What can you get for $25 these days? A couple of pizzas, a bottle of wine, five litres of petrol... But $25 big ones at Kakadu is going to buy you a brush with death, some heart starting fun and the chance to see a bunch of prehistoric creatures so close you can almost feel them breathing on your leg. Yes, $25 well spent is an adult ticket on the Adelaide River Croc Jumping Cruise, just off the highway, on your way into Kakadu National Park.
About two minutes after our boat pulled away from the jetty, we saw huge saltwater crocodiles sliding into the muddy waters, swimming towards our boat like a dog to a bone. And it was a big hunk of pig that these guys were after (although I swear one of the crocs had his sly, 360degree rotating eyes on me).
After the tour guide revs up his freshest boat load of tourists with his story of not needing a life vest if the boat sinks because you won't last five minutes in these infested waters, the fun begins. Our guide ties a big chuck of meat to his bamboo fishing rod contraption and dangles it in front of his first subject, a croc called Butch, who doesn't appreciate being teased and made to jump for his supper.
When the croc grabs his lunch, he disappears under the water and we continue to cruise up the river looking for our next victim. When we spot big boy Agro, a six metre male crocodile who's tail was as thick as a tree trunk, I can't believe how close the tour guide is positioning our boat to the mud flats and consequently Agro himself. Yikes! The meat comes out and here he comes!
After seeing these big animals in action, the only croc I want to stumble over in the next few days in Kakadu are of the plastic kind.
Yours in the great outdoors, Odette
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