Dusi new peak for Everest man
2004-01-22 22:58
Pietermaritzburg - Sibusiso Vilane, who became the first black mountaineer to scale Mount Everest last year, says that paddling the Dusi canoe marathon "is like scaling new heights".
"I cannot swim," said Vilane after finishing the first 41km stage with experienced paddler Oscar Chalupsky on Thursday. "So this is new territory for me.
"Today was the first time I had ever got into a boat except for a photo shoot at Camp's Drift on Wednesday when we paddled about 50 metres. I was terrified because I had no idea about the depth of the water. But after the first ten minutes (after shooting the Ernie Pierce Weir) I got the hang of it and started to enjoy myself.
"It was really fantastic. Oscar is a very good paddler. I knew that the principal of climbing Everest is not to fall and I put everything into that in the boat."
"We didn't swim once," said Chalupsky, whose celebrity passengers have included soccer ace Doctor Khumalo and boxing champion Baby Jake Matlala. "Sibusiso is the best celeb I've taken down the river."
Competition among the celebrities got off to an intense start with former Comrades Marathon champion Shaun Mieklejohn - sporting a chubby pair of cheeks - striking the first blow against Comrades ace Bruce Fordyce, with a comfortable lead on the first day.
"Tell Bruce we'll see him after our shower and lunch," grinned Mieklejohn.
"It's still two days to go," countered Fordyce, as he waddled off carrying the rear of his boat to the pound with his partner. "Let's wait and see."
- SAPA