Australian Reptiles, large and small

Posted April 26, 2010 By admin

Close-up of Long Nosed Dragon, Trephina Gorge NT

We began our journey with little appreciation of Australia’s reptiles. We knew the names of a few poisonous snakes, could probably recognise a Goanna, or a Frill-necked Lizard, and maybe one or two others, but that was about it  Oh, and we knew to avoid Crocodiles (see previous post).

Little did we realise that Australia has incredible herpetological riches.  At the latest count Australia was home to 864 species of reptile, though this number is constantly rising as new species are discovered.  We hope that environmental degradation doesn’t push the number downwards.

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Categories: Reptiles

Crocodiles

Posted April 25, 2010 By admin and has 2 comments.

Taken in captivity, closeup of Saltwater croc at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre

Most of us have a fascination with crocodiles, probably because these prehistoric creatures have a tendency to eat people.    The stories of unsuspecting tourists and careless locals being taken by ‘Salties’ are enough to send a chill down your spine.  Saltwater crocodiles are known to observe their potential prey over many days, demonstrating cunning, patience and, something rarely acknowledged, a degree of intelligence.  They are said to observe the patterns of their would-be prey, such as the time of day they come to the waterhole in which the crocodile lurks, and other habits, such gathering water or drinking from particular spots along the bank. For example, if a camper wanders down to collect water from the waterhole at 7am daily, from the same spot, this will be duly noted!  All this information is gathered with the intent of making that violent explosion from the water all the more likely to secure their meal.   

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Categories: Reptiles

Brolgas

Posted April 24, 2010 By admin and has no comments yet.

What’s going on here?  We’re running a website called brolgahealingjourneys, and we don’t have any pictures of Brolgas on the site.  To tell the truth, we had a really frustrating time waiting to see our first Brolgas on our travels.  We had seen plenty of Brolgas on a previous trip, in 2002, to the Kimberley.  In fact, the huge flocks of Brolgas we saw at that time, on the shores of Lake Gregory, itself on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, provided the inspiration for this website’s name. 

But this time around things were different. We commenced our travels in July 2007 and it wasn’t until late June 2009 that we had our first sighting.  It was with a mixture of excitement and blessed relief that we watched a small flock of Brolgas jump and dance on the far edge of a pond at Cape Keraudren, on the southern tip of Eighty Mile Beach in WA.  We too jumped and danced, to see Brolgas again.   The Brolgas were a long way off, the sun was in our eyes, we only  managed a few grainy photos and a short blurry video, but we didn’t care.  At long last we had seen some Brolgas!!

Brolgas seen from the Bluebush bird hide, Mornington Wilderness Sanctuary, Kimberley WA

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Categories: Birds

Finches, Firetails & Mannikins

Posted April 23, 2010 By admin

Zebra Finch, near Telegraph Station, Alice Springs NT

These small, energetic, chatty and often colourful birds seem to agree with the old adage of “safety in numbers”.  As you walk through the bush you are likely to hear their high pitched calls to one another well before you see their tiny forms darting from bush to bush.   Australia has many species of these mainly seed-eating birds.  We are yet to see many of them but neveretheless count ourselves as fortunate to have seen some.  We look forward to adding more sightings as we travel.

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Categories: Birds

The Kimberley

Posted April 19, 2010 By admin

Manning Gorge

Is it possible to sum up the Kimberley in a few photographs?  Of course not.   Such a vast, untamed, ancient, uncompromising and varied landscape would take a lifetime to even begin to comprehend.  But what the hell, here a a few photos we took in various places around the Kimberley, which we hope will give you a glimpse of the moods of this magnificent region. The Kimberley holds a magic all of its own.

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Categories: Scenery, Western Australia

Recent photos – April 2010

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Female Wallaroo, Todd river north of Alice Springs

I’ve added some photos taken over the past few days, mainly of wildlife around Alice Springs.  They’ve been added to the appropriate albums where relevant.
Cheers!
Peter
18 April.

Categories: Australian Wildlife

The Pilbara

Posted April 17, 2010 By admin and has 1 comment.

Contrasts, Weano Gorge, Karijini Ntl Pk

Most of us would be hard-pressed to locate the vast Pilbara region on a map of Australia.  We might associate the Pilbara with iron ore mining and offshore gas rigs, but know little more about it.  Nirbeeja and I certainly knew very little about the region before we visited. The first time we looked at a map of the region, there seemed to be a few small settlements with vast distances between them, and huge areas of ‘nothing’ on the map.

The reality of the Pilbara is, of course, very different.  It is a beautiful region, perhaps with the greatest range of colours of any we have seen in Australia.  The deep red of the rocks and earth contrasted with the deep blue of the sky and the pale spinifex grass.

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Categories: Scenery, Western Australia

Australian Scenery

Posted April 14, 2010 By admin and has no comments yet.

The beautiful pool above Champagne Springs, the Kimberley

We have been blessed to visit many wonderful places during our travels around Australia; some beautiful, some wild and some spectacular. And some all three.

Here is a selection of our photographs. 

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Categories: Scenery

Cockatoos

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Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

Cockatoos -  large, colourful and often raucous birds, are found in their various guises across Australia. 

The beautiful Galah, the smallest of our Cockatoos, is found across the land.  It is such a common sight that its beauty is often taken for granted.  There is something quintessentially Australian about watching a flock of Galahs waddle around the grasslands searching for seed.   They provide quite a spectacle when they take to the wing, the sun lighting up the rich pink of their under-feathers.

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Categories: Birds

Storm-clouds over Alice – the Todd River flows

Posted April 13, 2010 By admin and has no comments yet.

Ominous cloud approaching Alice. 9 April 2010

9 April 2010

Alice Springs is famous for its Henley-on-Todd Regatta, an annual ‘boating’ event held on the Todd River in the centre of Alice Springs.  Why is it famous?  Well, because the boat races only ever take place on the dry, sandy river bed.  The ‘boats’ are carried across the sand by their crews in a race to the finish.  Indeed, the only time the Regatta has ever been cancelled has been when there has been water in the river!

It was with this image of the Todd River in mind that we arrived in Alice Springs late last year.  Dry river bed, not a drop of water in sight.  We both spoke of how much we would like to see the river flow, but didn’t hold out any hope.  

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Categories: Northern Territory, Travel Blogs