Loch Ness Monster sighting for Australian holidaymakers
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NESSIE has made a special appearance for Australian tourists who were enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.
Peter Jackson (64) and Phillippa Wearne (60) from Sydney were driving alongside Loch Ness when they saw something big and fast moving through the water.
Mrs Wearne, a retired lawyer, said: "I really was just stunned and I thought, 'what is it?'
"It was pretty big even from 150 yards or more offshore. I didn't know what to think. We took photos and showed them to people at a B&B and then showed them to people on a cruise. Skipper for the Loch Ness Project, Ali Matheson, said he had not seen anything like it.
"It seemed to be moving fast but in the direction of the current. We just figured if he's worked on here for years and not seen anything like it, then it must be something."
Mr Jackson, a retired engineer, said: "We were dumbfounded but excited.
"We just thought 'wow, what is it?'
"It has been a childhood dream to come here. We were just driving along when we spotted it. We stopped the car and ran back along the road to get the shots."
The couple noticed the object moving in the water at 5.18pm about four miles south of Urquhart Castle. They were driving north on the A82 on the west side of Loch Ness. They safely stopped, ran back to find a clearing in the trees and took out their smartphones to take pictures.
Mr Jackson said: "I know I saw something and I know it was large so I am keeping an open mind."
Mrs Wearne agreed. She said: "We had a lovely feeling between ourselves watching it until it disappeared."
Gary Campbell, register of sightings at Loch Ness, said: "It's great that once again smartphone technology has allowed visitors to the area to snap something unusual at the loch. This makes it much easier to identify known creatures which has led to a drop in recorded sightings over the past few years.
"This is only the second sighting of 2017 to make it on to the official register and we're already half way through the year, so we're delighted that Nessie appears to have popped up again.
"With regard to Peter's pictures, as with pretty much all Nessie photos, they are just that little bit indistinct. However, the report that he has submitted gives much more detail on the distances and time frames and from this, there is really no clear explanation as to what the family have caught on camera."
He is appealing for anyone else who may have been in the area and seen something similar on June 22 to get in touch.
The couple arrived in the UK on June 1 and will continue on their travels until returning home to Sydney on June 30.
Mrs Wearne said: "It has always been a wish of ours to explore Scotland, we have Campbell and Cameron blood apparently."
- For information on how to register sightings visit www.lochnesssightings.com
