Before Australia we had been warned about the dangers that lurked beneath the murky rivers of the north.
Yep, that’s right. The modern day dinosaurs, Salt Water Crocodiles. These monsters can get up to 20 feet in length and chomp down with a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch. After a leisurely stay in Darwin we decided to get up close and personal with a croc.
Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise is located in the wetlands east of Darwin, an hour drive from the city. We got there at 10 to learn that all the tours were full until 3 so we drove over to the National Parks Wetland Center to learn about the flora and fauna of the unique ecosystem we were about to dive (Not literally!) into. There were lots of nice exhibits on all the animals from barrumundi to buffalo. Feral buffalo are actually a large threat to Australian wetlands because their trampling destroys habitat. While Justin and Michele talked with the ranger Nick picked up a souvenir boomerang.
After killing lots and lots of time we were all excited to get down to the river. Walking onto the boat we saw a saltie on the rivers edge. We were the first ones on the boat and secured the best seats in the house, right by the water. The motors revved up and the hull sliced through the water eagerly.
Just minutes after pulling off shore I spotted a dark shape torpedoing towards us. The ranger over the speakers announced the crocs arrival.
"Ay there's Stumpie! G'day Stumpy!" Despite missing all but 1 complete limb, Stumpy was pretty big. He swam up to the boat with powerful swishes of his tail. Once he was a few feet below us he froze, drifting in the lazy current. His dark leathery skin was a few shades darker than the coffee brown water but matched the hue of the muddy bank perfectly. The assistant ranger had a long pole with a few hunks of meat strapped onto the end of a long rope. She stood behind think metal railings and dangled the tantalizing scraps in front of the salty's nose. He lunged forward, jaws snapping inches away from the meat. It reminded me of those feather toys I'd use with our cat. After a few more near misses Stumpy shot out of the water and his enormous jaws aimed true. Using his tail he lifted himself out of the river. The movement looked slow but there was no way an quarry could have reacted in time. In an instant he was down below the water, resurfacing just in time to crunch the large bones between his teeth like nothing. Everyone on the boat cringed in unison.
There were lots of resident crocodiles in the short stretch of river we traveled. The boat crew knew them all by name but they all looked the same to me- big and scary. They would disappear under the water and teleport to the other side of the boat. Scales on their back eliminate ripples so you could never see them coming. We probably got 6 or so good "jumps". It's incredible how much of themselves they can hold above the water- imagine the weight!
On the way back multiple hawks circled our boat and the rangers threw them small bits of meat. They would swoop up from behind the boat, winds pumping to gain until they were equal with the ranger. In a fluid movement once the food was thrown they would fly down and sideways to snatch it out of the air and then disappear up into the sky.
We learned lots about Estuarine (Salt water) crocodiles and most of all, we learned that we didn't want to go swimming anytime soon!
Yep, that’s right. The modern day dinosaurs, Salt Water Crocodiles. These monsters can get up to 20 feet in length and chomp down with a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch. After a leisurely stay in Darwin we decided to get up close and personal with a croc.
Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise is located in the wetlands east of Darwin, an hour drive from the city. We got there at 10 to learn that all the tours were full until 3 so we drove over to the National Parks Wetland Center to learn about the flora and fauna of the unique ecosystem we were about to dive (Not literally!) into. There were lots of nice exhibits on all the animals from barrumundi to buffalo. Feral buffalo are actually a large threat to Australian wetlands because their trampling destroys habitat. While Justin and Michele talked with the ranger Nick picked up a souvenir boomerang.
After killing lots and lots of time we were all excited to get down to the river. Walking onto the boat we saw a saltie on the rivers edge. We were the first ones on the boat and secured the best seats in the house, right by the water. The motors revved up and the hull sliced through the water eagerly.
Just minutes after pulling off shore I spotted a dark shape torpedoing towards us. The ranger over the speakers announced the crocs arrival.
"Ay there's Stumpie! G'day Stumpy!" Despite missing all but 1 complete limb, Stumpy was pretty big. He swam up to the boat with powerful swishes of his tail. Once he was a few feet below us he froze, drifting in the lazy current. His dark leathery skin was a few shades darker than the coffee brown water but matched the hue of the muddy bank perfectly. The assistant ranger had a long pole with a few hunks of meat strapped onto the end of a long rope. She stood behind think metal railings and dangled the tantalizing scraps in front of the salty's nose. He lunged forward, jaws snapping inches away from the meat. It reminded me of those feather toys I'd use with our cat. After a few more near misses Stumpy shot out of the water and his enormous jaws aimed true. Using his tail he lifted himself out of the river. The movement looked slow but there was no way an quarry could have reacted in time. In an instant he was down below the water, resurfacing just in time to crunch the large bones between his teeth like nothing. Everyone on the boat cringed in unison.
There were lots of resident crocodiles in the short stretch of river we traveled. The boat crew knew them all by name but they all looked the same to me- big and scary. They would disappear under the water and teleport to the other side of the boat. Scales on their back eliminate ripples so you could never see them coming. We probably got 6 or so good "jumps". It's incredible how much of themselves they can hold above the water- imagine the weight!
On the way back multiple hawks circled our boat and the rangers threw them small bits of meat. They would swoop up from behind the boat, winds pumping to gain until they were equal with the ranger. In a fluid movement once the food was thrown they would fly down and sideways to snatch it out of the air and then disappear up into the sky.
We learned lots about Estuarine (Salt water) crocodiles and most of all, we learned that we didn't want to go swimming anytime soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment