Nowadays there is a lot of discussion on zoo’s and animals living in captivity. Let me be clear, I’m in favour of animals living in their natural habitat. It’s not really my place to weigh in on this discussion. Animals in the Croccove in Darwin live there in good conditions and are very well taken care of. In this blog I will extensively review of the Cage Of Death.
A lot of the crocodiles at the Croccove ended up there because they became too dangerous to local fisherman, human properties or cattle, in their natural habitat. Instead of shooting and killing the animal, they’re being captured and taken to the Croccove.
Dangerous animals of Australia
Australia is home to some of the most deadly animals in the world; snakes, crocodiles, spiders, they can all be found in the land Down Under. These animals often live in some of the most remote parts of Australia, and encountering these animals is not something people usually fancy doing. During my travels I have been lucky to often encounter wildlife so now and then. However, when I was a child and before I started travelling, I enjoyed seeing these amazing animals in zoo’s. Being able to see these animals and learn all about them in places like the Croccove, is something I can only encourage. But to swim with crocodiles in Darwin was another story. Excited!
Dangerous animals have never hold me back from traveling to Australia. Over the years I have been many times Down Under and I even wrote about blog about living in Sydney saving money while I was doing my Working Holiday Visa Australia.
Fun fact: One of the residents of Croccove is Burt the crocodile. Burt starred alongside Paul Hogan in the original Crocodile Dundee movie.
Different States, different rules
In Australia every state has its own rules and laws. In the Northern Territory, with Darwin as its capital, you can do these famous and spectacular jumping crocodile cruises. While touring the river searching for crocs, the guides offer the crocs meat in return for some spectacular jumps. They’re allowed to do so in the Northern Territory. I did a crocodile tour at the Daintree National Park, in Queensland. Here they have different laws and feeding the wild crocodiles is not allowed.
Cage of Death Review
It’s on top of many travelers bucketlist, the Cage of Death, Australia’s only crocodile dive. I was one of those who was super excited about this experience at Crocosaurus Cove. Swimming with crocodiles in Darwin sound like a hell of an adventure and I was about to do it.
Before you get to dive with crocodiles you first have a safety briefing and you have to sign some papers, where you basically sign your death sentence in case something happens. I was told I was going to dive with the biggest crocodile of the park, Axel, also known as Big Boy. I couldn’t have been more excited. There are changing rooms and showers on the first level of the park, and there are lockers beside the cage dive where you can leave your belongings.
You are allowed to take your own Gopro or underwater camera into the cage to shoot footage. But there is a photographer taking photos of your experience from every angle, and there is a 360 degree camera located inside the cage to capture it all.
These photos and images are not included in your Cage of Death experience!
Once you’re in the cage and underwater you are literally just swimming with crocodiles. The experience takes 15 minutes. During the first 10 minutes it’s up to the crocodile how curious he is to get to meet you. Axel was pretty curious and came towards the cage. During the last 5 minutes of the experience, one of the staff members starts feeding and playing with the crocodile, to get him to move around and open his jaws.
It’s really impressive to see a croc with his jaws wide open less than 5 centimetres away from you!
After this experience you can use the shower and changing rooms to get dressed again. Make sure you check out all the photos the photographer took, as the footage usually is pretty awesome!
I didn’t take my Gopro into the cage, as I wanted to fully experience the Cage of Death, and not be too busy shooting the best footage. I let the Croccove photographer do all that work, and now have some pretty cool high quality images of my experience.
Here are some more things to know about the Crocosaurus Cove
Location
Darwin’s Croccove is located right in the heart of the city of Darwin. It’s located perfectly to combine a visit to the Crocosaurus cove with a Darwin city trip. There are pass-outs available from the front desk, which means you can come and go however you like. Included in my Cage of Death experience I got a wristband giving me the freedom to re-enter the park whenever I wanted. Not that I could go into the Cage of Death again, but I could swim with crocodiles again.
Swimming with the crocs
Something fun to do if the Cage of Death is too much for you, or if you’re visiting the park with kids. Remember to bring your swimming gear and a towel. This swimming with the crocs is a pool separate from the large basin with many small, curious crocs. It feels like you’re actually swimming with them, in a safe way.
Reptile shows
From turtle presentation to meet the reptiles, you can experience it all at the Croccove. The Croccove offers guests 9 daily reptile shows, so plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with some of the Northern Territory’s most famous inhabitants. These shows are designed to be informative and interactive.
Animal encounters
Your entry ticket to the Croccove is your ticket to get hands on with reptiles and baby crocs at no additional costs. Reptile shows are held daily at the Reptile House. After the shows make sure you take your chance of holding the different species used throughout the presentation.
There is a photo studio in the World of Crocs where you can hold a baby crocodile, make sure to smile for the camera! These high quality photos can be purchased.
VIP Tour Croccove
If you’re really into crocodiles and reptiles then keep reading, because the Croccove VIP tour might be exactly what you’re looking for. This VIP tour offers you a 1.5 hour fully guided tour. You’re taken exclusively behind the scenes of the Croccove. You’ll get VIP access to the Fishing the Crocs platform and even get to feed an adult saltwater crocodile.
Features of the park
The park offers you free wifi, which is great as you get to keep everyone up to date about your amazing adventures at the Croccove. Share those amazing crocodile pictures and make everyone jealous!
Souvenir shop
Before leaving the park, make sure you visit the souvenir shop. You’ll find a wide range of Australian souvenirs. Perfect to take home these lovely memories.
Restaurant
Getting hungry or thirsty after your swimming with crocodiles in Darwin? Don’t leave the park! There is a restaurant located within the park. They offer a good range of food and drinks.
As you can tell after reading about my experiences with the Croccove in Darwin, this is a pretty cool, interactive and informative park. It is really worth the visit. So make your way up to the Northern Territory of Australia and do the Cage of Death!
Thank you Croccove and your staff for having us and for this awesome experience!
Last minute deals for Darwin
This guest blog is written by @travelashie for Traveltomtom. Thank you for reading about my adventures. If this blog about the Cage of Death was helpful for you please share it on Facebook, or tweet it on Twitter. A small thing for you to do, but it can make a huge difference for me.