Conversations with Aussies about Crocs

Since entering the country, we have spent the majority of time traveling north along the coast of Australia. Between Cairns and Darwin, most of the stops on the mainland have been in remote or rural areas of the country, so the locals we meet are a little more rugged than typical city folk.

When arriving at an anchorage, we are usually approached by an aluminum motorboat. The first question is "G'day mate! Do you happen to know the weather for the next few days?" We answer if we know the weather and then ask about the best place to anchor. The answer is usually "where ever." Our next question is always "are there crocodiles here?" and the answer is always "yes," followed by a story of the most recent attack. We then ask "is there anything we should do to avoid the crocs?" The only advice we receive is "be careful."

Upon asking enough people, here are a few tips we have learned:

1) Don't swim in the water where there are crocs.

2) Avoid going to shore at night unless there is a dock.

3) If you have to go to a beach at night, never go to the same location more than three times. As one local in Cooktown put it: "The first time they will be scared of you. The second time they will watch you. And the third time they will eat you."

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I Caught My First Fish!

After leaving Cooktown, I decided to give fishing with the hand reel another go. I threw my line in and secured the end and then went about my day. About an hour later I checked on the line and it felt a little heavy but I dismissed it. A few minutes later the fishing line got tangled with the dingy so I decided pull the line in. On the end was a pretty big Mackerel.

I let that one go but decided to see if I could catch another one, so I reset the line and this time held onto it as I read my book. Before I could finish the first page, the line snagged. On the end? An even bigger Mackerel. Now that I know the hand reel works, my next goal is to see how big of a fish I can catch. I hear there are big Marlins around here so once again I will keep you posted.

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New Deep Sea Fishing Gear!

After arriving in Cairns, one of the first things I noticed was that there was no fishing gear on the boat. I have been following EYE from the beginning and one of my favorite stories was about catching the sailfish. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I asked the crew what happened and the answer was that fish in the Pacific were too big for their gear.

So on the last day in Cairns I walked around town until I found a tackle shop. The price of a proper reel and line for big fish was really expensive, so I decided to go the old fashioned way with a hand reel. Basically a hand reel is a long rope with a deep sea lure at the end, and instead of using a pole you reel in the fish with your bare hands. So far I have not caught anything but I will keep you posted.

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New Crew Member

Greetings from Cairns, Australia! My name is Alan Witt and I am a new crew member on board. I am replacing Alan Stewart as captain. Many of you might already know me either from visiting your school or various EYE of the World events. For the past two years I have served as chairman of the board for EYE and am excited to be joining the crew.

Many of you do not know that I have been involved with the organization since we first thought of the idea many years ago. I look forward to traveling on the WTP and sharing all my adventures with you.

Cheers!

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