Thomas and I went on a frog hunt to Simpson's Gap organized by the Alice Springs Field Naturalists Club- the "Field Nats." The evening's entertainment was to include a barbecue, as most events do here, but it was a rare rainy day, so we hoped for a clear-up and drove out (c. 10K) for the walk only.
Tom had to go to a boring old party at a restaurant, so couldn't be out dripping, slogging through puddles and wiping the rain out of his eyes with us. Poor Tom.
With the weather hitting 115 a couple times that week and my skin starting to crack at the edges, I stepped out into welcome, cool rain.
Thomas, not having the B.M.I. of a 46 year-old woman, was freezing. My over-sized swimming shirt was all I could scrounge from the trunk.
There were about four other eco-hags, a couple guests thereof and the lovely 8 year-old Ainsley for Thomas to pal around with and impress with his "red flashlight that the frogs can't see."
Straight from the parking lot, there were masses of frogs. All along the sandy trail to the waterhole, tiny dots and dashes leapt from the pathway. It was hard to see them before they escaped and we were getting frustrated. No worries! Nearer the waterhole was frog central. We saw the burrowing frog un-burrowing up through the sand by the hundreds. Some were pettable. It stopped raining.
The rock walls of the gap were home to the (cute, green, sticky) Gillen Tree Frog - a species only found right around Alice Springs. Really, how could they be expected to travel? - open desert not being ideal
for frog dispersal.Unlike the tadpoles I'm used to in the US, some of these guys (and gals) go from egg to adult form in as little as 3 weeks. You have to work fast to be an amphibian in Alice Springs.
Thomas's bug container with built-in magnifying glasses was a hit with the Field Nats, if not with the frogs. Thanks again Feliecia!
The puddles around the larger waterhole were alive with other creatures, too. This centipede was about 9 inches long. I wanted to stick my foot in the picture for a reference, but I didn't really want my toes that close to his pinchers!
The water scorpions were neat too, but not photogenic. They breathe through a snorkel tube that comes from their butt, can pinch hard and occasionally fly.
Someone else found a leech.
You know, lots of tourists swim in these waterholes. If they only knew...
We returned to our car about an hour later, soggy and satisfied. I'm told one species of frog's call sounds just like a sheep bleating and you can hear hundreds at a time. We're going to have to go back.
"Caught between a naturalist and a hard place."
