17 JUNE 2022
A new day beckoned. The glorious glow from the sun lit up the morning sky. Gentle morning breeze blew against my face as I thought, “We’ve been very lucky these few days. It hasn’t even rained!”
On that bright and early morning, we went to HARTLEY’S CROCODILE ADVENTURES. It is the best place to see crocodiles and Australian wildlife in Northern Queensland. Throughout the day, the professional wildlife keepers would present a series of conservation themed educational activities. We were also given a three day return ticket as the place is gigantic. This means that we might not finish exploring the farm in one day, but thankfully, we did. The wildlife keepers also wanted us to have fun! Here is the story:
Straight after we were allowed to enter the crocodile farm, we took a glance at the map. We dashed in the direction of where the first show, the Crocodile Feeding show, was held. Fortunately, we found some space in the front row and settled down. I was shocked to see the four brave professional wildlife keepers standing beside the hungry crocodiles!🐊Snap! S…NAPP! The leader of the keepers ‘dealt’ with the largest crocodile while he introduced the type of food crocodiles eat and how they detect their prey. I learnt that they sense food by feeling the vibration made by their prey when they are in the water. Here is a video on details from the wonderous show. You ought to see the colossal crocodiles snapping and eating! Snap! This is what I meant by the keepers ‘dealing’ with the crocodiles;
Amazing, right? Would YOU dare to do that? My answer is…”Maybe, if it is well trained and toothless.” 🙂 Now back to the story:
Right after the show was over, we went to see the kangaroos, wombats, wallabies, fruit bats, emus and birds. We also went to visit the reptiles enclosures, including the turtles and alligators’ pond, and of course the…the…the Komodo Dragon’s enclosure! It was fantabulous! I liked feeding the kangaroos more than viewing the reptiles as it was more interactive and less scary.
Since we did not have much time left for lunch, we rushed to the only restaurant in the farm. We had a light meal consisting of three tiny crocodile spring rolls, five chicken nuggets, a scoop of potato wedges, a small vegetable pie and two sandwiches. Although it was eaten in a rush, it was still delicious. If you are going there, the best time is to come around 10a.m. so that everything is better planned and you have more time to explore the place! If you plan to come back to the farm the next day, that is great! Just enjoy your time there and have fun!
After our scrumptious lunch, we found out that the next station was fairly near to the restaurant. We heaved a huge sigh of relief. It said, “1p.m. Crocodile Farm Tour”, “Wetlands, wetlands”, “Farm Information Display”, “Charlie’s Display”, “Gate”, “Crocodile Farm”, “1p.m.” and “Hartley’s Crocodile Farm Amphitheatre” on the map. We followed the path on the map that led to the Crocodile Farm and soon reached the Farm Information Display. We waited for a while before the wildlife keeper who was in charge of the tour, arrived.
She opened the gate and led us in. I was lucky to walk right behind her because I could hear what she was saying clearly. Soon, we passed the wetlands and reached Hartley’s Crocodile Farm Amphitheatre. My parents and I seated ourselves at the second last row which was high up. We could see part of the farm from there. It looked like this;
Splendidly ginormous enclosures all around
You can’t see the crocodiles from the ground
Concrete walls that surround
That’s why you can’t see them from the ground!
It is rather square than round
So it’s rectangular concrete walls that surround
How it looks will astound!
The microphone did not work, so the lady keeper needed to scream in order to be heard. She introduced herself and moved on to tell us why and how they farm crocodiles. Here is what she said, “Take a look at the crocodiles on my right. As I said, we farm them for their expensive belly skins. Now, here’s the problem. Crocodiles,” she said slowly and carefully, “have a rough and spiky back skin, which might cause damage when they crawl on top of one another. We want skin that has the least number of scratches as possible. They have land, food and water here, but no protection for their belly skin. What we do is move that crocodile that has scratches on its skin to this enclosure here on my left, where there are fewer crocodiles so the skin can heal. If it does not heal in a year, we will move it to our lagoon. Now, speaking of our lagoon, those who have the boat cruise tour at 1.30p.m., please leave now and head to our lagoon.” A group of people including my parents and I headed off to the lagoon.
The lagoon was not far from there. It took less than a minute to reach there. When we arrived, we were immediately attended to. The keeper first checked our tickets. Thereafter, he told us to board the boat. When we got onto the boat, the seats in the front rows were empty so we took them. After everyone had boarded the boat, the keeper tied a rope onto the poles in front of the first row for safety reasons. After doing so, he told the captain to start the trip.
After a few minutes, we saw a… crocodile! Sadly, it was sunbathing and did not seem to notice us. Another few minutes passed. We saw a beautiful bird but no sign of crocodiles…sigh…Wait! There was a crocodile in the water! The keeper spotted him too. He did a short introduction of the crocodile as he lowered a pole with one end of a rope tied onto it and the other end was attached to a dead chicken. He used the “vibration method” to lure him closer. All of a sudden, the crocodile snapped onto the meat. “I guess our reflexes aren’t as good as usual!” joked the keeper as the crocodile released the meat.
After a few seconds, we saw another crocodile! We were so lucky. The keeper spotted him too. He introduced the crocodile like before as he lowered the pole. He used the same method to lure him closer. Suddenly, the crocodile snapped onto the meat. Just like before, it snatched the meat from the rope and went back underwater.
We also saw a few crocodiles sunbathing and others in weedy areas. The biggest crocodile in the lagoon was hidden among some plants. Nevertheless, our tour guide was able to spot him! He sure had sharp eyes. Soon, it was the end of the tour and we were all upset that the boat ride was over…but the sound of the snake show soon cheered us up!
Next, we went to watch the snake show, as mentioned above. By that time, I was rather tired and wanted to rest but the snake show surely did pump some energy into me! We got to see the world’s most venomous snake…the taipan! It was scary watching it curl and crawl…but I knew it would not bite me! I learnt that if you get bitten by a snake, freeze! Don’t move! Stay still and try to contact a doctor. We also got to see a Boa Constrictor. I learnt about some snakes’ habitat and other similar things too. Typing this makes me shiver! Let’s move on!
We waited for what seemed like a thousand years for the next show to begin. Unfortunately, it was held at the same venue. This meant that if we leave the theatre, we might have to find the seats again. Finally, it started. It was the best crocodile show in Australia…introducing the exciting Crocodile Attack Show! Snap! It was similar to the Crocodile Feeding show but much more exciting! Here’s what happened!
The leader of the keepers threw a rope with meat tied at one end of the rope and pulled it up just before it sunk to attract the crocodile’s attention. The crocodile seemed like it was going to eat the keeper but it didn’t as the keeper cleverly pulled the rope in another direction and dodged as the crocodile tried the eat the meat. The keeper threw it into the water and the crocodile went back in. The keeper then put the meat aside and jumped into the water. He dashed back onto shore as the crocodile chased him. He took the rope once again and flung it at the crocodile who did a belly turn and another, and another. Soon, the exciting show ended and the audience broke out into thunderous applause.
The next show was the Cassowary Feeding Show. We were introduced to the cassowaries and we got to feed them fruits, such as grapes, watermelons and melons. I was worried that they would peck me by accident when they were eating the fruits, or even mistake me as food! After feeding them, my feelings towards the activity changed. It turned out to be fun. After the show, we went to explore the enclosures of the cassowaries and several birds. It was exciting.
Thereafter, we went to watch the last and final show of the day, the Koala Talk show. During the show, we were introduced to these fuzzy and furry animals that live on trees. We were also allowed to touch their smooth silky skin. It was awesome…but our day was not over yet!
We had a wonderful dinner at the Marina and explored it too. That day was such an amazing day…so far.
After dinner at the Marina, we went back to our “hill” stay and had a quick bath. After the bath, I danced under the glorious lights which shone down from the DISCO BALL. Ding…Dong Ding Dong La La la la o o o o Li li li h io io mmm…
It was a wonderful day.
