Getting Out of the Gorge: Senior Hiker Rescued Against Every Odd

Photo Credit: NSRI Oyster Bay

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.”
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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!