A day at the beach: ‘I’ve had many crocodile encounters over the years but none as close’
Visiting a billabong for a Sunday afternoon fishing session, Northern Territory MLA Bill Yan found himself stranded up a tree with a giant reptile glaring at him.
I grew up on the river flats around Wangaratta in Victoria, where I fished almost daily. It was a stark contrast when I moved to Alice Springs in 1990, at 21. There’s not a lot of fishing here, so any opportunity I get to fish, I grab it. I keep a fishing rod in my Darwin office for such occasions.
I’ve marshalled at the Barra Classic on the Daly River for the last nine years. I’ve had many crocodile encounters over the years, but none as close as on Sunday 9 October 2022.
It was National Gone Fishing Day, and I had a free day before parliamentary sittings in Darwin. I grabbed the rod and headed to a secret freshwater billabong, 120km away, arriving around 12.30pm. Gentleman’s hours.
‘It was a stalemate. I was calling it names, banging my rod, and throwing pieces of tree bark at it.’ Photograph: Bill Yan
I usually fish from a boat with mates here. There’s also a lot of other wildlife in the area – wallabies, buffalo, wild pigs and cattle everywhere. We’ve encountered a 5-metre saltwater male croc at the far end of the 400-metre billabong, where it’s quite overgrown. He’s nicknamed Fat Arse.
Today I was alone and knew I’d be able to catch and release a few barramundi or saratoga from the nearby front bank, which is reasonably open scrub.
I’ve never been here this late in the year. Being the end of the Dry, the water’s edge was shallow; around 20cm deep and about 5 metres from the bank. It was clear, making it much easier to spot any crocodiles.
I was following a game trail through the bush, towards the billabong. Where it narrowed, with low scrubby bushes on my left and a considerable paperbark tree on my right, a massive crocodile’s belly slide [marking] crossed the path. Upon closer inspection, I noticed animal tracks over the top, and figured the slide was old.
I took one step over the slide, and a loud noise erupted. I knew instantly what it was. Without a second thought, I jumped up the paperbark tree. At least I was off the ground. Then, I spied this rounded snout and piercing eyes glaring at me from under the bushes opposite. I began videoing it with my phone.