Crocs in river crossings

Many of the crossing early on the OTL (southern) flow to the west and are a long way from the sea, and elevated. Some of these are OK to swim in, and wade crossings. The Jardine and near the Jardine is not. I wouldn't swim in the ocean.

Be Croc wise and treat the issue with balanced knowledge

Croc Wise

It's like sharks and snakes, if you understand them, you can defend yourself, with confidence, from them.

Look at the link and use the info wisely.

Captain Billy Landing is IMHO one of the Capes best spots, I have not seen a crock there before, as I have also not seen a shark there before.
Get Ron Moons guide to the cape, good reading.
Enjoy your trip
Colin.

I refuse to swim in croc country you can never be too careful.

They pulled a 6 metre monster out of Twin Falls in Kakadu in 2006 and how far is that from the ocean/salt water. There was a recent attack in Litchfield in the freshwater where they'd never seen a croc before.

From what I understand big male crocs are loners and will not inhabit an area where there is another male so they move and with floods they seem to be moving further up into fresh water and this is what happened in Twin Falls and Litchfield.

These creatures are lightng fast out of the water and the people who have survived have been very lucky.

Better to be safe than sorry I reckon.

If you are camping in a spot for a few days then talk a walk along the mebankment and look for slide marks in the sand OR wait until dark and then shine your torch over the surface of the water. If you count lots of little reflections two by two then you know whats in the water.

Normally crystal clear running waters are safe for swimming but there is always an exception to the rule.

There are a lot more crocs about these days since hunting them was stopped in the mid 1970's


Cheers

You're right Steve - should stick to the truth - a 2.6m saltie was pulled out of Jim Jim in August 2006 along with another 10 crocs. And I guess a 6 meter croc in the East Alligator is outside Kakadu NP..........

On our travels, as soon as I'm North of Capricorn, I'm on 'Croc Alert.I even become wary of puddles!! I think they're wonderful creatures, but I'm not in any hurry to meet them. We fished from a boat for 6 weeks last Winter, in a Nth. Qld. creek without seeing one croc. I had the funny feeling though that more than one croc. had seen me.

CAPt Billy's landing on Cape York is a nice spot but be warned it is open and exposed and little shelter if the winds pick up there is a enviro friendly toilet and a sheltered picnic table and an cleared area about 1/2 the size of a footy field, there is no beach driving allowed (and the landing the beach is barracaded to vehicles) but it is a nice place to fosick etc.. not sure that I could spend more than a day there as there isn't mch else there..

regarding crocs, sharks etc they are in the waters everywhere up there.as far as taking tape measures out and measuring them.. if you have time to do that before they eat you.. you probably don;t have to worry becuase they are too small to eat you.. if you don't have time to measure them, then it's big enough to eat you.. As has been said before, there are some places you can swim becasue they are high, above series of waterdllas etc and every day there will be significant numbers of peole swimming there.. the lower levels are defenitly risky. I have swum in the Jardien plenty of tiems but I know I am riskingit and key an eye out and don;t go deep and stay where I can see into the water for a long way around me..

You'll never see the one that gets you. I lived in Papua New Guinea and would frequently see Nationals swimming in areas that would be, from time to time, inhabited by crocs, and from time to time Nationals were taken by crocs.

Exercise extreme caution even if it seems safe.......

I have heard some pretty wild theories and opinions in my life on the subject of crocodiles and i must say everyone is different and have experienced different things but they are wild animals and they dont have laws. I have grown up around crocodiles my whole life, living in the far north Kimberley in CROC country. I have seen these animals a long way inland at famous swimming spots and fishing spots and i too have swum at places were large crocs were later seen. I used to catch them at night with a spotlight so i know some of the places they can get too. Everyone seems to be just worried about the fact of swimming were they are but i have had a croc walk 100 metres from the water and into our camp to steal bread from the camp table. They are silent assasins both in water and on land, they will wait hours in one position for a an attack. You really have to treat them with respect and caution cause they wont hesitate in attacking. Our golden rule is only swim in water that is rather shallow and fast flowing. Being clear is always a positive. I have had many close calls with these animals both fresh and saltwater and let me tell you they are not slow on land, especially if its on mud or soft sand or slippery rocks. They will outrun any average beer gutted bloke over about a fifteen metre area. And dont always think that the bigger the meaner, crocs around 7-12 foot are the ones we call cheeky. Very curious and not frightened they come right up to the boat when fishing, always on the surface of the water or on the bank sunning themselves and always the ones that get your fish before you can reel it in. And they are also the quicker, fitter and quiter crocs. And dogs and small children attract crocs like you wouldnt believe. So remember always keep your eyes on the kids and dont leave food or scraps lying around anywhere.