Swimming with Crocs in Australia

Many people have written about my comment that I went swimming with freshwater crocodiles in Australia. For those unfamiliar with Australia and thought I was nuts, there are two types of crocs – saltwater and freshwater. You can tell the difference as the salty has a round mouth, and the freshie has a long, thin mouth. The salty is the one that will grab you, spin you around to drown you, then stuff you under some log to season you properly before having dinner.

The freshie will eat fish. It does not lunge out and take down large mammals coming for a drink. Yes, after first fishing for barramundi on the South Alligator River, when there are no alligators in Australia, teaching me how to spot them coming so I did not become their dinner, we went inland to a lake that was surrounded by freshwater crocs, and he dove in. I thought he was nuts. He yelled, come on mate, these are freshies.

It was a wonderful, worthwhile excursion. I would love to do it again one day. The difference between alligators found in Florida and crocodiles is that alligators are dark-colored with a broad, rounded snout and are usually found in freshwater. Crocodiles are grayish-green and prefer coastal, brackish, and salt-water habitats. However, the Australian Salties can also survive in freshwater. While I was in Darwin, one large Salty came onto the beach, and people scattered. So they can go for a swim in the ocean as well. Alligators in Florida are freshwater, so you won’t see one strolling in the ocean. You definitely do not swim where they are.