# Field Trip Report: Western Kimberley



## Nephrurus (Aug 5, 2007)

G'day all, 
I've got bored, so heres something I've put together this afternoon. 
This is a quick run down of a 2 week trip i had in the West Kimberley. We were up their camping and doing a bit of exploring through the coastal areas. We were never more than about 10kms from the coast, and saw quite a few species that have incredibly limited distributions. We saw a heap of cool stuff, but i only got photos of a small percentage of it. 
I had a great time, and i hope you all enjoy the photos. I apologise for putting my name on the photos, but a friend had some photos he'd posted copied and reused on another website without his permission. You can't be too careful!

First of all, some habitat shots. 
This area is largely incredibly rugged King Leopold sandstone.Some areas are basalt intrusions. There are small patches of monsoonal rainforest at the base of sandstone cliffs. By and large i was getting around in the sandstone areas. 
















Here is the view from one of the hills we climbed. 






One of the first critters we caught was the Superb dragon _Diporiphora superba_. 
I found a pair sitting about 6ft from the ground in the branches of a _Terminalia sp._ in a shady, sheltered gully. Subsequent animals were found in low dense scrub with regrowth Eucalypts (probably 4 years since last burnt). 















At night several gecko species were common on the rock platforms. Two _Gehyra_ species and two _Oedura_ species were the only gecko species found while we wsree out there.

_Gehyra nana_ and _Gehyra xenopus_ were two species commonly found on vertical rock faces at night and were often active in the late afternoon. Here is a Gehyra xenopus. I didn't get any shots of Gehyra nana on this trip. 





_Oedura obscura_ were frequently picked up in _Acacia sp._ on the rock platforms on warm nights. They were also picked up underneath flat rocks. 





This specimen was sheltering beneath a rock with a _Oedura gracilis_. 





Here he is with his friend!





_Oedura gracilis_ are also incredibly common on the rock platforms. On warm nights adults and juveniles could be found running across open spaces on the rock platform.









A few interesting non-reptiles turned up, and i thought they were worth a photo or two. 
Here is an interesting grasshopper





and scorpion!





_Litoria coplandi_ were very common near water. Often seen sitting by the water at night. 





More common were _Litoria meiriana_. They are able to jump across the water, earning them the common name "Jesus frog". 





Both these frogs, and most likely the geckos, would be delicious morsels for this spotty little ratbag. Northern Quolls quickly became interested in our campsite, and attacked out powdered milk. Heres a photo of one cleaning himself after a foray to the food hamper. 





Other mammal species sighted were Narbalek, Monjon and Golden Bandicoot. 

Some of the most spectacular species we found are the two common goannas common to the west kimberley. 
_Varanus glebopalma_ juveniles were active during the day, hunting grasshoppers and foraging for other insects. Adults were also seen, but were harder to photograph.










The other species we saw was _Varanus glauertii_. They were commonly seen in the late afternoon on the rock platform. Very fast, very difficult to photograph. 


















And that concludes the report... I hope you enjoyed it, and hope it inspires you to go out and see some of this country!

All the best, 

-H


----------



## reece89 (Aug 5, 2007)

only the last pic worked for me =(


----------



## hornet (Aug 5, 2007)

it seems you missed a ] out of most of the url's


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 5, 2007)

Fixed now!


----------



## Shano92 (Aug 5, 2007)

wow that kool.................


----------



## hornet (Aug 5, 2007)

henry, gotta ask you something, pming now.


----------



## hazzard (Aug 5, 2007)

show off, now post some pics of those u beaut enclosures wink wink!


----------



## krusty (Aug 5, 2007)

that looks like it would have been a great trip.


----------



## hornet (Aug 5, 2007)

oh, and forgot to say, awsome pics


----------



## Hetty (Aug 5, 2007)

Beautiful monitors


----------



## White Wolf (Aug 5, 2007)

Stunning pictures !!!!


----------



## Hickson (Aug 5, 2007)

Monjon? In the Kimberleys? Are you sure?

Hix


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 5, 2007)

Yeah.... I am 

Where else would you expect to see them?

The Himalaya? 

-H


----------



## Hickson (Aug 5, 2007)

'Coz from my recollections (and I don't have access to my books so can't confirm exact location) they aren't found in the Kimberleys, they're over on the West coast and some offshore islands.



Hix


----------



## Miss B (Aug 5, 2007)

Wow :shock:

Some amazing photos there, I would love to have seen all those creatures first-hand.

I have never even heard of 'Superb Dragons' before, but geez they look amazing; are they ever kept in captivity?


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 5, 2007)

West Coast? Thats where i was!  Where do you think "West" Kimberleys is? 

From my recollections, I was in the Kimberley, and i actually saw a bunch of them! In fact, I believe they are endemic to the region.... 

-H


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 5, 2007)

Miss B said:


> Wow :shock:
> 
> Some amazing photos there, I would love to have seen all those creatures first-hand.
> 
> I have never even heard of 'Superb Dragons' before, but geez they look amazing; are they ever kept in captivity?



Not in captivity! Pretty spectacular though...

-H


----------



## Hickson (Aug 5, 2007)

I wasn't aware the Kimberleys went all the way to the coast, but then I've never been there so that's my error. I just kmow that MOnjon are extremely uncommon and, being crepuscular/nocturnal, are very rarely seen. Narbarleks are sometimes mistaken for them. If you saw them, then good for you. I'm very jealous!

Great photos, too!



Hix


----------



## jordo (Aug 6, 2007)

Top photos mate! Would be a great spot to visit one day.


----------



## Magpie (Aug 6, 2007)

Great stuff H. Wonder what the significance of the extra long tails is? Seems to be a few diferent species that have developed extra-ordinarily long tails in that region.
Good to see you had a good time (again)


----------



## Bung-Eye (Aug 6, 2007)

nice photo's mate. How long were you out for?


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 6, 2007)

Hix: The kimberley does include the high rainfall "sub humid" region on the coast. Turns out monjon aren't that uncommon, just in incredibly inaccessible places. The person who has seen more than anyone i know is the chopper pilot. He generally finds a nice spot to land and sits down and quietly does some paperwork.... the monjon come out and see him! If you are walking along the top of rock platforms you can easily flush them. 
Narbaleks are much bigger and have a bushier tail and a black armpit. Small short eared rock wallabies can be mistaken for narbaleks. I'd recommend a trip to the Kimberley for anyone who wants to see some amazing country (You should get up there Hix!).

Bung: I was there for 2 weeks

-H


----------



## da_donkey (Aug 6, 2007)

Fantastic H, totally awsome......green with envy........

donk


----------



## urodacus_au (Aug 6, 2007)

Nice Liocheles sp. scorp there, would love to know what it keys out to. Rest of the pics are great too, got a soft spot for the Varanids 

Gotta get up there
Jordan


----------



## junglepython2 (Aug 6, 2007)

Awesome shots thanks for sharing!


----------



## pepper (Aug 6, 2007)

wow !!! Thank you for putting that together it was very informative. great photography love it !!!


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 11, 2007)

I've got to put together another bunch of photos from the remaining 5 weeks i spent up there. They'll be posted in about a week and a half. 

-H


----------



## mattmc (Aug 11, 2007)

hey henry
its matt from FATS. some great pics.
are you going to smiths lake. if so, should be good. bit later into the season than when we normally go. should be lots of herps. 
cheers matt.


----------



## ~CAUTION~I Bite!44 (Aug 11, 2007)

Very good pics.! Hope to see more coming)


----------



## ~CAUTION~I Bite!44 (Aug 11, 2007)

that last emo was ment to be a


----------



## luke.r.s (Aug 11, 2007)

wow fantastic pics, every time i see photography from that area im more and more inspired to get up their


----------



## eladidare (Aug 11, 2007)

Hix said:


> 'Coz from my recollections (and I don't have access to my books so can't confirm exact location) they aren't found in the Kimberleys, they're over on the West coast and some offshore islands.
> 
> 
> 
> Hix


 
well according to books there are no green ones in innisfail... but theyre there!
you cant expect books to be 100% right!
ive caught womas in Mt isa...
read all the books you want, you cant believe everything a paper herpetologist says!


----------



## eladidare (Aug 11, 2007)

oh yeh... great pics!


----------



## Nephrurus (Aug 11, 2007)

MattMc,

Smiths Lake should be fun! We might be doing a bit more survey sort of stuff as well... Should be fun!

I posted some pics last time i went up..... I'll just have a quick search for them, 






































Should be a great trip, see you there, 

-H


----------



## Reptilian (Aug 11, 2007)

Lovely pics mate, thanx...I spose I should feel lucky to have lived in Broome for 3 years...There is some awesome scenery/land etc up there...

Regards...
Ash...


----------

