That is why I have decided to take on the role of the late Steve Irwin and visit a crocodile farm to wrestles some “salties” (haha).
I ended up taking a tour to Hartley’s Crocodile Farm. It was pretty crazy… It was located in this tropical forest with swamps everywhere. It looked like something out of Louisiana – a bayou.
At the farm, as expected, there was nothing but freshwater and saltwater crocodiles everywhere. The main difference between the two is their size, their location, and the shape of their snouts. Saltwater crocodiles or “salties” are a lot more prevalent in Australia, found pretty much everywhere but mainly in tropical areas. They are the biggest crocodiles in Australia with a much broader snout than the freshwater crocodiles. I think the largest recorded saltwater crocodile was something like 880 kg… MONSTEROUS! Freshwater crocodiles or “freshies” are much smaller with a skinner snout and are located in just northern AUS. Despite the names, though, both crocodiles are found mainly in freshwater swamps. See the picture below for a better comparison.
There were also lots of other amphibians and reptiles at the farm, including turtles, snakes, lizards, frogs, etc. And like every other wildlife park in Australia, there were of course wallabies and koalas.
The coolest part of the farm was actually getting to take a boat out onto the river and watching the crocodiles jump out of the water to get the food that the driver put on the end of the pole. It was kind of hard to see though because we had to stay seated at all times, and then there were these huge glass windows covering all sides of the boats to protect us from crocs that might jump in the boat.
Plus, I also got to see some Steve Irwin-like crocodile and snake shows with crazy guys playing with crocs and snakes.
The smallest frog I've ever seen
Crazy man... you don't play with crocs!
Soon-to-be boots and purses
Eat that chicken!
Saltwater croc
The swamp
Freshwater croc
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