Pieter Nortjé and his wife, Ilze, were on a weekend getaway earlier this month to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary when it turned into a nightmare.

A lion at a lodge in Virginia in the Free State locked her jaws around Pieter's right arm and pulled him towards the fence.

Although there are signs up warning guests from touching the lions, Nortjé ignore it, Ilze said.

"He was in shock - he just stood there and did nothing. I had to pull him away," she told News24 sister publication Netwerk24 at the time.