Transportation was arranged for me and the honeymoon couple back to Cairns.Before we left the lodge, Joan came out to see us. Her eyes were red, her face drained of all colour.”Thanks for trying,” she said quietly, before heading back to her quarters.We rode in silence down to Cairns When we arrived, I shook hands with Chris. Alice gave me a fast hug.”We won’t forget the Daintree in a hurry, will we?” she said.”No,” I said “We won’t.”I checked into a hotel I went down to the pool I spent an hour swimming laps Then I changed into shorts and a T-shirt I walked over to the Esplanade fronting the Pacific I found a cafe I ordered a beer I looked up. I just flopped on to the bed and stared up at the shadowy interplay of the overhead fan.

I had around half a litre of Jack Daniel’s sluicing around in my bloodstream I felt completely sober.I hardly slept that night. Shock began to set in – the sort of shock that renders you numb, devoid of conversation. After half an hour, I excused myself and returned to my cabin I didn’t turn on the lights. They looked as I imagined I would look, facing the death of my father.They were stricken beyond belief Utterly lost.Chris and Alice invited me back to their cabin The bottle of Jack Daniel’s accompanied us We sat there in silence for a very long time Finally I said: “Quite a honeymoon.”We sat around drinking. Jack’s two sons – both of whom also lived in the Daintree – showed up with their wives They were men my own age. “He was dead by the time he hit the floor.”Within an hour, the police had arrived They took statements from each of us. She looked him over.”There’s nothing you could’ve done, even if you’d had a defibrillator,” she said quietly to me.

I sat dazed on a barstool, staring blankly into the jungly night The district nurse eventually arrived with two ambulancemen She knelt down by Jack’s corpse. I stood up, and reached for a bottle of Jack Daniel’s behind the bar. Unscrewing the top, I used the bourbon as mouthwash, swilling it around my cheeks in an attempt to expunge the foul taste of Jack’s bile I spat two mouthfuls into the sink Then I tipped the bottle back and drank I needed alcohol. Badly.Joan began to shout at us.”Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Keep trying Keep .. “Alice stood up and held her.