moloch
New member
After the Northern Goldfields region, we headed south through Kalgoorlie and then on to Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance. We did not see any geckos in this area but the scenery was fantastic. After a night, we headed west to the Stirling Ranges National Park northeast of Albany. These are isolated mountains and a botanists paradise.
This is a view of the mountains from the northeast as we first approached the park.
There are trails to the summits of many peaks. We climbed a short distance up Bluff Knoll in this photo but did not have enough time to complete the ascent. The views were excellent.
Grass-trees were abundant in the park.
Plants in the park were so diverse and unusual. This was one of the subterranean banksias. The stems grow below the surface of the soil but the leaves and flowers emerge into the light.
We spent the night in a herper-friendly park not far from the turnoff to Bluff Knoll.
I searched the trees and buildings in the park with the hopes of find an Oedura reticulata but had no success. I did see a Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus) near an illuminated phone booth but was not able to take a photo.
We did see a couple Western Stone Geckos (Diplodactylus granariensis) on the road.
We found a single Stropherus spinigerus inornatus.
Mammals were interesting. One of the highlights was seeing a Quokka. I knew that these fat, small kangaroos were common on Rottnest Island but I did not know that there were still a few on the mainland. The little marsupial ran down the road in front of us for quite a distance before finally heading off into a thicket. I also saw one of the most beautiful small wallabies that I have ever encoutered. This was the little Western Brush Wallaby.
The park owner directed us to this tree where an Owlet-Nightjar can be seen every morning. This is a strange little bird that belongs to a mostly New Guinean family.
This is a view of the mountains from the northeast as we first approached the park.
There are trails to the summits of many peaks. We climbed a short distance up Bluff Knoll in this photo but did not have enough time to complete the ascent. The views were excellent.
Grass-trees were abundant in the park.
Plants in the park were so diverse and unusual. This was one of the subterranean banksias. The stems grow below the surface of the soil but the leaves and flowers emerge into the light.
We spent the night in a herper-friendly park not far from the turnoff to Bluff Knoll.
I searched the trees and buildings in the park with the hopes of find an Oedura reticulata but had no success. I did see a Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus) near an illuminated phone booth but was not able to take a photo.
We did see a couple Western Stone Geckos (Diplodactylus granariensis) on the road.
We found a single Stropherus spinigerus inornatus.
Mammals were interesting. One of the highlights was seeing a Quokka. I knew that these fat, small kangaroos were common on Rottnest Island but I did not know that there were still a few on the mainland. The little marsupial ran down the road in front of us for quite a distance before finally heading off into a thicket. I also saw one of the most beautiful small wallabies that I have ever encoutered. This was the little Western Brush Wallaby.
The park owner directed us to this tree where an Owlet-Nightjar can be seen every morning. This is a strange little bird that belongs to a mostly New Guinean family.
