Boat cruise in Kakadu

The options here were $70 per head for a 3 hour cruise at dawn, or wait till the heat of the day and take the $50 2 ½ hour trip. No contest. Noon is for swimming.

We rocked up for the free bus to the boat ramp and headed off while it was still dark. There was a chick there wearing a duffle coat which looked a bit excessive but it turned out she was one of the tour leaders and the coat meant she wasn’t sharing the mozzie load. There are so many mozzies here that repellent had no effect whatsoever. They are probably immune to it by now. Best attitude is to accept your part in the food chain and ignore them. A fish will get them later.

On to the boat and within 5 minutes we were sitting beside a croc that seemed to be watching a bunch of waterbirds. He stayed put even when we drew along side. The rangers are a bit worried about their attitude. They are unworried by humans. What really struck me was their way of stalking. With just about any kind of hunter, you see the odd movement here or there but not with a croc. They simply don’t move. If you are a bit sloshed you may not even see one close by. (See the photo of the croc resting his head on a tree.

This is a value packed trip. Stacks of birds and lots of stories. The ranger related one of a Sea Eagle taking down a Jabiru in mid flight. The Jabiru is usually about a meter tall and the Sea Eagle big, but somewhat smaller. Apparently the Sea Eagle approached from the Jabiru’s 6 so he gave no warning. The Sea Eagle went for the neck and the Jabiru was dead before it hit the ground. To add value to this story we were treated to a Jabiru nest off in the distance. Man it’s big.

So many birds seen I can’t even remember them all but one that deserves a special mention is the Jesus bird. After mating the female packs up and heads off to smoke crack while the male protects the young.  We watched a male draw the chicks under his wing when we got too close. (See the pic.) By the way the name comes from his ability to walk on water. (Jeeze those religios are desperate)

Photo 1 Dawn in Kakadu

Photo 2 a lazy croc resting

Photo3 Dad and the kids. I wondered why I couldn't work out the legs. 5 pairs all up