A student visited a picturesque waterfall has shared how she ended up covered in leech bites – which became infected.
Angie Selkirk’s trip to the secret spot turned into the “hike from hell” after she and a group of friends took a wrong turn, and ended up in leech-infested waters.
In a TikTok that has garnered 11 million views, the 21-year-old explained how she got “covered” in leeches shortly after diving into the water, getting bitten 32 times and having to pluck the beasts from her skin.
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“The itch was extreme – a lot worse than a mosquito bite, it felt like fire and wouldn’t go away,” Angie, who lives on the Gold Coast, Australia, told What’s The Jam.
The issue came about after she and her friends visited a waterfall in Springbrook National Park, but took a wrong turn and ended up hiking 700 metres upwards.
Angie said: “We were only in bikinis and boardshorts with Crocs and flip flops, and it started to thunderstorm – that’s when the leeches started to appear.
“We didn’t get many leeches in the actual river or waterfall, but once we turned around and came back down to the river, more leeches were around.”
Angie was bitten 23 times, particularly on her feet, and had to rip the leeches from her bleeding skin.
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The wounds later became infected – possibly due to the way the leeches were removed.
She said: “My housemate and I got super itchy bites about three days later that lasted about a week, and needed to use anti-itch cream every few hours to cope.”
Despite the “hassle”, Angie says the waterfall visit was still worth it – though she has issued a warning to other travellers to beware.
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She added: “I warn other travellers to take leech repellent with them and be prepared to be bitten.
“Plus have a plan to take them off, such as [using] salt, vinegar or a flame lighter to burn them off. “And have appropriate clothing and footwear for the duration of the walk!”
Angie shared a clip of her and her friends swimming moments before the leeches took over on TikTok, where it racked up over one million likes.
One person commented: “New fear unlocked.”
“How did you remain calm? I wouldn’t be able to stop screaming. That little thin one scares me the most,” another person said.
Someone else added: “I would have to be sedated cause there’s no way.”
“I would simply never step into anything but blue waters moving forward,” wrote one viewer.
Another person said: “I’m can’t even watch this it’s so disturbing. Ughhhh you poor thing! I can’t even imagine!”
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