More Crocs and Snakes

Thursday 25th June
Last night was rather humid and when we got up in the morning the towels on the line were still wet and we could feel the water in the air.
After brekkie and other morning duties we went back to the post office for more mail before heading out of Broome to the Wilderness Wildlife Park - this is Malcolm Douglas' second and latest park.
We visited the original park last Sunday, but it has only crocs whereas this newer park has many other animals. When Malcolm established the original park it was a good distance away from the town but now it's surrounded by Resorts, Caravan Parks and private properties, all in close proximity to Cable Beach. I think, if one of those salties got out it would cause a real headache.
We have heard of some baby crocs escaping the hatchery and making their way to Malcolm's neighbours' swimming pool.
The tour guide was David, the same bloke that took us through the original park on Sunday. This park houses a famous saltie called "Maniac" - it is said that he is the most dangerous croc in the world. Some of the crocs got a feed and other just thrown a large ball (a marine fender) on a rope which they attached viciously. At the start of the tour the kids (and grownups) were allowed to hold a baby saltie - the kids were most impressed.
In addition to crocs they also have a variety of bird life including a barking owl and an colourful overgrown chicken called a Cassowary. These birds are as tall as a grown man and are know to be dangerous. David, who goes into the croc cages and handles venomous snakes, will not go anywhere near a Cassowary. They have the biggest drum sticks I have ever seen and a pretty large and pointy claw which they use to rip chest cavitys open.
One of the enclosures houses pure bred dingoes which came up to the fence for a scratch by the kids.
At the end of the tour the guide got out one of the local snakes, a Black Headed Python, and anyone interested was also encouraged to hold it. As always our kids were at the front of the line and only too keen to hold this 2 metre reptile (see photo).
The other object of great interest at this park is Malcolm Douglas' old, green short wheelbase Land Rover which was used in his early adventure documentary "Across The Top". This old 4WD has not been cleaned up or made presentable in any way, it came from the paddock straight into the display room.
We had lunch back at the caravan and then went to the camping / fishing store for a new camping chair and some fishing tackle.
After 4pm we went to the big jetty at the port of Broome to try our luck. The tide was near it's low point and it was a long way down to the water - I estimate 20-25mt. As the difference between low and high tide is around over 8mt one can really see the strong tidal flow. If a fish bites one has to be lucky to keep it on the line all the way up to the jetty. Most people were just using hand lines but we only had our normal fishing rods. Still, we managed to catch another one of those box shaped Puffer fish, although this one was larger than the one caught in Kalbarri.
I can see why many Victorians spend the winter months here in Broome, the climate is near perfect, the off shore fishing is great and they are even biting when on the shore or jetty.
I wonder if we should open up an office in Broome?