Camper Van - Day 2 (Crocodiles)
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Fri 8 Oct 2010 02:15
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Friday 8th October
Day 2 - Kakadu Tourist Park and Cahills
Crossing
Our first morning in the campers was
glorious! When we awoke we were surrounded by cockatoos and other beautiful
birds and the sun was shining down, bliss!
   Enjoying breakfast in the
lovely woodland setting
We had a short drive to the Gagadju
Crocodile Holiday Inn, a hotel shaped like a crocodile, where we began a 4km
walk through woodlands to the Bowali Visitor Centre. It wasn't the most
interesting of walks but it was nice to get out and about and do some exercise,
even in the sweltering heat!
 Walking through the
bush
After some advice from the
visitor centre we set off to Cahills Crossing in the East Alligator Region
in search of crocodiles who'd be feeding on the fish at high tide. We began the
1.5km Manngarre rainforest walk and soon reached the East Alligator River
and guess what.....there were no crocodiles! There were however plenty of flying
foxes up in the trees. Although slightly disappointed, as we just expected to
happen upon a bunch of feeding crocodiles, we continued on the walk through
monsoon rainforest. The path led us to and from the river so we'd get excited
only to be disappointed as there were still no crocodiles at each opening.
However, when we reached the end we were pleasantly surprised as there were a
few lay out on the sandbanks basking in the sun. They then sloped off into the
water and kept popping up with just the top of their heads showing. We were even
lucky enough to witness a fight!
 Flying foxes in the
trees
 And
Crocodiles!!!!!!!!
Once back at the vans we found a
quiet spot for a picnic further up the river away from all the other tourists.
Moving to the other side of the crossing seemed to pay off as there was a huge 3
metre crocodile just sat in the middle of the river.
   A big one! What a setting for
our lunch! It was fantastic to see the crocodiles in their natural
environment!
Here's a few fascinating facts:
Crocodiles are the world's
largest living reptiles. They are also one of the most ancient, having existed
unchanged for nearly 200 million years. There are more than 20 types of
crocodilians in the world and two species occur in Australia: the freshwater and
the estuarine or saltwater crocodile.
Like all reptiles, crocodiles use
the environment to regulate their body temperature. While basking in the sun,
they open their jaws wide to prevent their brains from overheating. An open
mouth can also be a threat!
Nest temperature determines the
sex of young crocodiles. Estuarine crocodile nests are incubated by the heat of
decomposing vegetation. Freshwater crocodiles lay their eggs in warm
sand.
After a territorial dispute the
defeated crocodile may venture hundreds of kilometres in search of new
territory.
In short bursts crocodiles can
travel faster than 10 km per hour. Freshwater crocodiles have been seen reaching
18km per hour going downhill into the water.
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