We spotted a range of animals on the
road during the drive across, including
a Spiny-tailed Goanna basking on a
bridge which saw a lot of traffic
considering the location. We decided
to move the animal to safety. Sand
Goannas (Varanus gouldii) also
scurried across the road to be
narrowly missed by traffic. We had
seen four goannas (three sandies and
the spiny-tail) before we even crossed
the border, and already had a good
feeling about this trip. We pulled up
down a dusty dirt track for the first
night and refuelled on tinned food and
water. Despite the mozzie dome, a
decent night’s sleep was not easy with
100% humidity.
Day two saw us deep in the Kimberley
escarpment. After a long hot morning
herping we were feeling a little
deflated as we hadn’t seen much
except for a few skinks, including one
very robust Leopard Skink (Ctenotus
pantherinus). We were hot, tired from
a rough night’s sleep and ready to pull
up for morning tea when our luck suddenly
changed. I was ahead of the rest of the group by a
fair distance – some might say I was in a rush to get
back to camp (I could just about taste the ice-cold
Powerade), but I don’t care as I was the one to spot
the animal. It was moving down an old dead tree
and then jumped across onto some rocks. I froze.
1. Magnificent Tree Frog.
2. Olive Whipsnake.
1.
3. We made camp next to a small creek which was
home to a Mertens’ Water Monitor.
2.