Beware - Message posted on Facebook .......
"Greetings all,
Thank you for the well wishes we are both fine and injuries are minimal. I thought I would take the time to tell you what happened in hope that you would not make the same mistake as us. My dear friend Barend and I went for a two day fishing trip to Rust de Winter just north of Pretoria.
During the first day of fishing we did not catch any fish. That evening we were very tired, so after dinner we went to sleep on our mattresses next to the fire. We also fished the whole of the next day without any success. During the evening the clouds gathered and we decide that it would be a good idea to pitch the tent just in case the heavens opened. It did eventually start to rain so we left our rods out with bait, and went to sleep in the tent.
The next moment I woke up with a start to Barend screaming and scrambling in a rush to my side of the tent. I first thought that there must be something in the tent with us ... then I realised that it was impossible ... then I thought maybe Barend was having a nightmare. Once we both calmed down I asked Barend what was wrong. He said that he thought that there was something outside the tent that fell against him. I thought maybe a catfish took one of the baits and knocked the rod stand against the tent. We rushed outside to find all the rods knocked over, but not anywhere near the tent. Also there was a 2.4 m crocodile lying in the shallows in front of our camp. We did see it the day before, and I immediately realised that it was probably the croc that took one of the baits and knocked over the rods stand. After order was restored and the adrenalin subsided we returned to the tent. It was now that Barend pointed out the big gashes in the side of the tent. On further investigation Barend said that it could be crocodile teeth marks, but I assured him that crocs wont just bite a tent. So after I had a good laugh at Barend we tried to sleep again. As we got back in the tent we were still joking, saying that we should not let our feet touch the side of the tent..... hahaha ... snore ...
It was not 45 minutes later, as I was drifting away, that something latched onto my left foot and tried to drag me out of the tent. I screamed my lungs out, kicked out as hard as I could, and managed to get my foot free. I could actually see the croc through the tent gauze it still had my sleeping bag in its mouth! Fortunately Barend knew what was going on and rushed out of the tent hurling camp chairs, tent poles and other furniture at the retreating croc. Situation check: our tent has been attacked twice leaving open gashes in the canvas; once narrowly missing Barend, and now blood drawn on my left foot. WTF!? Crocs should not attack people in their tent at night! If it was not for the fact that it had to garb me through the corner if the tent (steel pole, double canvas and sleeping bag) it would have managed a better grip and dragged me off. Fortunately the pole and padding afforded protection to my foot and the injuries were minimal.
So now we had a predicament we had a sizable croc out there, definitely, and actively hunting us. We had two options: either build a barricade around our tent where it stood, or move the whole tent (in stormy and windy weather) further away from the water. Knowing that we would not get any sleep near the water we decided to move irrespective of the storm and strong winds. We managed to move the tent 300m away from the water, rationalising that the offending croc would not venture that far out of its comfort zone. Fortunately we were right and the croc never returned.
Let this be a cautionary tale to all campers and fisherman do not camp near water, and always expect the unexpected. Thank you for all the good wishes and apologies if the original post caused a scare. Tight lines and happy camping. "
Bazil Roth
