Athletes Tackle 9 Rivers to Highlight SA’s Water Problems

In a bid to highlight the deteriorating state of South African rivers, a small group of athletes working under the name Rivers for Life have set out to swim between 100-350 kilometres along each of nine waterways throughout the country.

In October, Henko Roukema and Andrew Chin will tackle the second of the nine extreme swims, along the Berg River in the Western Cape from source to mouth, a distance of 294 kilometres, in about 10 days.

Their goal is to raise awareness about the urgent need to act to save the country’s water resources…swimming through water that is sometimes so unclean that farmers reportedly won’t let their cattle drink from it.

In January Chin and fellow swimmer Toks Vivier swam the first river, the Wilge in the Free State, a swim of approximately 200 kilometers that took them 10 days.

It was the first time ever that this swim had been tackled, and the swimmers faced challenges like sewerage overflows in the Harrismith area.

“Our challenges included raw sewerage running into the river in at least two places, numerous tree blockages in the higher reaches, shallow water in places, and submerged rocks and branches,” said Chin, adding that Vivier cut himself badly and needed stitches and antibiotics.

Add to that rain and thunderstorms, as well as navigation hiccups…one evening the swimmers lost their land support crew for five hours!

Nevertheless, the swimmers remain clear on their mission.

“The general pollution of this river by, among others, fertilizers and general run-off, is also a big contributor to the deteriorating state of this river,” Rivers for Life said in a statement.

By swimming in one river in each of the nine provinces of South Africa, Rivers for Life hopes to stimulate action and discussion between the authorities, communities and general public…in order to save these vital water sources in South Africa before it’s too late.

“Our rivers are dying, let’s help,” they say.