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Published: October 6th 2008
When I first arrived at Point Stuart Lodge in July, I was struck by how surprisingly remote the place is. No amount of warning could really prepare me for it. The lodge runs on generator power, and has no internet or mobile phone reception. The nearest settlement of any size is called Humpty Doo, about as rural as it sounds, and is about an hour and a half drive away. If I'm lucky I manage to get a lift into Darwin from another member of staff about once a month.
The lodge is situated in the unique environment of the Mary River floodplain. It's all pretty dry at the moment and we run the boat cruises on a billabong (that's a disconnected section of dried up river) about 7km long. The river floods annually in massive volumes, but dries right up in the cooler months. This is why this place has the highest density of crocodiles anywhere in the world.
I started my training immediately on arrival. Training consisted of sitting in on the two hour cruises and reading up on the local wildlife, particularly the crocodiles. Within a week I was driving my own tour groups, doing on average
two tours per day.
It's been nearly three months now and I can name pretty much every bird I see on the billabong, and have learned more about crocodiles than I thought there was to know.
In addition to my wages I get an air conditioned room and my meals provided. I spend my free time swimming in the pool, killing myself in the outdoor gym, reading a lot of books and generally trying to deal with the heat. There has been a good mix of staff here, and a high turnover (I have been one of the longer serving workers). In the evenings there is a whole range of interesting people to be found in the bar, from fishermen and local station workers, to serious hunters who fly out into arnhem land and pay $1000s to shoot wild pigs and buffalo. We get two bus loads of tourists who camp here most nights after the boat cruise on the way through to Kakadu National Park, so I still get to meet a lot of backpackers, if only briefly.
I have been here long enough to notice a change in the seasons. It has been getting noticeably hotter
over the past few weeks, reaching about 37 degrees in the past few days. The crocodiles are getting harder to find, spending increasingly more time in the water. The wet season will arrive in November, flooding the river on a massive scale, up to 3m high and 60km wide in places.
Unfortunately I won't be around to see the end of the buildup. I have decided to finish my time here, mainly because it's slowing down now, and it would cost me more money than I earn to extend my visa, flights etc in order to stay longer. I have just over a month left and I still need to see the west coast.
I am so glad that I found this job, it's been a great way to see some of the country and the wildlife, and I've seen a very different lifestyle out here. I'm very much looking forward to going back to the towns though.
The easiest way to leave a place like this is to find an empty space on one of the tour buses into Kakadu National Park. This is what I intend to do in the next few days...
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