A KAYAKING journey spanning the length of the Murray River has had a shaky start, with two participants involved in a rescue spanning nearly 10 hours.
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He lives with a terminal lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and is trying to raise awareness of the condition and other lung diseases.
Mr van Nierop set off from Albury on Saturday, with friend David Glen travelling behind in a support boat, but soon ran into trouble.
Mr Glen’s boat became snagged, leading to him splitting up with Mr van Nierop and a call to emergency services.
Albury and Border Rescue Squad deputy captain Paul Marshall said volunteers had struggled to launch their boat due to low river levels and muddy ramps.
They eventually managed to retrieve Mr Glen and his vessel before realising Mr van Nierop also needed assistance.
His phone had died, but the 64-year-old managed to send out a text message seeking help between Howlong and Corowa.
“We located him ashore on a little bit of a beach,” Mr Marshall said.
“He had been there a little while after becoming disoriented.
“He was very cold and very wet.
“We had thankfully passed a group of campers a bit further up the river.
“They had a very welcoming fire that we all got to stand by to defrost, and gave us a location to call the ambulance to.”
About seven millimetres of rain was recorded in Albury on Saturday with strong wind gusts.
Mr van Nierop, who has 53 per cent lung capacity, was taken to Corowa hospital and stayed overnight.
He is continuing on with the journey, which is expected to take 42 days.
He has already reached half of his $100,000 fundraising goal.
The Queensland man said lung disease was responsible for one in seven deaths in Australia, but he didn't want to let his condition hold him back.
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