Crocodiles in the Daintree

Again today we were in the Daintree Rainforest, but this time it was where the rainforest meets the sea. When we arrived, we noticed a posting that warned of crocodiles along the beach. Without any knowledge of saltwater crocs and their behaviour, we were obviously going to be the hunted.

Fortunately another couple showed up to scout for crocs. They were locals and after a couple of leading questions, the guy graciously shared his croc knowledge. He explained, to be safe, we needed to stay at least 3 meters from the water's edge, watch for their snout sticking out of the water, and where the water was calm, be wary of sunken log silhouettes. He also mentioned that if a croc is in pursuit, they can only travel in a straight line for the most part, so suggested we run a zigzag pattern. And finally, the croc will only attack one person, and it will take the easiest prey. We noted that our mate and his misses didn't venture onto the beach, but stayed on the breakwater.

When Marlene and I headed  out along the beach, in addition to just beachcombing as we normally do, we were on our own hunting expedition. Marlene went out ahead, and stayed near the water's edge. I followed, staying further up the beach, and a comfortable distance behind with the camera ready. A few minutes out, we were buzzed by an ultra-lite on croc patrol, so we knew we were in the right place at the right time.

We trolled for a couple of kilometers, but only came up with a couple of false sightings. In one case, it turned out to be large fish moving in the shallows, another weeds posing as croc snout, and then, just a partially sunken log.

When we head out next time, we might try a different beach, or brighter bathing suit. Anyway, that was our beachcombing turned saltwater croc hunting experience in the Daintree; a little unnerving but otherwise uneventful.

Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2015/03/feeding-sharks-on-great-barrier-reef.html