Search results

In early January, I found a few Southern Leaf-tailed Geckos (Phyllurus platurus) on rocks near the summit of Mt. Kiera (Wollongong, NSW). I failed to find them, however, on visits later in the month and again in February. Last night, I decided to try again. The day had been unseasonably hot...

My wife and I recently went on a short holiday to central Queensland, Australia. We flew to Townsville, hired a car and then travelled south as far as the Mackay area. One of the highlights was a two night stay at the Broken River Cabins that are situated along the boundary of Eungella...

Here are a couple of additional habitat pics from Girraween National Park. I found the beautiful Southern Spotted Velvet Geckos (Oedura tryoni) on a couple of occasions. Here is a juvenile that was drably marked when compared to the adult. I also found a single Lesueur's Velvet...

A week ago, my wife and I visited relatives in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia). We broke the journey with a stop at Girraween National Park. This park is in Queensland and is just across the border from New South Wales. It is about a 10 hour (800 km) drive from Wollongong. Girraween is...

Karijini is a park of beautiful gorges and most of these contained water. One popular gorge near the park headquarters even had a small waterfall. We retreated to this gorge near our campground through the middle hours of most days. Swimming here was so refreshing and we had the gorge to...

After the Great Sandy Desert, Nicholas and I drove southwest and inland to Karijini National Park. This is a large national park that protects a mountain range with spectacular gorges. It is located in one of the hottest parts of Australia and the temperature when we arrived was a sizzling 44C...

Nicholas and I had a huge drive north from Exmouth into the Great Sandy Desert. We drove almost as far as Broome. The Great Sandy Desert did not look as I had envisaged. I had imagined an area of rolling dunes but instead, most of it was pretty flat and rather monotonous although sandy...

Here are the other geckos that I saw last weekend. On this trip, I only encountered a single Thick-tailed Gecko (Underwoodisaurus milii). This one was a nicely marked juvenile. Eastern Spiny-tailed Geckos (Strophurus williamsi) were again the most common geckos of the night. On this...

Last weekend, I again headed west into the interior of New South Wales for a couple of nights. My plan was to travel as far as Wilcannia in western New South Wales. Unfortunately, I had not checked the moon cycle and the moon was nearly full. Bright nights are often poor for night driving and...

Nicholas and I camped for several days at Lakeside Camp in the Cape Range National Park. This park is about a 45 minute drive from the small town of Exmouth. Lakeside Camp was more appealing than most of the others since it had a few trees that provided a little shade during the hot hours of...

North West Cape is the most westerly part of the Australian continent. This area is hot and receives very little rainfall. As a result, the habitat is stark and mostly covered with spinifex on the hillsides and various grasses and small shrubs on the flats. Much of the peninsula is included...

Kalbarri National Park is a scenic area in the heart of the wildflower region of Western Australia. September and October are the months with the best floral display but there were still many flowers present during our trip in November. The pink flowers are a Verticordia sp ("Featherflowers")...

Last November, my son and I went on an adventure trip through Western Australia. We flew from Sydney to Perth, picked up our hire car at the airport and then began what would turn into an 8500km drive. We travelled north to Shark Bay, Kalbarri, Exmouth, the Great Sandy Desert near Broome and...

After the Warrumbungles, I made a mad dash of another 450km further northwest to the outback region near Bourke. I wanted to have a quick look at Gundabooka National Park. Night arrived before I could reach Gundabooka, so I went night driving along the road between Brewarrina and Bourke. The...

Wollongong (New South Wales, Australia) is a long and narrow city that borders the ocean to the east and a plateau to the west. The edge of the plateau is steep and near the top, there are often rocky cliffs. In January, I began walking along these cliffs at night to see if I could find...

These geckos were relatively scarce in the Warrumbungles when compared with the other three species that I have already posted. First, here is the habitat on the western side of the park. The soil was sandy and native Cypress Pine was especially common. This was the habitat where I...

Eastern Spiny-tailed Geckos (Stophurus williamsi) were the most abundant gecko in the Warrumbungles. I saw more than 30 of these on my drive. Often, I would drive a short distance, stop to look at one of these, then drive on another short way before stopping again for one of these geckos...

Here are a few photos of Ocellated Velvet Geckos (Oedura monilis). These were the second most common gecko on my drive in the Warrumbungle National Park (NSW, Australia) and I saw more than 10. The habitat was the same as in the Underwoodisaurus milii post. Once, I saw a Thick-tailed...

Greetings, I am a new member who lives in Wollongong (New South Wales, Australia). Field herping is one of my passions. Last weekend, I travelled out to the Warrumbungle National Park, about an eight-hour drive from where I live. The Warrumbungles are an isolated mountain range west of the...