Traveling with Michelle: Day 13: A boatful of crocs

Today we went on another boat tour, to a state park, and later on to the beach. A few days ago, I posted a photo of a flower we kept seeing (see below), but couldn't name. It reminded us of a magnolia, but it wasn't. So, I googled "white flowering tree darwin" and found out! It is plumeria! Love Google!

We went on an Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruise today. It was very much a family affair running on a shoestring budget. The setup was a few tents with some plastic chairs to wait and camp toilet in a hut (without a door) if you needed that. They were very adamant on the rules--every item and every body part needs to remain in the boat, below the top rail. The water is very cloudy and a croc could jump up and grab a camera or small child with no warning. They alternated which side of the boat had the next crocodile near it--people on the other side could stand, even on the seats, to get photos. They taunted/fed the crocodiles buffalo meat. It was better than what we had expected from the humble beginnings. The first croc we came upon made the guide nervous--he was afraid of it hurting someone because of how it was looking at us. Glad he's on top of it. We also saw kites (birds)--both whistling and something-winged. Perfect day--sunny and cool on the river.

a kite

Baby crocodile

The crocodile is partially buried in mud to stay cool

Alligator nest

After the cruise, we went to the Charles Darwin National Park. Darwin is named after Charles Darwin (you know, the scientist that discovered natural selection). He never actually came to Australia, but one of the first ship captains that came here had sailed with him on a previous journey (kind of strange, but hey). The park was established in 1998. During world war 2, it was used to store explosives for the military. Darwin was on the front line of defense against Japan--especially after Japan started bombing it (see Day 11). After the first brutal bombing, the people of Darwin that didn't die were all evacuated to Alice Springs. The park has some displays about world war 2 and the role of the now park. Some of the displays are in an old weapons storage bunker.

Darwin in the distance--it looks larger than it is! Tallest building is 32 stories tall
and the tallest three are all residential buildings.

It was very hot (89 degrees Farenheit) and very humid (62 degree dew point), so we decided to go back to our house and relax before dinner. After dinner (grilled burgers) we went to the beach to watch the sunset again and look for more shells.