Never swim in this Australian river

today's story is about a real life nightmare that occurred on a thin stretch of black water in Northern Australia this particular story has inspired two fairly popular horror movies from 2007 they are Blackwater and Rogue but before we get into today's story if you're a fan of the strange dark and mysterious delivered in story format and you come to the right place because that's all we do and we upload one or two times every week so if that's of interest to you the next time the like button asks for a snack offer to get them one and then proceed to heat up a cup o noodles in the microwave for about 77 minutes and then serve it to them in a flimsy paper cup also please subscribe to our Channel and turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our weekly uploads all right let's get into today's [Music] story at 11:40 a. m. on December 21st 20 3 three young men who were longtime childhood friends hopped in a truck and began traveling south they were 22-year-old Brett Mann and 19-year-olds Shawn blowers and Ashley McGuff they lived in a coastal city called Darwin which is actually the capital of the Northern Territory in Australia the Northern Territory also known as the top end is located in the Central north of the continent it is six times larger than the UK but has 280 times less people living in it specifically the UK is home to roughly 70 million people whereas the top end is home to only 250,000 people and half of them live in Darwin there are many reasons why the top end is so underpopulated ranging from politics to poor infrastructure but the most obvious reason that so few people choose to live in this part of Australia is because it is wildly rugged and dangerous it is scorchingly hot year round and the weather in general is just unbelievably predictable and violent and as the old saying goes all the animals there are trying to kill you and each other but Brett Shawn and Ashley had grown up in Darwin and so they were accustomed to the hazards of living in the top end and so they weren't really concerned about them what they were concerned with was finding things to do and not getting bored in the city that particular day in order to ward off boredom the trio had decided they would head out to a Salt Flat that was located about 50 Mi to the southwest of Darwin it was this wide open plane that they could just race around on their quad bikes on and so they loaded these quad bikes into their trailer attached it to their truck they hopped in their truck and at 11:40 a.

m. they started heading south out of Darwin the first road they were on was this fairly desolate dirt road that wound around through the Wilderness and it passed by the iconic eucalyptus trees that are very well known in Australia it passed by palm trees and giant termite mounds and after driving on this dirt road for about 30 minutes the Trio passed by the tumbling Waters Holiday Park which is a vacation resort for adventurous families and then beyond this park there really was no more civilization they were headed right into the Outback of Australia and so this was kind of like the last Mark of civilization and so the trio they drive for another 30 minutes past the park and at some point all of the trees on either side of the road start getting more and more dense until they begin kind of encroaching over the road as if it looks like you're driving directly through the heart of a jungle and they would have recognized this change in scenery as meaning they were nearing the finis river which was off to the right beyond all of the trees so they couldn't see it but they knew they were close and the finis river was not a huge Waterway it was a 30 mile stretch that ran east to west through the top end and what it was known for was being very brackish and dark you could not see into this water more than maybe an inch or two so it almost appeared black and so the trio continued driving along through this kind of jungle atmosphere until the left side of the road began to thin out again and then it eventually revealed the Salt Flats up to their left and so at that point the trio pulled off on the right side of the road where the vegetation was still very thick and then the trio hopped out of the truck they went around to their trailer they dropped the gate and one by one they pulled their quad bikes off and then each of them hopped on and drove out onto the flats that day the flats were actually very muddy because it had recently rained really really heavy in that area and so the trio spent just as much time racing each other on the flats as they did trying to drive close to each other and spray mud on each other and so for hours they were out there having a great time and then at 4:30 p. m.

they decided it was time to call it a day and so they drove back over to the truck they drove their quad bikes up onto the trailer they locked it and then they were about to get into the truck to head back home when one of them suggested hey let's head down to the water and rinse our clothes off and get all this mud off of us now you need to understand in the top end the place you want to spend the least amount of time in is the water people in the top end assume that in any natural water body that is not clearly designated as a swimming area has at least one animal lurking in it that will kill you this is a literal precaution people in the top end take and so this section of the finis river that these three friends were thinking about going and jumping into and washing off inside of this was not a clearly designated swimming area and so it should be avoided but you need to remember these three guys they grew up in the top end they were used to living in this kind of wild area and they had also come to the Salt Flats so many times over the years and they had jumped into the finis river before to wash off and go swimming and nothing had ever happened and so really the idea that the finis river could be dangerous to them it didn't really cross their mind they felt like you know what we've been there done that nothing's going to happen to us and and so they left the truck and walked away from the Salt Flats into this mangrove forest that's only a couple of feet off the road and began walking towards this River normally the trip from the road through the forest to the river bank basically where the forest ended and you reach the river it would take about 10 minutes but after walking in this Mangrove for maybe a minute they were already standing in riverwater it was only a couple of inches of this water but it signaled to the guys that clearly the river is very swollen from all of the recent rains enough so that it overflowed Beyond its natural boundaries and it's flooded the mangrove forest but the three guys they look at each other and think me what's the big deal I'm sure we'll be fine and so the guys continued Moving on but as the mangroves began to thin out they began to slow down dramatically because the river banks on the edges of the finis river were very very steep if you were standing on dry land if there was no flooding and you were right on the edge of the Finish River if you took even one or two steps into the river you would slip down under the water and the water would be over your head now as these guys are walking because the ground is flooded with this black brackish water they couldn't see the ground and so they couldn't tell where the drop off into the river was and so they began to slow down and then when all the trees were practically gone they knew they were close and then one of them actually slipped and kind of tumbled down the edge for a second but he turned and he grabbed one of the roots of the mangrove tree and pulled himself back up and then the other two after seeing this they walked over and stood next to him and the trio just stood there looking out at this pitch black looking river that was very clearly moving faster than normal because of all this excess rain but they kind of looked at each other and thought you know what it's not that big of a deal you know we'll hold on to the roots of these mangroves and lower ourselves over the embankment we'll wash ourselves off pull ourselves back up no big deal and so they each turned around and grabbed a root of one of the many mangrove trees that marked the edge of this forest and while holding on they would lower their lower half down past the embankment until they were submerged they rubbed all the mud off of themselves being very careful not to let go of the mangrove at any point and then as they were about to finish up and pull themselves back up and get back to their truck Brett loses his balance and somehow lets go of the mangrove route and slips down the Steep embankment and suddenly the current takes him away from his friends and out to the middle of this River before long he's getting pulled Downstream and so he yells out to Ashley and Shawn who had their backs turned to him they turn around they see their friend and they instinctively leap into the river to try to go get him and help swim him back to the side now all three of them were very competent swimmers and so this was not a high panic situation this was more like a inconvenience and maybe a little bit funny and so that's why they leftt in no problem they figured you know worst case scenario is we'll drift somewhere down there and we'll get out and we'll walk our way back to our car but but as soon as Shawn and Ashley were free floating In this River they felt how strong this current was and it was way stronger than they were anticipating and so they actually started to get a little bit worried and they looked up ahead of them and Brett who had been in the water for you know 10 or 15 seconds before they leapt in he had already moved way farther Downstream than them and so they decided you know what we have to get out but we need to get to Brett first we all need to get out at the same place and so they decide they're going to swim Downstream meet up with Brett and then get the heck out of that River as fast as they possibly can and so they yell out to Brett to hey we're coming to get you and they start swimming as fast as they possibly can and with the help of the current they manag to get all the way up to Brett relatively quickly maybe a couple of minutes and when they reach him Shawn and Ashley go in front of Brett and then the three of them they stop actively swimming and they allow the current to just kind of carry them Downstream and as they're drifting they begin scouting the left side of the river for a solid clump of mangrove trees they can swim into Because unless there's something to grab onto on the edge of this River they can't pull themselves out and so at this point the trio is definitely uncomfortable being in the water because of how strong that current is but they're confident they're going to find a viable landing spot and they're going to get out of here and it will be a great story and so Shawn is in the front Ashley is right behind him and then Brett is behind Ashley and they're all about an arms length away from each other and they're drifting down this River for a couple of minutes they're looking on the left side for a viable landing spot and then all of the sudden Ashley just yells out hey I seen something in the water we need to get out find the nearest tree get out get out get out and so Shawn he starts panicking he doesn't even turn around to see what's going on behind him adrenaline kicks in and he swims as fast as he possibly can to a tree that's popped out of the river it's literally growing in the middle of the river and so he swims up to this tree he manages to climb up to the first Fork of the tree which is maybe 6 or 8 ft above the water and as soon as he's up there he turns around and looks down and he sees Ashley he reaches down and he hoists Ashley up to the first fork with him and then the pair turn around again to grab Brett but Brett's not there and so they look around they're thinking okay did Brett not make it to the tree did the current pull him around is he at some other tree you know they're yelling out for him they're looking for him but there's no Brett and so they're talking to each other Ashley and Sean they're saying hey did you did he call out did you hear something did he did he give some indication about where he was going and they're saying no I I don't know where he is and so they start climbing up the tree a little bit and trying to look down and up the river to see if maybe they can see him and then all of a sudden Shawn notices something yellow flash beneath them in the water and so he looks straight down and he sees this yellow thing down there and so he nudges Ashley and he says look and so Ashley looks down and as they're looking they're about 10t off the water at this point they see this yellow thing start rising up to the surface now the water is so dark they really can't tell what anything is unless it is at the surface and so they're watching this yellow thing and suddenly it comes out of the water and they see it's Brett he's got his yellow jacket on that's what they saw and Brett is in the mouth of a 13 foot long saltwater crocodile he is face down and his left side is being held in this animal's mouth and he's not moving and so Shawn and Ashley are so scared they're just Frozen they're just staring at this monster that's in the water that's holding their friend underwater and they can't do anything about it and for 2 minutes they just stand there looking at this animal wondering what's going to happen and for those entire 2 minutes the crocodile stared right back up at Ashley and Shawn as if it was showing them what it was going to do to them once they got in the water that I've done this to your friend I'm getting you to as well and so they're staring at this animal when suddenly it just kind of goes underneath the water back down into the black abyss and it along with Brett just disappear Ashley and Shawn are so terrified that they can't even grieve for their friend they can't feel sad for him it's like they just into survival mode and without saying anything to each other they just start climbing up this tree as fast and as far as they possibly can and they only manage to get up maybe a couple more feet to two more branches one's at about 10 or 12 feet off the water and the other is at about 15t off the water and so Shawn makes it onto the lower branch and then Ashley makes it onto the slightly higher branch and then once they're situated on their branch and one arm is firmly wrapped around the trunk of the tree they're able to kind of breathe for a second and take stock of their situation and even though so of course the elephant in the room here is that their friend was just eaten by a crocodile but it's like they can't process that yet instead they start talking about okay well our families they're going to recognize our absence and they're going to tell the police and the police are going to launch a search and they're going to come find us both of them were confident or they acted confident that that was going to happen but they also knew that there was no timeline for this it could be hours or days until this actually happened and so as these two teens are sitting on their branches the real ity of their situation really started to come crashing down on them because yeah they're safe in this tree but how long can they possibly stay in this tree for I mean eventually they're going to need to fall asleep and if they fall asleep are they going to fall out of the tree and land in the water with this crocodile I mean they just didn't know how this was going to turn out and so as the two began comforting each other you know reassuring each other that oh no it's going to be just fine someone's going to find us tonight or tomorrow we'll be just fine as they're doing that Ashley suddenly stops talking to Shawn and just looks straight down and so Shawn realizes what Ashley's doing and he matches his gaze and he looks straight down and at the base of their tree in that black water is the 13t long saltwater crocodile it's back and it no longer has Bret in its mouth they have no idea where Brad is he's just gone saltwater crocodiles are considered the most aggressive and dangerous crocodiles in the world and they are one of only two crocodile species that will actively hunt humans when given a chance and so these two teens are helpless in this tree all they have is some separation from the black water and this animal down below and so they just find themselves staring straight down at this crocodile and in turn this crocodile just stares right back up at them it's very clearly waiting for them it wants them to come out of the tree so it can eat them and so the crocodile just continuously repositions itself all around the tree it's just keeping the top of its head out of the the water so its eyes can look up at them and so the teens are just praying that at some point it will grow tired of them and will leave and after several hours right as the sun is about to set this crocodile does seem to give up on them and it drifts under the water and disappears after a couple of minutes Shawn who was on the slightly lower Branch decides he doesn't want to be any closer to the water than he needs to be and he's going to climb up to Ashley's branch and so he very carefully stands up on his Branch he makes sure he's got solid footing and then he reaches up and he grabs a branch with his right hand and he kind of tests it and he feels like it's pretty sturdy and then he puts all his weight on it and tries to reach for another Branch when this one breaks and as soon as that Branch broke Shawn tumbled 10 ft into the water and so he hits the water he goes all the way under he sinks a few feet under and immediately he's turned around and he's trying to swim as fast as he can to the surface and he's just expecting it any moment this crocodile is going to bite him he gets to the surface and he looks around it's a little bit dark but he can immediately see see his tree and he realizes the current has pulled him away from his tree and so in a panic he starts swimming and kicking his legs as hard as he possibly can to get back to this tree and he knows the whole time he's kicking his legs he's just attracting the attention of this crocodile but he's got nothing else he can do he's got no other tree he can reasonably get to that will provide safety from this animal and so with every ounce of energy he's got he kicks and swims and finally he manages to grab a root of this tree that his friend is still inside of and he begins pulling himself with his lower half still submerged in the water and so as he's dragging himself towards the trunk of this tree he's just waiting for this crocodile to bite down in his legs and finally he gets to the trunk of the tree and he's able to pull his body out of the water and he clambers up to that original Branch he was on and then he and Ashley work to get him up to Ashley's branch and as soon as he sits down next to Ashley and he's secure they both look down and just a little ways away from the tree basically in the area where Shawn had just landed in the water they see with the little light that is left this crocodile swimming right back over to the tree and it camps out right underneath Shawn had gotten out just in time when the Sun finally did set about 10 or 15 minutes later it became pitch black there's no ambient light in this part of the world there aren't any buildings or cities close enough to this area and so it is truly pitch black and so they could no longer see the crocodile down below but but they knew it was there because periodically they would hear it repositioning itself right underneath them also because it was so dark the two teens could not actually see each other and so they began holding on to each other and then anytime either of them moved they would announce their movement to the other just so they knew they had not fallen asleep and were not falling out of the tree to a horrible death and so a few hours went by like this where it was Silence with the exception of the sounds of this crocodile repositioning itself periodically a little after midnight a huge storm rolled into this area and it began absolutely downpouring and the raindrops that were hitting the river were so loud that the teens could no longer hear the sound of this crocodile and so they had no idea if it was still down below them or not but every time lightning would strike it would illuminate the sky for that flash of a second and in that flash they would look down and there would be the crocodile after several hours of this super intense downpour the two teens also started to become concerned that all this additional rain could raise the water level of the river all the way up high enough that this crocodile might be able to jump out and reach their legs but because it was so dark they couldn't actually see the top of the water and so they had no way of knowing if the water levels were actually rising or not and so they both kind of sucked their legs up onto this branch and tried to make themselves as small as they could while still remaining anchored to each other and also to the branch and that's how they sat for the next several hours just hoping they would survive the night finally when the sun came up that following morning the teens immediately noticed that the crocodile was still right below them just lurking at the base of the tree waiting for them and they also noticed the water level of the river had clearly come up quite a bit and so if they weren't rescued soon there was a good chance that another heavy rainstorm that crocodile would be in range of them and there was nowhere they could go they were as high up as they could get not to mention the fact they were hypothermic they were weak they were tired and if you fall asleep you're going to fall in the water and so the two teens they knew they did not have much time left luckily at 10:00 a. m. that morning they heard the sound of a police officer who was out in the mangrove forest it turned out their families had recognized their absence they had called the police and that morning a search had been launched they had found their truck and then had been walking down the river yelling out to them and then they finally did find them initially when when they located these two teens stuck in the tree they called in a helicopter to hover over them and lower down a ladder that could climb back up but when the helicopter got close to this tree the rotor wash from the spinning blades it practically blew the boys out of the tree and this crocodile was still in the Water The Rescuers could see it the boys could still see it and so there was this fear that the helicopter would literally send them into the water to their death and so they had to abandon the helicopter approach however the blades of that helicopter did ultimately scare this crocodile and the crocodile swam away and so as soon as the helicopter was off station they had a boat come in and the boat got right underneath the two boys they jumped down into it and they were brought to safety the two boys were brought to a hospital where doctors determined they were physically okay but both of them were severely traumatized from what they had just been through as for Brett despite an exhaustive search of that River they never found his body or any of his clothing or any belongings he had on him and they never found the crocodile that killed him so that's going to do it guys if you found the secret in today's episode let us know in the comment section what it is and where you found it so give us the timestamp and if you're the first to do that we'll pin you at the top of the comment section if you got something out of today's episode and you haven't done this already the next time the like button asks for a snack offer to give them one and proceed to heat up a cup o noodles in the microwave for about 77 minutes and then serve it to them in a flimsy paper cup also please subscribe to our Channel and turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our weekly one or two video uploads we are now selling merchandise like flannels and hats and sweatshirts and all sorts of stuff if you're interested go to shopmr band.