‘A crocodile ate my arm – days before my wedding’

by Christina Lamb and Kristina Beanland |

Updated on17 05 2019

Five days before her Zimbabwean wedding, Zanele Ndlovu, 25, thought it would be fun to take a canoe trip with her fiancé

But the excursion went horrifically wrong when she was attacked by a crocodile.

Incredibly – despite losing her right arm – her wedding to husband Jamie Fox, 27, in May 2018 went ahead as planned .

Brave Zanele says it didn’t stop her enjoying her big day, and adds it’s helped her “see life from a different perspective”.

The couple met in April 2016 when Londoner Jamie volunteered at an AIDS clinic in Zimbabwe, where Zanele worked as an accountant.

After a two-year long-distance relationship, Jamie proposed, and they began planning their wedding in Zanele’s hometown.

As Jamie’s mum and sister were travelling to the wedding from the UK, they decided to have their honeymoon beforehand – a four-day break at Victoria Falls, which included a group canoeing trip on the Zambezi river.

“Jamie was at the front and I was at the back of the canoe,” says Zanele. “The guides mentioned there might be crocodiles, but it’s rare, so we didn’t think much of it.”

TERRIFIED

Six other couples and four guides accompanied them. They had been paddling along happily for 20 minutes when Zanele noticed something in the water.

©Getty

She says, “A crocodile popped its head up right next to me, and it took a few seconds for me to realise it was real. Before I could react, it grabbed my arm and pulled me into the river.

“I felt it bite my right arm three times. As it flipped me backwards and forwards, I was convinced I was going to die. I don’t know how I got away, but eventually the guides managed to pull me into another canoe.”

CHECK OUT the WORST bushtucker trials EVER

I'm A Celebrity 2014: The WORST Bushtucker Trials EVER!

1 of 8

Dean Gaffney (2006)

Ex-EastEnder Dean Gaffney showed off his impressive ability to yelp like an injured animal in his 2006 trial. To be fair to the man, he did have cockroaches poured on his head, put his hands in a box of biting ants and retrieve a star from a pool of baby crocodiles.

2 of 8

Gino D’Acampo (2009)

"I think I've got to eat some kind of weird stuff," commented Gino when he was told he was going to do a Bushtucker Bonanza. Yep, we guess that a fermented egg, a rhino beetle, cockroach, wittchedy grub, mealworms, beach worms and crocodile tongue might be considered 'weird'.

3 of 8

Jennie Bond (2004)

Alone, wet, cold and covered with rats. Not a situation we'd like to get in any time soon, but former Royal correspondent Jennie Bond managed to last a whole 10 minutes locked in a water and rat filled coffin by humming an upbeat tune. We salute you, Ms. Bond.

4 of 8

Joey Essex (2013)

Locked in a cold, dark, slimy tomb, we'd be freaking out if we were Joey in his 2013 task. But the TOWIE star powered through and managed to find all twelve hidden stars without uttering a single scream, only stopping to moan 'This is definitely, 100% not reem,' and to comment that the rodents were biting his 'middle parts'.

5 of 8

Mark Wright and Freddie Starr (2011)

TOWIE's Mark and hamster-eating comedian Freddie were an oddly matched pair for the 'Greasy Spoon Café' culinary battle, but the resulting Bushtucker trial has to be one of our faves. The couple was challenged to dine on a spoiled egg, blended cockroaches, mealworms and mouse tails, turkey testicles, a camel's toe and a pigs anus.

6 of 8

Martina Navratilova (2008)

Tennis pro Martina impressed us all when she shared a plastic bubble helmet with a variety of jungle critters, including grasshoppers, cockroaches, stick insects, spiders and snakes. While we shuddered and hid behind our hands, Martina took it like a champ.

7 of 8

Matt Willis (2006)

Poor Matt Willis proved he's no wimp when he munched his way to victory in his Bushtucker Bonanza challenge of 2006. The McBusted star dined out on live mealworms, witchetty grubs, a kangaroo anus and a crocodile penis. Mr Willis managed the whole lot without a single retch, commenting after 'I've got kangaroo anus in my teeth. It's a really good look.'

8 of 8

Kim Woodburn (2009)

Kim was submerged in a tank under water, while thousands of cockroaches and other critters were poured on her. As much as we did feel for clean freak Kim, her screeches of "Something's nipping my bosoms" and "It's bitten my bum!" made this trial a timeless classic.

WATCH Love Island's Megan Barton-Hanson reveals her mental health struggles

RESCUE

Zanele adds, “They tried to hide my arm from me but I could see it was only attached by a little piece of skin.”

A rescue helicopter took her to the nearest hospital but, tragically, her arm couldn’t be saved. “When the surgeon told us, everyone fell silent,” she recalls.

Two days later, the doctors were so pleased with Zanele’s progress, they agreed that the wedding could go ahead on the Saturday, as long as it was held in the hospital chapel.