A fishing trip took a disastrous turn when two Australians found themselves stranded out of water in a saltwater crocodile-infested riverbed.
Colin Larke, 58, and Warren Dewith, 59, were left high and dry in Victoria River, in the Northern Territory, when the tides suddenly changed about 7am on November 28.
Despite being stranded on croc-feeding grounds, the pair made the most of their situation – by sinking beers and fishing while they waited for the next high point.
Footage shows the friends didn’t let the spectacular mishap dampen their spirits, joking around boat on the boat after it ran aground.
Warren Dewith, 59, enjoys a beer after he and fisherman Colin Larke ran aground in low tide in the Northern Territory
Colin Larke (pictured) and Mr Dewith were fishing in Victoria River when the tide left them stranded in crocodile infested waters
The men said the tide went out just as they were about to head home, and were stranded for nine hours
Colin, who hails from Adelaide but was in the Top End for a fishing trip, said: ‘We’d just finished exploring a few different creeks around the mouth of the river.
‘When we decided to head back, the tides dropped. The water is coffee-coloured, so it’s very hard to tell how deep it is. We thought it was the middle of the river.
‘Suddenly we were high and dry, there were no other boats in sight. It was about 40 degrees, and there’s crocs in the area. Luckily they were smart enough to go to the deeper waters.
‘We just took some beers up to a pond and caught a bunch of barrumundi, then we waited around for listening to music.’
‘We just took some beers up to a pond and caught a bunch of barrumundi, then we waited around for listening to music,’ Mr Larke said
The fishing boat was left waiting for the tide to return as the men went fishing in a nearby pond
The friends were caught out for about nine hours – and fortunately they didn’t exhaust their well-stocked esky during the wait.
Colin said it wasn’t the first time the mates had been caught out on the remote river – they were bogged down there about a decade ago.
But he was confident this time they had learned their lesson to keep on the deeper side of the river next time around.
‘They say the time and tide waits for no man, and that certainly was the case that day. We know to keep on the deeper side of the river if we go back.
‘There was not a lot we could do We just decided, “s**t happens”, we just had a few beers and a laugh.’