The last dry season was amazing, having moved here for work without even a thought that I might get a surf in was mind-blowing. Luckily, I had brought a board with me, being close to Indo I thought I might just happen to skip over there at some point for a break to get my surfing fix. It took me a while to get used to the fact that surfing here involved likely sharing the lineup with crocs (Baru in local lingo), sharks and the lethal stinger varieties of Irukandji and box jellyfish. After surfing the whole dry season, we didn’t see anything in the water, our dogs swam around next to us in the lineup without a care in the world so we figured if the crocs were hungry, they would be the first to go instead of us. There were plenty of signs that the local reptiles were active on the beaches. Tim had put the drone up several times over our favourite line ups during the wet season only to discover that the crocs and sharks seemed to favour this area. There are two distinct seasons here, the surf only breaks in the dry season, when the SW trade winds generate some short period wind swell. It’s generally weak and wind affected but some spots are protected and line up nicely which was a complete surprise. But the water is murky, and you can’t see more than three-foot in front of you, so getting in that first time was a real mind fuck.

In the wet season the ocean is completely still, and the water is gin clear, it seems to be the prime time for crocs to traverse the area and it’s also stinger season. You generally don’t enter the water in these months. As a ...