Corroboree Billabong wetland cruise, NT: Crocodile tour review

A wetland cruise on the Corroboree Billabong near Kakadu National Park is a good way to see Top End wildlife. Saltwater crocodiles are the main attraction on the Northern Territory’s Mary River system, but also expect plenty of bird life. This includes the rufous night heron, white-necked darter and white-bellied sea eagle.

What is the Corroboree Billabong wetland cruise?

The Corroboree Billabong wetland cruise is a wildlife cruise on the Corroborree Billabong in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

The Corroborree Billabong is on the Mary River between Darwin and Kakadu National Park. The cruise focuses on the wildlife, with a special emphasis on crocodiles.

Corroboree Billabong tour prices

There are several versions of the Corroboree Billabong wetland cruise. The following options can be booked with instant confirmations, and tickets you can show on your mobile phone rather than printing out.

• 90 minute morning cruise for $70.
• 2.5 hour lunch cruise for $105.
• Two hour sunset cruise for $90.

The following review is of the morning cruise.

Corroboree Billabong wetland cruise review

En route to the Corroboree Billabong wetland cruise from Darwin, the Arnhem Highway is seemingly flanked by water. In early May, the main route into the enormous Kakadu National Park sees the wet season turning into the dry. Water is everywhere, with the rivers long having burst their banks and the floodplains being a bonanza of floating grass.

The waters are slowly retreating back into the rivers. But for the wildlife of the Top End, this is a time of feast. Wallabies can be found hopping by the roadside – there is plenty of food for them now. But if there’s no shortage of wallabies, there’s no shortage of crocodiles either. Dipping a toe in that water is not a good idea – there could be saltwater crocodiles anywhere.

Crocodiles on Corroborree Billabong

There may be more crocs, but spotting them takes more effort than in the heart of the dry season. When there’s more water to hang out in, they’re less concentrated in certain spots. But the Corroboree Billabong is as good a place to go looking for them as any.

Just outside rock art-filled Kakadu, on the Northern Territory’s Mary River system, the billabong is home to Corroboree Billabong Wetland Cruises. Skipper and tour guide Chrissie’s safety briefing is unusual, but entirely fitting for the setting. She points out where the life jackets are, then says: “I’d suggest you throw them one way, then swim the other.”

Northern Territory birdwatching

The first wildlife spotted on the Corroboree Billabong isn’t quite so dangerous, however. It’s a cormorant, and it has got a fish in its mouth. It’s a time of plenty for the Top End birds as well. There are plenty to be seen perched on the trees at the water’s edge. These include the rufous night heron, which Chrissie calls “the I love me bird” due to its penchant for posing for the cameras.

One tree is shared by a white-necked darter and a white-bellied sea eagle. The latter is Australia’s second largest bird, with a wingspan around the two metre mark – although, surprisingly, the females are bigger than the males. The boys don’t get a great time of it – apparently, they have to make the nests, and if the female isn’t satisfied with it, she’ll trash it, and they have to make it again from scratch.

Corroborree Billabong: Aboriginal uses for Top End plants

The plant life is as integral to the Corroboree Billabong ecosystem as the animal life, however. Most notable on the wetland cruise are the water lilies, with lilac and white flowers. The indigenous people of the area have traditionally made great use of the lilies’ stems – they make handy snorkels, and they’re pretty good for eating too. Chrissie pulls one out, and passes chunks around. It’s similar to celery, but fresh and palatable.

There’s also the pandanus aquaticus, which has seed pods that look a little like jackfruit. They are poisonous to humans, but turtles seem to love them. Again, human ingenuity has come to the fore with these native plants. Local Aboriginal people will throw the seed pods in the water, wait for turtles to come and get them, then catch the turtles.

Crocodiles in the Northern Territory

But it’s the crocodiles everyone has really come to see on the wetland cruise. It doesn’t take too long to spot one’s head peeping above the surface of the water. They may have a brain the size of a walnut, but they haven’t needed to evolve for at least 20 million years. They’ve 66 replaceable teeth, they can move their whole body length in a second, and they can detect potential prey from a kilometre away. They are not to be messed with. The darter ducking into the water to catch a fish is considerably braver – or more foolhardy – than anyone on the boat.

The 90 minute Corroboree Billabong Wetland Cruises tours cost $70, and can be booked online. It can be included as part of a multi-day Top End driving route, or a four day Kakadu tour from Darwin.

More Northern Territory activities

Take a tour of the Kings Creek Station near Kings Canyon.

Try an Uluru Segway tour.

Groote Eylandt fishing tours in Arnhem Land.

Go on an Alice Springs camel tour.

Fly from Brisbane to Darwin.