Point Stuart

We had a few days before Nev and Leanne were expecting us in Darwin, so we headed north from the Arnhem Hwy to camp at Point Stuart in the Mary River Wetlands. The place is named for John Mcdouall Stuart, the first person to successfully cross Australia from south to north.

As you can see from the photo, we probably had it a bit easier than old John! This was another great stop, I can't believe how many awesome places we have found without even trying!
The following day we hired a tinny and set off at 8am for a chug up the Mary River and a bit of fishing. Just before we were due to go we learnt the 4k stretch of the Mary River we were about to float along in a 3m tin foil boat, is home to more salt water crocs than anywhere else in the world. GULP. I asked old mate who launched the boat for us ( trying to sound casual ) if it was safe given the fact I was looking at a saltie only 10 metres away. 'Yes', he said. 'Obviously keep your hands in the boat. Oh, and if a 4m black coloured croc with a busted up nose comes over to the boat hissing at you, don't worry, we normally just through him a chicken frame'. We wondered what the croc may do in the absence of chicken? Well, the boat was paid for, so we 'confidently' set sail.

The boat was actually quite fast. 25bhp on a 3.5m tinny is 'adequate'

Well, the sight of these guys had us reaching for the esky pretty damn quick, I can tell you, even if it was only 8.30am. If we're getting eaten, we are going down with a beer in our hand!

To give an idea of how close we were to this guy, these pics weren't taken with a telefoto lens.
We counted at least 25 different crocs, all salties, by the time the sun had cooked us, and we had run out of beer, at around 1.30, and we didn't get bitten, even once!
There was also plenty of other great wildlife on the river, including this Jabiru.

The barramundi evaded our best efforts as usual. We threw this bloke back.

We had a fantastic morning, I don't think I have ever had as much fun with 25bhp! Hiring the boat has convinced us to get a rooftopper for our next trip.