An Aussie woman has captured a bone-chilling reminder about the deadly dangers at a seemingly family friendly waterway.
She filmed a group of parents and children in canoes and on stand up paddle boards at the base of Lake Argyle Dam on the Western and Northern Territory border.
The families appeared oblivious of a crocodile trap just metres away from them on the river bank.
‘We’ve got a nice little canoeing tour up the river … and there’s a crocodile trap right there,’ the woman said in a video posted to X.
‘Oh look at the children! Yummy, juicy children.
‘, come on down (and) have a wonderful holiday. We don’t give a f***.’
Many viewers were shocked to see the families’ blasé attitude to being in open waters among potentially deadly crocodiles.
One said the video was a ‘brilliant tourism ad for ‘ while a second asked if the woman was ‘aware crocs walk on land too’.
Another pointed out that Lake Argyle is relatively safe to swim as it’s a freshwater system and mostly home to freshwater crocodiles, which are ‘less aggressive and smaller’.
The lake is home to the world’s largest population of Johnston River crocodiles, also known as the n freshwater crocodile.
The species are more timid than their saltwater counterparts and mostly eat insects and fish.
Adult crocs often hunting wallabies and water birds.
They are however known to be timid and generally considered not dangerous to humans unless agitated.
Locals in the area often swim in the lake knowing not to seek out the crocs.
An annual Lake Argyle Swim is held on the first Saturday of May.
Swimming is considered ‘at your own risk’ at the lake after a 2.5m freshwater crocodile was euthanised by authorities when it bit a woman at the lake in 2022.
Tourists are warned not to camp or swim along secluded banks, where the crocodiles can become defensive of their nests or sunbaking spots.
While mostly inhabited by freshwater crocodiles, visitors are also urged to be wary of saltwater species, which are known to venture into the lake after rainfall.