Reader Comment

Byter Leo sent me an email about the clip of the fire truck going through the floodwaters:

Otto,

I originally sent that through to the boys. I had my suspicions from the start that it was a training exercise or had been done a couple of times as there is no surprise shown from the people on the back of the truck and they have a beautifully set up camera recording everything.  (The news reports about the incidents state that the clip was recorded by a bystander. - Otto)

My greatest memory of this is in a four-wheel-drive crossing the Fitzroy River at the top of Cape York. The bloke I was with was a professional guide and he told me that he has always been the first person to cross this river after the annual monsoons abate in May each year. How he does it is that he fits a snorkel to the top of his exhaust which everybody knows is about roof level on a normal four-wheel-drive and then he goes through the river. Did I mention it is crocodile infested? He doesn't take any people with him on the first trip as he wants to make sure that the normal bottom of rock is still in place and there are no big rocks or trees lying there as a result of the floods. He was completely mad.

He wanted to show me how he did it by using a piece of river next to the usual crossing. I very non-politely declined.

I saw photos of his car doing this crossing and it is completely submerged with only the snorkel attached to his exhaust above the river flow. I asked him what would happen if he misjudged the height of the river or hit a log or stone or got bogged and he simply laughed hysterically and said he would be eaten by crocodiles if he didn't drown first. A very interesting trip for 14 days with this maniac.

Leo