Darwin (Tuesday 2)

What a great day! I was still a bit worn out, so I had another sleep in this morning. Felt much better afterwards! Just before lunch I headed into Crocodylus Park and zoo. I had such a great afternoon- I spent almost five hours there. I had just missed the 12 o'clock feeding tour, so I headed off by myself to have a look around the zoo. Within 5 of the entrance, I had come across three saltwater crocs, which I was very excited about after our somewhat anti climatic visit to the croc farm last week. And just round the corner from Bellairs Lagoon, was Attack Lagoon, filled with literally hundreds of young salties.

The aptly named 'Attack Lagoon'

After that little teaser, I headed round to the zoo part of the park. I saw sea turtles and both green and rhinoceros iguanas. They also had a couple of water buffalo. One was close enough for me to reach through the fence and touch it, but I was being a good girl, so I left it alone. They reminded me of a hippo, with the skin they have- just with more hair, longer legs and a different head. I passed a few different types of wallabies and birds before I found the exciting stuff. The emu wasn't walking- that was definitely a strut! There were also two huge ostriches and some tiny monkeys. And tigers, lions and an ocelot. Apparently they are quite popular as pets in USA- I want one! After I finished with the zoo, I went back up to the kiosk and got myself a crocodile burger for lunch. It wasn't bad, it reminded me of the potato and fish cakes mum makes for Good Friday. I would like to try it again by itself.
By this time, the next croc feeding tour was about to start, so I went to find that. And I thought the first crocs I saw were big!! These were monstrous! You can really see the resemblance to the dinosaurs. Each of the breeding pools have one male and one female in them, and the males are all HUGE! Most are 4-5m long, but more than the length, it was the width and how solid they are! Almost a meter wide some of them! Our tour started with our guide hanging some meat over the water in the Bellairs Lagoon, and the crocs were jumping out of the water to get the meat. One jumped out of the water so far two thirds of the croc was out of the water! After that, we got to feed the crocs in the breeding pens. I got to feed one, which was really cool. I thought I would jump and mess it up, but I managed to keep my composure. Especially since I was basically fishing with a wooden still, and the guide had just warned us to keep our hands inside the fence, because the crocs can jump the almost 4m to the top of rails.

The croc I fed

After we fed the big crocs, we went to see the young crocs that will later be turned into handbags and steaks. And at the end of the tour, our guide brought out two baby salt water crocs for us to hold. It was really cool to see one up close, they really are very beautiful creatures. You can see the similarities to normal lizards in their heads.

Salty and I

They really are quite beautiful

After the croc tour, I went and had a look through the museum- one of the most extensive crocodile museums in the world. There was so much in there about the history of crocodile, and about their anatomy and behaviours. There is a massive skin on the wall- Sweetheart, who killed I think 19 people before the people got him. There was other sweetheart displays throughout the museum, like his heart, and stomach contents, preserved in formaldehyde. There was also a few snakes on display outside the museum, which I always like. I met and had a bit of a chinwag with Marilyn and Keith from Perth while I was checking them out. We had a good chat about the zoo, Tassie, Darwin and Perth. One of the great things about this trip is all the different people I meet, and the stories they bring with them.

Sweetheart

Once I had seen the museum, I wanted to go get photos, since a few of the animals weren't feeling very photogenic on my first trip round. I was going back past the croc breeding pens and overheard two of the keepers talking about having to get a pole out of the croc pen, which sounded interesting, so I stuck around to watch. The croc was submerged under the water, so the guy banged on the fence with a stick to get him out (so he didn't attack him when he got close to the water) and this massive croc flew at him! He had to back peddle out of the yard and shut the gate to get away. Then he had the croc in the gateway, but a few taps on the nose with a pole got him back to the edge of the water. Mind you, those taps were enough to break his stick. Twice. Kind of like hitting a bull- they have such a tough skin they hardly feel it! The next croc was much less cooperative though, and they gave up after about ten minutes, after the croc had grabbed hold of the pole and the fence. The have nerves of steel those guys, going into a en with a five meter croc that has just tried to grab them. But I guess its like any animal- you need to know what you're working with and respect what they are capable of doing. There are a lot of people who wouldn't go anywhere near the stallion I used to handle, yet I knew my boundaries and was perfectly comfortable within them.
After the show was over, I headed down to the big cats, where the lions struck a pose for me. Ok, they opened their eyes from their sleep, but at least they were looking.

Sleeping lions

I then proceeded to smash out the uphill push back to the croc pools- worked up a sweat in the 35 degree heat too! As I went back past the Banteng, she was at her feeding trough right next to the fence. This time I was feeling a bit more cheeky and stuck my fingers through the fence. And I got licked by an Asian cow! May sound silly, but it was pretty much the highlight of my day. That and feeding a crocodile that weighted almost a ton. And holding a baby. Like I said- it was a good day!

My Asian cow (Banteng)

By this stage, I was exhausted, and it was almost closing time anyway, so I headed back to the house. Last night I spent a few hours on the couch, and slept with my feet on three pillows, resulting in visible ankles this morning, so I thought I'd try that again. I've had my feet up for most of the evening now.
I really wish I had more time up here. I would love to go spend a week or so in Kakadu and to pop across to Bali for a couple of weeks. Now, though, its time to trade the sofa for the bed!