slithered leisurely across the road. It was an Olive
Whipsnake (Demansia olivacea), a small elapid
endemic to the region, with mildly toxic venom and a
taste for small lizards. Whipsnakes are fast-moving
reptiles, and my guess is that this one was probably
still warming up, as it really didn’t exhibit the burst of
speed we expected. We escorted it off the road and
took a quick photo.
made camp next to a small creek which was home to
a menagerie of animals including a Mertens’ Water
Monitor (Varanus mertensi).
This expedition was full of dragon lizards of all sorts,
including a Lally's Two-lined Dragon (Diporiphora
lalliae) found around some stockyards, Ring-tailed
Dragons (Ctenophorus caudicinctus) in the escarp-
ment , and a Chameleon Dragon (Chelosania brunnea)
Unfortunately, little else was seen for the remainder of which was spotted in the rolling hills.
the trip, but as the fisherman says, ‘when it’s on, it’s
on’. Although the second part of our journey was
The Kimberley is such a huge ecosystem, and sadly it is
unproductive, we had had an amazing couple of days
under threat from the destructive Cane Toad, like
to start with. It’s interesting how things work out
much of northern Australia. Native wildlife all over the
sometimes.
country is also threatened by feral animals, and as a
society we need to continue to promote responsible
My most recent trip west was with a former
pet ownership (or just feed the neighbour’s cat to your
co-worker, to the cattle country on the border between pet carpet python). I hope you have enjoyed reading
the Northern Territory and Western Australia. One
this article – I certainly enjoyed writing it. Cheers guys!
thing I really enjoy about herping is being able to get
away from the creature comforts of beds and showers,
and phone service. I like camping! On this occasion, we
1. Lally’s Two-lined Dragon.
2. The author trying to take advantage of some
2.
shade.
1.