The Crocodile Hunter: The Incredible Life and Adventures of Steve and Terri Irwin by Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin Page B
Authors: Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin
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family and friends from Australia. We breezed through two days of rehearsals, dinners, and meeting with the minister. Then it was our wedding day.
The church was filled as nearly four hundred people came to wish us well. Even the minister seemed nervous as we stood ready to exchange our vows. When we were finally proclaimed man and wife, a great calm came over me and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I had made the right choice. I was joined with my soulmate for life.
The next day we prepared for our first adventure. After a whirlwind tour of Oregon, we headed back to Australia to begin filming our first wildlife documentary. A river system in North Queensland was the scene of an age-old conflict between humans and crocodiles. If we didn’t get there quickly the situation could become critical—and it was the crocodiles that stood to lose.
Our proud parents at the wedding: my mom, Judy; Steve’s dad, Bob; me and Steve; Steve’s mom, Lyn, and my dad, Clarence.
TERRI
Chapter VII
On the Road
S teve had been teaching me about crocodile behavior at the Park, but now I was about to embark on my first real experience with crocodiles in the bush. I was excited, but also a little nervous as we headed out.
We arrived at Camp Chilli in time to set up camp. There were six of us on this film shoot: the director, cameraman, soundman, Wes Mannion (Steve’s best mate and one of our Park staff ), and of course myself and Steve. We were well prepared for the tropical evening with a good supply of mosquito repellent. I have to admit that the mossies were most impressive: they positively seemed to drink the stuff. Not only did they seem immune to bug spray, they were able to bite through anything. Even the lawn chairs! And there were millions of them.
Through the night I listened to the sounds of koalas courting, fruit bats fighting, and herds of pigs moving around close to camp. Being a bit nervous about leaving the tent, I was eager to grab the dunny roll and find a nice, private bush first thing in the morning. I did not, however, expect to have to share my spot. Much to my shock I nearly stood on a huge, shiny snake. I must have startled him as much as he scared me because he reared up, flattened his neck, and hissed. I lost all thoughts of having to relieve myself.
Steve came running when he heard me yelling for help and the cameraman was right on his heels. Having heard so many stories of Australia’s taipan, I was sure that this was the snake I had disturbed. Steve assured me that it actually was a red-bellied black snake. Still quite venomous, but not as deadly as the taipan. So, dunny roll still in hand, I watched as Steve moved the huge snake safely away from our camp. It wasn’t a terribly glamorous way to begin our filming, but it sure got my heart going! I also found it incredibly romantic to have my husband actually save my life on our honeymoon.
After recovering from that little heart starter, we got down to business. We had a job to do and that was locating and rescuing a large crocodile that was making local residents a bit nervous. We spent hours searching the river system for signs of the crocodile’s presence. I was amazed to learn that, in spite of the wealth of wildlife living on the river, we’d have to film for hours on end just to get enough footage to edit down to a one-hour program.
The turning point on this trip came when we discovered that someone had beaten us to the big crocodile and had shot him dead. That evening we even discussed going home. But with other large crocodiles in the area, most of them female, we knew that they, too, would be in jeopardy. It became a race against time. We would have to try to relocate the dead crocodile’s mate before the shooters got to her. Everyone’s spirits lifted a bit as we tried to focus on our new goal instead of the tragedy we’d just witnessed.
The reality of the situation was that it could take weeks or even months to catch her. She would
The church was filled as nearly four hundred people came to wish us well. Even the minister seemed nervous as we stood ready to exchange our vows. When we were finally proclaimed man and wife, a great calm came over me and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I had made the right choice. I was joined with my soulmate for life.
The next day we prepared for our first adventure. After a whirlwind tour of Oregon, we headed back to Australia to begin filming our first wildlife documentary. A river system in North Queensland was the scene of an age-old conflict between humans and crocodiles. If we didn’t get there quickly the situation could become critical—and it was the crocodiles that stood to lose.
Our proud parents at the wedding: my mom, Judy; Steve’s dad, Bob; me and Steve; Steve’s mom, Lyn, and my dad, Clarence.
TERRI
Chapter VII
On the Road
S teve had been teaching me about crocodile behavior at the Park, but now I was about to embark on my first real experience with crocodiles in the bush. I was excited, but also a little nervous as we headed out.
We arrived at Camp Chilli in time to set up camp. There were six of us on this film shoot: the director, cameraman, soundman, Wes Mannion (Steve’s best mate and one of our Park staff ), and of course myself and Steve. We were well prepared for the tropical evening with a good supply of mosquito repellent. I have to admit that the mossies were most impressive: they positively seemed to drink the stuff. Not only did they seem immune to bug spray, they were able to bite through anything. Even the lawn chairs! And there were millions of them.
Through the night I listened to the sounds of koalas courting, fruit bats fighting, and herds of pigs moving around close to camp. Being a bit nervous about leaving the tent, I was eager to grab the dunny roll and find a nice, private bush first thing in the morning. I did not, however, expect to have to share my spot. Much to my shock I nearly stood on a huge, shiny snake. I must have startled him as much as he scared me because he reared up, flattened his neck, and hissed. I lost all thoughts of having to relieve myself.
Steve came running when he heard me yelling for help and the cameraman was right on his heels. Having heard so many stories of Australia’s taipan, I was sure that this was the snake I had disturbed. Steve assured me that it actually was a red-bellied black snake. Still quite venomous, but not as deadly as the taipan. So, dunny roll still in hand, I watched as Steve moved the huge snake safely away from our camp. It wasn’t a terribly glamorous way to begin our filming, but it sure got my heart going! I also found it incredibly romantic to have my husband actually save my life on our honeymoon.
After recovering from that little heart starter, we got down to business. We had a job to do and that was locating and rescuing a large crocodile that was making local residents a bit nervous. We spent hours searching the river system for signs of the crocodile’s presence. I was amazed to learn that, in spite of the wealth of wildlife living on the river, we’d have to film for hours on end just to get enough footage to edit down to a one-hour program.
The turning point on this trip came when we discovered that someone had beaten us to the big crocodile and had shot him dead. That evening we even discussed going home. But with other large crocodiles in the area, most of them female, we knew that they, too, would be in jeopardy. It became a race against time. We would have to try to relocate the dead crocodile’s mate before the shooters got to her. Everyone’s spirits lifted a bit as we tried to focus on our new goal instead of the tragedy we’d just witnessed.
The reality of the situation was that it could take weeks or even months to catch her. She would
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