The Pearl

I’ve always thought of the Top End of Australia as the true definition
of paradise—aqua seas, hot days, starry nights, jade waterfalls, white
beaches, canyons carved by none other than the Rainbow Serpent. But
like any paradise, temptation and danger lurk everywhere. In the dry season—
when the crystal waters are most tempting—the seas are filled with
deadly Box Jellyfish and Saltwater Crocodiles, while the Freshwater Crocodiles
inhabit the inland rivers and waterholes. The canyons and gorges
are swarming with Death Adders, Taipans and Western Brown Snakes.
And then there’s the wet season, with its lightning storms, flashfloods and
the occasional cyclone.
I hadn’t seen much of the world before I turned eighteen, but
there was one thing I knew—Darwin was one of the most dangerous, exotic,
wonderful, and wildest places on the planet. A cultural melting pot,
part Aboriginal, part modern Australian, part Asian, but all of us ruled by
the earth, the weather, by nature itself.
It was also home.
Because it was where I met Luke.
Luke had grown up on his family’s property south of town but
north of Kakadu. He was a land baby.
Me, I grew up in a tiny shack on the beach just west of Darwin. I
was a water baby.