Day 70 1/6/2011 Spring Creek Campground – Mary Pool (Mary River) Campground.

Day 70 1/6/2011 Spring Creek Campground – Mary Pool (Mary River) Campground.

Travel day, yeah!! We decided that we needed to start to think a little more like the grey nomads that we are competing with to get the good spots in the free roadside campsites. So we were up and gone by 8am with the plan to get to Mary Pool campground before lunch, that way hopefully we could get near the river.  I have to admit it all went to plan, except for when Pete was pulled over by a random police officer on the Great Northern Highway for a licence check.  Luckily everything was in order and we could continue on the trip.

We arrived at the campsite just before lunch and were rewarded with a great spot right on the river.  It didn’t take long for the kids to head off to the concrete crossing to play in the water and Zac took his cast net to catch some small bait to fish with later.

We were assured by a number of people who had been camped here for a few days that there had not been a sighting of any saltwater crocodiles but there were a number of freshwater crocodiles around, this didn’t worry us so much until Claudia had an up close and very personal experience with a freshwater crocodile.  This occurred when we were walking back from the crossing, Claudia was in front and I was following with the water bucket.  As we walked up the track that had high grass on either side Claudia screamed out at the same time as I heard a loud “snap”!! Apparently she had inadvertently walked a little close to the freshwater crocodile and it snapped at her, grazing her finger.  I don’t know who got the bigger fright Claudia or the crocodile.  We were advised by some people camping close to where the incident occurred that the croc had been hanging around all day…this was a little bit of information that we had received a little too late!!.  Claudia was OK after the experience and to my amazement she didn’t even cry!!

Late in the afternoon the kids went fishing but we were unsuccessful, eventually all the bait fish that Zac caught were released!!

During this trip I have sometimes wondered what the consequences will be for the kids spending such an intense period of time together, after dinner I got just a little bit of insight into how they are influencing each other.  Claudia started to laugh saying to Callum “I did a fluff and it really stinks!! Lookout it’s coming your way!!”  Callum asked “Why are you laughing?” Claudia replied “It smells just like Daddy!!”  What can I say……..