The day for our much anticipated Crocodile Cruise had finally arrived. We were all up and ready to walk to our meeting point on the footpath outside Big4 Adventure Whitsunday at 8.40am. At 8.50 I called the Cruise people and was told the pickup was not as written on our confirmation but across the road at a pub and the bus was waiting for us. Drat! We quickly had to rush up the footpath and cross the busy main road to meet the bus. We will definitely let them know to update their documentation with the correct info.

There were already people on the bus and we quickly set off towards Prosperpine. In the town of Proserpine the bus went via the caravan park to collect more people then we headed out of town and eventually onto a gravel road and into the mangrove and paperbark forest.

Once we arrive at the Crocodile Safari Base Camp the big bus had to do a three point turn to turn back around and go out the same way.

Base Camp consists of a very large tent roof with picnic tables, BBQ and other cupboards and a central concrete area around the large central tent pole. We were greeted by Stu who gave us a run down of the day and what to expect, as well as all the regulatory safety stuff he has to tell us. As if anyone is going to go in the water!

They have 2 brand new toilets that Stu said was where all the paperwork is done. Everyone was told to make use of them BEFORE we boarded the boat cruise as the cruise goes for 2 hours.

We watched the boat being lowered by crane onto the murky brown river below. The tide was still going out so the water level was a long way down. Luckily for us they have built a substantial metal staircase down to the boat and the boat has a gangway on the front so it was just a matter of descending the stairs and stepping on board.

Again Stu had to give us a safety briefing explaining there is a fire extinguisher on board our fully aluminium boat so probably the only thing that would burn would be if one old us spontaneously combusts. Another safety feature he has to mention is the round life preserver on a hook at the rear of the boat. He did say that if someone had the misfortune to fall overboard we’d probably see a Jesus moment and they’d be walking on water to get back on board rather than worrying about us throwing them a life preserver. The third safety item required by law to be brought to our attention was a life vest. There is one for every passenger and Stu demonstrated how to put one on however he did go on to say that if there was EVER any chance of us sinking he would run the boat as fast as he could and as far as he could up the bank so on one would ever have to go in the water!

All of that was so comforting! NOT!

We set off upstream and we’d only just got around the first corner before we saw our first croc, a small female lying in the mud of the river bank. From then until our return we saw many crocs of all sizes from a huge male at some 5 metres long, smaller females, 2-3 year olds and even some hatchlings near their mother.

Stu kept up his commentary the entire time and I think he could fill a book with his knowledge of crocs and in particular the Prosperine River crocs. He was a wealth of knowledge about these incredible creatures that can live for 100 years.

When a croc was sighted Stu would manoeuvre the boat so both sides of the boat were able to see it and get their photos.

The big males are territorial and in their territory is only them and the smaller females. They kill any smaller males and attack any large ones that dare to come into their territory. We saw three of these huge males who Stu estimates are 60 years old. Sadly the Proserpine River crocs were hunted to extinction and this hunting only stopped when there were none left 60 years ago. Since then hunting has been banned so the big males we saw could only be 60 years old. They could easily live for another 40 years on their patch of the river.

Stu explained that the river is like a sushi train for these crocs. The tide goes in and out each day so the crocs just have to lie in the water facing the way the tide is going and grab whatever prey takes their fancy. Their diet is mainly Barra and Mud Crabs, although when the water level goes up over the banks they have been known to take wallabies, kangaroos and even Brahman cattle.

One thing I learnt was that croc teeth are designed like needles. When a croc snaps its jaws on prey the teeth form holes like perforations of paper. So just like you can tear perforated paper a croc can tear its prey into bite size chunks so it can be swallowed whole. Crocs can’t chew so all their food must be swallowed whole. If a croc catches a big Barra they will take it over to the bank and toss it about until the Barra head is facing towards the throat so it can be swallowed whole.

Crocs are reptiles, aquatic and nocturnal. During the day they mostly lie on the riverbank in the sun to regulate their bod temperature as they are cold blooded like lizards. They are most comfortable in the water though where they can move very quickly powered by their very powerful tail. They do most of their hunting at night in the water and this is when they are wide awake.

They are certainly impressive to see in the wild like that. The two hour cruise seemed to go by in minutes and all too soon we were pulling back up at the bottom of the stairs.

Arriving back at base camp we found our BBQ lunch all ready for us with sausages, chicken, steak, fish and onions to choose from. The central table held bread rolls, butter, potato salad, noodles, green salad, and a variety of dressings. It was all delicious.

Following our lunch the other fellow Steve hooked up a tractor to a number of carriages and took us all on a drive through the wetland forests explaining along the way the significance of these wetland areas and how important they are the the estuarine environment. It was hard for us to imagine how high the water level rises during period of high rainfall such as one recently where they had 2 metres of rain in one day. Yep that is NOT a typo. I did say 2 metres of rain in one day. Staggering!

Steve pointed out the various flora, fauna and birds and animals that call this habitat home. He stopped a couple of times and discussed how indigenous people used certain trees or plants for food or medicine or even poison.

Back at base camp we found delicious camp oven damper waiting for us along with billy tea that Stu made is a huge billy. Stu explained, especially for the foreign tourists, what a billy is and how we make tea in it. Steve explained how the damper is made and we were even allowed to take a copy of their secret damper recipe. I took one so we can try that when we go outback.

Around 3pm it was time to board the bus once more and return to our accomodation. What a great day! I thoroughly recommend the Crocodile Safari at Proserpine if any of you are ever up this way. It is a family business that has been taking tours for 25 years so they really know what they are doing. 5 stars.

Back at the Big4 and Ben & Maddie wanted to head directly to the pool and slides so I volunteered to be the adult supervising and sat myself on a deck chair in the afternoon sun and wrote this up while I watched the kids.

Another lovely day, 27° and sunny. Perfect.