Success And Survival Tips From The Crocodile Island

five friends went on a fishing trip down the Zambesi. Their terrifying story dramatized recently on UK Channel 4 program.

Arthur Taylor and Alistair Gellatly, two experienced safari guides, planned trip. They did not foresee problems.

Fay Taylor, Arthur's English wife, and her parents, Clive and Brenda Kelly went with them. Brenda did not want to go, but finally agreed that this is the last day of their visit to Zambia.

has almost become the last day of your life.

Zambesi River is awe inspiring. This is an amazing bird life and a huge variety of wildlife, including hippos and crocodiles huge.

atmosphere is very relaxed as they floated down a river. Fay commented: "We went through so many schools and hippos were all lazing about looked so calm and gentle ."

Brenda caught fish. groups were planning to go to a shady place to celebrate when the ship was hit by a hippopotamus. All five went into the sea, a boat was capsized.

Fay commented: "My subconscious is saying: 'This is it, this is the end .'"

They had to face the fact that they were conducted by one of the largest crocodile infested river in the world.

Fay was afraid: "To reflect on my bare dangly legs - it sent a chill through me to think that every moment is now one of us can be taken by a crocodile ."

and Clive Alistair kept on board and others were swept away by currents.

Arthur managed to grab Fay and Brenda as they struggled to keep their heads above water. Fortunately, now it's the middle of the river where it was submerged island.

They reached the place where they could stand with water up to knee. However, there is still a good chance to be eaten.

Alistair decided to swim for help and was swept away three or four hundred yards down river. He swam in the inlet and feet touched the ground. He got up and saw a crocodile in the water looking at it from twenty feet away. Then submerged ominously.

Alistair described his thoughts:

"I did not quite know what to do. I decided to go for the croc and maybe chase him. I went under water to see where he was a crocodile. As I started to go for the croc, it came to me.

"It was going for my legs. I pushed him with my left hand. She was gone for a bit and then it latched straight on my right hand. It was really hard to tear my arm off. I was getting pretty weak.

"I thought it was over, but I had one last idea and reached into his mouth with my left hand to the flap that keeps water out of your throat. I came in second with my left hand, to let ."

savage attack broke Alistair arm in three places and his shoulder joint is ripped from the socket: "I was very weak, I lost a lot of blood ."

He made ​​a tourniquet to save what's left.

Fay heard him shouting "Oh My God! Oh, my God!" and thought it was just exhausted and relieved that he got to the other side. He then shouted that he was bitten by a crocodile.

Arthur said: "We were not sure whether he could survive for an hour a day alone ."

Arthur decided that he, too, must go for help. He went to Zimbabwe river. Fay told him that he would not help Alistair if he got to eat.

I realized that there were too many crocs on the bank and decided to return.

Meanwhile, Alistair moved away from the river to prevent another attack from crocodiles. He sat under a tree. the slightest movement was agony.

Clive is still stranded in the middle of the river in a boat which now began to sink. Fay saw the danger:

"My dad had no choice but to swim. If the ship sank in the night he would not have stood a chance ."

He was poor and had a swimmer in the fight against the current. Fay was terrified that the croc would take it before it is reached. To their immense relief, he reached a safe sandbank.

Alistair, on the coast, was affected by gangrene. His wound was full of bacteria from the crocodile teeth. His friend lost his leg after he had chewed the lion, although he reached the hospital within eight hours. If you did not get gangrene Alistair, the predators would.

Back in the river, any hope that they find before sunset is remote. Arthur thought about swimming to the Zambian side to see how Alistair, but Fay stopped him:

"I knew I could not bear to go and that I would not have survived without him ."

Finally, the group decided to head for Zambia as a whole coast. However, Fay could not follow through with the plan. Now, they faced the possibility of frightening night on the submerged island without hope of salvation.

They just stood shouting "Alistair!" until the sun went down and started to call hyenas. After that, if he is called back, he would attract predators nearby.

Night of the most dangerous time in the African bush and leopards, hyenas and lions can smell the scent of blood from miles away.

Arthur gathered some stones to throw at any predators. I was once late at night in Zaccur, Kenya, and noticed a pack of dogs, not far from me. Like Alistair, I picked up some stones to throw at them if they came after me.

Unlike him, I was able to walk quickly and get back to the inn. I spent the night on the porch with a guard armed with a huge knife on the other side of my porch. At least, I could lie down and nap.

Fay described conditions in the river:

"When it got dark the wind picked up and it really got cold. I was absolutely freezing and my teeth are cherry and I just can not get warm ."

Arthur agreed:

"It was very cold. You are in extreme danger because it has good chances of the crocodile will come and get the night ."

They got into the ring and huddled together. They tried to keep a lookout on all sides.

Fay described his thoughts: "We were straining to see into the water and all the time thinking about crocodiles - a huge snapping jaws and gaping mouths - it was just a scary thought ."

classes of floating vegetation looked Crocs. They hit a clump with a paddle until they realized that it was only the leaves and branches.

Back to the mainland, Alistair was concerned that he left traces of blood that will attract lions and hyenas. I have heard of grazing and looked up and saw Buffalo:

"It looked right at me. Buffaloes can be very dangerous and killed many people. For some reason it came to pass about ten meters away. I just can not believe what happened. It was like a lady guard lying - big guard ."

in the river, Fay thinks about the reality of the situation:

"the darkness all around us made ​​to understand how vulnerable you were in that huge expanse.'re nothing. Things are just beyond your control ."

Arthur, too, realized how vulnerable are:

"We knew we might not make it until morning. Fay was worried that she might never see her children again ."

They had heard the crocodile slapping its tail in the water as it came closer. They could clearly see the jagged edge of the tail. Great panic!

Arthur hit the water with paddles and Croc veered off the main stream. They are on tenterhooks after the case came second.

Alistair, on shore, he knew he should keep a watchful, but could not. He could slip into unconsciousness and be dead by morning. He simply could not keep awake.

Back to the sunken island, everyone is suffering. Arthur described his condition:

"Standing for so long, they are really tired. our backs are aching and we were freezing cold ."

Arthur wanted to sit in water that is warmer than the air above it.

Fay said ... "I can not sit down because you will get wet, then cold and get hypothermia We've just got to get over it we have two children to think about it and they need us

"When it's light, it is a relief, because we had made ​​it through the night, but we were worried that Alistair has bled to death. Physically and mentally we were just exhausted ."

After almost two hours stranded in the water group were desperate. They thought it was another day, and somebody's got to get past.

They saw what looked like a white ship, but it was just a white bird flying toward them. Their hopes were shattered.

Fay commented: "We just felt helpless - completely powerless ."

Meanwhile, Alistair was awakened from sleep by safari ants gnawing viciously on his wounds:

"It is a pain like needles all over the place especially on my hands. I realized that the ants are biting me ."

Their bites launched a wave of adrenaline that he snapped out of his unconscious and probably saved his life. Alistair I'm forced to hobble. It was not twenty-four hours of crocodile attacks.

thought he heard the sound of the ship and was assigned to the river but could not see anyone. He fell asleep on the bank, despite the danger of crocodiles. On the 'island' rest began to lose hope.

When Alistair woke up and saw a couple of boat parked on the other side of river. He could not scream and they migrated.

In the words of his friends could do nothing but await their fate, but suddenly Brenda spotted two canoes. Incredibly some canoeists had ventured this far down river. Fay and the others were ecstatic.

"They saw us and thought". What strange people fishing in the middle of the river 'I can not tell you how we felt. It was just a sense of relief. We were going to be fine. It is also still concerned with Alistair ."

Later, with a few trips back and Alistair spotted on shore. They took him to safety, where they unite with others. He lived on, and even his hand was saved at the hospital.

All five survived. Arthur and Alistair still go fishing the same stretch of river. Clive and Brenda continue to visit Africa on a regular basis, but will not go fishing any morel Fay spends most of his weekends in the bush, but she rarely comes out of the river

"I always feel anxious when I got into the boat, even after all these years it was just a horrible experience, but we all survived all five of us -. ."

Several success and survival of lessons emerge from their stories.

Keep away from the lonely and dangerous areas were on the river or in town.

Keep aware of everything going on around you.

for a walk or a swim in the safest areas available.

Do not give up, when the crocodile or some other equivalent to the 'monster' grabs you! Keep fighting until you can. "Do not go gentle into that good night !"

There is safety in numbers! Watch each other back!

Be careful and aware of the night if necessary.

appreciate being able to have a good night's sleep whenever you want.

is waiting for help can sometimes be wiser than risky attempts to help themselves.

Perhaps the key lesson is to appreciate just how easy and pleasant to our life. We lie down in a comfortable, warm bed whenever they want, without worrying about the crocodiles come to eat us!

success and greater rewards are often accompanied by respect and appreciation for what we already possess.

I'll try to remember the story about the crocodile island every day and night, so I can daily enjoy the fact that I stuck in the middle of the river killer crocs all around me!