Day 21 – At last we had some time to catch up on the kids school work and journals. Although the journals are a great idea and I’m sure they will enjoy looking back on them, they are a pain for the whole family. I can only relate it to completing my expenses at work. You know you should do it and you know you need to do it but you keep putting it off. After that was done the kids had another swim and then we went to the Daintree river for a Crocodile spotting cruise.
The guy we went with was great as he had an electric boat that was super quiet, a camera and TV screen on board to help the kids see the wildlife and he was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
It is always great dealing with people who have such passion about what they do as it is certainly infectious. On our trip so far it had been fairly quiet and the cruise was no exception as it was less than half full (about 15 people). We set out on the boat and immediately we began learning a great deal about the river ecosystem. The kids were enthralled as he told us about frogs, birds and insects and then zoomed in on them on his screen to help us locate them. He told us about the dominant male crocodile who was affectionately known as scarface. He was a 4 metre long and about 70 years old. It sounded like we would see him for sure as it was low tide and he was sunning himself on the bank. When we arrived at the spot he had gone and left a 2 metre female named Lizzy alone on the bank.
It was great to see a wild Crocodile so close but I must admit to being disappointed to not see scarface. Suddenly the guide shouted “their he is!”. Well I couldn’t see him but when he zoomed in we could all see a small snout and two nostrils protruding from the water. This looked like any stone or protruding log and most of us would have walked past without noticing. As if Scarface sensed he had a captive audience he began to drag his huge prehistoric body onto the bank. It was both awesome and frightening to think one moment their was what appeared to be a small rock and now we were watching this huge body emerge from the water. It was a truly amazing sight and something we will never forget. We returned to shore and all felt we had experienced something very special however on the return trip, the guide played us some footage of scarface tearing a dead pig apart that he had taken. The power was amazing as he smashed the large pig from side to side as he tore it apart. Needless to say we certainly stayed well clear of all the waterways in the area from that moment on.
It is always great dealing with people who have such passion about what they do as it is certainly infectious. On our trip so far it had been fairly quiet and the cruise was no exception as it was less than half full (about 15 people). We set out on the boat and immediately we began learning a great deal about the river ecosystem. The kids were enthralled as he told us about frogs, birds and insects and then zoomed in on them on his screen to help us locate them. He told us about the dominant male crocodile who was affectionately known as scarface. He was a 4 metre long and about 70 years old. It sounded like we would see him for sure as it was low tide and he was sunning himself on the bank. When we arrived at the spot he had gone and left a 2 metre female named Lizzy alone on the bank.
It was great to see a wild Crocodile so close but I must admit to being disappointed to not see scarface. Suddenly the guide shouted “their he is!”. Well I couldn’t see him but when he zoomed in we could all see a small snout and two nostrils protruding from the water. This looked like any stone or protruding log and most of us would have walked past without noticing. As if Scarface sensed he had a captive audience he began to drag his huge prehistoric body onto the bank. It was both awesome and frightening to think one moment their was what appeared to be a small rock and now we were watching this huge body emerge from the water. It was a truly amazing sight and something we will never forget. We returned to shore and all felt we had experienced something very special however on the return trip, the guide played us some footage of scarface tearing a dead pig apart that he had taken. The power was amazing as he smashed the large pig from side to side as he tore it apart. Needless to say we certainly stayed well clear of all the waterways in the area from that moment on.
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