Natalie Jones reported this story on Monday, September 2, 2013 18:57:00

DAVID MARK: A New Zealand tourist has spent two weeks stranded on a remote island off Western Australia's far northern coast, with dwindling water and food supplies, trapped by a giant croc.



He couldn't reach the mainland because a resident five to six metre-long crocodile was stalking him, keeping him from entering the water.



A local who eventually rescue the New Zealander, say local crocs are becoming more common, and braver as they get used to people.



Natalie Jones reports from Broome.



NATALIE JONES: New Zealand tourist Ryan was stranded on one of the Governor Islands off Western Australia's far north coast, about 250 kilometres north-west of Kununurra.



He'd only planned to spend a few days there exploring on his kayak, but a massive saltwater crocodile stopped him leaving.



After two weeks he was finally rescued by Kalumburu resident, Don Macleod, who was passing the island on the way home from a fishing trip.



DON MACLEOD: I saw a flash from in the scrub up on the hill at Governor Island and I see it was something unusual. So I went over, it's about three or four kilometres away, and I went across and he had no hat on and no shirt on, and he seemed to be a bit relieved, you know, a bit shocked in a way I suppose.



NATALIE JONES: Ryan had been surviving alone on the 260 hectare island with dwindling water and food supplies.



DON MACLEOD: Well he said he was there for a fortnight. And he came to the conclusion very quickly that he couldn't get off there without tracking this crocodile that lives in that area and probably watching him all the time.



NATALIE JONES: Locals know what Ryan didn't; places like the Governor Islands are home to large reptiles.



Don Macleod reckons this beast was up to six metres long.



DON MACLEOD: Very, very large crocodile, one of the biggest that I know of around here. That crocodile, I've seen him several times, and he actually was going by quite fast one day and he just happened to surface alongside me as I was going past. And my boat's 20 foot long, so he was well up towards the 20 foot mark!



NATALIE JONES: Ryan was stranded, trying in vain to flag down passing boats with a small fire, which probably looked like a fisherman's campfire.



DON MACLEOD: Every time he got in his little kayak, which was only about 2.5metres long, and a freeboard of about three inches, this crocodile that lives there - he's been there for many years and he's a huge crocodile because he's chased him and followed him around for a while. So Ryan headed back to Governor and left his kayak out on the rocks about two kilometres from where his camp was.



NATALIE JONES: Traffic in that part of the world is limited. As the tourist season is drawing to a close, Ryan was lucky Don chanced upon him.



Ryan was unharmed and is resting before he starts a new job, on land, at the local general store.



DON MACLEOD: We gave him a cold beer for a start, which was probably the wrong thing to do, but anyway that got him started. And then he went to sleep about three quarters of the way home, and I gave him a meal and he had a bit of a rest. And then I took him back over and they picked him up and took him up to town I think.



NATALIE JONES: But Don Macleod's day wasn't over. His assistance was needed by another unsuspecting tourist.



DON MACLEOD: Within 15 minutes another gentleman came along. He's just, his little tender had just been bitten by a croc. So I helped him patch his little boat up - a bloke called Norm.



He went up to get some water for his yacht to continue his journey, he's in his little tender, rode it up and on the way back a croc grabbed it and shook it and punched some large holes in it. So he managed to get back here and we pulled it up and patched it up with some putty.



NATALIE JONES: It's unknown if it was the same reptile.



Don Macleod says interactions with crocodiles are becoming more common, as tourists and crocodiles get braver.



DON MACLEOD: Nowadays there's more and more people coming and they're losing their fear of people, and that's where you have these incidents unfortunately.



DAVID MARK: That's Kalumburu resident, Don Macleod, ending that report by Natalie Jones.