A crocodile attack at one of Weipa’s most popular wet season swimming holes wasn’t enough to deter some people.
Just days after Isaac Adidi was grabbed by a saltwater croc at Vyce’s Crossing, swimmers were spotted having a good time just metres from the attack site.
Mr Adidi said he considered himself both “lucky and unlucky” to be grabbed by the croc on Sunday, January 31.
“I had been swimming there for four days the week before,” he told Cape York Weekly.
“So I think I’m unlucky that it was me who got attacked, but lucky to be alive.”
Rangers from the Department of Environment and Science flew to Weipa last week to track the croc in an attempt to shoot it.
Permission had to be sought from Rio Tinto management, as well as Traditional Owners to euthanise the crocodile, estimated to be about three metres long.
Vyce’s Crossing is located on a non-operational piece of mining land and the Ely Trust are the custodians of the site.
Traditional Owners gave permission for the croc to be shot, however, authorities were unable to find it in the flooded area.
When Cape York Weekly visited the site on Wednesday, there was just a small sign near the entrance to Vyce’s Crossing, but the road was not closed.
Authorities had to scramble to close the site as the rangers set a crocodile trap in a bid to catch the predator.
Sources said that rangers were not confident of trapping the crocodile due to the terrain.
Mr Adidi said he was thankful that his partner Shawntaye Manantan and cousin were with him when the attack happened.
“We literally couldn’t do anything but watch what was happening and it happened so fast,” Ms Manantan said.
“We ran and dragged him up (the bank) and the croc was coming with its mouth open.”
They drove him to Weipa Hospital for treatment on his gouged hand and back before he was flown to Cairns on Monday morning for surgery.
Mr Adidi said he would go swimming again, but “not for a while”.
This article appeared in Cape York Weekly, 8 February 2021.
