Darwin City, Northern Territory, Australia
Today has been a really fantastic day! We have been on 'The Ultimate Outback Tour' which has been created by Matt Wright. The brochure said the 'lifetime experience has been designed to allow you to see all that the NT has to offer in one action packed adventure'. We are so glad we decided we would give it a go! Cost was $675 each. Matt Wright is the 'Top End's' Steve Irwin....Crocodile Dundee...Outback Wrangler....Chopper Pilot......Animal Expert. It is said that he has spent his life in the great outdoors and been drawn to animals most of us would run away from. On his Facebook page it is said that he is 'Hot, Handsome and Dashing'. Damn! He wasn't our chopper pilot today, but Steve was a bit okay as well! Here's a bit about Matt from the web:
When animal expert and “Outback Wrangler” Matt Wright, was asked by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to support their fundraising initiative “Buy the Sky”, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. “I’ve grown up with the Flying Doctors and I’ve seen the work they do’, says Matt. “They’ve saved my friends lives’ and they might save mine one day. You can’t underestimate the importance of the work they do.”Matt Wright (33), is the well-known Nat Geo Wild channel personality – the Outback Wrangler. When he’s not filming, Matt spends his time in the Far North, relocating wildlife, collecting crocodile eggs in the wet season, running his tourism venture “Wild Aussie Escapes” and operating his helicopter service. Matt’s doing what he loves in a place he loves, and you could never imagine where else he’d feel as much at home. Matt has also been operating the successful 'Horizontal Falls' tour in WA for 10 years. We have been on the tour to the 'Horizontal Falls' and found it excellent. In July 2013 Matt decided to launch the 'Ultimate Outback Tour' in the NT. It was successful enough to continue for the full dry season this year, and it has been receiving excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. Some days they do three tours. Maximum per tour is 12 and minimum 6.This was our day: We were picked up at the park at 6.00am. We were the first, so we did the milk run to pick up 6 others and there were 4 that made their own way to the airport. Everyone was waiting at each of the pickups, so we were early to the airport. Doesn't always happen that way so we got a 'Big Tick' from our chauffer Dianne. Our pilot Emma was also early, and very young! Well she looked that way, but we think she was in her mid 20's. She had been flying in New Zealand before coming to the Territory last year, to work for Matt. So we actually left early and if you were on the right side of the plane, you would have been able to get a photo of the sun coming up over Darwin. I was happy with a photo of Emma and the sun streaming in on her. We flew in a floatplane to 'Sweet Lagoon', where Emma made the most beautiful landing on the lagoon. Sweet Lagoon is about 55km south west of Darwin and part of the Finnis River system within Litchfield National Park. We were welcomed on board the boat named 'Cyclone Creek', by Steve, Kelda and Lee. Steve flies the chopper and collects crocodile eggs with Matt in the wet season. Kelda skippers the boat and the airboat which is named 'Gale Force'. Lee is from Nottingham in England and has the most delightful accent and personality. She is the cook and general dogs body and loves it. She has been in Australia 18 months and would like to stay here.While Lee and Kelda cooked us bacon, eggs, tomato, mushrooms and toast, we cruised the lagoon. There were a couple of fishing rods, so Pete and another old fella tried their luck. The other fella caught a fish, which became the food to feed the white breasted seahawk, when we got to the end of the lagoon. I managed a snap of the bird swooping into the water and taking the fish. After brekky we were divided in two groups of 6 and the first group went for a 'thrill ride' in the airboat. We were in the first three to have the 'thrill flight' in the chopper with no doors! The helicopter took off from the top of the boat. That was the helipad!. Peter sat in the front for the first flight. Due to a few issues with the airboat battery, we didn't end up going for our thrill ride in the boat, so Steve took us for another chopper flight. The second time, Pete suggested I go in the front! I soon realised why! There is no seat to hang onto in the front and boy oh boy! When Steve did a sharp turn to the left, I'm not sure whether it really was a thrill! More like scary! We flew quite low and we were lucky enough to see a buffalo and wild pigs down below. On the second flight we saw crocodiles sunning themselves, or warming their blood to become more active, on little islands in the wetlands. There were large flocks of magpie geese too. Due to the battery trouble, we 'hung about' for three quarters of an hour waiting for Steve to finish the chopper flights and get the airboat going. In the meantime Pete and another tourist tried to work on the problem with Kelda. The other tourist, who proved to be an ex mechanic now real estate man, became invaluable by the end of our tour. No one got cranky and all agreed, it added to the experience! While we were standing about I likened it to the quick trip out to the paddock, and four hours later you get back home! Once Steve had flown back to their camp and returned with another battery and jumper leads, time had moved on too much, so we all went on the airboat. We cruised up small contributories that fed into the lagoon. The airboat could go over sticks and rushes. We were able to travel over areas of the wetlands, that one would never see. Quite exciting really! We pulled into a area of the wetland/lagoon to see if 'Sweetie' the croc would visit us. There on a piece of bamboo, which was lying on the edge of the water, was a baby crocodile! This one was real! It was about 7 or 8 inches long, which is about the size of newly born crocs. Kelda said "She didn't know what was going on". She had heard the baby crocodiles making their noises the week before. It is too early for crocodiles to be hatching, as female crocs don't start laying eggs until November, the start of the wet season. She told us there had been a few male crocs hanging around 'Sweetie' and normally it is the other way round! I guess she meant the females chase the males! The male crocs can have 10 or more girlfriends or wives! Before we managed a photo of the baby croc from our side of the boat, Steve appeared through the scrub and the baby croc went into the water. We assumed after Steve's appearance, that the employees camp was through the natural bush on the edge of the lagoon. The airboat is brought back to their camp each night, as well as the helicopter. Kelda and Steve gave us lots of info about crocodiles. They were really passionate about crocodiles and the laws that are now in place to ensure their survival and control. Back in the early 1970's, before they were protected, it is believed the number of crocs had been reduced to around 3,000 in the Territory. Now they say the number is being contained to around 200,000. The pastoralists are happy as they are paid for the number of crocodile eggs that are collected on their land. They are getting more now for the crocodile eggs, than the loss of a few beasts. Kelda loves the fact that crocodiles are protected. They are the only prehistoric reptile that is still surviving in its natural habitat and has not changed in any way. The other interesting croc fact was how to determine whether they are male or female? They can only guess by their size. The only way to determine the sex is internally. So that means sedation or cutting them open when they are dead. I don't think any of us were worried whether they are males or females. A croc is a croc! The temperature at which the eggs hatch determines the sex. Any eggs that hatch at 30 degrees or less will be females. At 31 degrees the offspring will be both sexes and 32 to 33 degrees produces males. We loved the comment of the aboriginal skipper at 'Katherine Gorge' when he was giving us similar info. His comment was "Anything over 33 degrees is cooked"! The other interesting fact is that only one percent of all crocodiles that hatch reach maturity. It really was a great day! On the way back through the wetland the airboat stopped again. Kelda had trouble getting it going. There was no Steve nearby with the chopper. Fortunately our mechanic got it going and later he quietly said "They needed to invest in better quality jumper leads". But as we were sitting there, and no doubt all thinking "How and where in the hell could anyone get to us here"? I couldn't help smiling at the look on the faces of the two Asians. I think they really thought they were there for the crocs taking!Emma had brought the next tour out and they were waiting on the 'Cyclone Creek' boat. We changed places with them and they went for their tour through the wetlands. Hopefully the airboat behaved itself. Whatever, I'm sure that Matt Wright's team would have done whatever to ensure the tourists had a safe and enjoyable tour. They were very professional. We have our head in the sand if we think things will always go smoothly on tours, although there certainly is that expectation!
When animal expert and “Outback Wrangler” Matt Wright, was asked by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to support their fundraising initiative “Buy the Sky”, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. “I’ve grown up with the Flying Doctors and I’ve seen the work they do’, says Matt. “They’ve saved my friends lives’ and they might save mine one day. You can’t underestimate the importance of the work they do.”Matt Wright (33), is the well-known Nat Geo Wild channel personality – the Outback Wrangler. When he’s not filming, Matt spends his time in the Far North, relocating wildlife, collecting crocodile eggs in the wet season, running his tourism venture “Wild Aussie Escapes” and operating his helicopter service. Matt’s doing what he loves in a place he loves, and you could never imagine where else he’d feel as much at home. Matt has also been operating the successful 'Horizontal Falls' tour in WA for 10 years. We have been on the tour to the 'Horizontal Falls' and found it excellent. In July 2013 Matt decided to launch the 'Ultimate Outback Tour' in the NT. It was successful enough to continue for the full dry season this year, and it has been receiving excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. Some days they do three tours. Maximum per tour is 12 and minimum 6.This was our day: We were picked up at the park at 6.00am. We were the first, so we did the milk run to pick up 6 others and there were 4 that made their own way to the airport. Everyone was waiting at each of the pickups, so we were early to the airport. Doesn't always happen that way so we got a 'Big Tick' from our chauffer Dianne. Our pilot Emma was also early, and very young! Well she looked that way, but we think she was in her mid 20's. She had been flying in New Zealand before coming to the Territory last year, to work for Matt. So we actually left early and if you were on the right side of the plane, you would have been able to get a photo of the sun coming up over Darwin. I was happy with a photo of Emma and the sun streaming in on her. We flew in a floatplane to 'Sweet Lagoon', where Emma made the most beautiful landing on the lagoon. Sweet Lagoon is about 55km south west of Darwin and part of the Finnis River system within Litchfield National Park. We were welcomed on board the boat named 'Cyclone Creek', by Steve, Kelda and Lee. Steve flies the chopper and collects crocodile eggs with Matt in the wet season. Kelda skippers the boat and the airboat which is named 'Gale Force'. Lee is from Nottingham in England and has the most delightful accent and personality. She is the cook and general dogs body and loves it. She has been in Australia 18 months and would like to stay here.While Lee and Kelda cooked us bacon, eggs, tomato, mushrooms and toast, we cruised the lagoon. There were a couple of fishing rods, so Pete and another old fella tried their luck. The other fella caught a fish, which became the food to feed the white breasted seahawk, when we got to the end of the lagoon. I managed a snap of the bird swooping into the water and taking the fish. After brekky we were divided in two groups of 6 and the first group went for a 'thrill ride' in the airboat. We were in the first three to have the 'thrill flight' in the chopper with no doors! The helicopter took off from the top of the boat. That was the helipad!. Peter sat in the front for the first flight. Due to a few issues with the airboat battery, we didn't end up going for our thrill ride in the boat, so Steve took us for another chopper flight. The second time, Pete suggested I go in the front! I soon realised why! There is no seat to hang onto in the front and boy oh boy! When Steve did a sharp turn to the left, I'm not sure whether it really was a thrill! More like scary! We flew quite low and we were lucky enough to see a buffalo and wild pigs down below. On the second flight we saw crocodiles sunning themselves, or warming their blood to become more active, on little islands in the wetlands. There were large flocks of magpie geese too. Due to the battery trouble, we 'hung about' for three quarters of an hour waiting for Steve to finish the chopper flights and get the airboat going. In the meantime Pete and another tourist tried to work on the problem with Kelda. The other tourist, who proved to be an ex mechanic now real estate man, became invaluable by the end of our tour. No one got cranky and all agreed, it added to the experience! While we were standing about I likened it to the quick trip out to the paddock, and four hours later you get back home! Once Steve had flown back to their camp and returned with another battery and jumper leads, time had moved on too much, so we all went on the airboat. We cruised up small contributories that fed into the lagoon. The airboat could go over sticks and rushes. We were able to travel over areas of the wetlands, that one would never see. Quite exciting really! We pulled into a area of the wetland/lagoon to see if 'Sweetie' the croc would visit us. There on a piece of bamboo, which was lying on the edge of the water, was a baby crocodile! This one was real! It was about 7 or 8 inches long, which is about the size of newly born crocs. Kelda said "She didn't know what was going on". She had heard the baby crocodiles making their noises the week before. It is too early for crocodiles to be hatching, as female crocs don't start laying eggs until November, the start of the wet season. She told us there had been a few male crocs hanging around 'Sweetie' and normally it is the other way round! I guess she meant the females chase the males! The male crocs can have 10 or more girlfriends or wives! Before we managed a photo of the baby croc from our side of the boat, Steve appeared through the scrub and the baby croc went into the water. We assumed after Steve's appearance, that the employees camp was through the natural bush on the edge of the lagoon. The airboat is brought back to their camp each night, as well as the helicopter. Kelda and Steve gave us lots of info about crocodiles. They were really passionate about crocodiles and the laws that are now in place to ensure their survival and control. Back in the early 1970's, before they were protected, it is believed the number of crocs had been reduced to around 3,000 in the Territory. Now they say the number is being contained to around 200,000. The pastoralists are happy as they are paid for the number of crocodile eggs that are collected on their land. They are getting more now for the crocodile eggs, than the loss of a few beasts. Kelda loves the fact that crocodiles are protected. They are the only prehistoric reptile that is still surviving in its natural habitat and has not changed in any way. The other interesting croc fact was how to determine whether they are male or female? They can only guess by their size. The only way to determine the sex is internally. So that means sedation or cutting them open when they are dead. I don't think any of us were worried whether they are males or females. A croc is a croc! The temperature at which the eggs hatch determines the sex. Any eggs that hatch at 30 degrees or less will be females. At 31 degrees the offspring will be both sexes and 32 to 33 degrees produces males. We loved the comment of the aboriginal skipper at 'Katherine Gorge' when he was giving us similar info. His comment was "Anything over 33 degrees is cooked"! The other interesting fact is that only one percent of all crocodiles that hatch reach maturity. It really was a great day! On the way back through the wetland the airboat stopped again. Kelda had trouble getting it going. There was no Steve nearby with the chopper. Fortunately our mechanic got it going and later he quietly said "They needed to invest in better quality jumper leads". But as we were sitting there, and no doubt all thinking "How and where in the hell could anyone get to us here"? I couldn't help smiling at the look on the faces of the two Asians. I think they really thought they were there for the crocs taking!Emma had brought the next tour out and they were waiting on the 'Cyclone Creek' boat. We changed places with them and they went for their tour through the wetlands. Hopefully the airboat behaved itself. Whatever, I'm sure that Matt Wright's team would have done whatever to ensure the tourists had a safe and enjoyable tour. They were very professional. We have our head in the sand if we think things will always go smoothly on tours, although there certainly is that expectation!
Emma safely flew us back to Darwin and we came in over the city, which provided great views of the capital of the Northern Territory with a population of approximately 140,000 people. 12 photos
2025-05-22