Hendrik "Hendri" Coetzee (c. 1975 – 7 December 2010) was a South African outdoorsman and author.
He was killed after being
taken by a crocodile in December 2010.
Coetzee gained prominence in 2004 leading a Nile River source-to-sea expedition, following in the path of
John Goddard's expedition. The expedition set off from Lake Victoria in Uganda on 17 January, reaching Khartoum on 25 March and the Mediterranean Sea at
Rosetta
Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...
on 21 May. The purpose of the trip was to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in the region in partnership with
CARE.
Following claims that the expedition had not begun from the true source of the Nile, Coetzee's party undertook a further journey from Kagera to Lake Victoria in April 2005, adding 750 km to the 6700 km they completed in 2004.
Coetzee was leader of an expedition going from the source of the
White Nile into the Congo at the time of the attack. The trip was the first-of-its-kind kayaking expedition from the
White Nile and
Congo river
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
s into the Congo to explore the
Ruzizi and
Lualaba River
The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi. The Lualaba is long. Its headwaters are i ...
s. The two other men on the trip, Americans and also experienced kayakers, were documenting unexplored whitewater and development projects in the region.
A memorial service for Coetzee was held on 28 January 2011.
The documentary short film ''Kadoma'' about Coetzee was released in 2011. His story was also featured in 2022 as an episode on National Geographic's ''Edge of the Unknown With Jimmy Chin.''
References
External links
the great white explorer Personal blog
Ugandan rafters conquer River Kagera14 May 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coetzee, Hendrik
1970s births
2010 deaths
Explorers of Africa
Afrikaner people
South African people of Dutch descent
South African explorers
Deaths due to crocodile attacks
South African non-fiction writers
Canoeing deaths