Land Meets the Sea

I decide to move the dinghy the short distance downstream to the original launch location so we can drag it up the mud-bank and have it out of the water before the tide surges. We grab the camera gear out of the boat and I suggest that Kate run the gear up to the camp. I don’t wish to leave the boat where it is given that the tide will soon surge. Kate’s a little worried about the croc hanging around the boat but I assure her that he’s okay as I’ll be in the boat and he’s not! Famous last words. I re-board the Kimberley Warrior II and within a few seconds hit sandbars again in the middle of the inlet. It’s about now things turn really pear shaped. I grab a paddle and push off the sandbar and move downstream in the middle of the channel to what looks to be in line with our original launch location. I swing the boat around in preparation to start moving toward the shoreline. Sandbar again. Damn. I now hit a bit of a problem. Tidal bore comes through. I look over my left shoulder. Not a pretty sight! The Kimberley Warrior II is taking on water over the left stern. I’ve got a few issues I decide. # 1. It’s pitch black. # 2. There’s a truck load of crocs around (some of the biggest in the Kimberley at that). # 3. Crocs eat people. # 4. I’m 50 – 60 metres from the bank. # 4. The water will be neck deep for much of the way in between the sandbars. #5 Crocs eat people in water. # 6. How to solve problems 1 – 6. Hmmmm. I gun the motor as a desperate last resort. To no avail. Bow in the air. I’m waist deep in water. Things turning pear-shaped big time. We’ve got a situation to attend to. This is serious: real serious; lizard serious. Motor’s going glug glug glug. Uncle Hughey hits the bale. I’m now neck deep in water. There’s no fear. Just adrenalin. I turn for a brief instant. Do I go back for the boat? Too dangerous I decide. I figure that things are out of my control now. I’ve read many stories of croc attacks to know how they all happen. All I can control is my forward momentum. I surge forward, but I’m expecting to be decapitated at any instant by a croc powering out of the water. All the crocs that we have seen, plus all the activity with the sandbars will have triggered their interest. It’s dinnertime at the zoo. The question is whether they feel like Uncle Hughey for dinner! The sand and the water are both silver. I can’t make out the bank. About ten metres out, it looks as though I have another fifty metres to go. I’m not going to make it. Still not scared. Just fatalistic. If it happens it happens. Out of my control. Five metres out I fall into a hole. Completely submerged. A second or so later I fall onto the mudbank and crawl up on hands and knees. Safe, nearly. I scramble up a little further to get a few metres away from the water. Now I am safe. Kate is in shock. I’d not heard her….I’m covered in mud. We … then swing around for the final irony. The dinghy is overturned. A croc is gnawing on the overturned hull. Hmmmm….

 

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An exclusive selection of Hugh’s images are available as Limited Edition fine prints. These prints are produced on Fujiflex Crystal Archive paper because it produces the finest finish and claims the highest archival permanence of any colour photographic enlargement paper available. Each edition is limited to a maximum of 250 prints per image, and each image is signed, titled and numbered by Hugh. These make for truly stunning additions to any home or office. Collection Prints are limited to runs of fifteen only.