Monday, 9 May 2011

Sea Darwin & Mindil Beach

We took a cruise around Darwin Harbour and into the mangrove estuaries. Featured was a shipreck of a Singapore ferry washed up in the mangroves and several fish jumping. The boats moored in the harbour on the buoys pay only $10.00 a week rent and some of these are million dollar yachts. This tour took us right into the middle of the city.
Mindil Beach Markets are a mecca for those wanting to try the variety of foods cooked there and eat as the sun sets on the beach which is very idyllic. Thousands of people flock here. The stalls here feature lots of aboriginal artifacts, jewellery, clothing, paintings, crocodile trinkets and whip cracking for anyone wishing to have a go.

A boat trip up the Adelaide River to witness crocodiles being fed is an eye opener, 4.5 metres long, one with part of it's snout missing from a brawl as they are canniblas and will eat each other so the bigger always wins. They do not eat when hungry but when food is available as they do not how long it is until their next meal. Females lay several dozen eggs in a nest on the riverbanks and then stay close by until they are ready to hatch. If any of the eggs are dead the female eats them. The ones that survive the journey to the water may not survive long as they are eaten by bigger fish so very few survive to adulthood.

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