“It was pretty scary, I nearly jumped out of the boat . . . but that wouldn’t have been a good idea,” Grant Turnbull told The Ridge Online, after he and his dad Graeme Turnbull had a close encounter of the terrifying kind with a crocodile in the Umgeni River last Thursday.
Graeme and Grant were paddling in the area around the N2 bridge about 5km from the finish area at Blue Lagoon, when Grant’s paddle struck something hard in the water. The pair were horrified to find it was a crocodile. “To be honest the poor beast was probably more scared than we were, because it immediately swam off and ducked for cover. But still, it was quite a moment,” said Grant.
Grant, a chiropractor who has been working for a practice in Umhlanga, said while he’s spotted leguaan and snakes in the river before, this was definitely the first time he’d seen a croc. “It adds a certain excitement to the event,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m not sure I want to see a croc again.”
He said he “wouldn’t think twice” about getting into the water again. The former DHS pupil has completed 11 races while Graeme has finished 21.
Three crocodiles have been reported in the Blue Lagoon area in recent times. Grant said they measured 1.5m, 1.8m and 2.3m in length and he believes the reptile they spotted was probably the 1.8m animal.
Spokesman for the Unlimited Dusi Canoe Marathon’s organisers, Ray de Vries, told The Independent on Saturday that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife officials were trying to catch the crocodiles.
He urged paddlers in training for the big event, on from February 17 to 19, to be vigilant, and report any crocodile sightings to info@dusi.org.za or contact the number 083 900 7175.
Meanwhile Graeme and Grant continue their preparations, in search of Dusi finishes number 22 and 12 respectively. – Ridge Correspondent. (Note the reptile pictured is not the exact animal encountered by the Turnbulls)