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July 28, 2009

Uranium: A Strange and Fascinating Story

By Kennedy Maize

Everything you want to, or should, know about uranium mining and processing is in a new book by Tom Zoellner, not including the terrifying threat of crocodiles in northern Australia.

One of the weirdest hotels in the world is in Jabiru in Australia’s Northern Territory, located in the Kakadu National Park some 140 miles from the city of Darwin. The Holiday Inn is shaped like a crocodile, the defining critter in that upper end of Australia.


Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn. Courtesy: Jabiru Holiday Inn

One of the jokes Aussies pose to tourists is this: What are the three most dangerous animals in Australia? Answer: No. 3, the crocodile; No. 2, the crocodile; and No. 1, the crocodile. Indeed, the saltwater croc (Crocodylus porosus, which the Aussies call a “saltie”) renders many of the most beautiful beaches in the world unfit for anything other than walking and shallow wading. Don’t swim. The crocs can get you. These are the largest of all crocodilians and reptiles in the world. They are also nasty and aggressive. They eat people. No joke.

The Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn at Jabiru is funky, fun, and comfortable, with a very nice pool, good food (including croc, which tastes like tough chicken, and kangaroo, which tastes like low-rent beef), flights of large fruit bats in the evening, and, best of all, a good bar (Aussies love their drink, and I love Aussies). Jabiru is a tourist town, in the midst what of the Aussies claim, and who can challenge it, is the largest national park in the world, Kakadu. To my mind, it is one of the most interesting parks I’ve ever been to, including an astonishing geologic feature, the Arnhem Escarpment, which is the border of the Northwest Territory and Arnhem Land, territory mostly reserved for aboriginal people. Kakadu is a marvel.

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