Daintree River Cruise  

There were plenty of warning signs about crocodiles in many areas we’d visited but we hadn’t seen one in the wild so we decided to do the “Crocodile Express” cruise. The cruise takes you along sections of the Daintree River with your guide pointing out wildlife and flora along the foreshore and creeks and the importance of this amazing World Heritage location. Little did we know just how interesting this trip would turn out to be 🙂

The $27 fee included two one hour boat trips, one left from the Daintree Village which was nice spot with a couple of cafe’s and shops. The other left  from the Daintree Ferry, about 12 Km down river – what a great way to spend a morning and great value!!  The Daintree is the habitat of an extensive array of wildlife including the estuarine or saltwater crocodile seen regularly on the cruises.   The Daintree Rainforest is a living museum of flora and fauna dating back 250 million years. The guides were great,  their passion for the area was reflected in their presentations on both trips.
The boats are stable with tiered seating so everyone can see.

A few minutes down the river, we saw our first crocodile, we all wondered what it had – maybe a crocodile tail the driver said.

When we got a bit closed we realised it had a huge python!! There were overhanging trees close by and the guide said the crocodile had probably pulled it out of a tree but he’d never seen this before. He had seen crocodiles with pigs and cassowaries but NEVER a python.

We watched for about ten minutes then carried on down the river – about five minutes later we got the choice, go on and hear some facts about mangroves – or “GO BACK AND WATCH THE CROCODILE !!!”- no contest, back we went!!  The driver  was so excited,  it’s not everyday you get to see a 4m crocodile,  eating a (estimated) 6m python!!!

I missed the best shot (wrong side of the boat!!) when the crocodile got hold of the snake and shook it,  lifting about a meter out of the water.

  Beautiful flowers at Daintree Village where the first boat trip left from.

 The second boat trip left from the ferry crossing about 12km down the river – an equally good trip but couldn’t compare with the crocodile and the python!!So well camouflaged  – can you see the baby croc on the branch?
It was great to see these amazing creatures in their natural habitat.

 Another baby crocodile – cute?   Beautiful rain forest – photos don’t do it justice.