The World ARC crews got up close and personal with some huge saltwater crocodiles yesterday, on a morning tour up the nearby Adelaide River. They got to see famous local crocs 'Brutus' and 'The Dominator' from only a metre or so away as the experienced guide fed them from the tour boat.
Brutus is thought to be nearly 90 years old, and has now lost many of his incredibly large and sharp teeth. He has dominated this part of the river for many years, keeping the younger male crocs in check.
Saltwater crocodiles are considered to be one of the most dangerous creatures in the world, and amazingly have hardly changed as a species since the times when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Male 'salties' can grow up to six metres in length and can weigh up to 1,000kg. They have the strongest bite of any creature in the animal kingdom - by far! They typically have a closing force of around 55 tonnes of power, which is twice the power of the famous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus Rex!
The World ARC crews got together last night for some
informal drinks at Tipperary Waters Marina, where most of 
the monohulls are
currently berthed. It was a lovely balmy evening and gave everyone a chance to
say thanks to Geoff, Dani and the team at Tipperary for once again looking
after the rally boats and their crew. World ARC has been coming to Tipperary
since 2008, and have always loved the warm reception from the locals.
Most boats are heading off on adventures this weekend into
the Australian Outback, to explore the amazing sights of Kakadu and Litchfield
National Parks. They will all be back by Monday morning, in time for the
immigration clearances and Skippers Briefing that afternoon, ahead of their
departure from Darwin on Tuesday morning. After nearly six weeks in Australia,
the World ARC fleet are all looking forward to the next leg of their global
adventure as they head across to Lombok in Indonesia.