Don't Get Caught With Your Pants Down...
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:40 am
Woo, OK.
First of all, I have given this account only once before, and it was on the internet. I don't feel as though I could tell someone in real life, I much prefer to sit down and think about it and get it right. (Plus, you know, being judged, bit embarrassing etc etc).
The Sighting.
When?
August 1997.
Where?
Kanangra Boyd National Park, on a big hike from the Wombeyan Caves to Katoomba. For those that know the area, it was to the north of Kanangra Walls, on the track that heads northeastish to Katoomba, from Creft's Walls and along the hills Rip, Rack, Roar and Rumble. I haven't got my maps with me, but it was somewhere along the track down from Mount Stormbreaker to the (I think) the Cox's River (possibly the Kowmung).
What Happened?
It was getting late in the day as I was walking down the track - probably around 5pm. It was definately verging on dusk. I was walking with two other gentlemen (who ended up not seeing anything). I told them I had to take a break and use the 'facilities' - a hole in the ground - and that I'd meet them at the prearranged campsite further along the track and down by the river.
I took my time and picked a good spot - always an important factor when using the facilities in the bush. I ended up picking a nice spot about 10 metres off the western side track. The ground fell away quite steeply from where I was, and I was overlooking something of a clearing - I think a big tree had fallen down and cleared a spot.
As I dropped strides and started, I heard a clear noise in the bush in front of me - something was moving up the hill towards me. I thought it was a kangaroo or a wombat - I clearly remember thinking 'Oh it's dusk, must be a wombat. Awesome, I've never seen one in the wild before'. It would stop and start, and it became clear that it wasn't a wombat - it was moving through the bush on two feet.
I thought 'What the hell, who's walking up from the bottom of the hill?' The bush was quite thick and the track was behind me - not in front. I thought my mates were playing a trick or something. I yelled out something like 'Hey! I'm taking a dump here! Gimme a sec!'. I started cleaning up and stopped paying attention to the noise. It had stopped, and I assumed that whoever it was had got the message.
I'm finishing with the toilet paper when suddenly the noise is a LOT closer - about ten metres away on the far side of the clearing. I started and said 'Goddamn it, I'm almost done just wait a sec!'. I pulled up my underwear and looked up. I noticed a tree on the other side of the clearing was quite a bit wider than before. I froze. There was a MASSIVE hairy guy ten metres away from me, just chilling. Looking at me, standing there with my pants around my ankles. I froze for what felt like an eternity, animal in the spotlight style.
Now, I remember this instant really well because I'm sorry to say that I went into panic mode.
We just stared at each other for about ten years (more like five seconds). I stammered out 'Uh ... hi ... I was just ...' or something like that. The big guy started to sway really gently from side to side. I remember clearly that he had to widen his stance slightly - I heard his foot come down on the undergrowth. He had his hand on the tree at (his) head height. I couldn't really see his face - he (I assume a he) had his back to where the Sun was setting over the ridge to the West.
Now, I suppose it's funny to look back and think that this big guy was thinking (and, sorry to engage in some anthropomorphism) 'Oh hey, I see you just took a dump on my favourite bit of bush, that's cool', but after he started swaying I paniced. It was as though someone had just a big 'PANIC' button in my brain, it's hard to describe. My pants were up and my pack was on in a second and I RAN down the hill along the track to the river (not a great idea). I was obviously spooked down the bottom when I got to my mates, and I just told them that I fell in the (now) dark. What else was I going to tell them? I wasn't even sure about what I had seen. I put up my tent and just went to bed. I was awake most of the night. I'm sure the big guy came and had a look at us at some point in the night - camp was only about a kilometre away from where I had seen him - but I didn't hear anything, and I was awake most of the night. Luckily the next day was a designated rest day, because I was buggered the next morning.
And that's it. I'm skeptical about this kind of thing, but there's simply no other explanation that I can come up with for what I saw. I've thought about it a lot over the years. I suppose it could have been an incredibly elaborate practical joke, but there's no way that someone knew in advance that I was going to stop where I did to be lying in wait. The big guy well, was HUGE. I'm 6'6" and I got the impression that he was a LOT bigger than me - not just in height, but in body mass. I can't imagine faking that kind of body mass with a suit - it would have to be some kind of elaborate prosthetic, quite apart from the fact of the amount of preparation that would be required in the absolute middle of nowhere. It wasn't another person, and it wasn't some kind of animal - I've seen kangaroo, wallabies and deer in the bush, and this was not like them.
Well, there it is, laugh away!
First of all, I have given this account only once before, and it was on the internet. I don't feel as though I could tell someone in real life, I much prefer to sit down and think about it and get it right. (Plus, you know, being judged, bit embarrassing etc etc).
The Sighting.
When?
August 1997.
Where?
Kanangra Boyd National Park, on a big hike from the Wombeyan Caves to Katoomba. For those that know the area, it was to the north of Kanangra Walls, on the track that heads northeastish to Katoomba, from Creft's Walls and along the hills Rip, Rack, Roar and Rumble. I haven't got my maps with me, but it was somewhere along the track down from Mount Stormbreaker to the (I think) the Cox's River (possibly the Kowmung).
What Happened?
It was getting late in the day as I was walking down the track - probably around 5pm. It was definately verging on dusk. I was walking with two other gentlemen (who ended up not seeing anything). I told them I had to take a break and use the 'facilities' - a hole in the ground - and that I'd meet them at the prearranged campsite further along the track and down by the river.
I took my time and picked a good spot - always an important factor when using the facilities in the bush. I ended up picking a nice spot about 10 metres off the western side track. The ground fell away quite steeply from where I was, and I was overlooking something of a clearing - I think a big tree had fallen down and cleared a spot.
As I dropped strides and started, I heard a clear noise in the bush in front of me - something was moving up the hill towards me. I thought it was a kangaroo or a wombat - I clearly remember thinking 'Oh it's dusk, must be a wombat. Awesome, I've never seen one in the wild before'. It would stop and start, and it became clear that it wasn't a wombat - it was moving through the bush on two feet.
I thought 'What the hell, who's walking up from the bottom of the hill?' The bush was quite thick and the track was behind me - not in front. I thought my mates were playing a trick or something. I yelled out something like 'Hey! I'm taking a dump here! Gimme a sec!'. I started cleaning up and stopped paying attention to the noise. It had stopped, and I assumed that whoever it was had got the message.
I'm finishing with the toilet paper when suddenly the noise is a LOT closer - about ten metres away on the far side of the clearing. I started and said 'Goddamn it, I'm almost done just wait a sec!'. I pulled up my underwear and looked up. I noticed a tree on the other side of the clearing was quite a bit wider than before. I froze. There was a MASSIVE hairy guy ten metres away from me, just chilling. Looking at me, standing there with my pants around my ankles. I froze for what felt like an eternity, animal in the spotlight style.
Now, I remember this instant really well because I'm sorry to say that I went into panic mode.
We just stared at each other for about ten years (more like five seconds). I stammered out 'Uh ... hi ... I was just ...' or something like that. The big guy started to sway really gently from side to side. I remember clearly that he had to widen his stance slightly - I heard his foot come down on the undergrowth. He had his hand on the tree at (his) head height. I couldn't really see his face - he (I assume a he) had his back to where the Sun was setting over the ridge to the West.
Now, I suppose it's funny to look back and think that this big guy was thinking (and, sorry to engage in some anthropomorphism) 'Oh hey, I see you just took a dump on my favourite bit of bush, that's cool', but after he started swaying I paniced. It was as though someone had just a big 'PANIC' button in my brain, it's hard to describe. My pants were up and my pack was on in a second and I RAN down the hill along the track to the river (not a great idea). I was obviously spooked down the bottom when I got to my mates, and I just told them that I fell in the (now) dark. What else was I going to tell them? I wasn't even sure about what I had seen. I put up my tent and just went to bed. I was awake most of the night. I'm sure the big guy came and had a look at us at some point in the night - camp was only about a kilometre away from where I had seen him - but I didn't hear anything, and I was awake most of the night. Luckily the next day was a designated rest day, because I was buggered the next morning.
And that's it. I'm skeptical about this kind of thing, but there's simply no other explanation that I can come up with for what I saw. I've thought about it a lot over the years. I suppose it could have been an incredibly elaborate practical joke, but there's no way that someone knew in advance that I was going to stop where I did to be lying in wait. The big guy well, was HUGE. I'm 6'6" and I got the impression that he was a LOT bigger than me - not just in height, but in body mass. I can't imagine faking that kind of body mass with a suit - it would have to be some kind of elaborate prosthetic, quite apart from the fact of the amount of preparation that would be required in the absolute middle of nowhere. It wasn't another person, and it wasn't some kind of animal - I've seen kangaroo, wallabies and deer in the bush, and this was not like them.
Well, there it is, laugh away!
