South Africa’s eastern coast is known as the Transkei, but its nickname – “the Wild Coast” – says a lot about it. Featuring the rugged Drakensburg Mountains, the area is vast, beautiful – and remote. I spent a few weeks there in 2001, and if I were going to be a hermit, this is where I’d do it. Unfortunately, for 34-year-old spearfisherman Michael Vriese, the phrase “Wild Coast” took on much more weight on Wednesday.

Spearfishing off gorgeous Coffee Bay, a shark attacked Vriese, biting his right arm. Rushed to the airport, he bled profusely, watching as the emergency air ambulance circled above the airport for more than an hour, unable to land because no one was available to switch on the runway landing lights. Finally, with the airplane running low on fuel, a local doctor, Dr. Tinus Laubscher, smashed a window and switched on the lights. The airplane landed, and whisked Vriese to Durban, where he underwent two separate surgery sessions. He’s expected to recover.

Check out IOL’s report of the attack, the account of the waiting, and the marathon surgeries, and you’ll be dumbfounded. What an adventure. And kudos to Dr. Laubscher, Divester’s Hero of the Week.