Swallowed by the Nile; The Life and Death of Hendrik Coetzee | Disaster Strikes

Hendrik "Hendri" Coetzee was one of the most decorated whitewater explorers in the history of African river kayaking — a South African who had paddled the length of the Nile, soloed some of the continent's most dangerous water, and built a life in places most people only read about. In late 2010, he led two world-class American kayakers on an ambitious first descent of the Lukuga River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a remote stretch of water known among local communities for something far more dangerous than its rapids. On the morning of December 7th, on a quiet, flat section of river, everything ended in seconds. This episode tells Hendri's full story — who he was, what drove him, and what his teammates witnessed that morning — drawing entirely on verified accounts, his own writing, and the documentary record left behind by the people who were there.

00:00 Disaster Strikes Intro

00:45 Congo River Cold Open

02:40 Meet Hend Kotze

03:48 Early Life And Fear

05:12 Finding The Rivers

06:00 Nile Source To Sea

09:02 Solo Murchison Run

11:18 Risk And Depression

13:33 Final Congo Expedition

17:02 Into The Laga River

18:35 Crocodile Attack