A Crocodile Encounter

He stared benignly at me unblinking and unmoved, despite my being just centimetres away from his body. The words of that old Peter Pan song played over in my mind: “Never smile at a crocodile.”
As his belly hovered above my head, the close up view I got standing under the glass was of a deathly white hatched skin. The upper part of his body was a complete contrast of dark khaki green, providing the perfect camouflage to slip unseen through the billabongs and river ways that surround Darwin.
I’d passed the Crocodylus Cove entrance in Darwin city on a number of occasions and too easily discounted it as being a commercial tourist trip – I was wrong. All the croc-spotting at key locations like the Mary River and Fogg Dam had revealed very little in the way of crocodiles, except for the occasional bubble breaking on the water and many inconclusive sightings.
However, here in the main drag of Mitchell Street, sandwiched between souvenir shops and takeaways, was the best viewing of these elusive reptiles that I could ever hope for. Crocodiles of all sizes from the recently hatched through to beasts of gigantic proportions drifted aimlessly through tanks that offered picture window views to onlookers. With names like Harry, Houdini, Bess and Burt the immediate impression of these quiet predators was both disarming and charming. But it was Wendell that had caught my eye. Weighing in at 800kg, the crocodile lounging above my head was renowned for his aggressive and uncooperative behaviour.
Just before discovering Wendell, I’d witnessed the effort it had taken four staff members to clean the pool area of some more ‘pleasantly behaved’ crocodiles. Bucket distractions, sacks, brooms and three people on look-out all banging and ‘hoying’ still couldn’t deter one of the crocs from doggedly pursuing the well-meaning cleaner.
Now as I stood beneath Wendell, I knew why this fearsome predator was best respected at a great distance. His sheer size, power, tusk-like teeth and ever watchful eyes was a complete package that communicated killing machine.
Walking away from that experience, I was inspired and also compelled to maintain a respectful distance from the water’s edge for the remainder of my outback experience.