Keep River

Keep River National Park was beautiful in the morning light.




Here I am demonstrating the vast size of the spinifex clumps along the trail. There are many species of spinifex (a perennial clumping grass) that dominate the arid portions of Australia, but we'd never seen them get this large. By the way, those grass blades might look sort of soft, but they are seriously pokey.




The color and texture of the sandstone was pretty nifty.




This is an Elephant Ear Wattle. What look like large curving leaves here are actually weirdly flattened stems that function as leaves.




Cane Toads are one of the most spectacular failures of biological pest control and a serious environmental problem in Australia, poisoning many of the native predators and spreading across the country like crazy. They were also the bane of our night spotlighting trips, since they make quite a bit of racket and we often found ourselves chasing down what we hoped would be an elusive little marsupial or rodent, only to find a clumsy cane toad. In Katherine Gorge one night they were so thick on the trail I stepped on a couple. (though not to the point of squishing, thank goodness.)
They are marching their way across the Northern Territory, and Keep River National Park, on the border between the NT and Western Australia, had this Cane Toad trap and information about eradication programs, and the fight to keep WA toad free.




One of the many, many Agile Wallabies seen throughout the trip.