Adventurer warns of crocodile dangers

As temperatures drop somewhat and saltwater Kimberley crocodiles are a little less active, the beasts are still huge and rather dangerous.

One resident has a warning for anglers and campers who are headed across to catch big barramundi in the Fitzroy River and other waterways this season.

Former Derby local and current Eco Beach-based Barradict Sport Fishing Tours staffer Kurt Williamson recently saw a huge, 5m saltwater croc at Willem’s Pool, leaving footprints at least a metre wide on a Tumblegoodine sandbar just opposite the Willare Bridge on the Fitzroy River, 50km from Derby.

“Tumblegoodine is a popular fishing, camping and, dare I say it, swimming spot for the uninitiated,” he said.

“But beware – death lurks not far below.

“How many people pull up there for a quick swim in the river, almost every time I go past there’s someone swimming.”

Mr Williamson said it was rumoured the Willem’s Pool resident crocodile was shot last year.

“So I was surprised to see such a large one there, but who knows if it was the same one, or another one which moved into the territory in its place,” he said.

“People can get a bit blasé… but these guys are big enough to swallow you whole.

“They haven’t attacked anyone yet but dogs have certainly been taken, they’re a popular choice.”

Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park manager Mark Jones said a croc like the one Mr Williamson described could be 70 to 80 years old and very cunning.

Mr Jones said crocs had almost been shot to extinction in northern Australia before shooting finished in the early 1970s, so people who grew up in the Kimberley may not remember so many large crocs as there are now.