Is Rolf's Place A Disaster Waiting To Happen?

Over the weekend, a couple of friends and I went to Rolf's Place. The resort is located on the outskirts of Ongata Rongai. To access it, you have to leave your car and cross a suspended wooden bridge about 40 meters long to the other side of the gorge.

If you are scared of heights crossing it can be a nightmare especially when you get to the middle where the winds are strong swaying the bridge sideways. One misstep could send you plummeting down to the huge boulders below.

From outside the establishment looks grand, however, my excitement died the moment we got to the restaurant next to the swimming pool the shape of three joined circles.

No food was available, the waiters were so few and service is simply pathetic. I decide to change and jump into the pool.

To my surprise, there are no markings separating the deep end from the shallow end or an indication of their respective depths. There are lots of kids swimming on one end so I get into the other. A half-hour later I decide to take a break.

As I’m getting out of the pool I see some guy in red sweatpants pointing to the other side of the pool, horror clearly written all over his face. I turn around to see what is happening.

What I see shocks me to the core. A boy about 5-years-old, head completely submerged is struggling to get to the surface water gasping for breath. About fifty adults are standing on the side of the pool watching the young boy fight for his life without lifting a finger to help.

I lurch forward half-running half-swimming. I managed to get to the boy, scoop him out of the water and carry him shoulder high to the side of the pool to administer first-aid. Luckily, I got to him in time. He is conscious, just a little shaken. Soon enough his breathing normalizes.

All this time no lifeguard or guardian comes to check on the recuperating boy. A woman whom I thought was the mother only came to like 5 steps then went back to her table and took a long swig from her beer bottle. The rest of the spectators went back to minding their business.

Less than 10 minutes later another kid slips into the deep end, this time her mother jumps in fully clothed and saves her daughter.

This incident has preoccupied my thoughts since then. Due to the absence of a clear distinction between the shallow end and deep end kids could easily slip into the wrong end and drown.

Why would Rolf’s Place fail to have a lifeguard present in a public pool or at least a sign warning that it is unsupervised? Who and where were the boy’s parents? Why were they not concerned about their child’s safety as he went back into the pool soon after recovering? How safe is the suspension bridge?

Dear parents, please don’t let your kids go swimming without the company of a responsible adult!

Written By Mark Maish [Lifestyle Bloggerwww.markmaish.com]

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