I saw a guy swimming about 70meters off the beach at Palm Cove, like he was swimming the length of the beach for exercise.
It may have even been that same night that a dog was taken in the lagoon which is situated on the boundary of Clifton and Kewarra beach which is the same beach as Palm cove (southern end). Couple of days after that the croc was killed, then a couple of days after that the rangers trapped another one in the same creek/lagoon.
I saw my first wild croc in Half Moon river at Yorkeys Knob just 15-20 mins nth of Cairns cbd, it was only a 2m one, but back at the beach next to the break wall when I was loading my boat back on the truck there's this guy neck deep in the murky water trying to get his dog to come in for a swim with him! The dog stayed out of the water (smarter then its owner!)
Sure I had to go in the water, launching and retreiving the tinny, the odd swim (clear shallow water after a good look around, and pretty quick dips), pushing the tinny off sandbanks etc, but crocs are everywhere... I saw more crocs then snakes, and had some really interesting encounters with them.
Its a case of taking your life in your own hands and being responsible for your own safety. I feel for the kids that get taken, at least if it was a croc that took them then it would be over pretty quickly. Its a different world up there, beautiful, but safe if you just follow some simple rules. I think some people are so removed from living with bushman type knowledge and instincts they see themselves as bulletproof. (I am talking about white tourists) blackfellas have a different outlook but they still get eaten too.