Swimming with Crocodiles A True Story of Adventure and Survival (Audible Audio Edition) Will Chaffey John Rubinstein Audible Studios Books
Download As PDF : Swimming with Crocodiles A True Story of Adventure and Survival (Audible Audio Edition) Will Chaffey John Rubinstein Audible Studios Books
In the tradition of Into the Wild, here is the riveting story of a young man seeking his own truth and finding adventure in the awesome, unforgiving power of nature.
Will Chaffey is 18 when he boards a plane in New York bound for Australia. Taking time off to work and travel, Will meets an enigmatic wanderer and herpetologist. Together they cross the inland desert to the tropical northwest coast, home to the saltwater crocodile, a known man-eater and a predator who has been hunting since the age of the dinosaurs.
They devise a plan to explore the remote Prince Regent River, a trek so dangerous it had never been attempted by outsiders. Passing through harsh, primeval country, shadowed by their own exhaustion, and physically worn down, they find themselves locked in a life-and-death struggle when their food runs out and, unable to leave, they are stalked by a hungry crocodile.
Filled with scenes of great natural beauty, Swimming with Crocodiles is at once the affecting account of a journey into adulthood and a hair-raising epic of survival.
Swimming with Crocodiles A True Story of Adventure and Survival (Audible Audio Edition) Will Chaffey John Rubinstein Audible Studios Books
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book because Will Chaffey is not a super-explorer, he's not Bear Gryllis, he can't start a fire with a rubberband and a carrot. He's the type of explorer who forgets to pack his lunch...which makes this book much more fun to read. An average human being can relate to Chaffey. This, I thought, as I read, is exactly what would have happened to me. Chaffee somehow wrangles a National Geographic grant to explore a very remote river in a particularly unwelcoming area of Australia. And let's face it, once you are out of sight of the ocean, Australia is out to kill you. In sight of the ocean, it's also out to kill you, but at least you can get help. In the interior, you're on your own. Anway, young Chaffey is unprepared for the climate, the terrain or the fauna (a deceptively benign nomenclature for a mob of snakes, bugs, amphibians, vertebrates, invertebrates, crustaceans, cephalopods, mammals, and whatever you call platypuses that will paralyze, kill you, eat you, melt your flesh and make you sorry you bought that airline ticket. Hooking up with an even more inept friend, he gets into big trouble before he even starts his journey. On a walk from his car to the beach, he gets lost, sunburnt, sun-stroked and dehydrated...inches away from being memorialized in a Sebastian Junger best seller. Anyway, he survives and off he and his buddy go into the harshest landscape on the planet. Naturally they forget to bring enough to eat or drink, or enough gasoline to reach any vestige of civilization with a gas pump. Before long, Mr. Chaffey is out of food, water, money, transportation and luck. And the wildlife isn't making it any easier. They line up to sink their fangs, stingers, mandibles or sucking tubes into him. He comes within a hairsbreadth of playing Captain Hook to a determined crocodile. But through sheer dumb luck, Chaffey survives and finds his way into some even more remote, I'm talking remote even for Australia places, and encounters the type of people one might imagine would live in hot, dusty, isolated areas where almost anything that bites is lethal and everything bites. For armchair adventurers who are not ex-special forces operatives, this book is a pure fun. Chaffee-Is-Us, and without any good sense or surivival instincts, manages to survive, find work and transform himself into an Old Aussie Hand. Chaffey captures the sights, the smells, the dusty, heavy, fly-buzzing, sun-baked atmosphere of barely there Australian towns. His cast of characters is vivid, eccentric but not overblown. His adventures are not meant to be funny, but if you don't find yourself suppressing an occasional giggle at his near death experiences, turn in your 3 Stooges Fan Club button. This is just one interesting, entertaining read, from cover to cover. Pour yourself an icy gin and tonic or pop a cold one, turn up the AC and enjoy the book. (If you enjoy this one, try "Keep Australia On Your Left" (or "Right" -- I forget). Another good Aussie read, with the added bonus of shark encounters!)Product details
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Swimming with Crocodiles A True Story of Adventure and Survival (Audible Audio Edition) Will Chaffey John Rubinstein Audible Studios Books Reviews
Be sure to get the Australian Geographic article by same author! You will not be disappointed! Guaranteed! See under comments for how to obtain it.
The beginning was confusing, but once Will got into telling the meat of his story, it read smoothly, at rapid pace, and I couldn't put it down. I was up all night reading and referring to a map. I loved the scientific names. For those who think it is just 'showing off', I am here to tell you that it is not. It is a form of International communication. Common names vary according to the locals, and us foreigners might not have any idea what you're talking about, but with scientific names there is no confusion. I could look up all of those creatures to get a real picture of the animals and terrain. I had a National Geographic map of Australia which I referred to constantly in order to follow Wills adventures. It was decorated with many of those creatures, and plants, and their scientific names. There was very little swearing in the book and virtually none at all during the trek when he tells his best story, but at the end, the swearing was very heavy. I could think of many reasons for this, but only Will knows. No doubt, I will hear from some about this. It just seemed out of character all of a sudden. But I loved the book, the wildlife, the aborigines, the crocs, all of it!
The problem is with editing. The beginning was very confusing. He starts out the story in a car, but the car isn't acquired until the middle of the book, and I couldn't figure that out. Also, he starts in one area of Australia and there is no transition so all of a sudden you are in a different area and you don't know how you got there. It also jumps from New England to Australia without warning. But, get past this and you are in for a revealing look at Australia's outback.
I found this book to be very well written and so much more than a "simple" survival epic. The author provides this as well as a thorough investigation of Northern Australia's natural history and unique cultural legacy.
Great read, highly recommend
Multi-layered coming of age story that is much more. Will is very wise for his years, and an excellent writer, weaving personal, historical, geographical and suspense elements seamlessly into a wonderful, entertaining story. Masterful writing -- would love to see more from him.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Will Chaffey's book, Swimming with Crocodiles. I was intrigued from the beginning and the way he weaves a story, from multiple time frames of his young life, I was hooked quickly. Retelling his experiences as a free and drifting soul through life in the open countryland of Australia was a treat to read about. Of course the author is around today and I knew that this book was autobiographical, and yet, there were still moments when I caught myself wondering about his outcome. Now that's a good story, one that made me feel connected to the wilderness right along with him, worrying about his safety and "if they were gonna make it". I highly recommend this book, for adventure seekers, Aussie fans, and anyone who just enjoys a good read.
Chaffey tells a beautiful story of his outback adventure in the spirit of "Undaunted Courage" (Ambrose) and "In the Heart of the Sea" (Philbrick). In the era of satellite phones and GPS it requires equal parts daring and stupidity to put yourself in Chaffey's position miles from nowhere with only the determination to survive as your safety net.
Chaffey's descriptions of the land, plants and animals let you know he never really felt as threatened by his environment as he did by loneliness, isolation and depression. If you're going to get lost, it's good to be young. This is a story about growing up by testing your capacity.
OK, so the book should include a map. But not having a map forced me to look up Cascade Creek and Prince Regent River, Australia on Google Earth. The satellite view of Chaffey's predicament still gives me a chill. If you want a thrill from the safety of your arm chair, read this book!
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book because Will Chaffey is not a super-explorer, he's not Bear Gryllis, he can't start a fire with a rubberband and a carrot. He's the type of explorer who forgets to pack his lunch...which makes this book much more fun to read. An average human being can relate to Chaffey. This, I thought, as I read, is exactly what would have happened to me. Chaffee somehow wrangles a National Geographic grant to explore a very remote river in a particularly unwelcoming area of Australia. And let's face it, once you are out of sight of the ocean, Australia is out to kill you. In sight of the ocean, it's also out to kill you, but at least you can get help. In the interior, you're on your own. Anway, young Chaffey is unprepared for the climate, the terrain or the fauna (a deceptively benign nomenclature for a mob of snakes, bugs, amphibians, vertebrates, invertebrates, crustaceans, cephalopods, mammals, and whatever you call platypuses that will paralyze, kill you, eat you, melt your flesh and make you sorry you bought that airline ticket. Hooking up with an even more inept friend, he gets into big trouble before he even starts his journey. On a walk from his car to the beach, he gets lost, sunburnt, sun-stroked and dehydrated...inches away from being memorialized in a Sebastian Junger best seller. Anyway, he survives and off he and his buddy go into the harshest landscape on the planet. Naturally they forget to bring enough to eat or drink, or enough gasoline to reach any vestige of civilization with a gas pump. Before long, Mr. Chaffey is out of food, water, money, transportation and luck. And the wildlife isn't making it any easier. They line up to sink their fangs, stingers, mandibles or sucking tubes into him. He comes within a hairsbreadth of playing Captain Hook to a determined crocodile. But through sheer dumb luck, Chaffey survives and finds his way into some even more remote, I'm talking remote even for Australia places, and encounters the type of people one might imagine would live in hot, dusty, isolated areas where almost anything that bites is lethal and everything bites. For armchair adventurers who are not ex-special forces operatives, this book is a pure fun. Chaffee-Is-Us, and without any good sense or surivival instincts, manages to survive, find work and transform himself into an Old Aussie Hand. Chaffey captures the sights, the smells, the dusty, heavy, fly-buzzing, sun-baked atmosphere of barely there Australian towns. His cast of characters is vivid, eccentric but not overblown. His adventures are not meant to be funny, but if you don't find yourself suppressing an occasional giggle at his near death experiences, turn in your 3 Stooges Fan Club button. This is just one interesting, entertaining read, from cover to cover. Pour yourself an icy gin and tonic or pop a cold one, turn up the AC and enjoy the book. (If you enjoy this one, try "Keep Australia On Your Left" (or "Right" -- I forget). Another good Aussie read, with the added bonus of shark encounters!)
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