North Queensland, Jan 2016

After a long final school year I had been greatly anticipating this trip to North Queensland. I have had a flourishing affiliation with rainforests so I was extremely excited to visit the Wet Tropics.

My good friend Matt and I flew to Cairns on a Saturday morning and met up with our friend and frog lover Aaron.

Picking up our hire car, we headed towards our first destination. Driving through Djiru National Park we were hoping to see a Cassowary crossing the road or wandering through the rainforest tracks. Unfortunately we didn't see one but upon entering the hot and humid lowland rainforest I was blown away! Walking the tracks the forest was green and beaming with life. The large and bright blue Ulysses Butterflies gracefully flying around was breathtaking to see. Unfortunately during our quick walk we failed to locate any reptiles, but just experiencing the rainforest had me excited and keen for the rest of the trip.

Rainforest stream in Djiru National Park

Rainforest pool in Djiru National Park

We made our way to our hotel in Tully, a quiet little town at the base of the mountains. With all the habitat cleared, this Tarantula was found under an old broken slab of concrete.

Tarantula (Phlogius sp.)

We drove to the Tully Gorge National Park to check out the stream we would be searching for frogs in at night. I was amazed at how crystal clear the water was, and the Jungle Perch swimming through it made it better! The habitat looked perfect for the stream frogs Litoria dayi and Litoria rheocola, so I was keen to get back at night.

Rainforest stream in Tully Gorge National Park

Rainforest stream in Tully Gorge National Park

As our first night fell I was super keen to get out in the streams and experience the nocturnal rainforest diversity. Trekking carefully through the slippery rocks of the streams, the subtle calls of the Australian Lace-lid Frog (Litoria dayi) and the Common Mist Frog (Litoria rheocola) could be heard as expected.

This Australian Lace-lid Frog was perched on a leaf just on dark, making a perfect photo opportunity. They have a distinctive patterned eyelid which covers their large eyes whilst resting to help them camouflage.

Australian Lace-lid Frog (Litoria dayi)

Common Mist Frog (Litoria rheocola)

Stumbling through the river rocks awoke this poor turtle who just wanted to get out of our sight!

Saw-shelled Turtle (Myuchelys latisternum)

Back at the motel in the garden this Southern Wet Tropics Shade Skink was perched in the artificial light chasing the bugs attracted to it.

Southern Wet Tropics Shade Skink (Saproscincus basiliscus)

This Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog got my hopes up for a second because I thought it was a Northern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria bicolor), but Aaron confirmed it was a Litoria fallax, just a really nice one!

Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria fallax)

In the morning we packed up and headed towards Mackay. We waited in the motel for dusk than headed towards Eungella National Park. This patch of rainforest was full of endemic biodiversity and I have always been extremely keen to check it out. Our main targets were the Eungella Day Frog (Taudactylus eungellensis) and the Eungella Tinker Frog (Taudactylus liemi).

Stream in Eungella National Park. Habitat to the Eungella Day Frog

The curious Lemon-barred Forest Skinks (Eulamprus amplus) were running around the boulders surrounding the stream as the sun was falling.

Lemon-barred Forest Skink (Eulamprus amplus)

Aaron and Matt went back to the car right before nightfall and I sat myself on a boulder and watched the sky go black. I saw several bright lights begin to emerge from the forest trees. I got a bit nervous as I was skeptical if it was people's headtorches. As the lights got closer I realised they were Fireflies glowing as they flew around the night sky! I sat back in awe of the light show they put on, it was very surreal!

When Aaron and Matt arrived back we looked for the Eungella Day Frogs along the small waterfalls. We found a few gripping to the boulders and we photographed this one in-situ that was sitting in a very good pose before it hopped back along. We than headed out of the stream and walked higher to look for the Eungella Tinker Frog.

Eungella Day Frog (Taudactylus eungellensis)

Eungella Day Frog (Taudactylus eungellensis)

The Stoney Creek Frogs covered the boulders along streams. The males were an impressive yellow colour.

male Stoney Creek Frog (Litoria wilcoxii)

We walked higher up the mountain to a site where Aaron knew Taudactylus liemi were. Unfortunately when we reached the site it was fairly dry and there was no frog activity. It was a shame for Aaron because he had been to Eungella several times and failed to locate them.

The next day we left Mackay early and had a long trip south to Kroombit Tops National Park. We were targeting the Kroombit Tree Frog (Litoria kroombitensis), that were recently split from the Litoria phyllochroa species complex.

Rainforest stream in Kroombit Tops National Park

Temperate creek in Kroombit Tops National Park

The Kroombit Tree Frog's were quite common in all of the streams and creeks, especially the rainforest habitat, where they were calling from short shrubs and on rock walls.

Kroombit Tree Frog (Litoria kroombitensis)

Kroombit Tree Frog (Litoria kroombitensis)

Great Barred Frogs were common, calling from the banks. They were the first Mixophyes i've seen and I was impressed at their size!

Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)

Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)

Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)

Stoney Creek Frogs were also common throughout the streams. The females were much larger frogs and could easily be mistaken for a different species!

female Stoney Creek Frog (Litoria wilcoxii)

male Stoney Creek Frog (Litoria wilcoxii)

Heading down to the lower gullies we could hear Tusked Frogs in short burrows and Copper-backed Brood Frog in the leaf litter. Tusked Frogs were a struggle to find, one I was locating was calling in a crayfish burrow which had many networks. It had an eggmass floating in the water though the frog evaded me. It wasn't until we saw one walking around the gully that we got to see an actual frog.

Tusked Frog (Adelotus brevis) eggmass

Tusked Frog (Adelotus brevis)

The Copper-backed Brood Frogs were calling in the leaf litter and emerging from burrows in the gully banks. They are magnificent little frogs and it was cool to see summer breeding Pseudophryne after being used to the winter breeding frogs of this genus in Victoria.

Copper-backed Brood Frog (Psuedophryne raveni)

A nice Golden-crowned Snake was found cruising around a road bridge around one of the streams. This flighty little elapid would have been actively hunting the frogs that were in strong numbers. They have a great defensive position where they show off their bright orange belly to distract larger predators.

Golden-crowned Snake (Cacophis squamulosus)

Many Freycinet's Frogs were calling in a dirty pond right at the bottom of the mountain. They are quite bland rocket frogs.

Freycinet's Frog (Litoria freycineti)

After a short rough sleep in the car, we headed 10 hours up to Charter's Towers to start exploring a bit of inland Queensland. A dry dustbowl, the habitat didn't look pleasing until we started driving through rocky hills. As night fell we checked an area where Velvet Geckos (Oedura castelnaui and monilis) have been found. Prickly Knob Tailed Geckos were also recorded there but we weren't getting our hopes up too high.

After an hour or so of spotlighting on the boulders and trees, we unfortunately weren't able to locate any Oedura. Having one last look I nervously walked past a giant spider web to peek under a large boulder cave and saw a large Prickly Knob Tailed Gecko running around. I was extremely ecstatic as it was definitely not expected to see one as this spot had reportedly been heavily poached, a huge downer to the reptile hobby.

Prickly Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus asper)

After finding the impressive Gecko, we headed towards some swamps on the side of the road to find to try and locate Uperoleia littlejohni. We marked a few waterbodies on the side of the road but could only locate the much larger Cyclorana novaehollandiae and Cyclorana alboguttata. There were also hundreds of Cyclorana metamorphlings around and it was hard not to step on them!

Green Striped Frog (Cyclorana alboguttata)

As we walked towards the car we heard an interesting yelping call coming from a frog. We checked around the grass patch it was coming from and than saw this Keelback trying to eat a Green Striped Frog. The frog kept kicking the snake with its back legs and eventually got free and hopped back into the water unscathed!

Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii) with a Green Striped Frog (Cyclorana alboguttata)

We headed out west again the following morning towards Georgetown to try more sites for Uperoleia littlejohni. Seemingly another dustbowl of a town, the rocky hills surrounding Georgetown had amazing creeks running through them. These were apparently good habitat for Merten's Water Monitors so we were keen to check them out. Matt and I found a good spot during the afternoon but it seemed much too hot (around 40c!) for them to be actively out, they would have been cooling down and getting ready to hunt around in the evening.

Rocky waterholes outside Georgetown

That night we drove to a dam where Dahl's Aquatic Frogs had been recorded in. Mainly found in the Northern Territory they just reach into the gulf of Queensland and the frogs here looked a bit different to the Northern Territory relatives, so we were keen to find them. Walking around the dam at night we could see numerous juvenile Dahl's Aquatic Frogs sitting in the algae. They would usually duck under the water when approached but some didn't mind a camera in their face. I eventually found a nice green adult sitting outside the dam which was in a good pose to photograph.

Dahl's Aquatic Frog (Litoria dahlii)

Dahl's Aquatic Frog (Litoria dahlii)

Keelbacks and Water Pythons were actively foraging the water preying on the abundance of frogs. There were many Cyclorana around that would provide a stable diet for the snakes. One Cyclorana I was happy to see was this Short-footed Frog.

Short-footed Frog (Cyclorana brevipes)

We walked away from the dam as we could hear Uperoleia calling in the distance. Hoping it was Uperoleia littlejohni we moved in closer. Digging around in the grass the frog was difficult to locate and kept calling around us, teasing!. We eventually found it and Aaron confirmed it was a Uperoleia lithomoda. Still an impressive Toadlet!

Stonemason's Toadlet (Uperoleia lithomoda)

We kept driving to the other waterbodies we marked in the hope to find a Uperoleia littlejohni. Arriving at a small ephemeral swamp, there were many frogs calling, including one of our targets the Buzzing Tree Frog. These little frogs have awesome call that resemble the buzz of electricity, giving them their name Litoria electrica.

Buzzing Tree Frog (Litoria electrica)

Buzzing Tree Frogs (Litoria electrica) in amplexus

Bumpy Rocket Frog (Litoria inermis)

These Eastern Snapping Frogs are ginormous with a loud and distinct 'unk' call.

Eastern Snapping Frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)

Eastern Snapping Frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)

These Roth's Tree Frogs are the northern version of the Peron's Tree Frog that I am used to down south! They have great cackling calls!

Roth's Tree Frog (Litoria rothii)

This Wolf Spider was preying on a metamorphling Cyclorana species. Interestingly, the metamorphling frogs were only found right at the waters edge, but this spider was found about five metres behind in the short grass. It must have dragged the small frog backwards to eat, to avoid the large Cyclorana novaehollandiae on the waters edge that may have snacked on the spider itself!

Wolf Spider eating a metamorphling Cyclorana sp.

Driving on the road back to the motel we saw a large snake spread out on the side of the road. It was a Black Headed Python. I was extremely excited because I've always wanted to see one of these magnificent snakes. It was really placid and didn't mind being held. Unfortunately it got away before Matt could photograph it as I wasn't paying attention!

Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus)

It was nearing 1am when we arrived at the hotel, but I was extremely keen to check out the rocky waterholes we were at earlier in the day as I was told there was Night Tiger's and Oedura geckos there. Matt and I dragged ourselves out there whilst Aaron photographed tadpoles. Within minutes of searching the rocks we were taken back by the distinctive and bold red and white stripes of the Night Tiger (Brown Tree Snake) that was cruising around. An utterly magnificent snake that unfortunately would not sit still for a good photo!

Brown Tree Snake -Night Tiger- (Boiga irregularis)

The next night we headed further north to Normanton in the gulf country. We saw many impressive Yellow Spotted Monitors on the barren roads during the heat of the day. There were also many floodplains full of water around Normanton so we were excited of the prospect of finding Cyclorana cryptotis and manya.

As night fell we searched the floodplains but could unfortunately only find Cyclorana brevipes. I had somehow managed to swell my knee up that day so I wasn't keen to kneel on the floor and photograph frogs to irritate it more. That was until, we found this Stimsons Python on the road!

Stimson's Python (Antaresia stimsoni)

Stimson's Python (Antaresia stimsoni)

We packed up from Normanton and headed back towards the coast to Ravenshoe. That meant more rainforest! We trekked a rainforest path during the day and found a Prickly Forest Skink under a log, which had me ecstatic as this was one Australian lizard I had always wanted to see.

Prickly Forest Skink (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae)

That night we were meeting up with good friends Matt S and Chris in which I was extremely excited to meet and go herping with. Our main target for the night was the Magnificent Brood Frog. Unfortunately the spot for the Pseudophryne was dry so we went to another rainforest patch to try and find some snakes. Snake-wise we only found a juvenile Jungle Python and a few Small Eyed Snakes which was a bit of a bummer.

Although, we did find these amazing Chameleon Geckos! I was astonished at their size and sheer beauty. We found one on the path and than another sitting in their trademark ambush position with their head facing down on a small sapling ready to pounce!

Chameleon Gecko (Carphodactylus laevis)

Chameleon Gecko (Carphodactylus laevis)

We also saw many frogs along the track including my first ever Mixophyes and microhylids which was pretty exciting! The Mixophyes definitely lived up to their sulking nature, as soon as you approach them they would down their heads and act dead.

Northern Barred Frog (Mixophyes schevilli)

White-browed Whistling Frog (Austrochaperina pluvialis)

Southern Ornate Nursery-frog (Cophixalus australis)

The following day Matt S took us all out on a herping extravaganza around the Atherton Tabelands. We went to a few rainforest walks in hope of finding some Boyds Dragons and we were not disappointed after finding numerous including this large spectacular male!

Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii)

Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii)

These quite beautiful Yellow-blotched Forest Skinks were common racing around the large fig trees.

Yellow-blotched Forest Skink (Eulamprus tigrinus)

Matt S took us to another spot where he had seen numerous Spotted Tree Monitors before. Walking through the forest it didn't take long to spot a beautiful Varanus swiftly run up a tree. Unfortunately I didn't get images of it but Matt did here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/88708273@N03/24720568555/in/photostream/

We also saw a Red-bellied Black Snake basking but it was extremely quick and got away when Chris and his annoyingly big feet approached it.

1000 year old giant Twin Kauri Pines

We than went looking for Tree Kangaroos. We found one within minutes just grazing in a tree about five metres high. Wow... What incredible animals! It was astonishing to watch them so gracefully leap around the trees with ease! Easily my favourite animal from the trip, I was just blown away!

Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi)

Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi)

To round off a pretty successful day we shot out to Granite Gorge to go and spend some time with the charismatic Mareeba Rock Wallabies. After seeing many photos online of the chilled out wallabies I have always wanted to visit! Upon arrival the wallabies were all over the boulders and were not bothered when approached. They were insanely cute so it was amazing to spend time with them whilst being so close! ... The macropod pellets they handed out helped of course..!

Mareeba Rock Wallaby (Petrogale mareeba)

Mareeba Rock Wallaby (Petrogale mareeba) with joey

Whilst exiting the park we kept an eye out on the trees for Frill Necked Lizards. We than stopped the car for a snake that shot off and escaped into the grass, and luckily found a Frill Necked Lizard sitting on a termite mound! They are usually posed on termite mounds for photos so it was really cool to actually see one basking on one. Unfortunately I only got one terrible photo before it also bolted off into the long grass!

Frilled Neck Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)

Matt S and Chris sadly had to leave, leaving Aaron, Matt and I to find frogs by ourselves that night. We had one last hopeful poke around for Uperoleia littlejohni but could only find Uperoleia altissima.

Montane Toadlet (Uperoleia altissima)

Montane Toadlet (Uperoleia altissima)

Hoping for Litoria corbeni we headed to a few patches of rainforest they have been recorded in the Atherton Tablelands. Upon arrival at one of the sites, this large Jungle Python was sitting underneath a large tree in the carpark! Easy find! It was very bitey as expected of these snakes.

Jungle Carpet Python (Morelia spilota cheynei)

Jungle Carpet Python (Morelia spilota cheynei)

We found a few more Chameleon Gecko's and the common frogs, but we had no luck locating a new Cophixalus. Returning back to the carpark we noticed that the same Jungle Python was around 15 metres high up in a tree in an ambush position, most likely waiting for bats or other mammals. Really cool to see!

Jungle Carpet Python (Morelia spilota cheynei)

The next day we headed to a nice waterfall in Davies Creek National Park so Aaron could look for Litoria nannotis tadpoles. It was a really nice swimming spot with heaps of rainbowfish around - to my joy!. We found a Waterfall Frog (Litoria nannotis) resting behind a waterfall - living up to their name!. I got a quick video of it and let it be.

Davies Creek National Park

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That night we headed to a cool high altitude forest of the Palmerston Valley to look for the Creaking Nursery Frog (Cophixalus infacetus). It was a chilly wet night and the forest was shrouded in mist when we arrived. Walking through the narrow rainforest path we began to hear the high pitched rapid clicks of calling Cophixalus infacetus. Immersing ourselves in the dense rainforest in our ponchos, we knelt down to listen closer to the frogs to try and locate them. These frogs seemed to be very shy and would not begin calling again till we were well away. Eventually we found one, and it was ridiculously tiny!

Creaking Nursery Frog (Cophixalus infacetus)

After finding the Cophixalus, we headed towards the rushing stream to try and find more stream frogs. The Lace-lids, Common Mist and Green-eyed Tree Frogs were going nuts after the recent rains and were all over the creek! I even saw a Common Mist Frog and Lace-lid Frog battling over a small rock perch to call on!

Australian Lace-lid Frog (Litoria dayi)

Australian Lace-lid Frog (Litoria dayi)

Common Mist Frog (Litoria rheocola)

I was really excited to see these Green-eyed Tree Frogs! They can be a spectacular mossy green colour and camouflage well in the rainforest during the day. This one was rather bland but still had the amazing eye colouration that makes these frogs so magnificent!

Green-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria serrata)

The distinctive high pitched whistling call of the Robust Whistling Frog could be heard from the leaf litter on the walk back to the car from the stream. Digging around the leaf litter we eventually uncovered this olive sized and coloured frog!

Robust Whistling Frog (Austrochaperina robusta)

This Net-casting Spider was found near the carpark on the way out, a very interesting spider with a unique tactic to catch prey!

Net-casting Spider (Deinopis sp.)

The next day we drove north to Cooktown with the intent of visiting the boulder-fields of Black Mountain National Park which is full of endemic species. Black Mountain was on the highway towards Cooktown so we stopped their during the day to soak in the mystical sight and have a look around for the endemic Black Mountain Rock Skink.

Black Mountain National Park

Unfortunately during the heat of the day the skinks were barely active and we only saw a handful darting deep in the daunting cracks of the boulder-fields, so we weren't able to get any good photos of one. The chattering calls of the Black Mountain Boulder Frogs could also be heard deep in the cracks.

Black Mountain Rock Skink (Liburnascincus scirtetis)

We returned later that night with hopes of seeing the other endemic herps in the Black Mountain Gecko and Black Mountain Boulder Frog. Right upon nightfall as we trekked onto the black rocks, we were greeted with a Black Mountain Boulder Frog sitting ontop of a boulder. We weren't too sure if it was a male or a sub-adult female. Adult females are spectacular bright yellow colour!

Black Mountain Boulder Frog (Cophixalus saxatilis)

We saw the endemic geckos darting all over the boulders, but they were very difficult to catch! When approached, like most of the animals they would dart into the deep crevices for refuge. Walking over the rocks at night was very eerie indeed and looking down into the crevices did make you shudder, as the stories of people getting lost deep in them would always be at the back of your mind. We eventually managed to catch one of the charismatic little endemic geckos. They have always been a gecko I have really wanted to see, their face reminds me of a little crocodile!

Black Mountain Gecko (Nactus galgajuga)

Black Mountain Gecko (Nactus galgajuga)

These large and magnificent Cooktown Ring-tailed Gecko's were also very common along the boulders. Unfortunately we struggled to find one with an original tail so I had to photograph this one with a regen. They were very snappy geckos and loved to bite!

Cooktown Ring-tailed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus tuberculatus)

On the way back to the motel we stopped in a dry forest that had some water in it to look for Uperoleia mimula. Unfortunately there wasn't any calling but we did manage to find this Black-striped Snake cruising along the road. Like most of the members of its genus, they are terrible to photograph and don't sit still, so I didn't waste too much time on it!

Black-striped Snake (Cryptophis nigrostriatus)

Lesser Black Whip Snake (Demansia vestigiata)

Isabella Falls, Edmonton

Back at the motel in Cooktown, I lifted a brick and found a small Cormocephalus centipede that caught my interest. It ran under some leaf litter and I desperately sifted through it to try and find it. I had lost it, but I found something much cuter, a juvenile mulch skink!

Black-tailed Bar-lipped Skink (Glaphyromorphus nigricaudis)

That night we headed into Cedar Bay National Park to try our luck for Cophixalus exiguus, a pretty elusive species that hasn't been photographed many times. Upon arrival we battled through fast flowing streams and slippery rocks to try and hear some calling with no luck. We than tried a new tactic and drove slowly along the road with our windows down, listening into the dense rainforest on either side to try and hear their subtle call. We couldn't hear the targeted Cophixalus but we stopped for some Peeping Whistling Frogs we heard up a steep bank. Clambering up, it took us a while to locate the frogs in the deep leaf litter. The leaf litter was about a foot deep so it was easy to understand how the frogs could go unnoticed.

Peeping Whistling Frog (Austrochaperina fryi)

There were many Dainty Green Tree Frogs also calling along the side of the road in the flooded ditches. They have a fantastic purple colouration on their thighs unlike populations from southern Queensland.

Dainty Green Tree Frog (Litoria gracilenta)

It started to downpour a bit and our chances of finding the Cophixalus were looking slim. Slowly driving the road back out of the park, we heard the unmistakable and magnificent call of the Orange Thighed Tree Frogs. These frogs are superb and it was a pleasure to see them in the wild as I have some in captivity.

Orange-thighed Tree Frog (Litoria xanthomera)

Orange-thighed Tree Frog (Litoria xanthomera)

Matt heard more of the tree frogs calling from deeper in the forest so he went in to look. All of a sudden he came running out screaming that he could hear Cophixalus exiguus! Excited, Aaron and I charged into the forest and followed him. We ended up in a shallow gully surrounded by the beautiful umbrella palms. The frogs were fairly easy to find in the dense rainforest.

Whilst photographing the frogs it started hammering down with rain. Hiding under the umbrella palms with my camera gear was seeming efficient until the weight of the water exceeded the palms strength and the water bucketed on top of me. We all sprinted for the car and I was happy enough with my photo so called it a successful night, although Matt battled it out in the rain for just a little bit longer!

Northern Tapping Nursery Frog (Cophixalus exiguus)

The following day we headed to the Daintree rainforest. I was extremely excited as this has always been one of my top destinations in Australia. We caught the ferry into the national park and drove towards the Cape Tribulation Beach House in where we were staying. It was a surreal resort surrounded by rainforest and the amazing beach.

After dropping our bags off we headed towards Oliver Creek so Aaron could try and find some Common Mist Frog tadpoles. I was more excited about the prospect of seeing some of the bright blue Cling Gobies! We were walking through a stream that wasn't even a foot high and the fish diversity was ridiculous! There were large jungle perch crashing into my feet as there wasn't enough room to go around! I set up the GoPro in the stream to capture some footage of the fish. It was such a surreal experience! Check out the beautiful and curious juvenile Silver Grunters!

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When we got back to the motel Aaron had a nap whilst me and Matt went to the beach to have a bit of a poke around. Ending up at a small tidal creek I was watching the Glassfish school when Matt noticed a small leaf-like fish. It took me a while to see it even when he was pointing but when i finally spotted it I was in awe! We were clueless about our identity and it wasn't until I was back in reception did a good mate of mine tell me it was a juvenile Orbiculate Batfish!

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That night we trekked around the Daintree looking for Cophixalus bombiens. We walked a couple of rainforest tracks but were out of luck! We did find this gravid Chevert's gecko.

Chevert's Gecko (Nactus cheverti)

We headed towards the beach for a quick look and heard a group of White-lipped Tree Frog's calling from a muddy swamp. These frogs are Australia's largest tree frogs, and are seriously impressive animals! For some reason I thought I had taken a good full body shot but I must not have, so for now i'm stuck with this fairly crap pic of one, oh well!

White-lipped Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata)

This awesome leaf katydid was also found nearby the frog. Matt literally asked me if I was photographing a different tree frog when he saw me taking photos of it. A new type of camouflage for the fella!

Leaf Katydid

The next morning we caught the ferry back out of the Daintree and headed towards Cairns. We stayed in a nice little caravan park just outside of Cairns that backed onto a creek. We explored the creek during the day and were blown away with the diversity! We found a Boyd's Forest Dragon within seconds in a tiny patch of remnant rainforest on the edge of the creek. Looking in the water we found a beautiful Macleay's Water Snake, but it had just eaten a meal so we I wasn't interested in stressing it out by photographing it. There were a lot of fish in the area so I was keen to capture some on the GoPro. After re-checking the footage I was pretty excited to see a Snake-head Gudgeon swim through the cameras range!

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That night we were meeting up with Chris and his missus Alana to go to Mount Lewis to look for more Cophixalus! It was great to see Chris again and meeting Alana was awesome! Driving up the hazy mountain the rainforest habitat was amazing and lush! We got to the summit and could hear Cophixalus hosmeri and aenigma straight away just before night fall. We quickly photographed them to get them out of the way.

Tapping Nursery Frog (Cophixalus aenigma)

Hosmer's Frog (Cophixalus hosmeri)

We were aiming to find Cophixalus monticola, so we walked along a rainforest track along the summit. We saw a few Carbine Barred Frogs sulking along the rainforest paths. They looked really different to all the other members of the genus, but ofcourse I didn't put much effort into photographing them as they just sulked into the ground!

Carbine Barred Frog (Mixophyes carbinensis)

Without any luck for Cophixalus monticola, we drove down the mountain in the hopes of finding a Leaf-tailed Gecko. Surprisingly we had not seen one yet, even though they are meant to be relatively common in all the rainforests we had visited. We went to a spot where Alana said she had seen a few. It was extremely hazy and was really hard to see in front of you when we got there, and the cold weather didn't make things easier. To make it worse a rain shower started. We heard a Cophixalus ornatus and quickly photographed it before saying goodbye to Chris and Alana and leaving the mountain!

Ornate Nursery Frog (Cophixalus ornatus)

The next day was our last full day of our trip. We met up with one of our mates Jack who lives near the caravan park we were staying at. We went to visit the Crystal Cascades, an amazing cascade waterfall which was awesome to swim in!

Phone photo of Crystal Cascades

After that we had a snorkel around Freshwater Creek to look for more aquatic life. I was really keen to see a Freshwater Stonefish! We found a couple of Saw Shelled Turtles and I set up my GoPro for more fish footage. This video is more aesthetically pleasing than the last.

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After we had enough snorkelling, I retrieved my GoPro and we went to swim back to the other side of the creek towards to our caravan park. Thats when we all instantly froze and screamed SNAKE! ... SNAKE WITH A FISH?! .. SNAKE WITH A FRESHWATER STONEFISH!?

It was the one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. A Macleay's Water Snake had captured and paralysed a Freshwater Stonefish with its venom and was swimming towards land with the fish in its mouth. Luckily I had my GoPro to film the event! The Snake brought the stonefish on the land and swallowed it head first so that the fishes venomous spines retracted and did not harm the snake.

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That night we went out herping with Matt S again. Our first stop was Kuranda to try and locate the Kuranda Tree Frog, a species very similar to the Green-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria serrata) but slightly smaller and with a different call. We found a few and quite a lot of Australian Wood Frog's and Cogger's Barred Frog (which I didn't photograph).

Australian Wood Frog (Hylarana daemeli)

Kuranda Tree Frog (Litoria myola)

We than had one last try for a Leaf-tailed Gecko and Scrub Python, which we amazingly had somehow managed to avoid throughout the trip. Walking one last rainforest path we didn't find any reptiles, but we did manage to find something I did really want to see this trip, a green Waterfall Frog! Matt S managed to find a really cool Green-eyed Tree Frog as well as he scrambled up a small waterfall - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattsummerville/24605702582/in/photostream/

Waterfall Frog (Litoria nannotis)

We said our goodbyes to Matt S and left back to the caravan park. We packed all our stuff and headed to the airport the next morning. Aaron had an early flight out but Matt and I weren't leaving to the late afternoon. After we said bye to Aaron, Matt and I had a few hours to spare, so we put our luggage in the airport lockers and walked along the highway in the brutal heat to some nearby mangroves to try our luck for Rusty Monitors. Unsurprisingly we were unsuccessful and walked back in the heat to the airport.

It was a very satisfying trip and I was ecstatic to be able to visit Australia's best rainforests and some see some of our most iconic and colourful fauna! The biodiversity is incredible in north Queensland and I can't wait for a following trip there! -maybe the next one with more emphasis on rainbowfish!