One very lost lizard

Gonna resting under front deck of our tinny.

The day we found a Gonna out at sea!

With 3 Mangrove Jacks in the eski already, and a big cod released, I was feeling pretty happy with myself.  Until I seen a brown speckle floating on the water further out, my heart sunk, what if it was the cod I had released, floating around still recovering.  It had looked so VERY healthy when it jumped out of my hands before we could even get a photo of it.

I couldn't leave it there, chances where more likely that it was just a stick floating around with the big tide that day, but we had to be sure.  On approach I was convinced it was my cod, 'look you can see it's big tail'.  Nope Johnno thought that looked more like a lizard head?  The closer we got the more confused we got.  It was not until we were right beside it we were sure it was a lizard just floating around out there.

Moments of hesitation, do lizards swim out to sea? What if he is using the current to get to the other side?  But realising the poor buggar was buggared we thought we better help him.  He didn't even try to swim away as i scooped him up in our net, he held on, I could feel his sigh of relief.  But then the realisation of what i was doing, what the hell am i going to do with this sharp clawed, big toothed fast moving creature?  I didn't have time to think about it.  He woke up, stood on his back legs, and while I screamed he jumped on the boat, dove straight past me and wedged himself at the very front of our tinny.

I thought we were going to take him straight to shore, but oh no, true Johnno style 'the fishing is still good, he will be alright there for a while'!  But he is so close to me!!  Thankfully he was more interested in resting and hiding from me then jumping out and clawing off my face.

Back at shore, I thought it would be as easy as pulling out the life jackets and letting him run into the mangroves, but no he wasn't ready to leave his rescue boat yet.  He flow to the middle of the tinny, and straight under the back seat.  We couldn't move him.  In no hurry ourselves we sat on top of the dunes hoping he would get himself out.  Couple of tinny's lately we couldn't see him and were feeling happy about our safe release of a Gonna, good finish to a great days fishing!

Driving home on the very corrugated road we did question a few times if he could be hanging on under the seat where we didn't see him, and if so then surely he would jump out from a hell ride like this?

The next day Johnno went to work.  He text and asked me to move the tinny so he could do some work on it.

It had been parked it too close to the house, so I was getting hot and flustered while trying to move it.  I thought the dogs where barking at me swearing at the tinny.  In hinds sight I now realise they were barking at the Gonna jumping out of the tinny and INTO my living room, through the window that I quickly shut to stop the noise of my loud barking dogs...shutting the gonna in the house with my excited dogs!!!!

A while later I came home to some strange acting dogs, I just thought they were too hot, like ME!

I opened the windows again, but realised that was not going to cut it, I was cooked.   Turning on the air con,  I went to shut the windows again, it was then the gonna jumped out from behind the blind!!

Gonna in my house!!!

You can imagine the mayhem!!  I was screaming, the dogs were super alert and jumping around, the gonna with his sharp little claws skating around my shinny tiles trying to find some where to hide.

I got the dogs outside, opened the front door, grabbed the broom, and tried to encourage him in the right direction.  Man those little buggars are fast!!  He was in the couch before I even had time to lunge at him...not that I was going to do that hahahah!

Gonna in my couch!

That's when the fun begun!!  Those buggars are hard to move!!

Hiding from the gonna in our lounge!

I pulled the couch over beside the open front door, shut all the other doors, and left the room.  My hoping was he would get himself out of the couch and just run out the front door.  After a little nana nap I woke to the realisation that this was a BAD idea.  

One: it took him all night to decide to leave the tinny, he could be there all day!  

Two: what if he gets out of the couch but not out the front door (funny enough that is what happened in the end!), if i wasn't watching I will never know where he is!

I tipped the couch upside down, easier to get at him.
Thankfully he squeezed right through to the safety of the cave made by the up turned couch.

But my fun wasn't over yet!!  He was on the floor at least.  I slid the couch over so the end was facing the open door.  I expected when I went to the far end he would run out to the open air, his big wide world!  BUT NO!!

He ran into my kitchen!!!  I cornered him, throw a blanket over him, and dragged him hissing at me, to the front door, but still he would not leave!!  He tried to climb the wall instead of running out the door....I think this lizard wanted to live with us!!

Finally, and very quickly, he made a break for it to my jungle of a garden where I lost track of him very quickly due to all my garden waste/mulch! 

YouTube clip from my saved SnapChat clips: