A FATHER of three has told how he fought for his life with a 3m crocodile that dragged him under at a north Queensland waterhole.

Weipa miner Eddie Sigai said he desperately kicked, punched and gouged the crocodile after it latched on to his left hand as he swam with his daughters Jennifer, 17, and Monica, 12, at Beening Creek last Saturday.

"I thought to myself, this is it, I am dead," the 37-year-old told The Sunday Mail.

"But it's surprising what you can do when all you can think about is the safety of your children.

"It grabbed my hand and pulled me under the water so I was sitting and all I can remember is grabbing it, shaking it, punching it and going for its eyes."

The family had been swimming at the waterhole for about three hours before the attack.

Jennifer recalled feeling "something big" brush past her in the water and placed her hands on what she now believes was the back of the crocodile.

Monica said she felt the beast's tail swipe across her back as it made a beeline for her father. "I felt helpless and completely terrified," Monica said.

Jennifer said the moment still kept her awake at night.

Mr Sigai, who has been swimming in the creek since he was a child, recalls watching a documentary a few years ago about another man who survived a crocodile attack by gouging at its eyes.

He said the tactic stuck with him and was probably responsible for saving his life.

Mr Sigai was aware of the dangers, but the lure of a warm, muggy day drew his family to the creek.

"It looked like it puffed up when it came out of the water . . . it swam past the girls, but I reckon it had me in its sights," Mr Sigai said.

"I don't know why. Maybe I disturbed its nest or it was just territorial.

"But I have no doubt that it had me on the menu."

After the brief attack which "felt like it lasted forever", Mr Sigai screamed to his daughters to get out of the water.

He grabbed Monica and threw her to safety on to the bank. He was unable to drive, so Jennifer climbed behind the wheel and drove her injured and bleeding father to the Weipa Hospital in second gear.

He spent two days in hospital with bite marks on his left hand and deep scratch marks down his back.

"Looking back now I am still piecing it together," Mr Sigai said. "I close my eyes and I just see it coming out of the water at me.

"I am just glad it didn't go for one of the girls, but I tell you what, it will be a while before I get back in the water . . . if I ever do."