Salt Water Crocs in the Whitsundays

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Got to go to Australia some day. So many things to kill you or just flat out eat you ! My wife doesn’t agree but this stuff makes life interesting.

No bears though.

[goodoldwoody]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

I thought the Sydney sewers were full of crocs already? All the baby ones that tourists sneak back from up north and flush once they get too big?


As far as distribution goes, crocs only extend down to about Rockhampton on the east coast. Some have been seen further south at times, but it will be a while before they reach the Biggest Smoke. Keep an eye out for Queensland's greatest export - the cane toad, though. They'll be there post haste sooner or later.

Exactly
My wife Loves them. See pic.
We have challenges around Broken Bay too with all the sharks that most people don't think are there. Fortunately the last person taken by a shark in BB was 1950. But since then there have been plenty of big ones caught. The water is Merky and full of algae so diving under your boat when visibility it less than 1m you don't really know exactly what's around. I don't know which is better getting eaten or dying a slow death from cancer caused by all the pollution coming down the river. The Hawkesbury has a lot of sewage plants pumping out all sorts of stuff. So much so that the "authorities" raised the threshold for water contamination. If you can't keep the river clean just lower your standard.

Enjoy the reef!

Cheers Woody

[Nikki S]

No Crocs on the islands. Plenty of beautiful swimming and snorkeling spots. Apparently Nara Inlet is a hammerhead nursery but it’s not a nice swimming spot anyway- poor vis. My personal preference is to swim where you can see the bottom.
Most jelly fish you can see are harmless (unless they are box). Serious Jellyfish strings are pretty rare. I’ve never heard one over VHF but you hear a few calls for help with heart attacks and charter boats grounding on reef. You can get stinger suits, but I think April to Oct it’s... well....they are good sun protection.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

No bears though.

Good work pickles. Don't let any of these foreigners find out our darkest secret...


https://australianmuseum.net.au/drop-bear

[JPA Cate]

I think most of us on the East Coast of Oz know there has been a croc sighting in the Mary R., west of Fraser Is.

It's pretty much a given that there is at least one there. How many more is pretty much not known, or at not least, publicized. Tourism Bureau wouldn't like it. For instance, how many east coast cruisers are aware of why there is a heliport at the little resort on Fitzroy Is., near Cairns? I was medevaced from there, one time, and the pilot told Jim it is because of needing it for medevacing tourists who had received irukanji stings. It isn't common knowledge.

Nonetheless, I would suspect, with all the tourist boats whale watching, and all the yachties who like to go to Platypus Bay for the humpbacks, if there were a clear and present danger of croc attack on the Hervey Bay part of Fraser Is, there'd be newspaper stories about it and threads on CF, and rumors, none of which I've seen. Swim with caution and use good sense, wherever you are. Avoid dawn and dusk. Good visibility, as suggested above, increases your survival chances.

Ann

[StuM]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

No bears though.

Wot about the drop bears?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by StuM

Wot about the drop bears?

I wondered how long before someone mentioned them!

[Lihuedooley77]

Apparently the croc community has expanded since we sailed the Whitsunday islands. We absolultely love the Whitsundays. This was two different bare boat sailing adventures outof the base at hamilton island, one trip was the moorings, and the other was sunsail. Both visits were totals of 30 days each with ten days sailing the whitsundays. Lots of other adventures . And loved the Aussie people.

The only bloody crocs that I saw were at the sydney zoo, fabulous place, and up in cape trib, looking down at a few crocs on a sandy beach . a long way off. They were just enjoying the warmth of the sun.

We did see very large Goanas and I am sad to hear that their species has been reduced by idocy. Mess with mother nature, human, and she will come back to whack your okole.

We also had the opportunity to go with THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM, a 120 foot Luxury dive boat, out to the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. the first was a four day trip and the second a three day. Highly recommend. My first dives after certification back in the U.S.A.

On the first trip, we swam with the sharks, and giant manta rays, plus all kinds of fantastic marine life . Just beyond words.

The largest crocs we have ever witnessed were in Costa Rica. from a safe distance. We were on a bridge and these crocs lay in the shallow waters with their jaws open to the in coming currents, These blokes were enormous, 15 feet plus. Huge.

No way that we would get stupid near crocs.

Many eons back, my first croc encounter was just after I had tuned 16. The lesson that I learned from that encounter has never been forgotten, And, I know you all will laugh at me, and that is OK. It was a lesson well learned at the Alligator farm in Buena Park , Ca. next to Knots Berry Farm Ghost Town.

My buddy and I drove my first car a 1950 ford over to Buena Park to go to the Alligator Farm, It was quite a show. The trainers would run across the gators backs. and there were hundreds of them. No effect or notice by the gators.

At the end of the show, the announcer pointed out a very, very deep pit, maybe 30 feet across and 20 feet deep. That was 1956, so dont beat me up on those deminsions.

In that pit , were not alligators, but about six, mean muther ferocious crocs. They are a whole different breed than the mild tempered alligators. Scared the coon dog wompus out of my 16 yr old bones, bigtime !

The trainers took long poles with chickens attached and poked them down deep into that pit Those powerful, angry crocs went ballistic, leaping up, snarling and if they could have got out of those pits, there would have been a grand pile of dead and mangled park guests. Or what small pieces were left of them.

I never forgot the vicious aggression of those crocs, and to this day, 2018, I want no part of an croc at any time, any place on the planet.

Fortunately back in 2005 and 2007 when we sailed the Whitsundays, we had zero encounters with crocs. We did have fabulous snorkeling, and I mean superb snorkeling at Pearl Bay, Hayman Island. Just from the boat, we snorkeled those amazing coral and marine life treasures. Do not miss.

Also, on part of the land trip, up to Cape Trib, for those of you heading over to OZ, the snorkeling at McKay reef was some of the best snorkeling in shallow water that we saw. No reason to SCUBA dive, the water is shallow and vis unlimited. Very impactive were the giant clams, with their irridrecent colors, Huge, huge giant clams.

Had to take a dive / snorkel boat from shore.... great. Highly recommend.

Back to the crocs in the Whitsundays, if they are prevalent, my wimp bones would stand clear of where they had been sighted . Period .

That , of course, is our own feeling, others can do as they wish.

Australia is fabulous.....very fun, and very impactive.

Go for it !

[Dash-Robo]

There has been captures of Crocodiles as far south as the Logan River in SEQ Yamba far north Nsw ,Hervey Bay ,as recent Mt Crosby Weir, Brisbane, Jan, 2017 - Man reports seeing crocodile in Brisbane River on Australia Day
Another reason to stay out of the water
Dam probably need a bigger boat
Note no sugar scoop

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by Dash-Robo

Note no sugar scoop

As ridiculous as it sounds, that's an interesting point.

I will have to google boardings by salties!

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

As ridiculous as it sounds, that's an interesting point.

I will have to google boardings by salties!

They're not that cheeky yet

[JPA Cate]

If sugar scoop sterns were a problem, all the catamarans would put electrocution plates on theirs. Nobody's doing things like that, no crock fences. If crocs were a problem in the Whitsunday Is., there would be croc warning signs posted, like you find at Zoe Bay, or on Magnetic Is. Of course, there ARE reasons for the signage.


Ann

[stillbuilding]

I seem to recall that someone swimming at Lizard Island was attacked by a croc a few years ago

[stillbuilding]

And just for fun - around 1970 when I was working as a vet in Melbourne I had a 4’ croc brought in one rainy night - had been hit by a car while crossing Burwood Highway (6 lane highway). Apparently a small one which had been imported from the tropics and released into the drains. Obviously growing well so presumably living on rodents and occasional cat/dog. No children missing at the time as far as I recall.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Dash-Robo

Note no sugar scoop

Inflatable tenders are more of a problem!