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Published: September 14th 2009
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Jumping Croc Cruise
Kev and I on the bus heading down to the Adelaide River for the cruise. August 3rd was another public holiday in Darwin. This time, it was because it was the final day in the annual Darwin Cup! The Cup is a series of horse races, and Australians take their horse racing very seriously. Initially, Kevin and I weren’t really interested in going to the Cup. We decided to go to the Casino for lunch instead. After lunch, we thought, why don’t we check out the Cup on our way home! It seems to be such a big deal here, it might be fun.
So, we ended up walking from the Casino to the racing track, and boy, the Cup is indeed a huge deal! Most people, especially the girls, were all dressed up (suits and ties, mini dresses and high heels and fancy hats, tons of make up). We felt supremely under dressed in our sandals and shorts! We had a great time just walking around, listening to the live music, and of course, watching the last of the horse races. I think we saw about three races, as they were very spread out. It was a great day! Nice to experience a Territory tradition. 😊 Unfortunately, we weren’t exactly prepared and didn’t have
Flood Plains
Starting our drive across the flood plains. We weren't allowed to get out of the bus to take pictures due to the presence of crocs. our cameras with us. Therefore, we have no pictures of the Cup.
On August 8th, Kevin and I did something very “touristy”: we went on a Jumping Crocodile Cruise! The Northern Territory is the only state/territory in Australia where it is legal to bait wild crocs with meat. I went on a croc cruise in Queensland (close to Cairns) and didn’t see a single croc! So I was determined to see some wild ones in the territory, and a jumping croc cruise is a great way to see them.
We were picked up by the small tour bus in the city and then driven south to the Adelaide River. We drove first across some flood plains, which is home to many different types of birds and fish, and crocs of course! We then all boarded a boat and headed out on the river. It didn’t take long for us to see some crocs, I think we saw about 7 or 8 in total. They are by now very used to these tour boats and most approach the boat expected some food. Basically they baited the crocs by tying chunks of buffalo meat to some string, then tying that
Flood Plains
This land is completely filled with water during the wet season. to the end of long wooden sticks. The crocodiles, after checking out the meat, will actually jump a little bit out of the water to get the meat. It was incredible! They are such amazing animals.
After baiting the crocs, the guide then threw chucks of meat into the air, attracting different kinds of birds of prey. The birds would swoop in, close to the boat and catch the meat in mid air! One bird that swooped in was a huge eagle. Amazing! We got a lot of great photos and videos from this cruise. And tons of great memories!
Hillary
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