Go-ing up:The goanna is hoisted out of danger at the Torrumbarry weir. He clung on to the log.
Luke Simpson enjoys a varied job on the Murray River, but last week, his work took a surprising turn when he decided to help out a distressed animal.
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The Goulburn-Murray Water senior storage officer was doing a routine inspection of the weir on Thursday, February 1, when he noticed something on the downstream side of the weir gates.
It was a 1.5-metre goanna, caught in the turbulent current next to the huge gates.
Luke said he looked exhausted from trying to escape.
Luke recalled that goannas are excellent climbers, so he clicked on to the idea of lowering a log down to the goanna so he could climb on.
Using a gantry crane he lowered the log down and the goanna climbed on board.
He was then lowered on to a hard-standing concrete area where he recovered.
While the goanna was recovering Luke went off to fetch some European carp and after a snack the goanna took off into the bush.
No more fishing for the time being: The lucky goanna chowing down on a meal of European carp, after being rescued. Squeeze of lemon with that?
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