Today was a disaster. There is no better way to put it. We woke up early in attempt to "beat the heat". The rain had moved on but it was still overcast and misty. On my way back from the shower I spotted some Dingos running through the camp. I didn't get any great pictures though cause I once again thought they were dogs... duh. Anyway we left about 20 after 6 and headed to a lookout overlooking the floodplains. It was a nice hike and a good start to the morning. However then the day got bad. Our tour guide informed us that he never takes groups to the two waterfalls advertised because they are always closed this time of year. A little weird - but he said he would take us to Maguk (Barramundi) Falls instead - which includes a hike and swimming - sounds like fun - everyone is happy. We drive over an hour to get there and the falls are closed due to flooding (it has started raining) - well you can't do anything about the weather so everyone is very understanding and we wait for our guide to come up with some type of alternative. He can't. Everywhere he tries is closed (why we have to waste time and petrol driving to all of these places is what I can't understand - why can't he just call the park office or something? Or his tour office?) Anyway people on the tour start getting very agitated since we spent 3 quarters of the day in the truck. Finally the guide decides to take us to Nourlangie and Nanguluwur, another rock art site. We go on a short hike and then the guide takes us back to the camp so we can go swimming. The group as a whole is pretty upset - since this is the slow season our tours have been combined, meaning some people only got a two day tour. It got even worse when we compared itinerary's only to discover everything we didn't do. Plus my itinerary was completely different than the 3 day and 2 day tours. Needless to say, people were upset and I expect there will be some complaints, myself included. We finished the day by dropping off our 2 day tour people and heading to our new campsite. There was a short trail loop around a patch of rainforest so while others went to the bar, I went for a hike. I found a leech on my foot and saw some birds but no luck on snakes. We had another late dinner and after a short crusade of frog hunting I went to bed.
Wild Dingo
The mountains in the mist
that little person is me! (I was afraid!)
Some clouds
Frilled Lizard - Pretty awesome critter. They run on their hind legs and puff out that frill in attempts to scare away predators. Take a look at this funny clip for proof!!
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rckm6mxPZIU
The flooded Barramundi Falls access (they were pulling out a car when we got there) It's good we didn't get in there early because we probably would have gotten stuck!
Bush Stone Curlew - Can you see the female in the foreground? They had a baby too, but that big one was looking a little mad so I decided to back off before he attacked me
This is Nabulwinjbulwinj. He is a dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam. His name his pronounced Nar-bull-win-bull-win. (Says the sign - so ladies look out!)
Some cool rock coloring
Apparently Crocs occasionally bask on the road when it floods - and tourist run them over. Can you imagine hitting a 5 meter (16 foot) croc with your car???
Frog in the shower
Gecko I rescued
The infamous Cane Toad
Bad news! Long story short they were brought here from South America to control a beetle that was eating the sugar cane. Problem is the toad couldn't even eat the beetle because they live so far off the ground. Since one female can produce 8,000-35,000 eggs at a time and up to two clutches per year, they are spreading - quickly. They are bad news because they are very toxic when eaten. Australia does not have any poisonous frogs naturally so the animals are not adapted to avoiding the toads. The toads have no predators and the poison is strong enough to kill a crocodile. Many species (snakes and carnivorous marsupials) are decreasing severely as a result.
No comments:
Post a Comment