Kimberley Day 4: Red Cone Creek and the Crocodile

In the afternoon the Explorer motored to Red Cone Creek. We passed Ruby Falls and more dramatic rock formations, then offloaded those who wanted to make a steep climb to a freshwater swimming hole. The rest of us stayed on the boat where we were rewarded by a close encounter with a thermoregulating saltwater crocodile - sunning and warming itself on a rock, while cooling itself through its open mouth. When we returned about an hour later to pick up the swimmers, the croc was still in the same posture on the same rock, except that the tide had dropped the water level about six feet, so the croc was now well above us.

As we returned to the Coral Expedition I, we passed dense groves of mangroves along the shore, a boab tree related to the baobabs of Madagascar, and another crocodile. Shortly after we arrived at the mother ship, we were treated to a magnificent sunset.