Leichart Lagoon & Normanton

Camped at Leichart Lagoon, part of a cattle station.    The lagoon was full of beautiful waterlillies, though the water was getting low, and there were heaps of birdlife, geese, ducks, brolgas, ibis and a pelican.    Also turtles.   The turtles wander thru the campground, two nests under construction and one turtle starting her nest next to the wheels of a 4WD camped up.     The sign below states the facts, but we wanted to see evidence of crocs so we jumped in the car and drove thru the gates of the station down to the river that runs nr. the camp.   Well we were rewarded with a heap of crocs both in and out of the water.   The river is getting low plus they are pumping out heaps for a local weir.    The crocs are congregating in what is left of their water.    It was a little creepy, driving down to the river bank and then walking thru the mangroves.  Fortunately all the crocs were hopefully sunning themselves on the opposite banks to us, but we were still apprehensive because we couldnt actually see the bank we were standing above.    At one stage we  4wd thru sandbanks on the rivers edge when we spotted one on our side.    That was it, we decided not to push our luck.   We had come to see them in their natural environment and were rewarded.   If we wanted to, we could have souvinered a tooth from a dead croc at the weir.   Trouble was it was ripe and needed to prob. sunbake for a few more months.   The caretakers at the camp had a beaut skull they had taken from another dead croc some months earlier.

This croc was on the opp bank, Rick decided to tempt it over to us by throwing in a big rock.   The croc immediately headed towards our side of the bank and we watched him glide thru the water, almost like a floating log.   We didnt hang around though.