Back from Idalia
I’m back from Idalia National Park. We were meant to leave early on Saturday morning and get back to Brisbane late Saturday night, but it rained on Friday night so the 70 kms of dirt roads leading out of the park were impassable. So we ended up leaving mid morning on Sunday and getting back home at 1:30 AM Monday morning. I stayed up for another few hours catching up on work, then got up at 6 AM to go to uni where I’m helping to organise an Experience Science workshop for some high school students.
We got quite a good reptile haul from the park this year. For the first time I (and another herp enthusiast) put some serious effort into collecting some specimens.
Tree skink (Egernia striolata)
Gehyra variegata
Bynoe’s gecko (Heteronotia binoei)
Marbled gecko (Oedura marmorata)
Marbled gecko (Oedura marmorata)
Morethia boulengeri
Tympanocryptis cephalus
Curl snake (Suta suta)
Golden orb spider (Nephila sp.)
Yellow-footed rock wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus)
Yellow-footed rock wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus)
Yellow-footed rock wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus) with pouch young
July 18th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
great photos stew!!
makes me wanna go out to idalia again!
July 23rd, 2006 at 4:47 pm
Ditto that thought tiger.
J.
July 31st, 2006 at 12:28 pm
I did get to go again… for the fifth time… it’s a hard life
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:22 am
great photos, makes me home sick. whats the country like at idalia, dry? Who are the rangers there?
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:52 am
Hi Suzie,
Idalia National Park is in the semi-arid zone. Lots of mulga, brigalow, and dirt. The EPA’s site has some info on Idalia.
Are you from out that way originally?
Stewart
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:39 pm
i was living there for a couple of years, and worked as a ranger for a few months. have now lost all contact, so was wondering what was happening, with the Nailtails, yellowfoots, and other roos, and every thing else?
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Hi Suzie,
The recent (and current) drought really knocked everything around, but there were still lots of nailtails, yellow foots, and reds. I saw a few wallaroos, and a mob of eastern greys up at the north end of the park. As far as I know, Rosie is back on the park as a live-in ranger.
Stewart
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:13 pm
thanks for that. i glad there is at least one ranger back on full time. when i was there, there was enought work for three rangers. i just seen that there is a new District manger too, i am very glad about that. i also just found a site say there was 600 pigs taken in the last 12 months. i hardly seen 10 for the years i was there, wonder where they all came from? will you be going out again next year:?
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Hi Suzie,
I’ll probably be going back out in July of next year to tutor on an undergraduate field course the university runs at Idalia.
Stewart
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
cool, i like those courses, i havent been a student at one, but have been there for (i think) 5 of them. i also found a paper about Yukki’s paper on the water closures, she found it didnt make much impact. i dont agree, once again a great idea has been ruined by a silly student who doesnt know anything about western qld. she was there for the whole drought, so ofcourse the vegetation is not going to improve.
has the buffel grass in the area around the Ranger station, on the entry road, near the intersection, regrown? it seemed to be dead in early 2003 from drought.