Davey’s ‘write’ on the mark
Local adventurer pens book about attack on the Amazon River.
LAST year Durban North resident, Davey du Plessis, set off on 4000-mile expedition down the Amazon River. Two months in, the epic adventure turned into a nightmare when he was attacked and left to die. Northglen News recently caught up with the intrepid traveller who is now launching his book Choosing To Live at the Gateway Hotel on 15 October.
Reliving the attack, Davey said it was completely unprovoked and unsuspecting. “Two men passed me in their motored boat and set up the ambush just around a prominent bend of the river, that I was about to reach and I literally paddled into line of sight of the shooter and was shot, without knowing what was happening. The first shot knocked me off my kayak into the water and I received two more shots to the head as I swam to shore and reached solid ground.
It was only on the third shot that I realised that I had actually been hit, although, at that time I had no idea who was shooting at me. Eventually one of the men came motoring up the river to asses the situation and that was when I realised who had shot me. I instinctively took off running into the jungle, where I received one last shot to the thigh,” he said.
The former Atholton Primary School pupil said he went through several stages of hopelessness and the desire to give up, but managed to find members of a community who took him into their village.
When asked why he’d chosen the title Choosing To Live, Davey replied that the title relates to a certain and crucial part of the attack.
“Once I had been shot and managed to get away, I reached this point of complete hopelessness and despair, collapsing into the mud and wanting to give up living, as I thought I would never make it out of the jungle alive. I then came to the conclusion that if I wanted to live and find a way out of this jungle, it would be my choice. I could not expect anyone to save me if I wasn’t prepared save myself,” he said.
Davey, who is no stranger to adventure, cycled from Egypt to South Africa in 2011 and is planning a new adventure which is in the pipeline. “Personally, adventure represents an avenue for a multitude of varied experiences and is more my way of getting out of my comfort zone to further my understanding of the many systems governing humanity and nature.
“My vision is not to inspire more adventurers; it is rather to inspire a society of more compassionate, understanding, fulfilled and accepting individuals, both young and old,” he said.
