A recent community uproar over traditional rituals at the Braamfontein and Sandspruit River in Paulshof brought back an unforgettable memory for Jennie Dallas, one involving a stranded chicken, a canoe, and her husband, Bertie Baard, stepping in as an unexpected chicken hero.

“It was quite a story,” Dallas recalled. “But it was a good few years ago. We used to paddle the Klip River regularly. I’m talking every weekend.”

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Dallas, a seasoned canoeing coach and safety officer for Canoe South Africa, spent years guiding aspiring paddlers through river rapids, teaching them how to navigate safely and assess dangers.

“If they don’t know what they’re doing, then I’ll take them down and teach them safety, where not to go, what not to do, how to look at a river and see the safe places.”

But even with all that experience, nothing quite prepared her for the day a chicken leapt into their canoe.
During one of their regular outings, they came across the aftermath of an alleged church ritual, something they’d encountered many times before.

“They used to have these baptism ceremonies with candles, and they’d chop chickens’ necks off,” she said. “One of the chickens ran away, into the water, and got to the other side.”

That’s when Beard stepped in. “My husband went over in his boat, and she hopped onto his boat,” Dellas said, laughing. “He turned around and looked at me and smiled, and I took the photo, we saved her.”

They released the lucky hen at a nearby farm, safely out of reach of further ceremony. “She was far away from wherever these indigenous people were having their rituals.”

Sadly, their river trips came to an end in 2023 due to worsening pollution. “Our learners were falling out of boats and getting sick, vomiting all over. We never got sick, 25 years on rivers probably gave us a good immune system, but it was just too risky.”

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