Return to Oz - part 1

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
Jeff Lemm
Posts: 411
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:08 pm

Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Jeff Lemm »

I just returned from a 2 week, non-herp trip to oz with my dad. Dad is 71 soon and has always wanted to go to Australia. When he was a guide in Denali, I promised him that if he guided me in Alaska, I would guide him in Oz. He lived up to his end and I had 3 kids! So my excellent wife said I could take him now, 8 years later. Dad has also had some health issues, and as you can see in the pics, half his face is paralyzed due to 2 brain tumor surgeries (benign luckily). Anyways, my dad is very in to geology, nature, the outdoors, and photography, so I tried to hit the big highlights. We started in Darwin and headed all through the Kimberley of W. Oz, back to Darwin, and down to Uluru and Alice Springs. The pics are just some highlights of the zillion pics we took. Not too many herps in the dry winter, but even when not looking you can find them. Enjoy!!
We started the first night meeting my good friend Grant Husband for some quick night-driving - all we really saw was this Children's python - the toads have trashed the place

Image

Image

Image

Image
cool time exposure my dad took of us looking for aquatic snakes

Image

Image
flock of galahs

Image

Image
ring-tailed dragon

Image
the only toad we saw outside of Darwin was this fire-killed one just east of Kunanurra

Image
love those Kimberley boab trees

Image

Image
red-tailed black cockatoos were common

Image
road train damage

Image
the Bungle-bungles, a favorite place of mine

Image

Image

Image

Image
Cathedral Gorge in the Bungles

Image
Merten's water monitor I found in a hole in the evening

Image

Image
bungles at night

Image

Image
morning in the Kimberley

Image
dingo

Image
rainbow bee eater with bee

Image
many little Gehyras were around, as well as Heteronotia

Image
boab full of corellas in Derby

Image

Image
aboriginal fisherman

Image

Image

Image
wedge-tailed eagle

From Derby we hit the 600 km dirt Gibb River road - so many cool sights. We started underground at Tunnel Creek

Image

Image

Image
freshwater croc in the cave

Image
black fruit bats in the cave

Image

Image
the cave also had catfish, perch, shrimp, and other things

Image
at 71, dad is still a hardcore outdoorsman and photographer

Image
the next stop was the amazing Windjana Gorge

Image
the freshwater crocs were abundant and used to people

Image

Image

Image
some lady took this blurry pic of me

Image

Image

Image
on the nest

Image

Image
lots of crocshine

Image
more wedgies

Image

Image

Image

Image
peregrine

Image
beautiful king brown; I did see a huge one but he beat me to his hole

Image
Bell's Gorge

Image
more Merten's. Anyone who knows me knows that in Oz, I am usually looking for goannas. I got ditched by more than ever on this trip. I saw a glauerti here and failed on the pic. I also got ditched on this trip by storri ocreatus and baritji, but I have photo'd them on previous trips

Image

Image
one of my dad's pics of me getting the above shot

Image
oblivious tourists

Image
blackhead

Image

Image
Centralian bluey

Image

Image
one of several fun river crossings

Image

Image

Image

Image
jabirus

Image

Image

Image

Image
Fogg Dam is being stalked by a large croc and the toads have hammered that place too

Image

Image

Image
plover beating down a kite

Image
Cogger's velvet gecko

Image

Okay, enough for part one, stay tuned for part 2
User avatar
Warren
Posts: 351
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 7:17 am

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Warren »

hi jeff,
nice shot of the stork making a C
nice kingfisher
good job all around! nice clear shots
warren
User avatar
Ribbit
Posts: 601
Joined: June 12th, 2010, 10:28 am
Location: Monterey Peninsula, CA
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Ribbit »

I can’t wait for part 2. (Fortunately I don’t have to since I see it has already been posted.)

A wonderful set of photos. Even with the cane toad horrors, there is so much to see there, and your photographs are terrific.

John
mikemike
Posts: 1207
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 1:37 pm
Location: Ft. Smith, Arkansas
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by mikemike »

Awesome post, Jeff. I love all the habitat shots. Do you have anymore of the Pseudechis?
User avatar
monklet
Posts: 2648
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:44 pm
Location: Ventura, CA
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by monklet »

I think, unless you're Ozzie, cruising a Black-headed would be so incredibly odd and fantastic :crazyeyes:

Great stuff. 8-)
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Natalie McNear »

Awesome! I love the incredible variety of everything (not just the herps) and the special meaning for you and your dad... One of the best Aussie posts I've seen on here yet. :thumb:
User avatar
Jeff Lemm
Posts: 411
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:08 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Jeff Lemm »

Thanks guys!! Mike, no more on that Pseudechis - they are quick!
mikemike
Posts: 1207
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 1:37 pm
Location: Ft. Smith, Arkansas
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by mikemike »

Jeff Lemm wrote:Thanks guys!! Mike, no more on that Pseudechis - they are quick!
I'm sure it's not much different than cruising Coluber on a hot dirt road in that respect. haha.
User avatar
Fieldnotes
Posts: 1474
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:12 pm
Location: Anaheim, California
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Fieldnotes »

Too cool... Now that is how to vacation in Australia :thumb:
User avatar
M.J.FRANETOVICH
Posts: 538
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:54 pm
Location: Deadhorse/California

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by M.J.FRANETOVICH »

Cool post Jeff, I know Denali NP well being a part time resident of Alaska. Pretty cool you had a chance to take your dad to Australia and guid him. :beer:




Mel
User avatar
StephenZozaya
Posts: 145
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:31 am
Location: Townsville, Queensland

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by StephenZozaya »

Great series of posts, Jeff! Lots of great Kimberley scenery. I particularly like that pano of the Bungle Bungles. It's a shame you didn't get photos of the other goannas, but it's better than not seeing them at all.

To nit-pick, I think your ring-tailed dragon is a roundhead (Diporiphora) of some sort, and the Oedura is a marbled (O. marmorata). Cogger's velvets are only around the granite of far north-east QLD.



Stephen
User avatar
moloch
Posts: 561
Joined: June 16th, 2010, 1:26 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by moloch »

Wonderful shots, Jeff. You have some real beauties there. I especially like the shots of the Oedura ... incredible colours!

Regards,
David
User avatar
mrichardson
Posts: 127
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 5:12 am
Location: Yorkshire, England
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by mrichardson »

Great post. I should really get myself back to Oz! I could never get over the amount of roadkill in the outback including feral hog, cattle, horses and Red Kangaroos.
User avatar
Will Wells
Posts: 275
Joined: June 18th, 2010, 5:32 am
Location: Arizona
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Will Wells »

Very nice photography! I really like the night shots with stars. Keep up the great work.
dickbartlett
Posts: 72
Joined: June 25th, 2010, 11:32 am

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by dickbartlett »

As always, Jeff, a fantastic post of a fabled land. Thanx for allowing all of us to accompany you and your dad on the journey. The habitat shots, from cavern to billabong added measurably. dick
User avatar
Josh Holbrook
Posts: 2196
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:11 am
Location: Western North Carolina
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Reading posts and seeing pictures from Australia is like hearing a fairy tale of dragons and whatnot: completely otherworldly. Thanks for taking us there.

-Josh
User avatar
Jeff Lemm
Posts: 411
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:08 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Jeff Lemm »

Thanks guys. Stephen, I think your id's are correct. The coggeri was a mindfart, I knew that one having seen both. Thanks for the roundhead id, that one was tough having not picked him up - always go with the resident ID's!! As fo9r goannas, like I said, I have wild pics of everything I saw, so no big deal. Its always a highlight to just see them, especially glauerti
User avatar
Fundad
Posts: 5721
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:11 am
Location: Los Angeles County
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Fundad »

Thanks for taking us with you..

Love the Dad photos....

So Awesome.. :thumb: :beer: :beer: :thumb: :shock:

Fundad
User avatar
Bill Love
Posts: 169
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:33 pm
Location: Apache Junction (near Phoenix), Arizona

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Bill Love »

Very productive trip, with superb imagery to boot. Mucho grande thanx for sharing it!
User avatar
Mike Pingleton
Posts: 1471
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:45 am
Location: One of the boys from Illinois
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Mike Pingleton »

What a trip, on so many levels. I know who I want for a guide when I go to Oz :)

So many great pics, but this one just blows my mind!

Image

I'm flipping gobsmacked over that one.

thanks for sharing you and your Dad's adventure.

Mike
User avatar
Hunter-MX
Posts: 183
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:21 pm
Location: Guerrero, Mexico
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Hunter-MX »

First of all, amazingly diverse post. I love seeing everything, not just herps. Thanks

I was amazed how much this bird in Australia:
Image

looks like this bird in Mexico:
Image

Your Jacana looks exactly like the juvenile Northern Jacanas here as well.
User avatar
TNWJackson
Posts: 277
Joined: June 22nd, 2010, 10:48 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by TNWJackson »

Awesome post, some of the pics bring back memories because I was up there myself only a couple of months ago too - when I get my sh*t together (that'll be the day), I'll do a post of my own.

How well did you see that "king brown"? I can't see the head all that clearly in the shot but it looks a bit slender for Pseudechis.

Interesting that you say Fogg Dam has been hammered by the toads - the varanids there have been but the snakes/birds/crocs all seem to be thriving. The Shine Lab has actually found increases in the numbers of some snake species there since the arrival of the toads, presumably because of the disappearance of the varanids.

On the topic of toads, I was really bummed by the huge number of toads we saw on the road at night in the Kununurra/Lake Argyle area a few months back. I knew they were there but not that they were so thick on the ground - the density seemed (purely subjectively of course) to be greater there than anywhere else in the Top End in June/July.
User avatar
socalherper
Posts: 274
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 5:46 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by socalherper »

Jeff, That was awesome!

Thanks for the post! I love that Black Headed Python ! Great stuff!
User avatar
Jeff Lemm
Posts: 411
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:08 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Jeff Lemm »

Thanks guys - when I first saw the king I thought w. brown, but when I got closer it was a king. I am comparing Fogg to 10-15 years ago and I was there in winter. I'm sure there's still quite a few things, but we saw nothing at all (which is a first for me)
User avatar
TNWJackson
Posts: 277
Joined: June 22nd, 2010, 10:48 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by TNWJackson »

Cool Jeff, I actually had the opposite experience in July, I grabbed a snake that was getting off the road, thinking it was a small mulga, but it turned out to be a western brown :lol:

I never went to Fogg Dam pre-toads so I can't comment on that. Greg Brown has some very interesting data from pre and post-toad nights (he's been on the wall over 80% of all nights in the past 12 years) though. A lot of the conclusions drawn from that dataset seem counter-intuitive in regard to the impact of the toads, but for that particular site at least, the data seem to speak for themselves.

As I said I never went there before the toads, but we walked the wall with Greg and in about an hour we saw 12-15 water pythons, a keelback and 5 or 6 slaty-greys. There were also lots of crocs (including the large "problem crocodile" that sits on the wall most nights) and frogs.
User avatar
spiltbeerpirate
Posts: 95
Joined: May 29th, 2011, 10:50 pm
Location: Home: Huntington Beach, Work: Kandahar, Afghanistan

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by spiltbeerpirate »

Nice shots. So jealous! Love the black head. Ive been dying to get a woma. Saw a tiger snake in SA when I was there, but thats the only wild herp I saw in my 2 wks up and down the east coast. :( Some day I will do WA, so beautiful.
User avatar
Jeff Lemm
Posts: 411
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:08 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1 (pics back up)

Post by Jeff Lemm »

Sorry for the delay - enjoy!!
gus
Posts: 56
Joined: June 18th, 2010, 12:01 am

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by gus »

Great photos,
I'd also suggest that your king brown may not be a king brown, it doesn't quite look right to me.
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

The photo of your dad photographing the snake is simply wonderful. What a memory to cherish!
User avatar
-EJ
Posts: 1078
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 12:17 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by -EJ »

Jeff... you probably know... that you are another one of those people that make me sick. The Galah Cocatoo flock is National Geographic quality... among others but that was my favorite. The Palm Cocatoo... You are one great photographer.

I can't put into words the feeling of this post in general. Nice. You are very luck all around and seem to share it very well.
User avatar
todd battey
Posts: 239
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:27 am
Contact:

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by todd battey »

Jeff,

Great post of an obviously very memorable trip. You guys got some great long-exposure shots. Thanks for sharing your trip.

Todd
User avatar
Jeff Lemm
Posts: 411
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:08 pm

Re: Return to Oz - part 1

Post by Jeff Lemm »

Thanks everyone. Gus, I felt the saem about the king bgrown until I was on top of it. Just a real light young animal
Post Reply