Rainforest and Bronzebacks (Part 4)

Coober to the Eyre Peninsula (4th-5th)

Day 12

Extremely pleased with our Coober haul, we turned tail and shot southwards the next morning. A Bourke Parrot was a rather nice morning surprise at a road house and before long we were back in Port Augusta and sourcing a new set of tyres. With our traction safely restored, we continued westwards into the mallee. It was late afternoon and a toasty 38 degrees upon arrival at our first stop. Unsurprisingly, the local Peninsula Rock Dragons (C. fionni) were extremely swift and evaded the camera with ease. Several other more unexpected lizards were unearthed and photos were sourced of an eyecatching Common Scaly-foot (P. lepidopodus) and some mud brown Triodia Earless Skinks (H. millewae), a species previously unrecorded at the reserve. 

Pygopus lepidopodus

Hemiergis millewae

Moving onto our second reserve for the afternoon, we whiled away the remaining daylight amongst white sand and spinifex. A Mallee Dragon (C. fordi) and some very shy Desert Skinks (L. inornata) were seen skulking around but otherwise it was an uneventful evening as we waited for dark. Deciding to forego spotlighting initially, we completed a couple of laps on a nearby road without much luck bar a few Southern Rock Gehyra (G. lazelli). Giving up on snakes the led lensers were donned and we disappeared into the bush. In a seemingly reoccuring theme, the local geckos took some time to spot, but I did eventually find several Goldfields Spiny-tailed Geckos (S. assimilis) and singular juvenile Starred Knob-tailed Gecko (N. stellatus).

Ctenophorus fordi

Strophurus assimilis

Nephrurus stellatus

Chasing more geckos, the subi sped south-west on the tail of Southern Sand-plain Gecko (L. bungabinna) records. It wasn’t until we arrived and had a short poke around that we concluded the records likely erroneous, the habitat seemed quite unsuitable. A few more of the large Goldfields Spiny-tailed Geckos (S. assimilis) were spotted hiding amongst the vegetation to prevent a complete loss. Continuing on to a nearby area Nick had visited before, we decided to conclude the night with a final spotlight and rake. It didn’t take long for Nick to coax out a gecko I’d been wanting to find ever since flicking through my first field guide, the Jewelled Gecko (S. elderi). The moment was marred slightly by a moth plague that really wanted to explore my mouth, but I was happy to find the gecko nonetheless. A slightly less exciting Peron’s Earless Skink (H. peronii) was also found amongst some Triodia. Tired, generally pissed at the local insects and apprehensive of some sprinkling rain, camp was a sombre affair in a nearby pull out.

Strophurus elderi

Day 13

After days spent exploring the arid inland, we made our way down to the coast the next morning on the tail of the most legged Lerista, the Bight Slider (L. arenicola). Investigating seaweed on the beach was definitely a new form of herping for me but unfortunately the Lerista wasn’t around to improve the already pretty scenery. Luckily, there were plenty more herps to be found slightly further away from the waves in the surrounding dunes. My first Mallee Slender Bluetongue (C. melanops) was found sheltering in a cushion bush, quickly followed by my second last Pseudemoia, a Bight Coast Skink (P. baudini). Flipping rocks a little further along the beach netted two more firsts for me, a female Painted Dragon (C. pictus) and several South Coast Geckos (D. calcicolus). With the wind picking up, we packed up shop and headed further south along the Eyre. 

Cyclodomorphus melanops

Pseudemoia baudini

Diplodactylus calcicolus

While we thought relocating might help with the wind situation, we’d learn throughout the day that there would be no escape. A quick stop at Elliston to investigate more cushion bush yielded nothing but a howling gale and we continued south. Another hour later and a couple of falling trees dodged and we arrived in Port Lincoln. Of course we couldn’t visit the area without stopping for some seafood so herping was delayed while we sourced lunch. The effect was slightly ruined by the now hurricane force winds as we sat and reflected on just how unpleasant the next planned spot would be to visit. We weren’t let down on arrival, with the force of the wind all but blowing us over as it came up over the cliff. A couple of minutes was all we needed before deciding to bail, a little unfortunate as there was still many species in the area I’d hoped for a shot at. 

Elliston was damn windy but scenic

Swapping sides of the Eyre, we headed back north to spend the night in more mallee. Light was fading by the time arrived and headed out into the triodia. Over an hour of raking yielded nothing but one find, fortunately, it was something I was very glad to see. A grumpy and slightly stumpy Painted Delma (D. petersoni) was unearthed under an unremarkable hummock and joined us for photos at last light. Replacing him back in his refuge we retreated to a nearby outcrop in the hope of spotlighting a Ranges Stone Gecko (D. furcosus), but temperatures were dropping swiftly. No Stone Gecko was to be found in the cold and the wind, despite several Southern Rock Dtella’s (G. lazelli) and Bynoe’s Geckos (H. binoei) being spotted on the prowl. Cutting our losses, we made our way down to the township of Whyalla for another roadside pull out camp.

Delma petersoni