Six Pretoria teenagers got more than they bargained for during an eco-challenge on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast when they lost their way and were forced to endure the harsh rain and cold of Thursday night.
The teenagers were taking part in the finals of the South African eco-challenge in Oribi Gorge when they veered off the path and lost their way on Thursday afternoon.
Making matters worse, it began raining heavily. Police and the SANDF were called out when the teenagers failed to cross the third checkpoint.
Security personnel launched a search on Thursday evening, but it was called off on Friday morning at about 1.30am because of bad weather.
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| Making matters worse, it began raining heavily |
The teenagers, Hannes de Kock, Hendrik du Toit, Venita van der Merwe, Michael Neser, George Lyon and Gizela Gasel, who are all 17, miscalculated their route during the grand challenge.
They were eventually found at 6.30am on Friday by members of the defence force, who used a helicopter to lift them out of the gorge.
They were found while making their way back to the sea. Speaking of the experience in the wilderness, group leader Hannes de Kock said it was "brilliant".
"It is simple how we got lost. We took the wrong turn, went down the river and did not know where we were. To make things worse, our cellphone fell in the water.
"Although the girls were a little scared, it was an amazing experience. We built a nice shelter away from the river on dry ground, using our life jackets, back packs, and tree branches."
De Kock said the crew made it through the night by eating energy bars, jelly beans, chocolates and biltong and used space blankets to keep warm.
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