It was July of 1981 and Bali was still an unknown surfing destination, somewhere in Indonesia. My brother had already been there twice before and I was getting tired of seeing him off at the Airport, especially seeing the plane disappear into the distance. This time, I was going to be on that plane with my brother flying to parts unknown (for me).
After a week, we had thoroughly explored the Kuta beach region and were hungry for more perfect surf and adventure. We started hearing rumors of a surf break called Canggu (that's pronounced Chung-gue), about 30 minutes drive up the beach. The name filled me with dread - I had impressions of a nasty beast, ready to pounce and grind us into the sand. Our Balinese friends were quite open about how to find this secluded spot so we set off the next morning - my brother driving the motorbike and me on the back holding a surfboard under each arm. We had been dodging big trucks and lumps of stone for a fair while when my brother spotted a red beach towel tied around the trunk of a palm tree.
We parked the bike besides several others and started to walk through a grove of palms towards the sound of the surf, only to be greeted by rice padies. Footprints were visible on the earth walls separating each padi, so when in Bali - do what the locals do. We'd been walking (more like squelching) between padies for quite some time when my brother swore and told me to stop. I glanced over his shoulder to see about 8 geese in front of us, blocking the way to the beach. I looked behind me and realized that we were trapped with another bunch of geese behind us. My turn to swear!
We were stuck in a Mexican Standoff or so I thought. Next instant a goose in front screamed, put its head down low and charged my brother. He only had time to yell 'cover your groin' before it was on him. The surfboard was the only form of protection so he managed to get it between him and the charging goose.
"Bang" the crazy bird didn't even slow down, it smashed bill first into the surfboard. Another scream and the rest of the pack charged into the fray. My brother was doing well holding all eight geese at bay but steadily retreating into me. I suddenly felt a nip at my calf and pain in my cheek - the geese behind me had silently charged. I swung around with my surfboard, felt a thump and saw one of the birds tumble off the earth wall into the padi. I didn't have time to see if it was ok, as I was attacked by another two geese - one snapping in the direction of my throat while the other one was coming in low for a groin shot (These birds can jump and fly with sharp claws on their webbed feet).
I managed to get my forearm up to protect my throat/face and use the surfboard to shield my lower parts. The birds are big, with their long necks they have great reach and the flat black beady eyes look so impersonal that you'd swear that they are staring right through you. I despaired as we were trapped on this narrow earth bank with the only escape being the (no doubt) muddy padies filled with water on either side.
Of course we were saved from a grizzly ending by (I assumed) the farmer blowing a bamboo whistle while running towards us waving his adze. The geese all stopped their attack and quickly dispersed. My brother did the peace keeping duties with the farmer and I knew that we were not going to get chopped up when the farmer put his arm around my brother's shoulders and started laughing. We were even escorted by a longer but drier route down to the beach.
We went back to surf Canggu several times and it was a beast of a wave but it did not compare to the cold fear I felt walking along the track to the beach and seeing the white feathered demons shadowing us in the distance.
Never cared much for geese myself. They are very territorial it seems. Sounds like you were lucky that farmer came your way.
I had an unnerving encounter with birds once. To get to college I had to walk past a reservoir, in a large field. It was very picturesque, and attracted many kinds of birds as well as water fowl. You had the large long legged King Heron, the plump Canadian goose, cardinals, crows, tiny wild canaries, some ring tail hawks, and a few I couldn't name. A lot of those birds were over half my size. But, they left me alone, and I did my best not to disturb them.
One extremely overcast day, I saw a peculiar sight, as I was approaching it seemed like every bird in the place lined the path I walked. I kid you not, they all stood in a ROW, about a foot away, and as I past turned their heads watching me. Can we say creepy??? Although I'm sure there's a logical explanation- perhaps the farmer had recently seeded the field, would explain the 'row'. Or with the overcast conditions they were 'flocking' against an oncoming storm. But, it was very unnerving.
Ok, ok. You've all made your point. No geese allowed at our dream sanctuary.
We did see a man feeding the birds by the lake at Kensington Gardens in London some years ago. He was surrounded by geese, swans, ducks, seagulls, pigeons, sparrows and assorted feathered friends. They were all lined up and patiently waiting their turn. The geese were among the first to get their share, of course. Afterwards, the ducks trooped off, marching in military precision back to the water's edge and then swimming away in formation, like a flotilla of boats.
