Tourist trapped on Australian Island for TWO WEEKS after being stalked by a 20ft crocodile

The tourist was trapped on remote Governor Island off West Australia

A local man saw the traveller's flashing light and rescued him by boat

The crocodile was described as a 'monster' and had lived there for years



A New Zealand tourist who planned to spend a few days exploring an island in his canoe was left trapped and desperate on a hill for two weeks after being stalked by a monster crocodile.

The unfortunate traveller had set up camp on remote Governor Island, off the coast of Western Australia, intending to paddle his canoe around the island but the arrival of the 20ft-long crocodile changed all that.

Instead, he remained terrified at his campsite, which he had hurriedly set up on a hill on the 250-acre island in the hope that he was too far inland for the crocodile to reach him.

Terrifying a tourist: A New Zealand traveller was trapped on remote Governor Island off the West Australian coast for two weeks after he was stalked by a 20ft-long crocodile (file photo)

And it was only by chance that rescue came, when a light he flashed to attract attention resulted in him getting a lift in a boat to safety.

The tourist, known only as Ryan, owes his survival to local man Don McLeod, who decided to check out the light and found the distraught man 'relieved and shocked.'

Mr McLeod said today that 'every time he got in his little kayak, which was only about 2.5m (8ft) long, this crocodile, which has lived there for many years, chased him.

'He was desperate for water when I trotted up.'

Chance rescue: Local man Don McLeod saw the tourist's light flashing from the island and rescued him by boat from the giant reptile (file photo)

Mr McLeod said the crocodile was 'easily 20ft long', a measurement he said was accurate because that is the length of his boat and he has sailed past the reptile from time to time.

A yachtsman had dropped Ryan off at the island, off the north-west coast near Kalumburu, which lies between Derby and Kununurra, and it was there that the tourist had decided to use his canoe to explore the inlets.

After setting up a tent he realised he did not have enough supplies and decided to paddle the three miles back to the mainland.

But as he launched his small canoe he saw the crocodile watching him - and made good his escape back to his camp site, which he then moved to higher ground.

According to Mr McLeod, each time the Kiwi tourist tried to leave the island the crocodile 'made its presence felt, and so the fellow was left stranded there for an entire fortnight.'

It was only when Mr McLeod spotted a light on the island and decided to check it out, that he courageously set foot there.

'I'd seen a light flashing in the scrub as I came through Red Bluff, opposite Governor Island, and decided to have a look what it was.

'When I arrived Ryan came out of the bush looking distraught. He had no hat on and no shirt on.

'He was relieved and shocked and thankful someone had come along because he was running out of options pretty quickly.

'He is a very, very lucky man.'

Ryan was given a bed at a church mission on the mainland but his whereabouts today were unknown.



Keen kayaker: The man had been dropped off at the island, off the north-west coast near Kalumburu, which lies between Derby and Kununurra, and it was there that the tourist had decided to use his canoe to explore the inlets

Monster presence: Trapped on the remote island in Western Australia, every time the tourist tried to leave, the crocodile 'made its presence felt, and so the fellow was left stranded there for an entire fortnight,' according to Mr McLeod



