Whoa. River Monsters is arguably one of the best shows on Animal Planet next to Treehouse Masters and Insane Pools. If you’re not familiar, Jeremy Wade is a salty, weathered Bro King who hopscotches around the world fishing for massive dinosaur fish. It’s a fantastic watch.
The craziest River Monsters adventure yet just went down in Australia. While doing an episode about a mysterious plane crash in the Gulf of Carpentaria, they started filming at an uninhabited island where a castaway was waiting to die. Inside Edition has the exclusive on the story:
The man had said his final prayer and was “preparing to die,” according to Stephen Shearman, the director of the episode “Death Down Under,” and one of the five people who found the castaway.
“He had said his last prayer,” Shearman told InsideEdition.com. “He was prepared to die and meet his maker.”
…
“Together, we spotted this blue Esky, or cooler box, that was just sat on the rock,” Shearman said.
The team started joking that Tom Hanks might pop out of nowhere, making reference to the 2000 movie, Cast Away.
But suddenly, Shearman said, “this guy with no clothes was running out of the cave, waving his arms out.”
Whoa. It’s a real-life Tom Hanks! Turns out the man was a fisherman who was stranded without supplies for an estimated 60 hours. He was digging for oysters when he drifted way off course, then ended up stranded and seriously dehydrated. Via Inside Edition:
“He had tried to walk back, got beaten by the sun, and made his way back to the beach,” Shearman said. “Meanwhile, he had suffered from sunstroke and was unable to go any further. He then spent that first night on the beach, and the next morning he tried again, but the sun had gotten to be too much for him, and at this point, he is now trapped.
Three days without water. Ouch. I wonder if he thought Jeremy Wade and his TV crew were a hallucination. Crazy that his time was ticking by the time the River Monsters crew discovered him. According to Inside Edition, they hooked him up with water and rehydration pills, which he vomited up. When he finally came around, he spent the night at the lodge they were staying in before sending him on his way. And there’s this gem via Inside Edition:
“He’s given up smoking, but he’s promised God he’s going to start smoking again. If he had a lighter, he’d be able to cook, and he’d have a fire,” Shearman said, laughing.
In conclusion: Always carry a light. Sometimes your worst vice is the thing that keeps you alive.
