Rainforest and Bronzebacks (Part 3)

Narrabri to Coober Pedy (1st-3rd)

Day 9

I was rather used to the cool conditions we’d been experiencing throughout the eastern half of the trip, so it was a definite shock to the system heading west and watching the mercury climb. By the time we arrived at Cobar it was well into the 40’s despite sprinkling rain. A necessary pitstop at the local pub was well in order. Soon enough we were appropriately refreshed and back on the road with our final destination north of Wilcannia in sight.

Despite the high temperature throughout the day, a brisk wind set in as we waited for dark and temperatures plummeted. By the time we could actually find geckos it was rather cool. Nevertheless, several species were on the move with large numbers of Variegated Dtella’s (Gehyra versicolor) found scurrying around the ground, seemingly blown out of their normal shrubby perches. Several Box-patterned Geckos (Lucasium steindachneri), Bynoe’s Geckos (Heteronotia binoei), one Eastern Hooded Scaly-foot (Pygopus schraderi) and a few of one of our targets, Inland Marbled Velvet Geckos (Oedura cincta) were also found out and about. Unfortunately, the main reason for our visit, the Eastern Deserts Fat-tailed Gecko (Diplodactylus ameyi), remained elusive and it was two slightly frustrated herpers that could later be seen navigating the corrugations back towards Wilcannia. We ended up making camp just west of the town, with the now gale force winds ensuring we had a largely sleepless night.

Day 10

Feeling refreshed after a night of sleeplessness due battering winds, we continued our journey west the next morning. Initially we’d planned to make it to the SA mallee for some spotlighting and raking that night, so we turned south at Broken Hill and headed for Mildura. The weather had other plans for us though and by 11 AM it was still only 19 °C and it was time to change plans. Discarding our mallee targets we decided to continue on to the southern Flinders Ranges and Port Augusta. By this point it was too late to take the direct route from Broken Hill west, so we settled in for a long day of driving.

It was late afternoon by the time we got to stretch our legs in the Flinders, luckily quite a few reptiles were hanging around. We quickly found several Swift Rock Dragons (Ctenophorus modestus) living up to their names, swiftly navigating the rocky outcrops and none were too keen for photos. Many newly metamorphed Southern Flinders Ranges Froglets (Crinia riparia) were found hanging out around the rock pools and were my 100th Australian frog species. Not to get too distracted by amphibians, a couple of Flinders Ranges Rock Skinks (Liopholis personata) also made a fool of us amongst the rocks. Leaving our rocky failings behind we headed out to some tin and quickly uncovered my first Lerista for the trip, a Myall Slider (Lerista edwardsae).

With our first successes for the day safely observed, we continued north, albeit with a small, unsuccessful detour and attempt for a Saltbush Slender Bluetongue (Cyclodomorphus venustus). It wasn’t until just after dark that we arrived at our chosen spot to the south of Pimba, ready to search for some more geckos. And geckos we did find, with several Eyrean Beaked Geckos (Rhynchoedura eyrensis), Beaded Geckos (Lucasium damaeum) and a Southern Sandplain Gecko (Lucasium microplax) all found running around the sand dunes. Our main target took a little longer to find, but once I spotted its much larger eyeshine I knew I’d found my third Nephrurus species, the Pernatty Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus deleani). A spectacular species, this Knob-tail is restricted to sand dunes in the vicinity of Pernatty Lagoon. A small Southern Sandslider (Lerista labialis) also put in an appearance, a new species for Nick who’d visited the area before. Deciding to push on a little to Pimba, we ended the night exhausted, with a little over 1,250 kms travelled.

Day 11

It was finally time to visit the mythical township of Coober Pedy. It was hard to contain my fidgeting as we edged closer through the desert and gibber, but Nick didn’t seem to share my enthusiasm. A veteran of the area, his outlook was understandably jaded. Shooting straight through the township, with a cursory stop for a needed photo with the township sign, we eventually made it to our end goal of an absolutely unremarkable creek line. It was here that my number one target for the trip resided, the elegant and ancient looking Bronzeback Legless Lizard (Ophidiocephalus taeniatus). After over an hour of careful searching though, it seemed like they weren’t too keen to show themselves. Two Marbled Delma (Delma australis), supposedly the rarer of the two pygopods in the area, were the only things discovered. A short photo session later and we were on our way back towards Coober and some more Gidgee to explore.

Slightly more dejected, we started our tree surveys once more but this time was much, much better. On only my second tree, a tail suddenly appeared in the leaf litter before me and I had it, one of the coolest looking pygopods getting around. With some sighs of relief we settled in with our cameras and a rather cooperative subject. Celebratory beers were of course a must as we made a quick detour to the Coober road house afterwards, but it was only a short stop before we made our way out onto the moon plain on the trail of taipans. Dawdling out onto the vast expanse of nothingness was rather impressive and it didn’t take long before Nick yelled dragon and we pulled over for a buff male Gibber Dragon (C. gibba). Our excitement was rather diminished by the steady hiss coming from one of the back tyres, a fact that also led to a rather speedy photo session. After waving goodbye to our new friend it was out with the car jack and temporary spare tire, cutting our road cruising rather short. Fortunately for us, the local mechanic was still sipping a beer when we limped in at 6pm for a speedy tire fix. There would be no taipan for us this trip.

With our bald and questionably repaired tires it was a delicate drive to our spotlighting site that night but we made it unscathed. The geckos turned out to be rather scarce on the ground and it took a number of hours to track down some Helmeted Geckos (D. galeatus), a Thick-tailed Gecko (U. milii), a Tessellated Gecko (D. tessellatus) and some Bynoe’s Geckos (H. binoei) for photos. Swapping spots and a final sleep deprived sweep netted the last gecko I was chasing for the night, a Gibber Gecko (L. byrnei) along with a complementary Southern Spiny-tailed Gecko (S. intermedius). A final short, dare fuelled drive down the road and camp was setup under a lovely backdrop of stars. How romantic.

Rainforest and Bronzebacks (Part 3)

Narrabri to Coober Pedy (1st-3rd)

Rainforest and Bronzebacks (Part 4)

Rainforest and Bronzebacks (Part 2)