Warning: A poem...No, I mean the poem is a warning, seriously.

They saved their nickels and their dimes their story content for these rhymes
From far away they came not to plunder, but for a holiday, here, 'Down Under'
They saw strange things, but for the outback yearned, let's go to Darwin, the cities they spurned

Adelaide, Coober Pedy then Alice Springs, left and right were amazing things
It's three thousand kays to make it there, but adventure called, so they didn't care
How far is a kay? Some heard them say, they thought in miles which attracted some smiles
Don't take a wrong turn and end at Wolf Creek, of horrors there, you'll never speak

At last they arrived, took them a while, but all they wanted was to see a crocodile
They found a hotel to settle down spruced themselves up and headed to town
A rollicking night did our travellers spend, three beers or four, now everyone's friend
They rolled into bed for a much needed snooze, tomorrow a chance too good to lose

The day dawned early they rose with a shiver, today was the day they'd see Adelaide River
It warmed up real fast, the sun doesn't wait, so don't be a fool, you must hydrate
They laughed and joked, sometimes with glee, today they would be just like 'Croc Dundee'
Boarded the boat with the other brave souls, here they would reach their crocodile goals

Camera's clicked, gasps of awe, for the 5 meter crocodiles they saw
Prehistoric creatures with jaws that snap, don't fall in or you'll be their snack
These river monsters were an awesome sight, you don't want to meet one deep in the night
Don't lean over the captain said, or you'll lose your head and then be pretty-much dead

An enjoyable time and a fun-filled cruise, however later that night one would be on the news
The heat was oppressive felt just like an oven so into the river they were pushin' and shovin'
Laughing and splashing loaded with cheer, fuelled on barbeque and way too much beer
Along came a croc silent, no sound, SNAP you're gone and you'll never be found

So read the signs and don't enter the water, there's crocodiles there, ready to slaughter
Nine tons of clamping force in their jaw, no, you'll never escape that gaping maw
Visit Australia there's plenty to do, but always remember some things will kill you
Pay head to our friends and their adventures bought, they're heading home one person short

Ok, so thanks for reading my first steemit poem. It's probably not very good. The inspiration for the poem is Darwin and in particular the Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile cruise. You HAVE to do it of you're up there. Just so you can get your head around it, the croc you see in the first picture is five and a half meters long. That's 18 feet for you Americans! The cruise takes 30 people in small aluminium boats onto the river, at river level, as per the image below. This images demonstrates the size of these things. See him here in relation to the guy in the boat? Fall in and you are dead. Simple as that. I took these images with a Panasonic TZ110 without the zoom. The close up eye shot was taken when that thing was in touching distance, maybe 20cm (7 inches) from my face, through the alloy mesh of the boat. You can see the mesh in the image below.

Unfortunately people don't seem to understand that there are thousands of these things on the waterways, rivers, lakes, estuaries and beaches across the northern parts of Australia. The salt water crocodile lives happily in salt or fresh water and has been found over 200km out to sea. They are opportunistic hunters meaning they will hunt despite not being hungry. They grab you and stick you in a hole under the river bank for later. A pretty poor way to die I think. People get taken every year and yet they still swim. A local in Darwin said to us, if you can't smell chlorine and feel tiles beneath your feet then don't swim.

Anyway, we went swimming in the lovely waterhole pictured below. What happens is that in the wet season the rivers overflow and the crocs can roam further inland or wherever the water is. At the end of The Wet the water subsides and some get stuck inland. One such place is this swimming hole. (Edith Falls). The park rangers come along and take it out (probably shoot it) and make sure it's safe. Then people swim. I didn't feel that safe though.

So, anyway, this is my first poetry attempt. It's rough and ready I think and I have no poetry skills to speak of but it doesn't really matter does it?

[- Design and create your ideal life, don’t live it by default - @galenkp -]