Bushwalk Australia

Saw this guy in the Anakie gorge, VIC this afternoon



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Saw these guys will exploring Tanjil River West Branch today. Haven't had time to research what type they are. Does anyone know? The top one was on a track. The bottom was on a ledge beside a waterfall.

When I was 21 I finished up as a camp counselor in the states and started walking the Appalachian trail. I was walking up a hill, listening to janes addiction on my yellow Sony sports Walkman (a music listening device kids) when I heard this very very loud cicada. So I stopped. I had a look up. Turned off my yellow Sony sports Walkman. And saw that a rattle snake was shaking his shaker thing whist poised to strike about 30cm from my left foot. Luckily I was wearing brown undies and my fear was camouflaged. Mostly.

Went for a walk around the Tanjil River West Branch and saw three species of snake in a 2 hour period. Only managed a pic of two but the third was a Red Bellied Black.

GBW wrote:Went for a walk around the Tanjil River West Branch and saw three species of snake in a 2 hour period. Only managed a pic of two but the third was a Red Bellied Black.

Nice photos GBW. What type of snake is in your bottom photo? We didn't see any on Friday. What area were you in?

Thanks MickyB.

We went up Big Tree Rd to Downey Tk and across the river. I was attempting to get to Mt Whitelaw via Newlands Rd but the track seemed lost to the forest after the river...after a couple of hours bushbash we aborted. Beautiful area.

Tiger and Copperhead.

GBW wrote:Thanks MickyB.

We went up Big Tree Rd to Downey Tk and across the river. I was attempting to get to Mt Whitelaw via Newlands Rd but the track seemed lost to the forest after the river...after a couple of hours bushbash we aborted. Beautiful area.

Tiger and Copperhead.

Thanks GBW. I thought it was a copperhead. We were also on Downey Track but south of the river. It is also very overgrown in some parts mainly with blackberries. Agree that its a beautiful area. We explored the river below the falls for approx 1km. It is one of the most beautiful stretches of river I have seen in Victoria.

Micky B, G'day. The Crayfish are;

MickyB wrote:Does anyone know? The top one was on a track.

It is a Engaeus affinis ... aka 'The Land Yabby'.

MickyB wrote:The bottom was on a ledge beside a waterfall.

It is a Euastacus neodiversus ... aka 'South Gippsland Spiny Crayfish'.

Warren.

Thanks Warren.

I had narrowed the red yabby (in the top photo) down to Euastacus Sp. I also had originally thought it could be E. affinis but from my research the yabby I saw was outside E. affinis known range.

This species is endemic to Victoria, Australia, and has an estimated range of approximately 200 km2. Its range appears to border near Lake Eildon, near Hoddles Creek, Lilydale and Healesville

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/153625/0


I agree that the yabby in the bottom photo looks like Euastacus neodiversus / South Gippsland Spiny Crayfish however according to the following site its is also outside of it's range.

The South Gippsland Spiny Crayfish occurs at Wilsons Promontory and the Strzelecki Ranges in southern Victoria.....The South Gippsland Spiny Crayfish appears to be restricted to the southern side of the Strzelecki Ranges

http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/__data/asset ... versus.pdf

Pretty sure it's a Eastern Long Necked Turtle....aka 'the Stinker" as it secretes a
pungent liquid when handled. Spotted while mooching along the Boonoo Boonoo River, NSW.

Nice photo. He/she is a handsome little thing.

Looks so placid & slow, but once he realizes there's nothing to restrain him you'll be surprised how fast those
stubby webbed feet will carry him !

Some animals I have seen in the past couple of years.

A couple more

On my last outing I had started toddling back down to the car after knocking off a summit when I realised a solid furry object was browsing right on the line I wanted to take. Stopped, slowly removed the camera, took a shot. No reaction. Slowly edged a couple of steps closer, took another shot, still no reaction. Repeat. Repeat about six times in fact, until I'm past the beast. Got to within a metre and s/he just watched me sidling past. Once I was more than three metres away - back to browsing. Coolest wombat I ever saw (that was still alive) away from Waldheim.


Then a couple of days later elsewhere, heading down a track, there's another photo op. Nearly trod on this one but it was in no more of a hurry to get away than the wombat. Gorgeous little creature.


But the best encounter was on the previous walk, although there were no photos. Reached the summit, standing up on the rock, slowly turning to get all the views, when a kestrel with delusions of grandeur swooped me. Don't know if it was really hungry or warning me off a nearby nest, but it came down straight at me, hard and fast, and didn't swerve until it was about 5 feet away. And then soared and did the same thing again from a different angle.
Just grateful it wasn't a wedgie. That might have been worrying . . .

I was out for my morning walk and I saw this, I think its a wild cat or dog??

Good one! But it looks like you forgot to fill in the tail.

Orion wrote:Good one! But it looks like you forgot to fill in the tail.

Nicely spotted Orion....... Doh! um.....April 1st....very bad Dan

neilmny wrote:

Orion wrote:Good one! But it looks like you forgot to fill in the tail.

Nicely spotted Orion....... Doh! um.....April 1st....very bad Dan

I was surprised no one had played a joke!

I pinched the pic online so it's not my Photoshopping

Love it

Good one Dan! LOL

From Sunday in Sherbrooke Forest.

Micky B, I don't understand how you can get so close to a lyrebird without provoking it to make its alarm call and disappearing rapidly. Well done, you.

You guys are so fortunate to have such a variety of interesting birds and other animals.
I always miss the sounds of the birds when I return home from a trip to Australia.

I saw (and heard) one lyrebird on my last visit, at a sanctuary. Totally amazing.

Closer to home, I saw this guy wander by where I was skiing recently (in Yosemite):

A striking Giant barred frog from Koreelah NP....comfy in my hammock, in the darkness a pair of eyes close to the ground
reflected light from my headlamp, curiosity got the better of me I had to check it out.



Long, fit & gnarly looking Red Bellied Black...love that flash of red on the under belly. Toonumbar NP.

Love the colours of those Crayfish, MickyB.

peregrinator wrote:Micky B, I don't understand how you can get so close to a lyrebird without provoking it to make its alarm call and disappearing rapidly. Well done, you.

Sorry peregrinator. Just saw this post. I normally see between 10 and 20 lyrebirds each time I walk on this particular track. Most of them don't seem too fazed when I walk past. I don't normally take a camera when I go in this area but happened to have it on that day. This guy was only about 3M from the track. He didn't seem bothered when I got closer to take a photo.

ofuros wrote:A striking Giant barred frog from Koreelah NP....comfy in my hammock, in the darkness a pair of eyes close to the ground
reflected light from my headlamp, curiosity got the better of me I had to check it out.

Great photo ofuros

Walked and explored through the network of unmarked tracks at Middle Head by Sydney Harbour, as I turned around a gun fortification through the dense bush, 2 stark naked homosapiens laid right in front of my feet on a tiny grassy clearing. Left me shocked and speechless. Couldn't even work out if the one on top was a male or a female whereas the one below was definitely a male of the species. They did not respond at all while I let lose an 'Oh!' before quickly scrambled up another track up the hill. Sorry, no photos for you guys.

GPSGuided wrote:Walked and explored through the network of unmarked tracks at Middle Head by Sydney Harbour, as I turned around a gun fortification through the dense bush, 2 stark naked homosapiens laid right in front of my feet on a tiny grassy clearing. Left me shocked and speechless. Couldn't even work out if the one on top was a male or a female whereas the one below was definitely a male of the species. They did not respond at all while I let lose an 'Oh!' before quickly scrambled up another track up the hill. Sorry, no photos for you guys.

Ah the very dangerous Beast With 2 Backs.........lucky you didn't step on it GPS

I literally could have stepped on them if I walked at my normal speed. They were within a meter of my feet. Later, I learnt that there's a nudist beach nearby.