Rorke’s Drift farmer Hennie Strydom and his wife recently  woke to a strange sight  – a crashed Google Loon.

“You just see flashing lights and things that can turn or spin,” Hennie told MyBroadband.

Not initially knowing what had landed on their farm, Strydom noticed a phone number on the wreckage – which he dialled.

He reached a call centre in South Africa, which put him through to an operator in Brazil, who connected him to someone in the United States.

The Google Loon had been in the air since February 2016, he was told, and was asked to keep it safe until Google could send a team to recover it.

Hennie said people were ready to plunder the device for its solar panels, but they secured it and are holding it for Google.

Google plans to fetch the balloon and its equipment, and transport it back to the United States, he said.

The Loon had minim al external damage, while its balloon has a few holes in it.