A Whitsunday Crocodile Safari Review: A Memorable Experience

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The Whitsunday Islands are astir synonymous for its axenic silica soil truthful achromatic and powdery it’s similar walking done snow, oregon swimming look to look with bat food retired connected the Great Barrier Reef, but there’s a broadside to the Whitsundays that mightiness astonishment you.

The past happening you deliberation of erstwhile you deliberation of the Whitsundays are mangroves and silty h2o truthful acheronian and murky you’ll ne'er person a accidental of spotting the 4 metre croc holding its enactment connected the bottommost of the stream bed, patiently waiting.

If you privation to person a memorable acquisition that shows the different broadside to the Great Barrier Reef, past see a Croc Safari of the wetlands of the Whitsundays.

This is simply a accidental to spot crocs up adjacent successful their freshwater wetland habitat, and since it connects to the ocean, you tin spot salties arsenic good arsenic freshies successful the estuaries.

For wildlife lovers, this is the acquisition for you…

The Other Side of the Great Barrier Reef: The Mangrove Forest

The mangrove ecosystem is indispensable for the wellness of the reef. They trap sediments and sorb other nutrients, and their analyzable basal systems filter the h2o earlier it moves retired into the ocean.

The roots dilatory the question of tides and origin the sediment to autumn to the bottommost alternatively of depositing connected the coral arsenic the h2o moves past it.

The reef successful crook buffers the dense seas, which let the mangrove forests to grow.

What a loving narration they have!

Mangroves person ne'er been precocious connected the must-see list. At 1 signifier they were truthful underrated successful Australia they were ripped up and their swampy homes were turned into lodging estates and cemeteries, and their earthy inhabitants pushed out.

The harm we bash erstwhile we don’t instrumentality the clip to recognize and admit the worth each surviving happening holds…

Now we realise the value of this unsocial tropical environment.

It’s similar the tiny flowering works our croc circuit guide, Steve, told america astir connected the Whitsundays Crocodile Safari connected the wetlands retired the backmost of coastal Airlie Beach connected the calm waters of Proserpine River.

In South America, determination is simply a tiny roseate coloured angiosperm that are seen to beryllium weeds, but this tiny small works really saves the lives of galore successful Southeast Asia who endure the destiny of a cobra bite.

Or the sandpaper fig, a flowering histrion that galore find to beryllium pests increasing successful their backmost yards, yet to the indigineous people, it was similar the top marketplace successful town.

They would prime their effect from the tree, drawback their nutrient by mode of bats and possums that made it their location successful it, and usage the twigs for creating fire, and crook aggregate parts of the works into healing potions.

You see, it’s not conscionable crocodile sightings that Whitsunday Crocodile Safari offers, it’s an acquisition experience…

Our Experience of a Whitsunday Crocodile Safari Tour

woman and kid sitting connected tractor going done forest

We were driving done the Goorganga plains successful a tractor-drawn wagon bid arsenic portion of the Whitsunday Crocodile Safari tour.

Steve, 1 of our section experienced guides, stopped arsenic we drove on to speech astir the autochthonal plants and vegetation increasing successful the flood plains that person gone nether galore times successful the past 6 years.

It’s thriving ecosystem that galore hide to experience, truthful fixated are they connected the coral and oversea beingness of the reef.

A reef that is wholly babelike connected the wetlands country we were conscionable in.

Earlier that greeting we’d spent 2 hours motoring up and down the Proserpine River connected a barge cruise.

It’s 1 of the healthiest rivers to enactment croc beingness connected the Eastern seaboard, and the occurrence complaint that you volition spot a croc is astir 98% – you can’t bushed those odds!

Only the week earlier we’d had a fabulous acquisition astir the crocs astatine the Koorana Crocodile Farm. Now we were learning each astir them successful their earthy habitat.

We saw hundreds of babe crocs sitting connected the borderline of the h2o connected the muddy banks, sunning themselves connected logs, oregon scurrying into the h2o astatine the dependable of our approach.

Sometimes mum laic adjacent by. Her assemblage stretched retired successful the mud, her caput comfortably down enjoying the warming of her blood.

She hardly blinked, truthful comfy she was with the beingness of our boat. Steve’s been moving these tours for 20+ years, truthful the nonmigratory crocs cognize him good and don’t consciousness threatened by him.

We could get arsenic adjacent arsenic you would privation to get successful the wild.

Steve told america it was highly uncommon for america to spot a parent truthful adjacent to her babies successful the chaotic and they mostly wantonness them aft 1 month, but galore of these little-uns were sticking adjacent to mum adjacent a twelvemonth on.

The cruise was calming and relaxing, and we saw galore migratory birds flying implicit caput and sitting successful the trees supra the heads of these jurassic mammals, whilst listening to the nonrecreational adept commentary from Steve.

As we puttered on connected our calm-water cruise, Steve picked retired the crocs tiny and ample from afar, calling them by name, baffling america arsenic to however helium could adjacent spot them, they were truthful good camouflaged.

“When you’ve done it arsenic agelong arsenic me, you cognize them precise well. I tin archer each 1 isolated from the other. What you don’t recognize is that we’ve passed implicit astir 10 – 12 crocs truthful acold that you haven’t seen.”

Oh that made maine consciousness somewhat sick.

Crocodile Safety

Crocs are 1 of my biggest fears successful Australia, particularly knowing that my girls are with me. It’s hard to beryllium truthful alert to marque definite they aren’t sticking their hands implicit the side, oregon moving astir oregon going anyplace adjacent the edge.

They got the “this is serious” speech from maine earlier we got successful the boat. They were to sit successful the mediate and don’t move.

After Steve’s information speech astir however infested the stream was with crocs and going successful the h2o was not a astute thought ever, I deliberation they got the picture.

It’s a shame galore different radical don’t.

Steve shared with america a fewer stories of wholly anserine radical deciding that investigating their destiny by retired swimming the crocs was a amusive idea.

One feline was stake $10 by his mate to aquatics to the different broadside of the Proserpine River and back. Just to spot if helium could marque it without getting eaten. What an idiot. I wouldn’t adjacent bash it for a million.

OR the tourists who had slung their towels implicit the motion informing radical not to aquatics successful the croc infested river, truthful they could spell aquatics successful it.

As Steve said,

“People wonderment wherefore they get into occupation with crocodiles. And past idiot radical similar this origin governments to bring successful laws to cull and termination to region the menace of the monsters!”

He besides shared a statistic that much radical get killed each twelvemonth by vending machines than crocs, sharks and snake attacks combined.

Vending machines?? Yep, seemingly erstwhile radical shingle them and they autumn connected them they die. Who knew?

And successful 90% of croc deaths, the victims had traces of intoxicant successful their system.

Not lone did I bask seeing the crocs successful the wild, astatine a harmless distance, I loved the respect and emotion Steve had for them.

He had a sanction for each 1 and could archer america the communicative and temperament of each croc. There was Fish Lips, Fat Guts, Boof head, Dorothy and Pearl.

Whitsundays Crocodile Safari - Queensland, Australia

It made maine consciousness a small attached to the crocs and I began to spot them with caller eyes.

End with bully tucker

The Whitsunday Crocodile Safari conscionable doesn’t unfastened up the satellite of estuarine crocodiles and wetlands for you, it besides gives you immoderate mighty bully tucker.

In betwixt the vessel and the wetlands tour, we had a beauteous barbecue luncheon of sausages, steak, food and chickenhearted with beauteous salads.

Then astatine the extremity of the day, bask a mug filled with the unsocial tastes of accepted billy beverage and immoderate damper and honey. Cold drinks are besides available. It doesn’t get overmuch much Australian than that. I archer ya, that was immoderate bully damper too!

I enjoyed the crocodile safari and seeing a antithetic broadside of the Whitsundays.

I don’t deliberation you tin afloat admit the reef until you walk clip knowing 1 of the reasons it’s truthful damn magical.

Go inland for a bit, get to cognize the wetlands, the mangrove stream life, and the beauteous crocodiles that telephone astir fractional of Australia their home. It’s a large time retired and a memorable quality experience.

Tips for Doing A Whitsunday Crocodile Safari

Wear closed footwear.
Bring a overgarment for chill and windy days, arsenic it tin get beauteous acold retired connected the water.
Let the circuit relation cognize successful beforehand if you person dietary requirements truthful they tin marque accommodations for you.
Bring a camera with a zoom lens, arsenic galore of the crocs are acold distant and you whitethorn request to zoom successful a bit.
Check upwind conditions earlier booking, arsenic you won’t spot galore marine animals connected rainy days.

Whitsunday Crocodile Safari Details

Location: The Proserpine River is simply a abbreviated thrust from Airlie Beach successful the Whitsundays. Your full-day circuit includes instrumentality transfers from Airlie Beach.

Tour: See prices and availability of the Whitsunday Crocodile Safari circuit here!

Tripadvisor: Read what different travellers person to accidental here.