Corroboree Billabong…

Our trip to do a bit of Croc-spotting did not start off too well…!! Besides the fact that some of us had blinding headaches, (could have been from something we ate…!!) the boat trailer’s left rear tyre decided to call it quits on the way into Mary River National Park…

A bit of a flat start to our Croc-seeing trip....

Erin takes us down the river...

We stopped at a roadhouse on the way into the park, where between us we got the wheel changed, and were back on the road in a jiffy…

Once we got to the launching area on the Mary River, or a tributary of it, Erin had the boat in the water in no time, and we set off to look for Crocs… She had warned us not to hang around in the shallow water where we were launching the boat, “as a big 4 metre Croc called this particular area “home”….” !!

With that piece of sound advice in mind, I hopped on the boat and left Paul to push us into deeper water…!!

Within minutes of leaving the shore, we spotted our first Saltwater Crocodile…

The first large Salty we saw lay amongst the water lilies...

Paul had said that this area of the Mary River was “teeming with the buggers”, and I had naturally expected to see far more of our long-faced friends basking on the banks…

Jabiru Storks gathered on the banks...

“You call this “teeming” old boy…??” I asked after we had covered a few kilometres and spotted only half a dozen Crocs… “You should see them lining the banks on the Zambezi and Kunene Rivers…!!”

“Well, they say that for every one you see, there are a hundred that you don’t…!!” he replied… “Maybe we should tie a rope around your leg and drag you for a few hundred metres to see if the saying is true…!!”

We motored down a few narrow channels that had me wondering if we would ever find our way back to our starting point, but Erin knew these waters, having guided countless film crews on them to film Crocodiles for Nat Geo and Animal Planet, so getting lost in the bewildering network of tributaries was not going to be happening on her watch…!!

We spent as much time bird-watching as we did Croc-spotting, and I regretted not suggesting we bring a bird book along with us, as I could have added a considerable number to my “lifer” list…!! We saw a number of Asian Black-Necked Storks, known as Jabirus’s in Australia, as well as various species of ducks and other birds associated with this watery habitat…

This large freshwater crocodile paid us no attention as we cruised by...

The northern reaches of Australia are also home to the Freshwater Crocodile, a much smaller cousin to the big Salties that are found here… They grow up to about three metres in length and have long narrow snouts which differentiate them from their more dangerous relatives, who will gladly add the odd “Freshie” to their menu if given the chance…

A Saltie lies basking in the sun...

We spotted over twenty crocodiles on the river that morning, which according to Paul’s reckoning, meant there were about 2 000 that we didn’t see…!! Three of the ones we did see, measured in the region of five metres each, and that, is a lot of Croc in any man’s language…!! I hated to think what would happen to Paul should he accidentally fall overboard… As if reading my thoughts, he left the prow where he had been standing with me, and went to take over from Erin at wheel…!!

"Look Ma...!! No hands...!!"... Paul takes a turn at the wheel, while I check my insurance policies...

By midday, the sun was beating down on us, and we decided to call it a day and headed back to the launching area… Paul and I had been indulging in a little competition to see who could spot the most Crocs, and were tied at about six or seven all, with Christie breathing down our necks just one behind…

“No fair counting the same ones we saw on the way out…!!” I reminded him…

“It’s my game and I make the rules…!!” he shot back, “There’s another one…!! I win…!! Game over…!!”

Erin and I relax on the prow as we glide down Corroboree Creek...

As we approached the shore, Erin once again reminded us to take care when getting into the water to secure the boat…

“Did you hear the skipper, Colonel…??” I asked, “Be careful out there, old boy…!! I’ll stay on the boat and look after Christie until you’ve pulled us ashore…!!”

Grumbling something about the “youth of today”, Paul hopped into the water and dragged the boat forward, so that Erin and I could leap off onto dry land… While she went to fetch the Land Cruiser and trailer, I thought up ways to scare Paul as he stood knee deep in the water… None of my ideas came to fruition however, as Erin was back within minutes, expertly reversing the trailer into the water while we secured the boat to it…

Reducing the volumes of hikers and bikers on this road was a simple task...

An hour later, we were back at Erin’s place in Humpty Doo, took a last look at Smaug, their huge croc,  as he glided up close to the mesh of his enclosure in the hope of a meal… I stood looking down onto his massive head, and shuddered to think what would happen if you encountered such a beast while taking a dip in a river somewhere…

We thanked Erin for the wonderful morning we had spent out on the water, and then drove home to sample another of Paul’s now famous G&T’s…

Like walking; riding; and laughing; Croc-watching is a thirsty business…!!

©GBWT 2011