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Afew weeks back someone was asking about crocs around townsville so i just thought i`d put this up.
this fella was sunbaking just across from the mouth of stoney creek all day today. It was about 2.5m long and didn`t seem to worried about all the boats going past.
i notice the lack of holiday makers on the shore nathan
i can recall when mrs choppa and i got married in t/ville,,, i went to that coastal town just south,,, and witnessed 3 young (no more than 10), indigenous kids in a $20 special blow up boat,,, about 10-15 metres out in the creek,,, bashing the water with an old tree branch,,, after a while 1 jumped in,,, and dragged out a shorter version of your find
its amazing i was down at the haughton river a couple days ago and 3 car loads of victorians were camped there about 4 feet from the river they asked me if there was any crocks here while standing in front of a 4foot sign telling people of the health hazzards informed them there is a 14foot resident croc as people up here tend to clean their fish at the ramp i think they thought i was pulling their leg.
You did what you could tuppence. We had a few drownings in a river I fish over here. There are signs and warning bouys that warn you to stay away from the dams. Still, people don't listen and the dam sucked them right in and rolled them. The last one had two brothers wading in trying to save the victim and they themselves became victims. A very sad, but easily avoided incident. Heed the signs!
They thought you were "pulling their leg"........well, they will be lucky if that croc doesn't really "pull their leg."
There was a sign and you told them of the danger so if it happens, it's their own fault.
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.-- Mark Twain"
I haven't but I fished it heaps when I lived in the NT. Had the pleasure of witnessing similar idiocy there. One occasion, having just arrived at the Billabong early a.m. found one camper perhaps ~10m from the edge of the billabong with croc sunning itself landward of their tent!!!
The poor buggers had just woken up with seriously non-plussed expressions on their face. Everone else was throwing them some choice banter about chooks etc. Having fished some seriously croc-infested waters up there I feel sort-of qualified to suggest that common-sense is all you require. They're not really interested in eating you unless you ask for it. Like gutting fish at the same place every day/night, like going for a swim at night, like camping too close to the water ect. The only place I have felt somewhat uneasy would be the Adelaide River where the 'Jumping Crocs' are. Where the local tourist boats take patrons out and feed chooks to the crocs by dangling them up to 3m in the air.
But even here its about repitition: Swinging a fish in the air by pulling it out by the leader is asking for trouble. Keeping the fish in the water and quietly netting and pulling into the boat is the better way to do it.
At Shady camp I've had the amazing experience of a big old momma (~5m) guarding a runoff channel who floated high in the water to display her size and attitude toward our peppering the mouth of the channel with lures, in an unmistkeable 'don't mess with me'. We decided to move on...
I think its great that crocs are showing up in the estuarine wetlands - its a sign that the ecosystems are in good order and that the food/fish is plentiful. It's all about education.
Each winter there is a extra large model that floats up into Stoney creek to take advantage of the warmer waters in the little ck. I have never sighted it myself, however, i have heard reports of it being 20ft long and massive. Usually the local Bully paper will publish reported sighting of it each winter from the evasive fisherman...
I've got a real close look at 2 good ones recently. One up Burrumbush creek at the Haughton about 3 miles upstream from the pipeline sign and another way up a side creek at Morrisey's. Both would be in the 12 to 14 feet range. The one in Morrisey's went in as soon as he saw us, the one in Burrumbush just sat there and looked at us. Morrisey's one would be the bigger of the 2 I reckon. I've got photos of the fella at the Haughton but I lack the ability to post them here due to my clueless with computers ability.
Thanks David. Talking to a mate whose Dad lives at Cungulla the other day, he reckons this bloke's been around for at least 10 years in pretty much the same area.
Guys, having gone up the Cape last year for the first time, it was quite an education to realise that you are NOT the top of the food chain up there. As for people disregarding warning signs and not heeding advice, I wouldn't worry about it too much, it is nature's way of culling idiots.
Horny
Live every day as if it's your last - for one day you're sure to be right!
probably the same one, was in much the same place. it was quite happy and calm laying up in the grass and wasn't bothered at all until we came back past him after a while of fishing upstream and asked it to move around so we could get a few better pictures., not like the others that scampered before we had the camera ready. Low tide in Winter's a good time for croc spotting
While we're having a croc page, here's one from the hinchinbrok
were camped there about 4 feet from the river they asked me if there was any crocks here while standing in front of a 4foot sign telling people of the health hazzards
informed them there is a 14foot resident croc as people up here tend to clean their fish at the ramp i think they thought i was pulling their leg.
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