News24.com | A reptile dysfunction: Uber driver overcomes fear as passenger brings anaconda along for ride

KZN Uber driver Nkanyiso Sithole accepted a ride from a passenger with an anaconda.

• KwaZulu-Natal Uber driver Nkanyiso Sithole accepted a ride request from a passenger and his green anaconda. 
• The trip from Hillcrest to Waterfall cost R35.
• The driver said he always had a deadly fear of snakes, but decided to bite the bullet and drive on.   

A KwaZulu-Natal e-hailing taxi driver with a fear of snakes got the shock of his life recently when he accepted a R35 ride request from a passenger – and his slithery sidekick – for a ride from Hillcrest to Waterfall.

The passenger was well-known Discovery Channel and YouTube Wildlife presenter Dingo Dinkelman, and accompanying him was his green anaconda. 

Uber driver Nkanyiso Sithole, 32, said he received the ride request and thought that the trip to a nearby location would be "quick and easy" because he was already in the area.

Quick indeed. But easy? Definitely not.

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When he arrived to pick up his passenger, Dinkelman was already waiting for him eagerly and around his neck was the massive green anaconda.

Initially he thought his eyes must be deceiving him.

"When I drove up the road, I could see them, and I immediately stopped a few metres away from Dingo because I had to make sure I was seeing correctly. Yoh! To my shock he was standing there with this big snake around his neck."

Immediately, as his survival instinct kicked in, he reversed the car so that he could drive off. But "Dingo kept shouting for me to stop, saying he needs a ride urgently and that the snake won't bite".

He added: "He couldn't even walk properly because the snake was curled around part of his leg. He told me the snake has no venom and he would keep the snake on him at the back seat and make sure it doesn't come near me while I drive them."

A scared and hesitant Sithole said he felt sorry for Dinkelman, so he agreed to give them a ride.

But he was nervous during the entire trip and said:

He added that he was told Dinkelman was filming a video to educate people about snakes.

"He wanted to see how many e-hailing drivers would stop to transport them and apparently, I was the only one who agreed to take them."

"The crew put towels on the back seat so that the snake was comfortable and then had a camera in the car filming everything. I was very scared, but at least I conquered my fear of snakes," he added.

Dingo posted the video to his Facebook fan page and it has attracted more than 5 000 views.

According to his website, the wildlife conservationist and adventurer is an award-winning Discovery Channel and YouTube wildlife presenter. Reaching more than 3 million viewers a month, his YouTube channel is one of the fastest growing channels in South Africa.

Through his videos, he aims to create a lasting connection between people and animals in the hope that the connection can help save them.

"Our mission is to get animals into people's hearts, and sometimes the best way to do that is to actually take the animals directly into people's lives," Dinkelman told News24.

He said he did not approach Uber about making the video.

"In order to make this video and the Uber driver's reaction as authentic as possible, we just simply ordered an Uber and waited for them to come and collect us. This way, their reaction to seeing the snake was 100% authentic and not set up," he added. 

Dinkelman has been educating people about animals for the last 20 years and still enjoys what he does.

He said:

He added that Sithole received a "healthy tip over and above their usual Uber fee".

"All of the Uber drivers had so much fun filming with us, that a few of them have actually sent us emails and messages saying that they would love to do another episode with us, because they had the time of their lives that day," Dinkelman added. 

Head of Communications for Uber South Africa, Mpho Sebelebele, said the company was aware that the video was doing the rounds on social media. 

"Uber can confirm that it was not involved in any way whatsoever with the filming of this video and it had no prior knowledge that Dingo Dinkelman would film such a video."

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"Uber encourages riders who are planning to ride with a non-service animal, to contact the driver who accepts their ride request to alert them of their non-service animal. Riders can use the app to send a text message or call to let the driver know they'd like to bring a non-service animal," Sebelebele added.

Sithole said he was not compensated for the video but after the trip was completed, Dingo gave him R100 for his willingness to be part of the video and for being "the only driver to accept the request with the anaconda".

"I did touch the snake eventually. But I was still very scared and wouldn't do it again. It was an experience I will never forget, and it made me somehow conquer my fear of snakes."