Author: Terri Irwin
Quotes of Author: Terri Irwin
Steve drove the next morning as we made the turn for the Burdekin River. The single-lane dirt road, as small as it was, ended there--but we had another two or three hours of four-wheel driving to go. We navigated through deep ravines carved by the area's repeated cyclone-fed floods, occasionally balancing on three wheels. "Hang out the window, will you?" Steve shouted as we maneuvered around the edge of a forty-foot drop. "I need to you to help counterbalance the truck." I thought. But there I was, hanging off the side of the bull bar while Steve threaded his way over the eroding track. As we pounded and slammed our way deep into the bush, Steve talked about the area's Aborigines. He pointed out a butte where European colonists massacred a host of the Aboriginal population in Victorian times. The landscape was alive to him, not only with human history, but with the complex interrelatedness of plants, animals, and the environment. He pointed out giant 150-year-old eucalypts, habitats for insectivorous bats, parrots, and brush-tailed possums. After hours of bone-jarring terrain, we reached the Burdekin, a beautiful river making its way through the tea trees. It was a breathtaking place. We set up camp--by which I mean Steve did--at a fork in the river, where huge black boulders stood exposed in the middle of the water.I tried to help, but I felt completely out of my depth. He unpacked the boat and the motor, got it tied and moored on the river, rolled out the swags, and lined up containers of fuel, water, and food.Then he started stringing tarps. What a gift Steve had for setting up camp. He had done it countless times before, month in and month out, all by himself, with only Sui for company. I watched him secure ropes, tie knots, and stretch canvas like he was expecting that we'd have to withstand a cyclone. It was hot, more than a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, but Steve didn't seem to notice.Sui found a little shallow place at the edge of the river and immediately plopped herself in. I saw Steve look over at her as if calculating her chances of being snatched by a croc. Crocodiles are the ultimate camouflage attack predators, striking from the water's edge. There would never be "down time" for Steve. No time to sit down and unwind. We were off in an instant. We grabbed Sui, jumped in the boat, and headed upstream. White Burdekin ducks startled up in front of our boat, their dark neck-rings revealed as they flew over us. Cormorants dried their feathers on the mid-river boulders, wings fully open. It was magical and unspoiled, as if we were the first people ever to travel there. book-quoteYou need to be careful to stay out of Charlie's line of sight," Steve said to me. "I want Charlie focusing only on me. If he changes focus and starts attacking you, it's going to be too difficult for me to control the situation."Right. Steve got no argument from me. Getting anywhere near those bone-crushing jaws was the furthest thing from my mind. I wasn't keen on being down on the water with a huge saltwater crocodile trying to get me. I would have to totally rely on Steve to keep me safe.We stepped into the dinghy, which was moored in Charlie's enclosure, secured front and back with ropes. Charlie came over immediately to investigate. It didn't take much to encourage him to have a go at Steve. Steve grabbed a top-jaw rope. He worked on roping Charlie while the cameras rolled.Time and time again, Charlie hurled himself straight at Steve, a half ton of reptile flesh exploding up out of the water a few feet away from me. I tried to hang on precariously and keep the boat counterbalanced. I didn't want Steve to lose his footing and topple in. Charlie was one angry crocodile. He would have loved nothing more than to get his teeth into Steve. As Charlie used his powerful tail to propel himself out of the water, he arched his neck and opened his jaws wide, whipping his head back and forth, snapping and gnashing. Steve carefully threw the top-jaw rope, but he didn't actually want to snag Charlie. Then he would have had to get the rope off without stressing the croc, and that would have been tricky.The cameras rolled. Charlie lunged. I cowered. Steve continued to deftly toss the rope. Then, all of a sudden, Charlie swung at the rope instead of Steve, and the rope went right over Charlie's top jaw. A perfect toss, provided that had been what Steve was trying to do. But it wasn't. We had a roped croc on our hands that we really didn't want.Steve immediately let the rope go slack. Charlie had it snagged in his teeth. Because of Steve's quick thinking and prompt maneuvering, the rope came clear. We breathed a collective sigh of relief.Steve looked up at the cameras. "I think you've got it."John agreed. "I think we do, mate."The crew cheered. The shoot lasted several minutes, but in the boat, I wasn't sure if it had been seconds or hours. Watching Steve work Charlie up close had been amazing--a huge, unpredictable animal with a complicated thought process, able to outwit its prey, an animal that had been on the planet for millions of years, yet Steve knew how to manipulate him and got some fantastic footage.To the applause of the crew, Steve got us both out of the boat. He gave me a big hug. He was happy. This was what he loved best, being able to interact and work with wildlife. Never before had anything like it been filmed in any format, much less on thirty-five-millimeter film for a movie theater. We accomplished the shot with the insurance underwriters none the wiser. Steve wanted to portray crocs as the powerful apex predators that they were, keeping everyone safe while he did it. Never once did he want it to appear as though he were dominating the crocodile, or showing off by being in close proximity to it. He wished for the crocodile to be the star of the show, not himself.I was proud of him that day. The shoot represented Steve Irwin at his best, his true colors, and his desire to make people understand how amazing these animals are, to be witnessed by audiences in movie theaters all over the world. We filmed many more sequences with crocs, and each time Steve performed professionally and perfected the shots. He was definitely in his element.With the live-croc footage behind us, the insurance people came on board, and we were finally able to sign a contract with MGM. We were to start filming in earnest. First stop: the Simpson Desert, with perentie lizards and fierce snakes. book-quoteSteve took people at their own merits. He was not overwhelmed or overly impressed by anybody for their star quality. It didn't matter if it was the publican in Windorah or a movie star in Los Angeles. He reacted to people as individuals."I liked Eddie," he said, when I asked him how the shoot went. "He's a talented man, very professional, and easy to work with."But after spending a few days in Eddie Murphy's world, Steve pondered how the man coped with being constantly in the limelight. It was unending for Murphy. People wanted a piece of him all the time--a photograph, an autograph, a few words. Steve wondered how someone could lead a life like that. With more and more viewers in the States tuning in to Animal Planet, he was about to find out.I think that's why Steve felt so grounded living in Australia. The population of the country is twenty million, spread over an area the size of the United States. There are still plenty of places in the vast Australian wilderness where he could get away from it all, places where he could drive for days without seeing another person. Although Steve understood the importance of working and filming in America, he always swore he would never leave his home in Australia. book-quoteWill you still love me if a croc grabs me and I lose an arm or a leg?""Yes, of course I would still love you," I said.But there were many evenings when he would run through improbably scenarios, just checking to see how I really felt. One night he looked particularly concerned, his brow furrowed."What's up?" I asked."Tell me why you married me."I laughed. "Because you're hot in the cot."That broke the tension, and he laughed too. We both relaxed a little bit. But he would sometimes wonder if I'd married him just because I loved him, or if it was because he was a bit of Tarzan and Croc Dundee and Indiana Jones all rolled into one."I'm in love with Steve Irwin," I assured him, "and part of the reason I love you is because you are such a staunch advocate for wildlife. Your empathy and compassion for all animals is part of it too. But most of all, I know that destiny brought us together."Steve continued our serious discussion, and he spoke of his mortality. He was convinced that he would never reach forty. That's why he was in such a hurry all the time, to get as much done as he could. He didn't feel sad about it. He only felt the motivation to make a difference before he was gone."I'm not afraid of death," he said. "I'm only afraid of dying. I don't want to get sick and dwindle. I love working hard and playing hard and living hard, and making every moment count."I learned so much from Steve. He helped me reevaluate my own purpose, my own life. What would happen if I didn't make it to forty? What legacy would I leave? book-quoteIf we purchased the land, the zoo would be enlarged from four acres to six. At the time, it seemed like an enormous step to take. We argued back and forth. We talked, dreamed, and planned. Steve always seemed to worry about the future."If anything happens to me, promise that you'll take care of the zoo.""Of course I will," I said. "That's easy to promise, but nothing is going to happen to you. Don't worry.""Will you still love me if a croc grabs me and I lose an arm or a leg?""Yes, of course I would still love you," I said.But there were many evenings when he would run through improbably scenarios, just checking to see how I really felt. One night he looked particularly concerned, his brow furrowed."What's up?" I asked."Tell me why you married me."I laughed. "Because you're hot in the cot."That broke the tension, and he laughed too. We both relaxed a little bit. But he would sometimes wonder if I'd married him just because I loved him, or if it was because he was a bit of Tarzan and Croc Dundee and Indiana Jones all rolled into one."I'm in love with Steve Irwin," I assured him, "and part of the reason I love you is because you are such a staunch advocate for wildlife. Your empathy and compassion for all animals is part of it too. But most of all, I know that destiny brought us together."Steve continued our serious discussion, and he spoke of his mortality. He was convinced that he would never reach forty. That's why he was in such a hurry all the time, to get as much done as he could. He didn't feel sad about it. He only felt the motivation to make a difference before he was gone."I'm not afraid of death," he said. "I'm only afraid of dying. I don't want to get sick and dwindle. I love working hard and playing hard and living hard, and making every moment count."I learned so much from Steve. He helped me reevaluate my own purpose, my own life. What would happen if I didn't make it to forty? What legacy would I leave?That evening he was unusually contemplative. "None of our petty problems really matter," he said.I agreed. "In a hundred years, what difference is it going to make, worrying about this two acres of land? We need to focus on the real change that will make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren."Steve gave me a strange look. Children? We had never discussed having children much, because we were flat strapped. The thought of filming more documentaries, running the zoo, raising a family was just too daunting. But that evening we did agree on one thing: We would spend some of my savings and make the leap to enlarge the zoo. We were both so happy with our decision."We're lucky that we met before I became the Crocodile Hunter," he said.I knew what he was talking about. It made things a lot easier, a lot more clear-cut. I had fallen in love with Steve Irwin, not the guy on TV."I don't know how they do it," he said."Who?" I asked."People in the limelight," he said. "How do they tell who's in it for them and who's just after their celebrity? It puts a new slant on everything. Not for us, though," he added."Too right," I agreed. book-quote
