Apart from the frogs I've seen, a few quick notes on other things animal, mineral or vegetable:
- Went up Mt Bellinden-Kerr. I was very lucky to get to do this, helping with some research on carabid beetles at different altitudes. There's a broadcast station near the summit, so we got to go up the 1600m by cablecar, then headed back down to 1000 m and walked to the top again before doing 1400 and 1600 m sampling the following day. No-one except broadcast engineers and the odd scientist gets to go up this mountain, one of the highest in Queensland. It was simply amazing, all of it. The cablecar ride was much fun. The forest on top was very strange, a sort of alpine rainforest. Big old gnarled Leptospermums. Dr Seuss-like Dracophyllum plants. It was cold. Cloud-covered most of the time, except when we woke in the morning to killer views over the valley to the west. Bright orange snails cruised the permanently wet tree-trunks.
(I know someone who'll like this one)
- Went up Mt Bellinden-Kerr. I was very lucky to get to do this, helping with some research on carabid beetles at different altitudes. There's a broadcast station near the summit, so we got to go up the 1600m by cablecar, then headed back down to 1000 m and walked to the top again before doing 1400 and 1600 m sampling the following day. No-one except broadcast engineers and the odd scientist gets to go up this mountain, one of the highest in Queensland. It was simply amazing, all of it. The cablecar ride was much fun. The forest on top was very strange, a sort of alpine rainforest. Big old gnarled Leptospermums. Dr Seuss-like Dracophyllum plants. It was cold. Cloud-covered most of the time, except when we woke in the morning to killer views over the valley to the west. Bright orange snails cruised the permanently wet tree-trunks.
(I know someone who'll like this one)
- Saw my first wild Onychophoran (Peripatus)!
- Other cool invertebrates - strange snails and Katydids,
- Amethyst python, Morelia kinghorni. Didn't get a great pic though...
- Lots of swimming in rainforest creeks. Beautiful. Lots of fun with the volume of water heading down...
- Have fallen in a couple of creeks. I can't really expect not to, I suppose, considering the stuff I do.
- Having fun in the rain! Bit tricky keeping things dry though, most of my stuff has a few little mould-spots here and there.
Of course I've left heaps of things out, but now I must mount my faithful steed and spur her on into the setting sun...
Photos of some of the things I've mentioned, and some other things I haven't, are in the gallery as always, be sure to check it out. In the meantime here's a shot of the rainforest canopy from above
- Other cool invertebrates - strange snails and Katydids,
- Amethyst python, Morelia kinghorni. Didn't get a great pic though...
- Lots of swimming in rainforest creeks. Beautiful. Lots of fun with the volume of water heading down...
- Have fallen in a couple of creeks. I can't really expect not to, I suppose, considering the stuff I do.
- Having fun in the rain! Bit tricky keeping things dry though, most of my stuff has a few little mould-spots here and there.
Of course I've left heaps of things out, but now I must mount my faithful steed and spur her on into the setting sun...
Photos of some of the things I've mentioned, and some other things I haven't, are in the gallery as always, be sure to check it out. In the meantime here's a shot of the rainforest canopy from above
Green!
2 comments:
Did you stop at the Frosty Mango for an ice cream on your way to Bellenden Ker?
It's a shame no one had a collecting permit for molluscs because that's the BK form of Triboniophorus graeffei. The species is currently being revised. (Not by me.) The Mt Kaputar form is also bright red. Spectacular, ain't it?
The canopy looks like broccoli! Mmmm, trees!
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