Robberg Rescue Ends in Relief After Runner’s Fall

Photo Credit: NSRI (Station 14 Plettenberg Bay) via Facebook

A Saturday run at Robberg Nature Reserve took an unexpected turn when a young Durban visitor was injured on the trail. But thanks to the calm, coordinated efforts of NSRI Plettenberg Bay, she was safely brought off the reserve and onto the road to recovery.

Plettenberg Bay, South Africa (12 August 2026) – What began as a long-weekend run with friends at Robberg Nature Reserve turned into a carefully coordinated rescue after a 20-year-old woman from Durban fell and was injured near Fountain Shack.

NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew were activated after reports of an injured female on the Robberg Nature Reserve hiking trail came in. An NSRI crewman, who was on the island at Robberg at the time, reached the woman and found that she had fallen while running with local friends she was visiting over the long weekend.

According to NSRI Plettenberg Bay coxswain John Bozman, her injuries were stabilised while the team considered how best to bring her safely off the trail. Because heavy sea conditions made extraction by rescue craft challenging, the crew initially considered securing her to a stretcher and carrying her to the car park.

However, with the carry-hike expected to take considerable time, NSRI crew investigated possible landing points at East Beach, Island Beach and Agterstrand to determine whether a rescue craft could be brought ashore. After assessing the options, the team decided that an extraction from the scene by rescue craft would be the safest and most effective route.

Additional NSRI crew responded to the NSRI Plettenberg Bay Station 14 rescue base, where the rescue craft Spirit of Pilatus and Rescue Plett were launched. Despite challenging sea conditions, with 2 to 3 metre swells and 15-knot south-westerly winds, the crew safely beached at Robberg Nature Reserve and deployed a Stokes basket stretcher to the scene.

The woman was secured in the stretcher, carried to the rescue craft and brought safely to the NSRI rescue base without incident. She was then transported to hospital by her friends, where she received medical treatment and was later released with no further medical care required.

Thanks to the calm teamwork of the NSRI crew and the support of her friends, a frightening fall ended with relief and the woman safely on the road to recovery.