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| Part II: First Night in
Darwin |
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Peter, Nick and I joined up with Rico Walder and
headed out on a late flight to Darwin. Arriving after
dark, we took a cab to Grungle Downs,
a fantastic bed and breakfast outside of Darwin. After
a warm welcome from Christie, the owner, and a quick
look around to claim our rooms and stash our gear, we
headed out to have a look around for herps in the
landscaping and outbuildings around Grungle Downs. A
few frog species, including one of my favorites, the
iconic green frog (Litoria caerulea), were
found in a garage. Rustling in the leaf litter
alerted us to the small, but beatiful northern
bar-lipped skink (Glaphyromorphus douglasi). A
Dtella gecko (Gehyra sp) or possibly a house
gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) was cruising
around the Grungle Downs sign along the roadside, so I
snapped a quick picture of this fast moving gecko. |
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| We
then moved on to search the treeline along the
perimeter of the horse paddock. The haunting sound of
the resident curlews accompanied us on our search. A
brushtailed possum was spotted low in a tree, but
retreated when the cameras came out. A small agamid
rustled through the leaves, but also dissappeared
before we could get an id on it. Turning the corner,
Peter and I almost stepped on a beautiful Darwin
carpet python (Morelia spilota variegata), one
python I was really hoping to see on this trip. We
were very happy with this find and took many pictures
of this amazing snake. |
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| This
also fueled our fire for continued searching around
the grounds, and in short order another frog species,
***, was found, as well as a tiny Binoes gecko (***). |
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After a fairly disappointing
search through some bush behind the grounds, we
decided to make our way back to Grungle Downs. Upon
one last check around the swimming pool yielded a
slatey grey (***) in the middle of consuming a cane
toad (Bufo marinus). The snake, however, was not
moving, and while trying to ascertain if it was alive,
the snake proceeded to spit out the toad. This may
have saved the snake from an untimely death, but
instead of thanking us, he decided to strike
repeatedly, making a photo shoot very difficult. After
getting some photos, we retreated to the air
conditioned rooms after a great first night of
herping! |
   Guys (L to R: Rico, Peter, and Nick) hanging at Grungle Downs |
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The following morning, we took
another look around the grounds in the light. Another
highlight of the trip for me was finding a beautiful
female Northern Territory frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus
kingii). It was a magnificent and large animal
with vibrant reds and yellows on the frill. These
lizards are highly entertaining in their actions and
it was fun to observe this animal. Unfortunately we
didn't see any other frillies around the grounds,
although Christie reported that they are fairly common
around the homestead, including an impressive male
that dominates the area. I spent a few hours looking
around the paddock and the yard for more frillies, but
this gal would be the only one we found. |
 Before 
After!  Back of the frill shot  Another "wanker shot" |
| Part
III: The Dorat Road |