Left (slide show):
Monk Snake
(Parasuta monachus).
Western Hooded
Scaly-foot (Pygopus
nigriceps) &
Unbanded Shovel-
nosed Snake
(Brachyurophis
incinctus).
Below left: Sharp-
snouted Delma
(Delma nasuta).
Right: we were
delighted when two
Centralian Bandy
Bandys (Vermicella
vermiformis) made an
appearance.
different local habitats. This includes
walk-in aviaries, and pits with
reptiles such as Gidgee Skinks
(Egernia stokesii).
The Reptile Centre is somewhat
smaller, but has a comprehensive
collection of local elapids, plus
pythons and a big saltie. Outside pits
contain a variety of reptiles including
a large Perentie (Varanus giganteus),
beardies, and Shinglebacks (Tiliqua
rugosa).
Both of these parks are well worth a
visit, especially for anyone with an
interest in reptiles.
Day 4.
Day 3.
Conditions on this day were not
conducive to searching for herps, as
it was cold (freezing really – I
reckon it may not reached 20 o C) and
wet, so we decided to check out the
Alice Springs Reptile Centre and the
Alice Springs Desert Park, which
Andrew and Will had not seen.
The Desert Park has heaps of indige-
nous reptiles and a really good
nocturnal area. There is also a fenced
-off area that you can walk through,
which contains representations of the
On the morning of day four, we left
for the obligatory overnight
pilgrimage to Uluru, which lies 335
kilometres southwest of Alice
Springs, and is 450 kilometres by
road. Actually, it’s only about a four-
hour drive, as most of the time the
speed limit is 130kph. The terrain
consisted predominantly of desert,
mixed with low Mulga scrub, rocky
gorges and spinifex plain, and we
didn’t see a whole heap of reptiles on
the trip. At one point we passed a
Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis)
crossing the road and turned around
to have a look. Unfortunately, the car
behind us had run it over, and by the
time we got there, the snake was in
its death throes.
At 348 metres in height, the iconic
sandstone mass of Uluru dominates
the surrounding landscape. It is of
great cultural importance to the local
Aboriginal people, and the area
around the monolith is notable for a
profusion of rock paintings, springs
and waterfalls. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta
National Park contains an extraordi-
narily diverse range of fauna and
flora, with 21 species of native
mammals (there were once as many
as 46), 73 species of reptiles and four
frogs, together with many rare and
endemic plants. The traditional
custodians of the land now conduct
walking tours for visitors, while
elaborating on dreamtime stories and
pointing out favourite items of bush
tucker.
We arrived at the old cattle station of
Curtin Springs at about 1:00 pm,
where we had a basic cabin for the
night. Later we drove to Uluru,
which is about an hour away, and
walked around the base of the rock,
which was closed for climbing at the
time of our visit (I believe there are
plans to ban climbing permanently).
We went for a drive and spotted
some Central Netted Dragons.
At night, we reconnoitred the road
outside the National Park between
Uluru and Curtin Springs. Once
again, there were plenty of Northern
Spiny-tailed Geckos, for which we
didn’t stop. The only real thing of