Day 9 - 6th August - Kakadu National Park: Sunrise Cruise (Part 1)
This day, we took a morning cruise:
Yellow Water Cruises Brochure from the previousday: it was $12 more than the 9am cruise but included breakfast and would let us profit from more of the day. Besides which, sunrise was special.
In the morning, I found a cockroach in the bathroom. Ahh, the Tropics!
In my quest to find a non-sour brand of Australian Orange Juice, this was the latest brand I tried. Of course, it was vile like all the rest. Perhaps this was to help the Australians wake up.
We'd forgotten to book the cruise, but luckily they were not out of tickets. There being 4 boats probably had something to do with it.
Sunrise by the pier
Our boat. I noticed something interesting about the demographics: we weren't just the only Asians on the cruise - we were the only non-Whites.
As we got into the boat, we found that we were enjoying an authentic wetland experience, as we passed the time while waiting for the boat to set off slapping mosquitoes.
The boat captain claimed the aborigines had the longest continuous culture in the world. Hurr. That depended on your definition of culture. The captain also talked about sharks in Kakadu. I was confused, but it seems they have come in before (to be eaten by crocodiles).
Wild Horses. They're culled from the air each year, with the buffalo and pigs.
Shore and horses.
There're 25 crocodiles per square kilometre, and the largest crocodiles (and reptiles) in the planets are here - up to 7m. Kakadu is freshwater but there're saltwater crocodiles there too.
There're water chestnuts under the water lilies, below the spiky bit.
Insect movement causing moving bodies of water
Small saltwater crocodile. So small you can't see it properly.
We saw Jabiru (the name refers to another species outside of Australia), a black necked stork flying. It's Australia's only true stork. I can't find out what a false stork might be.
Sunrise on the water
Water lilies
This red-headed bird walking on the water lilies has the largest toe-body weight ratio in the world.
The geese that feast on the water chestnuts and rice get too full to fly, so the aborigines knock them out and eat them.
Lurking crocodile
Crocodile Commentary 1
Crocodile Commentary 2
Crocodile Commentary 3
Raja Show (?) duck with crocodile
75% of what crocodiles eat goes to maintaining their body weight. They have directional sonar.
This should be drovers and cranes.
One of the types of birds in the photographs here should be rjabbaru (sp). It's a Portuguese name, not a local one. Their beaks can pierce turtle shells and kill small crocodiles
This is freshwater mangrove and they are the last true mangroves in Australia (?)
In the early 2000s they tried to grow rice in Kakadu and spent 2 million dollars (?).
Egret walking on water lilies. Quite dangerously, with the crocodile behind. But as the captain informs us, crocodiles only need to eat every 3 months so it's probably not worth the trouble.
Cruising
The only accurate way to tell a crocodile's age is to look at the leg bone. They have rings, like trees.