That’ll take a 90-minute drive from Darwin and $75 for the tour.
asserted
That → take → tour
It’s mid-morning and our guide, Stuart, has got us in the boat and is giving us the safety briefing for our Corroboree Billabong cruise.
asserted
guide → ’ → cruise
Not advised, unless you want to come home without one.
asserted
you → advise → one
Stuart is a master of croc facts and dad jokes – “if we all go in the water, you don’t need to swim faster than a crocodile, just faster than the slowest swimmer”.
asserted
you → go → swimmer
It’s a little bit Darwinian, up here near Darwin.
asserted
It → ’ → Darwin
Corroboree Billabong is part of the Mary River Wetlands, which is said to contain the largest concentration of saltwater crocodiles on earth.
asserted
which → say → earth
It’s August now, so the high waters of the wet season have drained off the flood plains, luring the birds to the billabong for all the food to be found hereabouts.
asserted
waters → ’ → food
We set off in the safari boat and an azure kingfisher darts past in a flash of colour.
asserted
kingfisher → set → colour
And over there, on the other side of a flotilla of lotus leaves, big as flying saucers, a flock of whistling ducks is nestled nervously in the shade of a tree, a three-metre crocodile nearby waiting like a statue for the ambush.
asserted
crocodile → fly → ambush
“They’re an energy-efficient predator,” Stuart tells us.
asserted
Stuart → ’re → us
“They won’t move until they need to, but when they do move, they can strike in a split second.
asserted
they → move → second
The buffalo is the size of a small truck and it stomps towards the croc, which makes a reptilian escape, slithering quietly away into the water.
asserted
which → stomp → water
He’s sunbathing when we see him, maybe 5.5 metres long, weighing 800 to 1000 kilos and potentially 100 years old.
asserted
we → sunbathe → kilos
“Why do you call him Errol?” We ask Stuart.
asserted
We → call → Stuart
“Because he’s so good-looking, like the actor Errol Flynn.
asserted
he → ’ → actor
And also he still has all his legs and teeth.”
asserted
he → have → legs
I’m of the view that special ops or some other sinister military outfit has devoted substantial time and resources to the study of saltwater crocodiles.
asserted
ops → ’m → crocodiles
Consider their coating – each of those scaly looking bits of hide contains sensors; they have thousands of them, meaning they can feel the slightest movement, of their prey in the water, for example.
asserted
they → consider → example
They have uncanny night vision and despite their size can move like lightning when required.
asserted
They → have → lightning
If they lose teeth in a battle, they’ll simply grow some more; they can do this up to 40 times.
asserted
they → lose → this
And even without teeth, their jaws are so strong they can still crush the skull of a pig.
asserted
they → crush → pig
They make grassy mounds for nests and the temperature of the nest will determine the sex of the hatchling – warmer for males, cooler for females.
asserted
temperature → make → females
Not everything here is out to kill you, though.
asserted
everything → kill → you
We see a rufus night bird, asleep in a tree and resting for his nightly hunt.
asserted
We → see → hunt
A flock of magpie geese fly off in the distance, up close is a royal spoonbill, with its filter-feeding spatula of a beak.
asserted
spoonbill → fly → beak
In the southern states, they’ll claim a vast tract of air and land as their territory, but up here because their prey is so plentiful, they might only roam as far as 500 metres.
uncertain
they → claim → metres
That’s life, and death, on the billabong.
asserted
That → ’ → billabong
THE DETAILS
TOUR
Corroboree Billabong Wetland Cruises run from mid-April to late October and vary from 90-minutes to two-and-a-half hours’ duration.
asserted
Cruises → run → duration
Prices start at $75 for adults ($60 children, $220 family – two adults, two children).
asserted
Prices → start → adults
They also offer a service including lunch and a shuttle to and from Darwin, from $225 for adults.
asserted
They → offer → adults
The complex known as the Novotel Darwin Airport Resort includes three of Accor’s hotel brands – Novotel, Ibis and Mercure – with a vast variety of rooms and rates.
asserted
complex → know → rooms
At the high end, the Novotel Tropical Pool Villas range from $350 (wet season) to $650 (dry season) a night.
asserted
Villas → range → 650
See allaccor.com
The writer was a guest of Tourism and Events NT, see northernterritory.com
asserted
writer → see → northernterritory.com
The Aporia
