Page 111 of Lost In Kakadu

He awoke to a weird gagging sound, and it took him a moment to realise Abi was vomiting over the cliff. He crawled to her and pulled her hair back from her face. “Are you okay?”

She rested back on her heels, and he looked into her eyes. “I don’tthink last night’s frog meat agreed with me. I only just made it to the edge.”

“Well, it’s lucky you didn’t toss yourself right off.”

He helped her back to the bed and she drank a few mouthfuls of water.

“I feel better now.”

He glanced at the luggage, concerned they might now be delayed. They’d already been here six weeks, and without any further helicopter sightings Mackenzie was determined to get going again. Today was to be the day. He hoped Abi was still up to it. “Will you be okay?”

“I am now. Let’s go before the sun comes up.”

The eastern sky was already a faint orange glow kissing the land and soon the sun would shine its morning rays. With reluctance he tugged the parachute from the cave edge. They couldn’t afford to leave it behind, it may come in handy in the coming journey. He helped Abi wedge the last of their clothing into the rolling suitcase and hitched his backpack over his shoulder. “Ready?” He clipped the pack around his waist.

She looked around the cave one last time and nodded. “Ready.”

Mackenzie touched a new torch to the glowing embers, and it quickly sprang to life. They followed the now familiar tunnels to the opposite side of the cliff and stepped out on the lush grass as the sun cracked the horizon and glistened in the treetops.

The following days became a monotonous cycle of rugged walking on uneven and sometimes treacherous ground, hunting for food, making fires and finding a place to sleep. The nights were oppressive with humidity and brief but ferocious storms.

Mackenzie’s body ached, red lumps all over his skin itched mercilessly and the blisters on his feet had long ago burst open to leave angry red sores. But he couldn’t stop; the force driving him was relentless. They couldn’t live like this for much longer.

It was like a giant clock was ticking down on their lives.

The terrain changed from a vine riddled jungle, with enormous, century old trees, to fields of condensed shrubs with pointed leaves and masses of brittle branches.

Underbrush of robust grass sliced his exposed skin like razor blades, forcing him to wear long pants and long sleeves that made the alreadyunbearable heat feel worse. They walked first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon, seeking shade in between to avoid the hottest part of the day.

Mackenzie lost count of how many days they’d travelled since leaving the cave. The winding river remained a constant companion on their right-hand side, but frequent sightings of crocodile tracks stopped them from venturing into the dirty water.

So far, he hadn’t seen any of the creatures that left the enormous, clawed footprints, but he often heard their lion-like roar and gnashing teeth. He was grateful for the cargo net bed that kept them high off the ground each night.

Abi flopped down onto the ground, panting with exhaustion. “I need to rest.”

He whipped off his backpack and handed her a bottle of water. Her energy levels were significantly lower than the stamina she’d displayed when they left the wreck. Each day she needed more rest stops, and her ragged breathing was a constant reminder that malnutrition might be their demise.

Their diet mainly consisted of meat, such as snails and witchetty grubs, goanna and the occasional bird—barbequed frog had been their last meal at around noon yesterday—but their fruit intake was minimal. Kakadu Plums and bush tomatoes were a rare treat.

Mackenzie had failed to spear a young goanna the night before, despite stalking it to within two metres. His spear was off target and without any real force. His strength was leaching out of him too. Starvation would be a slow and pathetic way to die after what they’d already been through.

“Are you okay?” He sidled up next to her on the grass.

“No. I’m exhausted and hungry.”

“Mmm, me too.” Surveying their surroundings, he yearned for something of substance. “Let me hook up the bed and I’ll see what I can find.”

For once she didn’t argue and with the bed secured between two trees, he set off, marking notches in the trees as he went. Staying close to the river, wary of crocodiles, he soon came across an area where the river created a small inland eddy. The murky water swirled around in slow endless loops.

As he traced around the water’s edge, he was mesmerised by the whirlpool. A rustling noise caught his attention. He crouched down, listening. He couldn’t see the creature but hoped it was a scrub turkey or something else substantial. As he braced to creep forward, a crocodile suddenly appeared at the top of a large mound of dried mud. He froze, eyes wide, not daring to breathe.

The three-metre crocodile moved with precise steps, its solid body sashaying from side to side. Its mouth was wide open, and it panted like an exhausted dog as it walked toward the river. The enormous beast glided headfirst into the water until its scaly body was completely submerged. Its muscular tail gave one final swish as the crocodile disappeared beneath the murky water. Mackenzie bolted, running at a ninety-degree angle away from the river but stealing glances over his shoulder.

At the top of the bank, he paused to look back at the crocodile’s entrance point into the river, desperately wanting his escape to have gone unnoticed. A scattering of white objects in a mound of twigs caught his eye.

It couldn’t be.

He risked a couple of steps closer, and his breath caught in his throat. Perched upon the mound, nestled within the compressed twigs and mud, lay several eggs that were about the size of goose eggs.

---