Locals in the Cow Bay area will be able to give you an up to date report on arrival.

Sometimes there are sightings of them and sometimes none for months. Normally I would say that around that time of the year you would be safe, as it's not nesting season and that seems to be the time that they are more aggresive, but PLEASE read all the signs, follow them and ask.

I was told not to swim at Cow Bay when I was there late November because of the stingers. Even if the locals advise you against swimming, you'll still be amazed by its beauty.

I took a great snorkling trip with Odyssey H2O from Cape Tribulation, and they came to pick me up from my accommodation near Cow Bay.

www.coconutbeach.com.au/odyssey-h2o/

Another thing I really enjoyed was the guided night walk from where I was staying (Crocodylus). The guide called Possum was a real character. I'm fairly sure it was something you could book on to even if you weren't staying there:

www.crocodyluscapetrib.com/

Although obviously I don't know who the chef is now, the food was good at Crocodlyus and you didn't have to be staying there to eat there - some locals came and a lady from a B&B.

Hope that's helpful.

When we were up at Cape Tribulation we were told not to swim at any of the beaches, or in the creeks, because of crocodiles.

When we went on the Coopers Creek crocodile cruise and learnt that saltwater crocs actually can and do swim out in the ocean (close to the beaches, not very far out). We were told about a croc that had been causing problems locally and so had been relocated to the Gulf but he managed to swim all the way back around to his previous spot. I have to say that was enough to put us off swimming.

Definitely chat to the locals while you're there and see what they say. If there hasn't been a sighting for a while you might be OK. Be guided by what the locals do and read the signs.

Thankyou to all for your advice. I'll ask the locals and be cautious. Happy holidays!

I was in Cow bay in the beginning of august (07)and did a lot of swimming with my family, without feeling any crocs.However I would also recommend to ask any locals before. We also had a fantastic kayak morning trip ( arranged by the corcodylus village staff.

Hi tirralirra,

I guess you didnt read the article in the (Vic) paper last week?...they tagged a number of crocs and charted their movements...one guy swam 400km over a 3 week period *all over the place*...they do get around...and they can be out in the ocean...depends on what they're up to/time of year etc.

Basically if there's warning signs then I wouldn't do it under any circumstance. They're not exactly something to be trifled with and not worth the risk IMHO.

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.