Australia

In 1985 I flew from Brunei to Darwin in Northern Territory, Australia. I flew on Royal Brunei Airlines, which had just started a service to Darwin.

From Darwin I hired a car and drove to Kakadu National Park. I took a riverboat trip and we had a picnic on the banks of the South Alligator River. The whole area is infested with crocodiles. I saw what looked like a log in the river but it was moving very slowly towards the river bank. I asked one of the guides what it was and he said it was a crocodile. I asked him what would happen if the crocodile came out of the water. He said: 'The first and best thing to do is climb a tree. If there are no trees, run, but don't run in a straight line because a crocodile is as fast as a horse or camel for about 100-200 metres. The croc is sure to catch you, so zig-zag. Or, if there is not enough room, run round in circles. Crocs can't zig-zag or run in circles'.

So on this holiday I learnt some very useful advice about what to do if you are ever chased by a crocodile. I'm glad to say that I've never put the advice to the test.

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