THE group of travellers stopped for a water break – tired, thirsty and hot from the relentless Mpumalanga sun. The experienced trail guide leading them was familiar with the Metsi-Metsi River and the surrounding area and felt comfortable to head towards the river to fill his water bottle.
But on his third scoop Mark Montgomery came face to face with one of the world’s deadliest predators – and a split second after he saw the crocodile, the beast clamped its jaws around his hand.
“I looked and the crocodile’s head was dead still under the water,” Mark (51) recalls. “There wasn’t even
