A 74-year-old hiker trapped in the remote and not-to-be-reckoned-with Elands River Mouth was rescued against every odd that made for one of the most trying and rewarding rescues.

Eastern Cape, South Africa (28 May 2025) — Against every odd, a 74-year-old senior hiker made it out of a remote gorge in the Eastern Cape thanks to a team who took a risk to save a life.

Last month, the senior hiker had taken a fall upstream of the Elands River Mouth, Grootkrans. She had fallen and injured herself hours before she could get in touch with help. However, this would be no ordinary rescue.

When NSRI Station Commander Lodewyk Van Rensburg got the call, he immediately knew it would be tough. Getting to the Elands River Mouth is its own mission, given the limited access by road. Once you do manage to get there, you’re met with a gorge boasting steep and sharp cliffs, not to mention a surf even the most ambitious water warriors avoid. Winds are also tough, and on a bad day, fog sets stubbornly, as was the case on the day of the rescue. Not to mention, nighttime was nearing.

All of these factors betted against the hiker’s survival, and all were present the day she needed help. However, the NSRI Oyster Bay team braved it all to pull off the unthinkable, bringing her home.

According to Lodewyk, winds were blowing at 30 knots while the sea climbed to 4 metres. No helicopter support was avaliable to the rescuers, so all they could rely on was their rescue craft and their courage.

“Luckily, we caught water going in,” Lodewyk shares of how the rescuers manager to get into the gorge via crossing a sandbank.

In the gorge, the team located the fallen hiker and had to swim her toward the rescue vessel using a backboard. This, because no paramedics could accompany the rescue team given the tough terrain that was decided not to be conducive for carrying gear.

Just when things were looking up, a new issue arose that made exiting its own challenge, the boat had gotten stuck on the sandbank, prohibiting a swift goodbye to the gorge.

“We stood there for 15 minutes. I asked the crew how they felt, and they said, ‘It’s now’, recalls Lodewyk. The team timed their run between wave swells to catch the right wave and get out. “The second wave broke underneath the boat. We only just made it.”

Hope was finally tangible again as the vessel made its way 12 nautical miles to shore.

At around 9pm, the rescue of a lifetime came to its end. With landing lights set up by Ian Gray of the NSRI’s Regional Operations Support Committee, light quite literally shone at the end of the tunnel.

The hiker was suspected to have spinal injuries and hints of hypothermia. However, her chances of survival were hugely influenced by the work of the brave people who risked their own safety that day.

“To be quite honest, I think the risk that we took was very high,” Lodewyk said of heading out into the gorge. “But when the doctor told us that if we hadn’t taken her out that night, she may not have made it — it kind of changed the whole perspective.”

This rescue is considered one of the most demanding rescue operations in recent times for NSRI Station 36 Oyster Bay. But, it should also be considered one of their proudest!

Sources: NSRI 

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Karoline Hanks will soon turn Chapman’s Peak into her own Everest Challenge as she attempts to tackle Chappies a whopping fourteen times to support a community project bettering and beautifying Noordhoek!

Cape Town, South Africa (22 April 2025) — Karoline Hanks is bringing Everest to Cape Town—at least, in essence. While the intrepid local certainly won’t be importing the snow-topped marvel Southward anytime soon (especially not in this economy), she will be emulating the challenge of summiting Everest’s magnificent height (8,849m) in the pursuit of a better and more beautiful Noordhoek.

To turn her time on Chappies into an occasion worthy of a flag on Mount Everest, Karoline is planning to ascend and descend the peak a whopping fourteen times this July.

This effort is the ossification of her love for Project Noordhoeked—a non-profit community project founded by Karoline.

The project serves both individuals and the community, supporting employment while keeping Noordhoek green, tidy, and gorgeous.

The team that make up Project Noordhoeked care for the area in all sorts of ways; including building boardwalks and infrastructure like benches out of eco bricks (and maintaining them); landscaping gardens at Noordhoek Beach, maintaining Kakapo (the famed wire whale), clearing invasive plant species, collecting litter and managing an ever-expanding compost centre with waste from the local eateries.

Karoline’s Chappies’ moment, then, is a bold commitment to funding the project’s future endeavours and its longevity.

In a statement shared as part of her crowdfunding campaing, Karoline shared:

“I intend raising funds to ensure the continuity of our project, and in focusing attention on clearing the ever-growing Rooikrans forest on the slopes of Chapman’s Peak, which is where the Everesting Challenge is to be attempted.” 

Though the summits are still months away, support for the effort has already begun. You can contribute to the Everesting Challenge, here. 

Sources: BackaBuddy

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Emile Conrad has made South Africa blaze with pride thanks to his bronze win at the World Firefighter Games where he ranked in the top 20 of the World’s Toughest Firefighter Alive list! 

Global (25 September 2024) — Representing the Garden Route and South Africa at the World Firefighter Games earlier this month was the ever-brave and famously fierce Emile Conrad.

At the games, held in Denmark this year, firefighters from around the world unite to harness their skills with medals and moments of victory in mind. The games welcome all kinds of heroes, including volunteer firefighters, full-time veterans, bush firefighters and military personnel amongst others, who all compete in different challenges from stair running to indoor rowing.

No stranger to the games or glory, Emile has won the title of South African Toughest Firefighter Alive numerous times before (he still holds the title) and has represented SA in the World Firefighting Games, too.

This year, Emile made South Africa blaze with pride thanks to his bronze win at the Games! Emile competed in the 40-44 age category and came hot in third, claiming bronze for his exceptional performance that also placed him in the top 20 of the World’s toughest Firefighter Alive ranking (he placed 14th!).

“By the grace of God and strength, I could improve on my personal best times and achieved one Gold medal in my age category, as well as being placed the third best overall of 2:57 for the 1000m row,” remarked Emile. 

“The challenge demanded skill, strength, and endurance to push through against the best competitors in the World in a rapidly growing sport,” he shared.

The senior firefighter has returned home to an immensely proud country where he continues to inspire future generations of firefighters.

Sources: Garden Route District Municipality 

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Phoenix is a hero dog who protected her family by bravely scaring off home intruders; suffering being shot at during the ordeal. However, like her name, she will rise from the ashes of this situation thanks to another set of heroes!

Pretoria, South Africa (28 September 2023) — Phoenix the hero dog’s name couldn’t suit her any better. And just like the fictional creature, the brave dog recently rose from debris of her own after her bravest pursuit—protecting her family from intruders.

The Motalane family and their Phoenix experienced a lot of trauma recently following an attempted armed robbery attack on their home.

The reason the terrible act was only attempted and not successful is thanks to Phoenix, who bravely protected her family by charging at the intruders, eventually scaring them off.

But her efforts didn’t come without battle scars. The intruders opened fire at her.

Suffering a bullet wound to the head, the brave Africanis still continued her heroic pursuit and managed to get them to flee thereafter.

Quickly thereafter, her owner Mmakgomo Motalane wasted no time in getting his four-legged hero help.

“Phoenix is our hero and deserves the best possible care to help her overcome this traumatic experience. She deserves a chance to survive this devastating incident,” Mmakgomo said, putting her trust in the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital team.

And, her trust was well placed indeed, because the team on duty were able to give Phoenix that chance!

As the University of Pretoria shares, Phoenix’s jaw had multiple fractures, requiring removal of half her jaw. Dr Anika de Witt, guided by small animal surgical specialist Dr Hermien Viljoen oversaw Phoenix expertly and soon, she was resting in the high-care ward.

Per Times Live, Dr De Witt explained that saving Phoenix was a privilege and that helping her was like piecing the family back together again because of their great love for their dog.

After her recovery, the strong girl was ready and able to go home.

A follow-up visit to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital came with further good news: the veterinary team was over the moon at her progress, and the team believes that Phoenix will rise further from her situation and live a full life.

Sources: Various (Linked Above)

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A man with a warm heart on an icy mission is running the Polar Circle Marathon in Greenland (the coldest marathon on Earth) for his non-profit! Here’s the iced tea:

Greenland (31 August 2023) — Stuart Deel-Smith will soon embark on a journey even the bravest marathoners would get chills from. As he prepares for the Polar Circle Marathon in October, AKA the coldest marathon on Earth, you’d be forgiven for wondering what possessed Stuart to do this.

The answer? A very warm heart. One that will guide him through Northern Greenland against the backdrop of the arctic desert!

Stuart is tackling the world’s coldest marathon for NGO The No Stone Foundation, of which he is a board member.

No Stone is committed to the Kalbaskraal community where they facilitate feeding schemes, a computer literacy programme, sewing classes and woodworking skills programmes as well as community garden training among collecting clothes and animal rescue collaborations.

Their work to uplift Kalbaskraal’s underprivileged isn’t possible without funding (as much as we all wish good intentions were enough to pay the bills) and so Stuart decided to do something big and icy to impact something bigger and heartwarming.

He will tackle 42.2 km in the blistering cold, past big glaciers and the ice world’s finest as part of the full marathon.

All proceeds from Stuart’s marathon are heading to No Stone, while Stuart has covered all his own costs to get to Greenland and back home.

You can support Stuart here for as little as the price of a coffee!

Sources: Tim Barry; No Stone

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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When a fire broke out in Johannesburg’s Craighall suburb, Koshiek Karan responded to the call of the community and helped put out the fire to protect his neighbours.

Craighall, South Africa (11 August, 2023) — Koshiek Karan is not a firefighter. But, when flames threatened his community in Joburg’s Craighall suburb, his inner hero shone through. The brave neighbour was willing to go the extra mile for his neighbourhood’s safety, risking his own in the matter!

Two weeks ago, a fire had broken out in a multi-storey warehouse positioned adjacent to people’s homes. Koshiek, who lives in the neighbourhood, had returned home from the movies and was spending the Friday evening in when he heard a nearby window break and knew there was trouble.

“Within minutes there were loud explosions, trees set alight and a roof collapsing on itself,” Koshiek recalls to Good Things Guy.

Leaping to action, Koshiek’s first instinct was to get pets and children to safety, followed by other neighbours.

“The strategy was to get as many people as far away from the fire as possible,” he explains.

He called for professional backup from the City of Joburg’s Emergency Management Services who were soon hot on the case.

However, large trees had started to catch fire; threatening the nearest homes. At that moment, Koshiek recalls that he had to act decisively.

Instead of looking on, he joined forces with the firefighters as a brave neighbour so that the flames could be contained faster.

“I grabbed a fire extinguisher, unrolled the building fire hose & got to work. We managed to contain the fire long enough for first responders to arrive & continued through the night to help douse the flames in various parts of the building.”

It took around 3-4 hours for the fire to be contained, but Koshiek and the firefighters were commited to the cause.

“Think of it like a braai from hell,” Koshiek laughs.

His efforts have earned him the reputation of a neighbourhood hero, but for him, the EMS workers are the real deal.

“Our emergency workers are the real heroes. They’re often stretched incredibly thin, severely underpaid and simply don’t have access to the best equipment & critical resources. Their bravery, courage & heroic efforts are recognized more than rewarded. I really hope we can collectively raise enough awareness on their struggles & brave sacrifices to drive change,” he shares.

Of his brave and positive mindset, Koshiek shares a spark we can all take with us into our own lives:

“Every day we’re putting out our own fires whether it’s personal or at work, but collectively we can fix anything together. There’s a powerful metaphor in that.”—Koshiek Karan, brave neighbour.

Sources: GTG Interview; Koshiek Karan

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Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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An incredible young woman battled cancer throughout her university studies. Now, she’s a new doctor whose story will inspire her patients and others not to give up.

Pretoria, South Africa (4 May, 2023)—”Being a doctor is such a privilege,” says 24-year-old Saman Akhtar, a recent medical graduate from the University of Pretoria. But, her privilege is more than just a certificate. It’s the opportunity to help lives; especially those whose resilience and bravery she knows first-hand as a cancer survivor herself.

While most students battled the expected stresses of university, Saman was on the fighting lines in more ways than one.

Early in her matric year, Saman was diagnosed with Metastatic Ewing Sarcoma to her lungs. During prelims and finals, she endured chemo for the first time, an incredibly difficult period for anyone, let alone a student trying to qualify for medicine.

But, her determined nature and hope earned her that acceptance letter. The next few years would serve as proof to herself that she could push through just about anything.

The incredible young doctor’s dreams kept her going, and provided her an unexpected escape from her world in the same breath.

“As bizarre as it sounds, studying became my escape from the reality. 

“I decided that even though I was in what seemed like a very uncontrollable stage of my life, I was still going to try to achieve everything that I had set out to do.”—Saman Akhtar.

She refused to take it easy in class, despite her situation. She shared:

“Despite having to go through chemotherapy, radiation and multiple surgeries, I did not defer classes.

“I remember having just had a session of chemo, feeling very nauseas, and then going to anatomy dissection class, where I had to bear the pungent formaldehyde smell.” 

However, something changed in 2020. While most of the world had become familiar with bad news, Saman received the best news of her life—she’d gone into remission, and has been since.

Of this chapter, Saman shared that it gave her something that’ll make her a better doctor:

“I feel like I have the experience of what some of the patients go through, and I can use my experience to motivate and inspire my future patients to not give up.”

“I remember one of my first patients in my Internal Medicine Rotation, a fear filled young man in his early twenties, who was just diagnosed with cancer (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma). I shared my cancer story with him, which gave him the courage to fight.”

She largely attributes her mindset as a doctor to her family. Her grandparents were both doctors, as is her father. Their compassion and selfless nature have inspired her to follow, and we have no doubt she’ll touch as many hearts as she does lives.

Source: The University of Pretoria 

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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A Texas woman with a rare form of cancer called sarcoma is proving even the deadly disease can’t keep her spirits down in an awesome viral video!

Ana-Alecia Ayala posted a video of her and her chemo buddy, Danielle Andrus, dancing at the Baylor Cancer Hospital in Dallas.

“Who says cancer and chemo have to get you down? We’ll have the last laugh!” Ayala wrote on Facebook. “We want to show the world that dancing and laughter is the BEST medicine.”

Ayala says she was diagnosed with uterine sarcoma and has been fighting it since Dec. 2015. Scans in July showed the cancer spread to her spleen. Since then, she’s been going through a more aggressive chemo approach. A recent September scan showed her tumor had shrunk.

“We just wanted to inspire and motivate people in my position to not see cancer as such a depressing, sad, death sentence,” she told FOX 4. “We also wanted to encourage people/loved ones/caregivers to get out of their comfort zones (as my chemo buddy Danielle did for me) and laugh, sing, dance through the pain! Laughter has really been the best medicine for me!”

Check out the awesome video below:

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Sources: Facebook | Fox

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