1st March 2008

---

1st March 2008
Today we had a leisurely start to the day and after a cup of tea in the hotel went out for some breakfast.
We had booked to go on another trip to see crocodiles but only a half day trip that was not starting until midday. So after breakfast we strolled down to the beach in Darwin. In the heat and humidity you have to walk slowly otherwise you get soaked very quickly and can get dehydrated.
It was a grey day but not raining at the beach so Dinah spent some time photographing the coloured stones on the beach. Most of the rocks around Darwin are made of sandstone but there are a variety of minerals that stain the sandstone. They are the most beautiful purples, reds, oranges and browns, just like an artist's palette.
After some lunch we caught the crocodile express in the hope of seeing some crocodiles, despite the swollen rivers. On the way the bus took us to Fogg Dam. This is just an earth embankment built on the flood plain. The hope was that the water would be trapped when the dry season started and rice could be grown in the resulting paddy fields. For two years after the dam was built they had very heavy rains and it washed all the rice plants out to sea. After that they gave up and left the land to go back to nature and now the area has become a sanctuary for all sorts of birds.
We called into the Windows on the Wetlands Visitor Conservation Centre. This is built on a natural hill which is an ancient meeting place for the Aboriginal people called the Turtle Dreaming and looks over the flood plains of the Adelaide River. This centre is an education centre with a marvelous viewing platform at the top. It is being handed back to the Aborigines to manage and run. Unfortunately the heavens opened and we couldn't take advantage of the views.
Next stop was the crocodile cruise on the swollen Adelaide River. First we had a cup of coffee and a young girl let visitors handle her black headed python. I didn't but in the interests of photography Bob did!!!
On the boat at last saltwater crocs started to approach the boat as they associate the motors with a treat of meat. The first croc was a female who had recently lost her nest to the floods. This has been the fate of most of the croc nests this season due to the early floods. She was still defending her nest despite knowing the eggs had perished.
Several other crocs jumped for meat and then the rains came down again so we sheltered near the bank and we rewarded by the appearance of Hannibal, a 5 metre male croc who could well be 100 years old. He has scars all over his head and back from constant fighting to maintain his dominant position in the river. Ron, our guide, thinks this or next year could see his demise as he is losing weight and his teeth are not regenerating as quickly as they should. He was magnificent and they lured him onto the bank so we could see his immense size. He was a bit close for comfort as he hauled himself out and looked at us.
On the way back the guide held out some meat on a string and a white breasted sea eagle dived down and flew off with it.
As a last surprise we saw Michael, a strangely marked male croc with a very pale green head, about 4 metres long and with only one leg. He probably got his deformity while in the egg when the temperature rose or fell below the optimum for safe hatching. As he is a very aggressive he has survived but the boat people treat him with great respect as he has already eaten two propellers off their boat in his attempts to overturn it.
It was time to go home too soon, but I chatted to Ron on the way home and he was a wonderful source of information about the wildlife and the indigenous people as he was brought up by white and aboriginal people on a cattle station. He knew all the medicinal plants and their properties. We also discussed the educational prospects for the communities and the way they run which was very interesting.
We had a very quick stop to see the magnetic termite mounds in some typical savanah woodland. These termites, one of the 27 types of termites, make tall flat mounds which face magnetic north. This is a clever plan as they get warm sun in the morning and when the midday sun is too hot not much falls on th mound as it is so thin then in the afternoon and evening they get the warm sun again. all very clever.
Back in Darwin we are packing for Brisbane tomorrow, when we hope to meet up with Dave Woodcock and catch up on his news and plans.
We may not be able to publish a blog tomorrow as we will be traveling.

---

Comments

[Lucy and Gran]

Close crocs
Blimey you got very close to those crocs! They looked pretty prehistoric and dangerous. Knew you would love the red centre and you will have to go back to see all the places you missed.

[Tom]

Blimey
Hannah was very impressed with the snake - and William wanted to know what Grandpa was trying to do with it! Marta was more impressed by the tan ;) Keep the photos + diary coming...