It's big!

Nick and I had an early walk through town with Bandit before breakfast - and packing up. We left Longreach at 9:30am and drove to Blackall via Ilfracombe/Isisford (which was new countryside for us).

There hadn't been as many lizards as expected this trip but we spotted a bearded dragon on the quieter road and called for a halt.  

Vaughan surprised us by exiting the car and successfully sprinting after the lizard, in his slip-on shoes and while hitching his pants! 

We'd missed seeing Alice and Avon on the way up, so were looking forward to seeing them on the way home.  We checked into Blackall caravan park around 2:00pm and were given a site very close to the one we'd had on the way up.  

It was lovely to spend several hours catching up with Alice after setting up, seeing her garden and desert roses, sharing stories - and her beautifully baked cake. 

Back at the van park, we dined under the stars again and enjoyed a beautiful cool breeze.

Day 9, Longreach to Blackall - 249km

Long reach from Julia Creek

We were up early again, so worked steadily in the cool - and checked out a little after 9:30am.  There were quick farewells with Di before we were back on the road.

Last year, during our Wing-it Wanderings trip, I was very excited to find half a Road Train sign. I've been looking for the other half since then and felt I might have better, albeit still slim, chances of finding one this trip.

Much excitement between Julia Creek and Kynuna when I spotted some yellow! Alas, on checking the archives my find was as Vaughan said - "the wrong half". Not to worry, I'll keep searching, though I may now require two "Roads"?!

My new sign is far more battered than the first one but still made it all the way home with us!

There was discussion while driving about the landscape and behaviour of willy-willies - as well as tumbleweed appreciation and some sing-alongs to Vaughan's playlist.  

We detoured again into Kynuna for a quick break and then drove to Winton.  

Nick and I bought takeaway from one of the pubs and we all sat on the footpath in the shade of a building (beside the car) to have lunch.  Nick and I had fold-up stools for increased comfort but we even so, it was still very hot and we were all pleased to get back in the car out of the heat.

Longreach was our overnight stop, as planned.  We arrived around 4:00pm, set up, chatted to a neighbour and then kicked back listening to a different neighbour's TV, so it seemed like we were "watching" NCIS together!  TV aside, it was very pleasant sitting outside, with stars emerging between the clouds.

Vaughan found several broad-banded sandswimmers beside the amenities block, so they were admired and photographed.  A definite highlight of the evening!

Day 8, Julia Creek to Longreach - 466km

Second shingleback!

As much as we liked Lake Hindmarsh, we decided we should head closer to home for our last night on-the-road.

During the week, I'd borrowed a number of low-cost camping and/or caravanning guides from our local libraries.

Nick and I sat in the shade of a huge gum tree with drinks in hand - cross-referencing the books in search of a suitable campground destination.  Not all allowed dogs, including the two closest to our preferred travelling distance, so we made a decision to drive a little further than we had first expected. 

After checking all was secure, we started heading in an easterly direction.  We'd been travelling for about 40 minutes when I spotted this shingleback on the road and called for a halt.  Fortunately Nick was able to stop in time, though it is trickier to do so with caravan in tow. In any case the shingleback was safely relocated to the other side of the road - after posing for photos and having a tick removed! 

In Hind(marsh)sight!

Once the lovely shingleback was safely relocated, we set about preparing a late lunch. I was quite hungry and very keen to get our BBQ underway.

Nick and Erin set up the tables, chairs and dual-fuel stove while I retrieved various ingredients from the fridge.

It was quite a flash lunch of chicken and crunchy salad on wrap bread, served with icy cold juice.

After lunch Nick and I walked down to the lake.  When we first drove up, I thought there was water far off in the distance. 

On closer inspection there wasn't water - only heat haze. 

It seems the lake did have a lot of water at the end of 2010, for the first time in over a decade.  It was big news and the ABC ran a story about it in December 2010 and another one in February 2011.

Schulzes shingleback!

Lake Hindmarsh is Victoria's largest freshwater lake an extremely popular spot for holiday makers, teeming with wildlife. Fringed by ancient River Red Gums and fed by the Wimmera River, this huge lake is shared by parrots, pelicans, sea eagles, anglers and water sports enthusiasts alike.

So says the blurb on the Parks Victoria website - and my map had similar information.  When we left Pink Lake our plan was to lunch at Lake Hindmarsh and enjoy the views.

Yes, well - two things became apparent as we rolled into Schulzes Beach camping area. One: there was far more "beach" than "lake"; and two: we were about to run over a shingleback lizard! I called for a halt, then Vaughan and I quickly exited the car to greet the lizard! He/she was greatly admired by all, then gently relocated a little further away from the road.

Fancy fellow!

Vaughan had already missed out on catching two lizards - the super-quick goanna near Eulo and a faster than expected bearded dragon on Hungerford Road. 

He was therefore very keen to catch this fellow - and we all admired the gorgeous captive.  From a distance, I had assumed he was a small bearded dragon and seemingly Vaughan thought it might be a very young goanna. We later spoke to a ranger, who confirmed the lizard was a central netted dragon, which had been one of our thoughts after closer examination, though the orange head tricked us!  (The males develop the orange colouration during their breeding season).

Another catch!

We caught several bearded dragons the last time we drove to Thargomindah.  We didn't see as many this morning but Vaughan caught this guy, using the opportunity to practise a technique he hopes to try on his next goanna!

I made a point of taking some shots of the lizard running and Vaughan's subsequent chase, as well as the release - because we have many lizard-holding pics in the archives!

After posing for a few photos, the lizard was gently released and we continued onward to Thargomindah - keen for more adventure!

Friday finale!

When we arrived back from our spotlight walk, we quickly checked for the velvet gecko. 

Nick caught him/her for our Friday night finale!  The past few nights we've only seen one of these larger geckos but it's difficult to say whether it is always the same one!

All puff ...

There were several lizards out on the road, enjoying the morning sunshine.

The first one was far too quick for me but this guy remained very still and was easily caught.  He/she had obviously been walking through red mud, as it's feet were orange!

Bearded dragons often puff out their tummies, making a large pancake shape - to bluff predators into thinking they are a lot larger. 

Sometimes these lizards inflate their beards also.  This one remained fairly calm though, quickly relaxing back to it's normal size.

Laid-back leaving ...

We'd gone to bed a lot earlier than usual, to avoid the many mozzies!  Once Nick had zipped the mesh doors and sprayed insect repellent, we all stayed inside. 

I still needed to do my back stretches but wasn't prepared to do them outside with all the biters.  Although I was tempted to skip a night, I was very diligent and utilised the small patch of floor space between the beds and central tent pole.  One more gold star for the tally!

We showered in the morning, after a bit of a sleep-in - ate an unhurried breakfast (with real milk!) and took our time packing up.  Vaughan is catching a tiny frog from beneath the trees and we needed to relocate a gecko from the tent also.  Even with our laid-back departure, we were still heading out the gate a little after 10:00am, which is the usual check-out time for most parks.

On the way out, we called into the office and had a lovely, long chat with Ide - one of the park managers.  We spoke of our various wildlife finds and in talking learned of another Spotted Bowerbird bower in the front yard of one of the town's houses.

After-dinner entertainment ...

We travelled out to Thargomindah in Elmer Fudd, leaving our trailer behind (to conserve fuel).

Due to our much reduced packing, we brought only one tent, one fridge, beds/bedding, a few basic clothes and toiletries. 

We chose not to bring our chairs, nor the cooking stove and associated gear - so were very appreciative of the screened camp kitchen for food preparation and (mostly) bug-free dining. The FoodWorks had cabbage, so I'd planned to serve coleslaw with our BBQed meat. Given our reduced kit, I had to improvise when making/serving our coleslaw. Fortunately we had packed several bug-boxes for Vaughan, so washed one very thoroughly and used that!  (It was one from an op-shop and probably intended as a salad container anyway)!

The camp kitchen was also equipped with a television but we left it turned off, in keeping with our TV-free holiday.

Vaughan was happy catching geckos while we cleared away dinner.

He first brought back a small one and then later returned with a much larger and stronger catch, which was writhing in his hand while biting hard.  Nick took hold of the "death-rolling" gecko and then placed it on a table to calm down.  We later all held it gently, marvelling at it's strength and velvety soft skin. 

This fellow was the same as those on Louie's shack.  We've been calling them Marbled Velvet Geckos but are now a little unsure.  The skin pattern more closely resembles a different velvet gecko but their distribution area does not include Yowah or Thargomindah. 

Catch of the day?!

Usually Vaughan gets to catch any lizards spotted beside the road.  I decided to have a turn and had this one in hand very briefly - before dropping it after being spiked! 

He/she sped up a tree, so we called Nick to assist our extraction!


Once caught, we were able to admire the bearded dragon more closely and take some photos for posterity.

As always, the lizard was gently released soon after capture and we drove off, very happy with our first catch of the day/weekend away!

Streaker!

We re-joined the bitumen not far beyond the creek and had only travelled a little way when we spotted this goanna. 

Vaughan was keen to catch him/her but Erin protested it wasn't a good idea.  I commented that the goanna was only small - and Erin then pointed out that Vaughan wasn't dressed!  Even if Vaughan had been wearing more, I doubt the goanna would have hung around to be caught.  He/she sprinted off as soon as the car door opened - much faster than any of the bearded dragons we'd seen.

Show us your tunk!

Although we rescue many (eastern)blue-tongue lizards from the roads near home, we weren't expecting to see one while on holiday. 

And we didn't, really - cos Vaughan's catch is actually a Centralian Blue-tongue.  They are very similar in appearance though the central species has orange-brown bands.  Usually we see bearded dragons and the occasional shingleback on the roads around Yowah, so we were quite chuffed to spot this fellow - and his "tunk"!

When Vaughan much younger, he was very fond of instructing us to show him our "tunks"!

After taking some photos the lizard was released on the side of the road (in the direction it had been heading) and we drove onward.

Velvety soft ...

After listening to our usual three chapters of story, we all traipsed outside - on a mission to capture one of our resident marbled velvet geckos.

It was (sort-of) a team effort, though Nick did the actual catching - and suffered a bite in the process!

The large gecko was brought inside where we all had a gentle touch of the velvety soft skin.

We took a quick measurement too - 145mm, nearly three times the size of the variegated dtella or prickly gecko!

He/she didn't spend long with us but we did enjoy the visit!

Un-commonly beautiful!

After dinner, Nick and Vaughan went outside to spot for geckos. 

Several live on and around a small window at the end of the house.

Vaughan caught this one and brought him/her inside so we all could have a better look.


He/she is a variegated dtella, known for being an abundant and widespread gecko - still very lovely in spite of being "common"!

Playing with marble(d)s?!

I was sitting at the table and could see a gecko on the fly-screen of the lounge-room window. 

Given where I was sitting and how clearly I could see him, I knew it was a big gecko - and it is, or rather they are! 

There are two living on the outside wall of the shack, near the front door.  They are both quite camera-shy, preferring to hide under the roof flashing or behind various conduit piping than staying in the open for possible fame!  (The one in the bottom pic headed down into the gap between the iron and the wall).

We've consulted both reference reptile reference books and it is most likely that our large friends are marbled velvet geckos.  Interestingly one of our books states they grow to 110mm, the other indicated 150mm and the internet link has 180mm as the length.  Our two are somewhere between 150 and 180mm.

Vaughan's View: Geckos

Photo credit:  Vaughan Hamby

Some of these geckos can clone themselves.

Girl geckos?!

Vaughan caught another Prickly Gecko.  This one was older, so we could see the prickles. 

From further reading it seems they are more commonly known as Bynoe's Gecko, which is in keeping with their scientific title of Heteronotia binoei.


(We have two reference books and quite often they vary in terms of naming particular reptiles).

One of the most interesting facts about these geckos is that some populations are entirely female.  They reproduce without male participation - by cloning themselves!  Nifty, eh?!

Vaughan's view: The gecko

Photo credit:  Vaughan Hamby

 

 

On Thursday I caught a five centimetre long gecko.  He was very fast.  We think he is a Prickly Gecko but he wasn't prickly.