Not even the French army, sharks or being stung by jellyfish thousands of times could stop two Capetonians from swimming from Mozambique to Madagascar.
Thane Williams and Jonno Proudfoot swam the 459km in 24 days to raise awareness and funds for the Cipla Miles for Smiles charity.
The charity helps Operation Smile to pay for corrective surgery on children born with cleft lips or palates.
Williams and Proudfoot, both 29, swam three times a day. The salt water left their mouths so raw that eating was difficult, especially warm or spicy food.
Dealing with sharks, whales and dolphins was nothing compared to the relentless jellyfish.
"We were stung thousands of times. That was the hardest to deal with - a sting a minute. There was some swelling but staying in the water helped with that," said Williams.
The first time they spotted a shark they were nervous but carried on. Visibility in the water was good and often creatures would swim up to them just out of curiosity.
"It is a privilege to be out in the ocean. We viewed it like that and made the most of it ... we probably didn't see half of the things that saw us," said Williams.
En route to South Africa, after completing the swim, they decided to snorkel off the island of Juan de Nova. Attempts to find out if anyone was on the island were unsuccessful so they swam ashore and walked straight into a French military base.
Though the soldiers were friendly they detained their unexpected guests for a few hours. Mugshots were taken on the beach.
But after the base commander had contacted the authorities in Paris the swimmers were told that they were free to go.
Proudfoot, a chef, wrote a cook book, The Real Meal Revolution, with Professor Tim Noakes and R5 from the sale of each book will be given to Operation Smile.
"Life can be a tough and complicated place for kids of today and not being able to smile shouldn't limit their experience of the world," said Williams.
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