Trip to the centre photos Mike Anthony

We started at Davies Creek with a Collared Whip Snake, during a brief break in the rain!
Tried spotting along Tully Falls rd, but once again it rained so we headed west, as soon as we got out of Ravenshoe it started to clear and towards Mt Garnet we got our first snake on the road, an Orange-naped Snake Furina ornata, and a young Carpet Python Morelia spilota
Also a barking Spider Phlogiellus sp from the road near Mt Garnet
We camped near Greenvale for the night; where we pulled over there was a Wood Gecko Diplodactylus vittatus active on the ground. This would be close to the northern extent of its range. Also a Bumpy rocket Frog Litoria inermis from this locality 09litoiner41
We found a Spotted Python Antaresia maculosus and a Green Tree Frog Litoria carulea under old railway sleepers near here, as well as a road-kill Carpet Python Morelia spilota
Between Hughenden and Richmond we found a road-kill Common Brown on the road in the blacksoil
We roadspotted the highway between Richmond and Julia Creek, only finding a few Curl Snakes Suta suta, a road-kill Burton's Legless Lizard Lialis burtonis and a road kill Scaly-foot Pygopus sp (closest to lepidopodus)

The trip from Julia Creek through to the NT border was uneventful, the hot dry conditions being apparently not conducive to reptile activity. We did check out Corella Dam near Cloncurry, once a hotspot for Mertens Water Monitors but sadly still bereft of that species since the invasion of the Cane Toad Bufo marinus.
The only species active near the water were Gilberts Dragons, Lophognathus gilberti. We watched the sunset before setting of for a night spotting the Barkly Highway.
At dusk we saw our first specimen for the night a skink Ctenotus helenae active on the road in the low shrubland with spinifex ground cover.
The next specimen was the spectacular Centralian Bluetongue Tiliqua multifasciata.
The most common gecko all the way along the Barkly was the Spiny-tailed Gecko Strophorus ciliaris. A gecko species endemic to the area was also found, Gehyra minuta.
One of the highlights for me was a tiny striped spinifex-dwelling gecko Strophorus jeanae
Two species of Legless lizard were found, Burton's Legless Lizard Lialis burtonis and the Hooded Scaly-foot Pygopus nigriceps.
Elapids included Curl Snakes Suta suta, Western Brown Psuedonaja nuchalis and (after some rain had fallen) a Shovel-nosed Burrowing Snake Simoselaps roperi.
Also where the rain had fallen we were lucky enough to find some Desert Spadefoot Burrowing Frogs Notaden nicholsi.
We cruised the road early next morning, observing very little considering the rain the previous night. the most interesting find was a freshly killed Little Spotted Snake Suta punctata on the road mid-morning, with 3 geckos in its stomach - 2 Beaked Geckos Rhynchoedura ornata and one Fat-tailed Gecko Diplodactylus conspicillatus. these snakes are normally nocturnal
Also 2 Central Netted Dragons Ctenophorus nuchalis. These, along with Bearded Dragons are usually very common on outback roads but amazingly these were the only 2 central neeteds found the whole trip and not one bearded dragon!!!
One of the rarest animals in Australia is the Bilby Macrotis lagotis, and we were lucky enough to find a road-kill on the Stuart Hwy (not so lucky for it) near Ti Tree
We checked out a rocky gorge in the East McDonnell Ranges that night. One Burtons legeless Lizard, 4 juvenile Stimson's Pythons Antaresia stimsoni and one Marbled Velvet Gecko Oedura marmorata
Also in the gorge we observed Centralian Tree Frogs Litoria gilleni, Desert Tree Frogs Litoria rubella and a small gecko Gehyra montium
We tried spotting the Tanami road, only going as far as Tilmouth Well (the extent of the bitumen and time constraints) Fuel very expensive!
A road-kill Western Brown the only reptile of interest
During the night we stopped at Devils Marbles, finding more Desert Tree Frogs L. rubella and a Sand Swimmer Eremiascincus fasciolatus

Basically drove non stop from Alice Springs to Mt Isa & had a few hours solid sleep before heading out Dajarra way. Not much on the road to start, very bright full moon. On a dirt road at a dry creek crossing we saw a King Brown or Mulga snake Psuedechis australis
Further on in a similar position we found an Olive Python Liasis olivaceus, the first time I had found one in Queensland. Good to see both King Browns and Olives have survived the Cane toad onslaught
Headed north from Cloncurry towards Normanton, hoping to find Black-headed Pythons. Stopped to take photos of a big group of termite mounds and found a Spiny-tailed Monitor Varanus acanthurus under a piece of broken mound, also 2 frogs, a subadult Northern Snapping Frog Cyclorana australis and a Buzzing Tree Frog Litoria electrica. Only a road-killed Black-headed Python was found.
After heavy rain in the Normanton area there were a lot of reptiles active on the road after nightfall, despite a bright full moon. Numerous Papuan Whip snakes Demansia papuensis, Burton's and another Western Brown, followed by Orange-naped, Stimson's Python, Curl Snake and unfortunately, another roadkill bhp.
No success looking for taipans next morning, but a fresh hit Papuan whip near Mt Molloy
Went looking for and found a Forest Dragon in the afternoon and with one night left, so after failing to find either a Woma or a (live) Black-headed Python, we went all out to find a scrub python, which we succeeded with two specimens, an 8 footer near Ravenshoe and a 9 footer back near Lake Eacham.

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