2.
Monitor (Varanus tristus) found on the cinder-block wall
of an amenities block was unfortunately very shy about
having its photo taken. When Jack made a move towards
it, it dived into the wall cavity. Later we saw another on a
rocky mound, but it quickly ducked into cover.
3.
‘Conditions could not
have been better—there
were herps everywhere.’
That night conditions could not have been better: warm,
with no moon and a little rain. We were again driving the
West MacDonnells, but a bit further from Alice Springs.
The landscape varied between rocky gorges, spinifex
plains and desert. There were herps everywhere on the
roads. We saw a Sharp-snouted Delma (Delma nasuta),
two Western Hooded Scaly-foots (Pygopus nigriceps),
two Moon Snakes (Furina ornata), a Stimson’s Python
(Antaresia stimsoni), an Unbanded Shovel- nosed Snake
(Brachyurophis incinctus), a Jewelled Gecko (Strophurus
elderi) and a Desert Fat-tailed Gecko (Diplodactylus
1. The Centralian Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus amyae)
was a species that we were very keen to tick off.
2. A Spinifex Slender Blue-tongue (Cyclodomorphus
melanops); one of our more unusual finds.
3. We saw so many Northern Spiny-tailed Geckos
(Strophurus ciliaris) that we soon tired of stopping to
have a look.
laevis). One of our more unusual finds was a Spinifex
Slender Blue-tongue (Cyclodomorphus melanops). I had
seen it on the road and asked Jack to get out of the car to
have a look. He was reluctant to move as he said it was
only another gecko, but I knew it was a skink of some
sort. As it was, we were only able to identify it from
photos with the aid of a field guide when we returned to
our accommodation.
Halfway through the drive it started to drizzle, and true to
form (as they are only usually seen at night after rain),
we were delighted when two Centralian Bandy Bandys
(Vermicella vermiformis) made an appearance. They
obliged by staging their characteristic threat display,
kicking their bodies up into weird shapes, which was
pretty cool to see. We had had a a ripper of a night – as
good as we could have hoped for.