Kakadu: Sunrise with Birds; Croc Attack!

A pre-dawn start got us to our sunrise river cruise on the Yellow Water billabong and down the East Alligator River (a European misnomer).

It was a beautiful, cool, morning on the river! The bird sightings were fantastic, and our boat pilot and guide was humorous and very informative—she positioned us just right to see birds, water lilies, and crocodiles.

Toward the end of the cruise, we saw a crocodile attack a huge buffalo that was swimming across the river. We got it on video, but it might look too small on the screen. Our guide had just finished saying that the crocs don’t try to eat the buffaloes, but probably could if they were smart enough to gang up on them. We’re not sure why this one tried. The buffalo probably got some scratches, but it scampered out of the water, then turned around and gave a shake of its gigantic horns at the croc.

Next, we visited the Warradjan Cultural Centre, a wonderful museum that explains a lot about the ways of life of the traditional peoples of the area.

Finally, we ended the day with the last public tour ever of the uranium mine which is surrounded by, but separate from Kakadu National Park. The founding of the park in 1979 was part of the deal when the Aboriginal owners of the land agreed to allow mining through 2021. The mine will close and the company will restore the land to its natural environment over the next 5-10 years.Read more