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A German couple who heard their child’s first heartbeat in Knysna and duly felt obliged to christen him with the town’s name made an emotional return to the popular Garden Route destination on Tuesday.
Now a bubbly, blonde two-year-old, little Knysna Sigler and parents Constanze and Wolfgang Sigler, of Stuttgart, were welcomed by Knysna mayor Georlene Wolmarans and a team of councillors at the town’s waterfront.
It was the first time that Knysna, who turned two in August last year, laid eyes on the town which gave him his name.
Clearly wide awake after travelling with his parents from Cape Town, Knysna took no time at all exploring his surroundings, and clearly was excited by all that he saw at the waterfront.
“I found out that I was in my fifth week [of pregnancy] just before heading out to South Africa for a holiday in late 2009,” Constanze explained.
“Our doctor in Stuttgart told us that we had to be careful about finding a good doctor in South Africa, but we found very good ones at the Knysna Private Hospital. On December 28, 2009 we heard his heartbeat for the first time. Because we loved the town so much with its friendly people and beautiful surroundings, and because it was such a special moment, we decided to name his Knysna.”
Wolfgang said mentioning the boy’s name among friends back home in Germany always drew a lot of questions about its origins.
“We actually had a few problems [registering his name] in Germany because of a rule that states a person’s name cannot come from nowhere. So we said ‘yes, Knysna is a real place in South Africa.”
Recalling her last visit to the town, Constanze revealed because of her pregnancy she was warned against eating the town’s famous oysters.
“Now that I am back I will definitely be trying them, like the well-known Cape wine. We are so glad to be back in one of our favourite places in the world, the place after whom Knysna was named.”
A delighted Wolmarans, who clearly was enjoying the company of the little boy, was “very surprised” to learn that a foreign couple had named their child after the town.
“It is not often you hear about such things, but it really makes me proud that the town means so much to our visitors. It just shows what tourism potential we have here,” she said.
“I always brag to the other mayors about how proud I am of Knysna, and this goes to show that I can be. It is a very special occasion and I am so pleased that our visitors would honour us in this way.”
The mayor then joined Knysna and the couple for a photographic session on the waterfront – a delight for passersby as his parents had clearly introduced him to the word “cheetah” in order grab his attention.
The Siglers will be spending five days in Knysna before moving on to the Fancourt Golf Estate where they will enjoy a few rounds on the world champion course.
