A couple of boats were quietly filling up as we approached the billabong & we had the same guide as yesterday, on our boat. Even before the sun rose, the birds were already up & about. Tiny "plops" & rings on the water signified the presence of insects & there were also several mozzies about.
As we began to move through the water, we could see a layer of mist lying over the landscape on either side & then, suddenly, we caught a glimpse of gold on the eastern horizon ... the sun was coming up!
The day was awakening & it seemed as though the whole world was new - as yet, nothing had marred its perfection.
Before long, however, various creatures began to appear. We saw all of the birds that had delighted us yesterday, but were also lucky enough to see additional varieties. Two or three beautiful little kingfishers settled upon a dead tree & a majestic pelican flew low over the water.
We soon began to see crocodiles, one of which swam parallel to our boat, giving us the opportunity to see the full length of its body. The enormous male, that we had seen yesterday, seemed not to have moved at all - he was in exactly the same position as previously. Various birds moved around him, seemingly unconcerned by his presence.
We saw another jabiru, this time more clearly than yesterday's glimpse - they are very big birds & our guide assured us that the long, sharp beak was capable of acting like a sword, with which the bird could lunge into the back of a crocodile's neck, thus killing it! This sounded very dramatic but Nature is full of surprises & such a scenario is no doubt possible.
In any case, it gave us food for thought as we made our way back to the caravan, thinking of the bacon & eggs that we intended to cook for breakfast.
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