Career
He was killed after being taken by a crocodile in December 2010. Coetzee gained prominence in 2004 leading a Nile River source-to-sea expedition, following in the path of John Goddard"s expedition. Following claims that the expedition had not begun from the true source of the Nile, Coetzee"s party undertook a further journey from Kagera to Lake Victoria in April 2005, adding 750 km to the 6700 km they completed in 2004.
Coetzee was leader of an expedition going from the source of the White Nile into the Congo at the time of the attack.
The trip was the first-of-its-kind kayaking expedition from the White Nile and Congo rivers into the Congo to explore the Ruzizi and Lualaba Rivers. The two other men on the trip, Americans and also experienced kayakers, were documenting unexplored whitewater and development projects in the region.
A memorial service for Coetzee was held on 28 January 2011. The documentary short film Kadoma about Coetzee was released in 2011.
