Australia - Top End Tales: Crocs Jump to It

Signs on the road lead to a diminishing dirt track across the fields of a 60s rice project. A hopeful sign introduces the drying unpaved road with a 'welcome to hire cars' message. At the end of the slippy track is a jumble of makeshift huts overseen by Morgan, a local croc expert, his South African lady, Jen, and his brother. The tented hut houses news stories about croc exploits together with pics of Brutus, the local 5-metre male poster croc.

Morgan shakes his long mane and takes us downriver on a roaring high tide and breezy day. Crocs are slow to show as are the kites – Morgan thinks the weather spooks them. Turning upstream we have more luck as a female saltie snappily flicks her head to catch meat extended on a pole; then a kite hurtles down to the river surface to skillfully flick up a piece of meat and eat on the wing. Further upstream we are approached by Morgan’s favourite trainee jumper, a female who rises almost her full length out of the water in a vertical torpedo position to catch a piece of succulent buffalo meat off the pole. 

 

As we head for home, we spot the magnificent broad snout of Brutus in midstream and lure him to haul out open-mouthed on the river bank where we beach beside him also open-mouthed to see his full 5 metre length including a missing front leg from a past battle. With Brutus barely a metre from the boat, Morgan advises to keep bodies and cameras inside, just in case the croc feels cranky - this is his territory. 

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Jumping Croc, Jumping Crocodile, Jumping Cruise, Kakadu, NT, Northern Territory