Leg 3 – Kakadu National Park

We arrived in Kakadu National Park during the day and set up camp in one of the campgrounds. Then we headed to the Bowali visitor centre to meet up with a mate. We walked into the visitor centre just as he was walking out. He told us he’d just seen an olive whipsnake (Demansia olivacea) poking around in a pile of rocks. We dashed back to the car to grab our cameras and then stationed ourselves in front of the rock pile. While we waited for the snake to re-emerge, a swamplands lashtail dragon (Amphibolurus temporalis) kept us amused with his hand-waving antics.

Swamplands lashtail dragon (Amphibolurus temporalis)

Lots of people, including the rangers, stopped by and asked us what we were doing. We made up some excuse about photographing dragonflies so as not to attract attention (as much as two ruggedly handsome young men clutching $20,000 worth of camera equipment can avoid attracting attention). Eventually the snake emerged (reptick!) and we frantically jumped off the verandah of the visitor centre and started photographing the beast. This, of course, attracted a lot of attention. It didn’t take long for the rangers to come out and watch what we were doing. We didn’t have permits to interfere with critters in Kakadu, so we were very mindful to not harass the snake too much. I managed to get a half-decent head shot before the whipsnake slithered out of sight.

Olive whipsnake (Demansia olivacea)

Kakadu is a big park (that’s not a park, this is a park!) and contains a diverse variety of habitat types. The habitat that interests me the most is the massive rocks of the Arnhem Escarpment. These rocks are home to a bunch of endemic species that I’ve been trying to see since my first trip to the area in 2008. During the day, the woodlands on and around the escarpment are teeming with little brown birds and little brown skinks. Over the course of the next few days we went on a number of walking tracks and saw a few birds (most of which I didn’t photograph because I had on my macro lens) and a few skinks. New skinks for me were Ctenotus essingtonii and C. vertebralis (which darted off before I managed to get a decent photo).

Arnhem Escarpment, Northern Territory

Arnhem Escarpment, Northern Territory

Rocks of the Arnhem Escarpment. Habitat for Gehyra nana, Pseudothecadactylus lindneri, Oedura gemmata.

Ubirr and surrounds, Kakadu National Park. Unfortunately it took us our entire stay in Kakadu to realise that Ubirr is where all the Swedish backpackers hang out.

Essington’s ctenotus (Ctenotus essingtonii)

Essington’s ctenotus (Ctenotus essingtonii)

Short-eared rock wallaby (Petrogale brachyotis)

Dusky honeyeater (Myzomela obscura)

At night the rocks come alive with frog, geckos and snakes. Despite us being there in the middle of the dry season, we managed to find a number of very impressive beasts.

Copland’s rock frog (Litoria coplandi)

Copland’s rock frog (Litoria coplandi)

Rockhole frog (Litoria meiriana)

Giant cave gecko (Pseudothecadactylus lindneri)

Giant cave gecko (Pseudothecadactylus lindneri)

Dotted velvet gecko (Oedura gemmata)

Northern spotted rock dtella (Gehyra nana)

Northern knob-tailed gecko (Nephrurus sheai)

Children’s python (Antaresia childreni)

Slaty-grey snake (Stegonotus cucullatus)

Slaty-grey snake (Stegonotus cucullatus)

Of course, animals aren’t restricted only to natural environments. The shower block at the campground had zillions of Gehyra australis and Litoria rothii plastered on the walls and ceilings.

Northern laughing tree frog (Litoria rothii)

After we’d exploited Kakadu as much as possible, we headed towards Kununurra.

Repticks:
Demansia olivacea
Pseudothecadactylus lindneri
Nephrurus sheai
Ctenotus essingtonii
Ctenotus vertebralis