An Australian tour guide drives through a river filled with 600 crocodiles to get to work every day – and the terrifying journey frequently has him fearing for his life.

David McMahon, 36, is a head tour guide for Venture North Safaris in Australia’s Northern Territory.

‘I’ve been guiding in Northern Australia for over 15 years through some of the most remote and spectacular parts of the country,’ he told FEMAIL.

One of David’s tours see him cross the East Alligator River at Cahill’s Crossing – a deadly journey that has claimed two lives in the past.

‘I don’t think this is everyone’s idea of a commute to work – but things are a bit different up here in the Top End,’ he said.

David McMahon, 36, is a head tour guide in Australia’s Northern Territory

He then shared a short clip that showed almost 15 crocodiles monitoring his car.

‘I’m crossing the mighty East Alligator River – they’re lined up as the diamond scale mullet and barramundi are swimming up the crossing,’ he explained about the starving crocodiles.

David shared that the disparity in the name and creature occurred because English explorer Phillip Parker King couldn’t tell alligators and crocodiles apart.

‘This is truly such a wild place,’ David said, gazing out onto the deadly reptiles.

He told FEMAIL: ‘There has been many times over the years when I’ve crossed this river with my heart in my mouth!

‘The worst is at night time, and there was one occasion I had to cross it really deep when the tide had stopped and before it started rushing out again. 

‘As soon as I entered the water, the headlights went under and I had to do the crossing blind – knowing exactly what was waiting for me if I made a mistake.’

An Australian man revealed that his daily commute to work includes driving across a river filled with 600 crocodiles – and the terrifying journey frequently has him fearing for his life

But despite the frequent dose of terror, David truly loves his job.

‘I love being able to share the beauty of Northern Australia with guests from around the world,’ he said. 

‘It’s such a wild place up here and there are fewer and fewer places on the planet like this.

‘To spend so much time in the bush is a privilege I never take for granted and I honestly can’t pick a part of the job I don’t love,’ he added.

The short clip David shared showed almost 15 crocodiles monitoring his car

Many were shocked by David’s arduous commute and commended him for his bravery.

‘I’d be so afraid of doing that – too close for comfort,’ a woman said. ‘Good on you!’

‘My anxiety peaked watching that, you’re so brave,’ another added.

While others chose to combat their fear with humour.

‘That’s the road my dad crossed everyday on foot to get to school,’ one wrote.

‘At least you don’t get stuck in a traffic jam there,’ a second said. 

SCI-FI & FANTASY

A gorgeously detailed story of invasion, negotiation and diplomacy

THE BLUE, BEAUTIFUL WORLD 

by Karen Lord (Gollancz £20, 256pp)

A gorgeously detailed story of invasion, negotiation and diplomacy. The background is bleakly familiar: rising sea and temperatures are changing the face of the planet while galloping tech developments infiltrate every aspect of life.

The game-changer is the presence of off-planet visitors, who, contrary to an intergalactic treaty, are jostling for influence.

The tone is mesmerically cool and elliptical, but the story grips as a cast including a freakishly empathic pop megastar, a tech wizard and a global council of gilded youths, try to plot the planet’s new future.

Galactically speaking, Earth might be a hopeless laggard, but what secrets linger in the blue depths of the ocean?

Of course, there’s no honour among the thieves who want his stash, so who can mild-mannered Charlie trust? 

STARTER VILLAIN 

by John Scalzi (Tor £18.99, 272pp)

What does it take to be a villain? An underground lair? Check. Satellite-busting super weapon? Exuberant wickedness? Nazi loot? Minions? Check, check, check.

When Charlie Fitzer, failed journalist and hopeful bar owner, gets tangled up with his late uncle’s legacy, he finds his relative’s business extended beyond carpark management into the farthest reaches of criminality.

As a result, his life is threatened, and he’s whisked away to a remote island where he’s guarded by rude dolphins. And his cat, Hera, is revealed as a trained undercover operative.

Of course, there’s no honour among the thieves who want his stash, so who can mild-mannered Charlie trust? Prepare to be delighted and surprised.

At last we have a sequel to The Book Of Lost Things

THE LAND OF LOST THINGS 

by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton £18.99 416pp)

At last we have a sequel to The Book Of Lost Things, Connolly’s standout lyrical fantasy from 17 years ago.

Tragedy strikes Ceres, a single mother, when a car crash puts her daughter into a coma.

The sense of searing grief and aching loss is carried into Ceres’ quest for answers, as she finds a gateway into a blighted land of fairy-tale characters and mythical creatures: some good, other lethally bad.

Ceres finds no magic potions nor easy answers.

Instead, we venture with her on a unique and compelling journey to find some kind of resolution.

Masters of Death

by Olivie Blake (Tor £20, 416pp)

It’s said that the only things you can rely on are death and taxes, but what if Death goes AWOL? Well, then it’s up to an ill-assorted cast of angels, demons, reapers and bitchy ghosts to sort out the mess.

Death’s secret is curled up in the blighted past of a super-rich family, while the sale of their mega-mansion is left to Viola Marek, Chicago’s most delightful estate agent with a love of blood cocktails and a tendency to cough up furballs after dark.

With a high-stakes game risking eternal oblivion, dialogue that crackles like an old-school Hollywood comedy, and a mystery to solve, Blake dazzles yet again. A winner.

The Kindness

by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Riverrun £30, 816pp)

The small town of Norrtalje is a place of fragile relationships, held together by Pokemon games, bowling and little acts of kindness. But what happens if that kindness is eaten by a monster?

Like Stephen King, Lindqvist is all too aware of how evil works on good people, and when a shipping container of dead refugees is dumped on the town’s foreshore, everything falls apart. Six characters in all, including Max and Siw with strange supernatural powers, and big-hearted Anna from a gangster family, must uncover what’s wrong in the town, but more importantly, find out what’s wrong with them. Warm-hearted, unflinching, utterly immersive.

Bride of the Tornado

by James Kennedy (Quirk £15.99, 336pp)

Strap yourselves in for a super-storm of psycho-sexual intensity: American gothic, full-blown horror, wrapped up in an adolescent coming-of-age tale.

In a small mid-western town, it’s Tornado day and everyone is counting on the services of the Tornado Killer, a raggedy kid with funny eyes that one teenage girl is strangely attracted to.

But as the tornadoes rage across the plains, and the town hunkers down, she discovers the real danger lies within.

What are those mysterious, scratched symbols? Who is that gigantic bare-breasted woman? And why are teenage girls being offered up to the vile Mr Z?

Don’t try to understand, just get swept up and enjoy the ride.

Call for the Dead

by John le Carré (Penguin Modern Classics £9.99, 176pp)

With this, his first novel, John le Carré introduces us to George Smiley, a short, fat, bespectacled intelligence officer whose shambolic appearance belies a talent for detecting what others fail to see or choose to ignore.

The story opens with Smiley in trouble. Having cleared a middle-ranking civil servant as a security risk, the man is found shot dead, having apparently taken his own life. In defiance of his superiors, who are keen to close the case, Smiley embarks on his own investigation.

With the help of Inspector Mendel, a stolid policeman on the edge of retirement, he enters the shadowy world of international subterfuge, where violence is second nature to the hunters of state secrets.

Smiley’s task is made harder by his realisation that a former friend and ally is now his chief antagonist. With Call for the Dead, John le Carré was established as the leading writer of authentic spy fiction.

The Wheel Spins

by Ethel Lina White (British Library Crime Classics £9.99, 256pp)

Forget the film, read the book. When Alfred Hitchcock purloined the basic plot of The Wheel Spins for his classic 1938 movie, The Lady Vanishes, he did no favours to Ethel Lina White, whose original work, battered by screen competition, fell from sight. But there is a big difference between the two versions.

Whereas Hitchcock made the disappearance of a tweedy governess on a transcontinental train into a spy story, the novel is more a psychological battle of wits between Iris, a fiercely independent young lady, and her fellow passengers. Why do they deny the existence of Miss Froy? Could it be that Iris is suffering from delusions?

There is a doctor on board intent on persuading her to rest and to accept the support of a young admirer who is equally convinced that she needs medical help.

How Iris comes through it all to rescue Miss Froy is a fabulous masterwork of frustration in a mental and intellectual battle against the odds.

Murder in Merrywell 

by Jane Bettany (HQ £8.99, 320pp)

Emerging from a painful divorce, ex-journalist Violet Brewster moves to the Peak District for a fresh start. Hoping to make a living in video production, her first commission is to record the history of the local parish.

Long-standing residents seem only too happy to share their memories of people and places. But not all is easy going for our intrepid sleuth.

When she starts to ask questions about the unexplained disappearance of a woman 40 years earlier, there are signs of hostility. Ignoring advice to mind her own business, Violet redoubles her efforts, undeterred even when an elderly villager, willing to share long-held secrets, is found dead.

The problem with cosy crime is that much of it is so laid back as to induce slumber. Happily, Jane Bettany triumphs over this hazard with a thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful story.

Subversive and sweet, incredibly funny and, somehow, very serious

SCI FI & FANTASY

TRANSLATION STATE 

by Ann Leckie (Orbit £20, 432pp)

Poor old Reet Hluid has been adopted by humans, but worries that recurring carnivorous dreams suggest he’s a fearsome Presger translator?

Meanwhile, translator Qven has spent a childhood eating his fellows, but now wants to rebel.

How to explain the delightful weirdness of Leckie’s Imperial Radch universe, where identity is all?

Subversive and sweet, incredibly funny and, somehow, very serious, you’ll believe that the future of the universe depends on how these pressing issues play out.

A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT 

by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury £18.99, 880pp)

Sweeping, epic, gorgeous . . . the latest from Shannon is all these things, but they overlook one crucial detail: how immersive and fun is this monster of a book.

There’s a rich cast of characters: princesses, nuns and warriors, all treacherous, rebellious, cruel and tender by turn.

The dragons are quickening, an apocalyptic power is rising: can Princess Glorian unite the world’s warring factions to defeat it?

GODKILLER 

by Hannah Kaner (HarperVoyager £16.99, 304pp)

A classic quest to a lost city with a fabulously mismatched cast of characters — human and otherwise.

A Day of Fallen Night (left) and Godkiller (right) are among the Sci Fi and Fantasy books which are perfect for the beach 

There’s Kissen the godkiller, seeking revenge, and gritty and sexier than she thinks; Elogast, a handsome knightly noble, and the wonderful Inara, runaway orphan with an unexpected companion.

Everywhere there are gods and godlings to kill, assassins to avoid and lashings of magic and violence. In short, a humdinger.

THRILLERS & CRIME

THE SCARLET PAPERS 

by Matthew Richardson (Michael Joseph £14.99, 592pp)

This hugely impressive espionage debut focuses on a former spymaster, Scarlet King, who specialised in Russia. Now in her 90s, she has decided to tell the story of her work since her recruitment at the end of World War II.

She enlists an academic to help her do so. But the intriguing question is — was she also a double agent, working for the Russians as well as the British? Intricate and fast moving, it weaves a thrilling spell.

This hugely impressive espionage debut focuses on a former spymaster, Scarlet King, who specialised in Russia

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS 

by Stacy Willingham (HarperCollins £14.99, 336pp)

One of the most memorable thrillers of the year so far, this tells the story of the disappearance of Isabelle Drake’s infant son, Mason, from his bedroom one night.

That was a year ago, and since then her life has fallen apart.

Her husband has left and the police have stopped investigating, but she has become ever more obsessed and has recruited a true crime podcaster to help her find out what really happened.

Serpentine and compelling, it haunts the memory.

THE LAST DANCE 

by Mark Billingham (Sphere £22, 400pp)

One of the most memorable thrillers of the year so far, this tells the story of the disappearance of Isabelle Drake’s infant son, Mason, from his bedroom one night

This captivating story features a new Billingham character — DI Declan Miller, who is nothing if not eccentric

Written by a black barrister who worked in crime and is now a part-time Crown Court judge, this compelling story focuses on Lee Mitchell, a fictional black barrister who is persuaded to defend a notoriously corrupt, racist white Met police sergeant

This captivating story features a new Billingham character — DI Declan Miller, who is nothing if not eccentric.

He loves ballroom dancing and keeps two pet rats named Fred and Ginger. But he’s also gripped with grief as his detective wife was murdered recently.

As he returns to work he finds himself investigating the death of two men, apparently unconnected, in adjacent rooms in a local seaside hotel. Superbly constructed, it underlines just how good a crime writer he is.

UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT 

by Nicola Williams (Hamish Hamilton £14.99, 320pp)

Written by a black barrister who worked in crime and is now a part-time Crown Court judge, this compelling story focuses on Lee Mitchell, a fictional black barrister who is persuaded to defend a notoriously corrupt, racist white Met police sergeant.

He is accused of killing a black pastor’s son. But nothing is what it seems — for it emerges that the pastor’s other son is a drug dealer. Gritty and authentic, the story never loses its grip.

There’s much fun to be had in this delicious debut by Hay, as a bunch of brave but undervalued servants plan a bold burglary

HISTORICAL

THE HOUSE KEEPERS 

by Alex Hay (Headline Review £16.99, 416pp)

There’s much fun to be had in this delicious debut by Hay, as a bunch of brave but undervalued servants plan a bold burglary.

The swanky House of De Vries on Park Lane is their intended target and their aim is to strip the gaudy mansion of everything, from the silver teaspoons in the kitchen drawers to the glittering chandeliers.

Money is an incentive, but the real motivation behind the audacious heist is slowly revealed.

The gilded house is hiding some very dark secrets, and dismissed housekeeper Mrs King and her loyal crack squad, which includes an aspiring actress, a gifted seamstress and an organisational genius, are determined to right the wrongs of the past, while committing the crime of the century.

Fast paced and inventive, it’s a rip-roaring tale of revenge and righteous restitution.

London fog, the smell of damp wallpaper in small rooms and Woodbine smoke evoke the mood in Moylan’s evocative second novel

73 DOVE STREET 

by Julie Owen Moylan (Michael Joseph £16.99, 400pp)

London fog, the smell of damp wallpaper in small rooms and Woodbine smoke evoke the mood in Moylan’s evocative second novel.

Set in post-war London, where bomb-shattered houses still stand, it looks at the lives of three damaged but highly resilient working- class women.

There’s nervy, anxious Edie Budd, who arrives at the titular boarding house clutching a small, broken suitcase and a big wad of money, and who’s on the run from a dangerous past — unspooled in vivid, tense flashbacks —while facing a blank future.

Fellow lodger Tommie, of ‘sharp wits and weary eyes’, loves the seedy Soho nightlife and a man who doesn’t love her back, while redoubtable landlady Phyllis is still reeling from a past sorrow.

Psychologically astute and emotionally absorbing, this is a heartfelt read.

Dedicated to ‘the women who fell victim to the 1645-7 East Anglian witch-hunt’, Meyer’s mesmerising debut heads to the claustrophobic rural community of Cleftwater, where lives are hardscrabble, neighbours are suspicious and the sea tries to encroach on the land

THE WITCHING TIDE 

by Margaret Meyer (Phoenix £16.99, 336pp)

Dedicated to ‘the women who fell victim to the 1645-7 East Anglian witch-hunt’, Meyer’s mesmerising debut heads to the claustrophobic rural community of Cleftwater, where lives are hardscrabble, neighbours are suspicious and the sea tries to encroach on the land.

When a stranger arrives – the sinister Silas Makepeace – the careful lives of the inhabitants are upended as he carries out his plan to rid the village of evil.

At his behest, innocent women are accused of witchcraft and tortured in the hope of extracting a confession.

Forced into helping Makepeace search for the devil’s mark, midwife, healer and herbalist Martha Hallybread turns to her troubled mother’s witching doll in an attempt to turn the tide of their fates, but instead invites danger ever closer.

Bleak, beautiful and enraging, it’s a haunting story of persecution and the abuse of power.

Father and son Graham and Steve Reid are into the last 64 of the Daily Mail Foursomes to keep Inverurie in touching distance of a hat-trick of consecutive grand final appearances.

The family duo fired four birdies on their home parkland course to ease past 2019 semi-finalists Marc Palmer and Michael Alexander, from Inverallochy, 4&3 and are now only two knockout games away from a place in this year’s October showpiece at Marriott St Pierre.

Scottish club Inverurie, which is celebrating its centenary, has an impressive record in the world’s largest amateur golf competition. Jackie Guthrie and Lorna Donaldson reached the last 16 in 2021, while Charlie Robertson and Graeme Coutts repeated that feat last year.

Steve, 39, who sank a 20-foot putt to seal their latest victory, normally plays with his brother Stuart, but after the 38-year old broke his elbow he started playing with his dad instead. Last year they won the club’s stroke play better ball competition, which gave them the idea to give Foursomes a try.

Despite their success, five handicapper Steve admits the new pairing has been demanding at times. He says with a smile: ‘It’s safe to say alternate shots with your dad is very challenging, as a sport and for your relationship! It is a very different dynamic to playing with your little brother, who will listen to you, and your dad who definitely won’t listen to you.

Father and son Graham (left) and Steve (right) Reid are into the last 64 of Daily Mail Foursomes

The family duo fired four birdies on their home parkland course to keep Inverurie in touching distance of a hat-trick of consecutive grand final appearances

‘There’s a bit of a difference between our handicaps. I’ve been in some weird and wonderful places. I’ve seen more of the countryside than I would normally. I’ve had to play over trees and out of bushes. It’s been good fun looking up and seeing dad grinning and shake his head when you hole a putt or chip in.’

Graham, 63, who plays off 14, agrees: ‘I don’t always listen. You’ve got to be a dad sometimes. There are times when he will ask me to play a certain shot and there are times when I feel I am not going to play that way.

‘There’s plenty of good banter. He pulls off some amazing golf shots. He’s a really good golfer, but that’s a sign of a good dad when your son is better at playing golf than you are.’

Next up for the pair is a tie at Arbroath in the sixth round. This tournament is the only golf Steve is playing this year, as he is dedicating time to his young family. He has a daughter Peyton, who turns three today, and welcomed his second child, Jackson, in June. ‘Whenever we get knocked out that will be the end of my golfing season,’ he says.

‘We’ve been getting better as it has gone on. Dad played well in the last round so we managed to get a convincing win. It’s been memorable playing with him and fingers crossed we can go a bit further.’

Graham also has some lofty aims: ‘I would love to get to the finals, especially with my son,’ he says. ‘That would be brilliant.’

Competition to lift the trophies will be intense when the last 16 men’s and women’s teams head to the South Wales championship course.