Tzaneen woman attacked by crocodile, survives
"All that I can remember is the pain" - Woman tells the tale of surviving a crocodile attack.
On 11 March 2019, a Port Elizabeth man explained to Martin Bester how he narrowly escaped with his life after being taken by a whale. Yes, a whale!
Rainer Schimpf, 51, was on a trip with a tour operator which takes tourists on a once-in-a-lifetime whale watching adventure in Algoa Bay.
This was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime affair as Schimpf was filmed with his legs hanging out of a whale’s mouth!
READ: Alive to tell the tale: SA man almost swallowed by whale
Martin Bester then asked the Jacaranda FM listeners if something similar has happened to them before.
A woman from Tzaneen said that all she can remember is the pain of when she was attacked by a crocodile. "My brain shut down everything else. We grew up there in the Hoedspruit area. It happened a few years ago. We used to visit our uncle’s farm."
"How did you survive to tell the tale?" Martin Bester asked intrigued.
Elmarie said: "They had to shoot the crocodile and people jumped in the river to try to help me. Some of my friends tried to get the crocodile from me. It was very difficult. When it took me under the water I thought there was no chance. You just realise the power of God."
How does that change your perspective on life? Would you swim in a river again?
"I love adrenaline. You realise what a privilege you have to change your story. I probably had 38 operations afterward. The had to move me from Hoedspruit to Polokwane and then to Pretoria."
Elmarie said she is grateful she could live to tell the story.