Jozini crocs no match for local CHOCs

A trio of local swimmers, joined by two friends, have continued to push the boundaries of swimming by making their way through the crocodile and hippo infested Jozini Gorge recently.

Mike Oberholtzer, Andrew Stevens and José de Charmoy are no strangers to long distance swims in dangerous waters and this time they were joined by Ruth and Jay Azran.

The intrepid swimmers previously made it the 20km from Perth to Rott Nest Island and braved the 12km stretch from Tinley Manor beach to Clarke Bay.

This time they raised a mammoth R80 000 for the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation.

Oberholzter said they had doubts before they took on Jozini.

“We were researching the swim when we spoke to a local crocodile farm, where we learnt that we had planned the swim for a bad time of year in terms of crocodile activity and their breeding cycles,” he said.

“We considered postponing but we could not disappoint our sponsors or – more importantly – the children.”

However, De Charmoy said they made every effort to ensure the swim went off without a hitch.

Also read: Choc Cows Rock!

“We had a flotilla of 13 boats around us, including three local guys and we made sure to stick together and swim as a team.”

Still, they both agreed that the thought of the crocs was more daunting than the prospect of sharks on their previous swims in the ocean. Adding to the fear was the poor visibilty of the water.
“It is important for people to know that we plan carefully in order to lower the risks when we do these swims. Still I was very nervous in the nights leading up to it. I probably only managed about three hours’ sleep a night,” Oberholzer remembered.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly and they managed to cover the full 8km of the Jozini Gorge in two hours 42 minutes. De Charmoy said they were especially chuffed at the number of locals from Pongola who came out to support them.

Now they plan on taking a little break from their extreme swimming.

“If we try another swim right now we might not make it – not because of the dangers in the water, but because our wives just might kill us,” he said.

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