious environmental control officer wielding an R1 rifle.
Cox, South Africa‘s Paris to Dakar legend, found himself on the wrong side of the law – and allegedly facing the business end of an R1 assault rifle wielded by furious environmental affairs official Ruan Botha – between Hole-in-the-Wall and Coffee Bay on Saturday morning while leading a group of Australian and New Zealand airline pilots on an organised off-road ride.
Cox, a registered tour operator, has been a regular visitor to the Wild Coast for the past 10 years. He hires cottages at Hole-in-the-Wall from where he leads off-road excursions on rotated trails. His run-in with the law occurred on Saturday morning while he was leading a group of five international airline pilots on an off-road ride.
He said his clients had witnessed what had happened. “I am pretty environmentally aware myself and certainly would not consciously break the law. If I did, then sure, fine me. But I have a serious issue with how Botha went about his business,” Cox said.
It was unclear exactly why Botha stopped the group but Cox said he accused them of driving on the beach and on an unregistered road.
Cox alleged that Botha‘s actions “were way over the top. He screamed at me, saying that he was arresting me. He ordered me to lie down on the ground and said he was going to confiscate the motorcycles. He would also not listen to reason when I said I did not have R10 000 in cash on me to pay the fine, saying I would then have to be locked up until Monday.
“We eventually were able to scrape money together and the fine was paid to the police at Coffee Bay. I made sure I got a receipt for it.”
One of Cox‘s clients, Morgan Price, confirmed Cox‘s version of the events.
“It was an unfortunate incident. I thought the actions were those of a very angry young man with too much power which he was clearly abusing. We were just riding along, not trying to race away. There was simply no reason for the officer to wave an assault rifle around and threaten Alfie. It was scary.”
The situation was defused when Leon Vermeulen, of Live Fish Tanks Transkei, arrived on the scene and spoke to Botha. He confirmed Botha was armed but did not see the official threaten Cox or any of the group.
Attempts to reach Botha on his cellphone for comment were unsuccessful. Two officials said environmental law enforcement staff were under strict instructions “to carry out the letter of the law” in the on-going battle to curb the wanton destruction of the echo-sensitive Wild Coast.vdmerwed@johncom.co.za
16 July 2007 - 2:55pm
#1
Geoff, how is this going to influence your Wild Coast trip coming up soon?
16 July 2007 - 3:16pm
#2
It should not effect our trip at all (hopefully). Having said this we ride many sections that are not really roads but mere tracks that we follow on the GPS.
I am trying desperately to find out more info but it is difficult to talk to the right people.
We will just be very "katvoet" as we ride.
16 July 2007 - 4:41pm
#3
The irony is that they are about to allow Australian mining companies to mine the beach, and build a big highway through the area to serve the mines. Apparently one should not appreciate nature by traveling in it - one should build a big factory and townhouse complex that you can name after the natural feature it destroyed ("Sleepy Hollow", "Fern Glen", "Disa Ridge" etc)
Charles
17 July 2007 - 2:51pm
#4
Geoff, you need to re-pack for the Wild Coast Tour.
Take out the punture repair kit and replace it with a wadd of R200 notes, to pay the bribe, sorry the "fine".
Also leave your Ralley jacket at home and rather use a bullet proof vest.
17 July 2007 - 3:15pm
#5
This sounds like a mighty fine idea!!
17 July 2007 - 3:50pm
#6
Some more info..................
Alfie has been taking foreigners to the Wild Coast for years. The question is what is a track and what not. The locals can drive trucks and cattle wherever they like, but a different set of rules apply to the tourist.
Another big problem is that every second rider owns an Alfie Cox branded shirt, and some of these riders have caused problems in the past, which are placed at Alfie's door, although he may not even know the guys. If you ride like a bull in a China shop, and do not respect others, there will be problems.
The riding style of Alfie and his tourists is a little different. Everybody in the area knows that he is there regularly and takes a similar route each time, always looking at the environment. The cattle tracks cause more damage to those dunes than Alfie and his bikes. The authorities could have just contacted him and told him to go elsewhere, but they chose to put up a show for the tourists which they can take back home and tell stories in pubs about. Now everyone knows. But the same result could have been achieved without the noise..... I just hope the real trouble makers get the same treatment.
He could have gone to court they say....., yes but be locked up at Coffee Bay for the weekend first. Rather pay and continue with the tour and make sure that the tourists go back satisfied. And that is what they did. Paid, continued the ride. And there will be more tours, just not in that area.
Here is some more press:
Riette Olivier, Die Burger
Port Elizabeth - KwaZulu-Natal endurance biker Alfie Cox has been fined R10 000 for damaging the Wild Coast eco-systems.
Cox, a veteran of several Paris-Dakar rallies, leads tours to the Wild Coast. He apparently rode on off-limit routes in the area between Hole-in-the-Wall and Coffee Bay.
He reportedly had to borrow money from the tourists accompanying with him, because he did not have enough for the spot fine.
There was considerable unhappiness about the way in which the fine was served on him because an official of the Department of Environmental Affairs, Ruan Botha, allegedly pointed an R1 rifle at Cox.
Former Wild Coast tourism chief Dave Arkwright commented: "Tourists are damaging the environment on a daily basis and when they break the law, justice should prevail."
Arkwright said the beach, especially the area between Hole-in-the-Wall and Coffee Bay, is being ruined.
'Not necessary to point a rifle'
"People speed along the beaches and the dunes on scramblers and quadbikes, and don't care how much damage they inflict."
He conceded the way the fine was served left a lot to be desired.
"It was definitely not necessary to point a rifle at Cox."
But he said Cox and his tourists had to have caused considerable damage to the environment to drive the official to such drastic steps.
"The people are getting away with murder there. That's why I think it's high time that someone takes action."
The chairperson of Wild Coast Reservations, William Ross, explained that no vehicles are allowed in the area one kilometre between the high water mark and the interior.
"Cox and his tourists were riding in this zone and this led to the fine."
Ross said the law had some loopholes, because in some places it was unclear which paths were off limits.
"We'll have to sit round a table with the Department of Environmental Affairs as soon as possible so that all the illegal routes can be pointed out.
"The tourism industry will suffer badly if fines are dished out left and right."
Won't damage the tourism industry
The head of special investigations in the provincial department of environmental affairs, Jaap Pienaar, said the matter was being investigated.
"We're experiencing massive problems in the Wild Coast area. The same goes for damage that tourists inflict without knowing it. That's why I don't want to comment before the investigation has been completed."
He did not think the incident would damage the tourism industry.
"You must expect to be brought down if you break the law."
"He [Cox] had the option of taking the matter to court, but decided not to of his own accord."
Cox could not be reached for comment.
Strange.... I could reach him to ask if he needs bail money...... Luckily those tourists had some cash, otherwise the bail option might well have been the only one....
Lets support the authorities, keep them happy and make sure that we send the tourists home with a bright and sunny picture of SA. We all have a role to play.
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