# Day 8: Tully Gorge



## smacdonald (Jan 24, 2009)

We left Charters Towers and headed back to the coast and up to Tully. We arrive mid-afternoon, and went for a short walk to see what we could see. Down by the river I saw a little head peeking out of a hole in a tree stump. I waited patiently for the body to emerge.





_Saproscincus_ sp. Probably _Saproscincus basiliscus_.






_Saproscincus_ sp. Probably _Saproscincus basiliscus_.​
Running around on the ground were numerous _Carlia rubrigularis_. Along the boulder-lined waterway we saw a couple of eastern water skinks (_Eulamprus quoyii_), but I didn't manage to get any pics of them. A large rustle alerted us to a major skink taking cover under a rock. Major skinks are the bane of my existence. They're so alert and wary, getting close enough to photograph one has been impossible for me, despite the fact that I've seen them at a number of places. This individual was no exception, and I only managed to get a dody pic.





Major skink (_Egernia frerei_).






_Carlia rubrigularis_.​
We drove up to the top of the falls and, while waiting for dusk, went for a walk down to the river. We saw nothing except the ubiquitous _Carlia rubrigularis_, so we started heading back up towards the car. As we were walking along, a slaty-grey snake came crashing down an embankment and stopped at our feet. Like a typical slaty-grey, he didn't stop for long and was soon invisible as he made his way through the dense undergrowth.





Slaty-grey snake (_Stegonotus cucullatus_).​
We got back up to the car and started to drive back down towards the camp site. Along the way we saw a number of reptiles and frogs off to the side of the road.





Brown tree snake (_Boiga irregularis_).






Pink-tongued skink (_Cyclodomorphus gerrardii_).






Stoney-creek frog (_Litoria lesueurii_). Or _Litoria jungguy_ if you like.






Australian lace-lid (_Nyctimystes dayi_).






Tarantula.​
The next morning we packed up and drove out, finally managing to see the one species we had hoped to encounter at this location - a scrub python (_Morelia kinghorni_).





Roadkilled scrub python (_Morelia kinghorni_).​
Next stop, the Atherton Tablelands.


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## pythons73 (Jan 24, 2009)

Great pictures,its a shame about the scrubby...


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## Vassallo2008 (Jan 24, 2009)

Poor Scrubby Nice pics tho


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## ryanharvey1993 (Jan 24, 2009)

nice shots stewart, that pink tongue has a weird head, widest one I have seen, all the ones I have seen have narrow heads (have all been captive, I used to own a few) cant wait for the next part, I have read your blog a few times, sounded like you were very successful when you went to kakadu. anyone, nice pics. thanks


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## smacdonald (Jan 24, 2009)

ryanharvey1993 said:


> that pink tongue has a weird head, widest one I have seen



Hi Ryan,

They breed 'em big up north...


Stewart


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## Brent (Jan 24, 2009)

Nice shots Stewart


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## zulu (Jan 24, 2009)

*re Day*

Good work stewart,harder than it looks hey,those major skinks can take off quick


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## krusty (Jan 24, 2009)

i can't wait till i can get back to tully gorge as i love it there.


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## froggyboy86 (Jan 25, 2009)

Nice photos Stuart, did you get the Nyctimystes on the road? 

Aaron


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## itbites (Jan 25, 2009)

great pics cute lil bts


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## smacdonald (Jan 26, 2009)

froggyboy86 said:


> Nice photos Stuart, did you get the Nyctimystes on the road?
> 
> Aaron



Hi Erin,

Yep, and then he bounced off into the grass, where I took that pic. I would have liked to have taken some pics that showed his funky eye features, but alas he wasn't very cooperative.


Stuart


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