Every year in Northern Australia after the wet season park rangers drag many of the popular tourist rivers to make sure that they are "saltie free", in other words, they expel all of the big dangerous saltwater crocodiles. They leave the "freshies" (freshwater crocodiles), which are not completely harmless but much less inclined to maim the inquisitive visitor. After the rivers and watering holes have been dragged they are declared safe to swim and thousands of people, Aussie and foriegner alike, take advantage of the partially croc free waters (during the daylight hours of course when the freshies are more or less inactive).

It was rather exciting knowing that you can swim all day, maybe do a little cliff diving and then at night paddle around in a row boat with a flash light and spot crocodiles, in those same waters. Anyway, so I came across this article over at Reuters, apparently this year the wet season was too much to handle and the Australian authorities are not able to guarantee that certain popular swimming places are saltie free. This all seemed so far away and remote, until I realized that the place where many of the attacks are taking place is none other than Kakadu National Park where I spent several amazing days hiking through the very same rivers that are now infested with saltwater crocodiles. The place it mentions at the end, Twin Falls, is gorgeous and I spent a full day swimming in the now closed off section.

Sidenote: not the same place but in that area is the wateringhole from Crocodile Dundee, this place is also dragged for crocodiles every year and is home to this great sign.