Day 2 in the top end was rather exciting. We headed out to Adelaide river (an hour from Darwin) to see the jumping crocodiles. Wow. The experience was terrifying and exhilarating all at once.
First up we met Dominator. This 6m giant was exactly as his name described. The alpha male of the area, he was in charge of his subordinates, the boat and us. John, our guide knew his tactics and was able to tempt him with a chicken quarter but he wasn’t in the mood to jump for it. I imagine hauling that body out of the water is no easy feat.
As we moved along, we met several other males. Stumpy, who is missing a leg and covered in war wounds, apparently hasn’t learnt his lesson. He regularly fights with Dominator and always comes off second best.
Slick Rick is new to the area. Quite elusive and with little in the way of injuries, he is one to watch. John isn’t sure if he just doesn’t like fighting or has been preserving himself for a big move. Watch out Dominator.
Brutus was an interesting one. Previously the alpha male, this huge croc is over 100 years old. Without the feeds from our boat tour, he wouldn’t be alive today. That’s because he has not a single tooth left. Picture your grandmother with her false teeth out! Quite incongruous with your vision of a crocodile!
As we carried on, we met Scar face, Lily (a demure name for a wild beast) and a young juvenile male whose name I forget. According to John, with no territory and no female, this guy has nothing to lose. John did not trust him at all and this became evident when we were feeding Brutus and he snuck up behind us. John honestly must have eyes in the back of his head, he spun around and fed him the chicken like lightning. Gummy Brutus was obviously no real threat to us.
As the trip continued, I relaxed and found myself forgetting that these crocodiles are wild animals. I think the names and stories gave me a false sense of security. However, the snap of Lily’s jaw as she launched herself out of the water narrowly missing a kamikaze Black Kite and took hold of the chicken, brought me back to reality. Absolutely terrifying!
A fantastic experience and certainly one to remember.
TTB
The Travel Bee 