Distance cycled: 40km
Roadkill count on the way to Hartleys: 1 snake,
3 cane toads, 2 kangaroos
How long a crocodile can survive without
eating: 18 months
How fast a cassowary can run: 40km hour
How fast a crocodile can run: 10km hour
Number of guinea pigs 1 drop of Taipan venom can
kill: 12,000
Cycling from Cairns to Hartley
Crocodile Adventures in Wangetti in sauna-season meant the heat and
humidity from the sun above and tarseal below made me melt like a
forgotten chocolate bar in the backseat of a hot car. Luckily it
was only a two hour cycle and after wiping my brow and rehydrating
I was ready to explore the park.
The first thing my guide Matt told me was that he'd cleared a
nest with dozens of crocodile eggs that morning, much to the dismay
of the mother-to-be. Visions of me trying to feed a cranky mother
croc with the chomping power of an elephant stampede flashed before
my eyes. Faced with the choice of eating a dead chicken on a stick
or an annoying nest-raiding human, I know which one I'd pick if I
was a cold-blooded reptile. Plus, that morning I'd smothered myself
in Mango flavoured body lotion so I was an extra tasty lunch
prospect.
Luckily for me we let the ladies be and our first croc feed of
the day was a big fella called Trinity. This 5.5 metre beast earned
his name after repeatedly snapping at the ankles of water-skiers in
Trinity Inlet before being relocated to Hartelys. On the Big Croc
Experience you get within a metre of these
prehistoric giants, taunting them fresh meat on a stick..
Crocodiles are exothermic which means they use the sun to warm
their blood and don't need a lot of food. One chicken will keep
them going for a week and they can go up to 18 months without
eating. They are happy to conserve their energy and sit patiently,
waiting for dinner to come to them, attacking their prey in one
deadly swoop.
Getting Trinity's attention took a few minutes which just added
to my nervous anticipation. My eyes were glued to the water,
waiting for his blood-thirsty, stone-cold eyes to break the
surface. Then his non-blinking eyes appeared, followed by his
nostrils and up he rose until nearly his entire snout was out of
the water but still he waited. I could barely handle the suspense
as I nervously jiggled the croc bait, fully expecting he'd take
both me and the chicken in one foul swoop. Even though there was a
metal fence between us I felt as vulnerable as a child holding a
slab of meat and calling 'here kitty kitty' to a lion.
Then when his snout was finally level with the chicken he
launched up out of the water, snapping his teeth down on the
carcass with a deafening hollow boom, audible hundreds of metres
away. I jumped even higher than the croc, such was the fright I
received and a woman with less bowel control might have lost more
than the chicken bait off the end of her stick.
After the excitement of feeding time we took a boatride in the
lagoon which replicates nature so closely it's impossible to tell
it's manmade. Here we got to listen to the driver's corny jokes
(What's a croc's favourite game? Snap!) and see them in their
natural habitat. Next up was the snake show with the worlds
deadliest snake, the Taipan, getting bitten by a parrot and watching
the lazy koalas. Before we knew it, it was time for a sandwich and
a coffee in the alfresco tropical café.
While their brain might be the size of your thumb, when you're
in the grips of a crocodile death roll I'm pretty sure you're
Sudoku solving skills or your ability to speak seven languages is
not going to be of much help to you. When it comes to a crocodile,
brawn beats brain every time, it's no wonder they're considered the
cuzzy bros of the dinosaurs. Thanks to Hartleys for giving me the
chance to get up close at feeding time with such super awesome
reptiles.