Conservationist Dirk Engelbrecht is a hero

If nothing else, the past two years have highlighted how many selfless people live in South Africa.

In contrast to the greed and corruption we hear about daily, we have many unsung heroes.

Fighting the pandemic, doctors, nurses, teachers and countless others have put the lives of others before theirs. A natural disaster hits and good people put their hands up to help.

One such person is conservationist Dirk Engelbrecht, CEO of Wild Serve, who survived a 20-hour ordeal stranded in the Vaal River after his kayak was flipped during the floods this week.

ALSO READ: Night of terror: Conservationist spends 20 hours in middle of flooded Vaal river

Engelbrecht and a team of professional kayakers and experts rescued 50 eggs and baby birds from an island on the river.

But the rescue effort was dangerous and after saving the eggs and delivering them to a facility in Krugersdorp, Engelbrecht and two colleagues returned to see if they could find more birds nests.

This time, his kayak collided with a tree, flipped over and he was forced to find safety. He spent nearly 20 hours hanging onto a tree, watching the water gush beneath him, before he was rescued the next day.

He said: “I couldn’t sleep, if I did I would fall into the rapids. If you sleep, you are dead. The last six hours I had to talk to keep myself awake.”

Selfless acts like Engelbrecht’s are not uncommon in South Africa. Take a bow, kind sir.