pics from far western NSW

[moloch05]

I visited the Fowler's Gap area for a night in October, 2006. Fowler's Gap is located to the north of Broken HIll along the road that eventually passed to Tibooburra. The University of New South Wales operates an arid land research station here. This place is a bleak, inhospitible part of the state with very little vegetation. Gibber flats were numerous.

... South of Fowler's Gap, I stopped and climbed this hill:

... The view of the emptiness was excellent. The road can be seen disappearing to the north towards Fowler's Gap.

...This was my "leafy" campsite for a night. I saw no other cars from about 9pm until the following morning.

Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa). This was a nicely coloured lizard that was vaguely reminiscent of a Gila Monster from North America.

Gidgee Skink (Egernia stokesii). I found this spiny skink on a rocky slope near Broken Hill. It was a wary lizard. I tried to peer over the top of a rock for a pic but the lizard spotted me instantly. Soon, it shot back into cover. Eventually with lots of waiting, I was able to get a photo of the animal in the crevice where it lived.

Night was good for geckos. One of the highlights was seeing a number of Gibber Geckos (Diplodactylus [Lucasium] byrnei). These lizards varied greatly in colour and some were pale whereas others dark. All had the hour-glass pattern on their backs.

Tessallated Geckos (Diplodactylis tessallatus) were also common:

A surprise was this very gravid Eyrean Earless Dragon (Tympanocryptis tetraporophora) that was on the road at night.

After my one-night stay at Fowler's Gap, I drove south to the mallee for an afternoon and evening. Unfortunately, a cool change arrived so I found few reptiles. The only diurnal lizards that I observed were a few Mallee Military Dragons (Ctenophorus fordi) near clumps of spinifex.

Regards,
David

 

[Vincent21]

Awesome pictures, did you go alone?

 

[smacdonald]

Nice stuff as usual David. I love your gidgee skinks pics. Pics are always better when you have to work for them!

Stewart

 

[moloch05]

Thanks for the comments.

Vincent,
My son goes with me on many of the trips but when he is tied up with uni then I usually travel alone.


Stewart,
The Gidgy was a challenge but at least it re-emerged. I think that Major Skinks are one of the hardest. How do you go with those? At Airlie Beach, I frightened a large Major Skink along a creek that crossed through a caravan park where we were staying. I checked on it for over an hour and in that time, it did not come out into the open although I could see part of its head. They seem to be especially shy.


Regards,
David

 

[jordo]

Nice pics, really captures the dry nothingness that Aust is well known for.

 

[ryanharvey1993]

once again, awsome thread david, love the yakka skink