An Amanzimtoti doctor who spent more than 24 hours lost in the bush at the weekend, says the experience has not quelled his passion for hiking.
“I’ll definitely be getting back out there,” Dr Cor van Rensburg told The Mercury.
He did say, though, that he would be sure to mark a trail for himself.
Van Rensburg and his hiking partner, Willem Henning, both in their 60s, got lost in the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, on the South Coast, while on the Nkona trail on Saturday.
After an extensive search, they were found on a river bank the following afternoon and airlifted to safety.
Van Rensburg on Tuesday recalled the experience. He said their hike got off to a good start on Saturday morning. “It was a fantastic day – nice and hot,” he said.
They followed the trail, along the Bulolo River, until around midday.
“By that time, it was very hot and we wanted to cool off,” Van Rensburg said.
There was not much water in the river but the pair found a pool off the trail and had a dip and ate lunch there. But when they tried to get back on to the trail, they could not find their way.
Van Rensburg said they had thought they were still on the Bulelo River at this point but later found out they had actually been on the Mtamvuna River.
The two rivers meet at the spot where the men stopped. They searched for the trail until around 5pm, when it started to rain.
“That was when we decided to spend the night there,” Van Rensburg said.
With thin ponchos as their only defence against the cold, and lunch leftovers for food, the two did not have a very comfortable night.
“We didn’t get much sleep,” Van Rensburg said. “And as soon as we saw the sun come up, we were out of there.”
On Sunday morning, they continued along the river – on a route that was actually taking them away from the trail – for 8km. But at around 11am, they finally found a spot with cellphone reception.
They had seen flares during the night and knew that people were looking for them.
“We were so worried about our families and we just wanted to let them know we were safe,” Van Rensburg said.
Henning managed to get hold of his wife and then the men found a large flat rock and made themselves comfortable.
There they sat, for four hours, in the rain. Van Rensburg said he began to worry as the afternoon wore on.
“I was supposed to be at work on Monday,” he said.
But just after 4pm, help arrived. The two were loaded into a helicopter and flown to safety.
Van Rensburg said apart from some scratches, they were fine.
He was shocked and touched when he and Henning were greeted by friends and family who had come out to help look for them.
“Peter Breed from the Port Edward Ratepayers Association arranged food for us.”