Today was mostly about Crocodylus Park. This place wasn’t on our original plan, but with the growing excitement and intrigue into crocs in the NT from most of us, we decided it would be worth a visit to see a few more and learn a bit more about them as well.
We arrived a bit after 9:30 and had a brief wander before heading back to watch the croc feeding and the talk about them. The feeding was a bit brief, as it was apparently still too early and cool in the morning for them. (I promise you, it wasn’t cool – it was already quite warm. Crocs are clearly a bit precious about their warmth.) We then headed along the boardwalk which ran between their breeding pens with the guide talking about a few of the different male and females crocs they have in the centre. It was originally built as a research facility for saltwater crocodiles, and was opened to the public in the 90s. The breeding pens look fairly small, and they feel a bit cruel – but apparently crocs have no issue with a small space, as long as they’re getting fed and getting some exercise, which they definitely were with jumping for their food.
The guide had asked a couple of adults if they wanted to feed the crocs with the big sticks, and they had. And Daniel then decided he wanted a go as well, so asked the guide if he could have a go, and she was fine with it. Alexander and Eliza then followed suit as well. Such an amazing experience for them to be able to feed huge saltwater crocodiles! Unfortunately, Eliza missed out on that round – but she did then get a go on the feeding tour a couple of hours later.
At the end of the crocodile feeding session, we all got to hold a baby crocodile, which was pretty awesome. As rough as their skin might look, it’s actually pretty soft. We asked the inevitable question about what happens to these young ones who are bred here as part of the program (given that we’d heard only a few minutes earlier that with 120,000 crocs in the wild, they’re trying to control the population – each year they pull a few hundred crocs from the Darwin Harbour that are considered problematic or risky)… and the inevitable answer came that these are eventually used for meat and/or skin. They’re obviously kept and killed humanely, but it’s funny how we initially react differently to that – as opposed to, say, cows or chickens!
We moved through the rest of the park reasonably quickly. It’s a small park when you compare it to places like the zoos in Sydney and the Reptile Park, but there was still quite a bit to see. They had quite a few different breeds of monkeys who we saw getting fed, which was very cute. We also got to meet a few little snakes as well and have a hold of them – these were part of a group of snakes that were illegally imported into Australia and seized, and so they’re now being looked after by the Park.
Given their connection to breeding of crocodiles for meat, there was a decent selection of crocodile meats in their shop, and they also had a croc burger on their cafe menu. Given last night’s one was a bit interesting, and that it also had plenty of other spices and herbs in it, I was keen to try a croc burger that was a bit more straightforward. And so was Daniel. The others, not so keen – but they did want to try a little bit. We also picked up a few crocodile sausages for dinner tonight!
The afternoon was a bit relaxed back at the apartment. We’d hoped to perhaps drop into Fannie Bay Gaol, but unfortunately it’s closed on Mondays & Tuesdays, so we got the timing wrong on that one! An arvo at home was probably good though – I think we’re all realising that being out in the humidity for a decent amount of time can make us all a little bit frustrated and tired! Plus, we think there’s a mild cold running through each of us at the moment. Hopefully it continues to be minor and it will disappear in a couple of days.
One more day in Darwin to go!
