"After The Flood"

Hunter River, Western Australia

On several days we made expeditions outside the gorge, climbing the steep but scalable slopes where the arms of the gorge dropped to the river. This was hotter country than the gorge itself but fortunately we were following small streams and could keep our water bottles topped up.

The team climb out of the gorge Photo: David Wright	Looking back to the Hunter River Photo: David Wright
John, Ann and Mark trekking above the gorge	Matt gives Terry a helping hand up the steep slope* Photo: Rob Pendlebury
A rest by a shallow creek Photo: Rob Pendlebury	Time to fill water bottles
Rob Pendlebury at one of the smaller waterfalls above Donkin Falls Photo: Rob Pendlebury

* Matt Seal, cameraman Des' son, was traveling around Australia when we arrived for the first shoot of OBA Season 2. Des managed to convince the director, David Wright, to hire him as his camera assistant so he could gain some experience of filming on location. It proved to be the wisest decision David ever made. One of the images above shows Matt helping sound recordist Terry up a steep slope with his highly un-ergonomic recording equipment. Matt was the youngest member of the expedition and probably one of the fittest, strongest and fastest, which was what saved David from certain death. On one of the treks above the gorge David strayed too close to the edge of the cliff-face and lost his footing. He was slipping and sliding to the edge but Matt reacted like a greyhound, surged forward and pulled him back. There is no doubt Matt saved David's life that day.

Eventually we managed to work our way beyond Donkins Falls and visit some of the smaller waterfalls further up the Hunter River. We searched for reptiles in several of the smaller valleys that bissected the open plateau, and we were rewarded.

The most elusive monitor lizard we encountered was the Black-palmed monitor lizard (Varanus glebopalma), we often heard them in the cliff-side vegetation but rarely got close to them, the result being a couple of fairly poor images. On the top of the Donkin Falls we found a Superb two-lined dragon (Diporphora superba) well camouflaged in the dried dead grass, its head and body the same colour and etiolated to blend in with its surroundings. In one of the creeks we caught a Northwestern ridge-tailed monitor lizard (Varanus acanthurus acanthurus), the northern race of the species we have encountered in the Pilbara during filming of "The Pilbara Cobra". The best lizard capture was a Kimberley rock monitor lizard (Varanus glauerti) which was sighted high up a tree. I climbed a neighouring tree and with a nylon monofilament noose on a pole I attempted to noose the lizard. I was eventually successful but as the lizard came away from the tree it flew out of the noose and was captured by John Weigel, waiting on the ground. John is an American but he made a catch, of which any Australian cricketer would have been proud.

Black-palmed monitor lizard Varanus glebopalma	Superb two-lined dragon Diporphora superba
Northwestern ridge-tailed monitor lizard Varanus acanthurus acanthurus
Examining the Northwestern ridge-tailed monitor lizard Varanus acanthurus acanthurus
Mark climbed a nearby tree while John prepared the lizard noose
Noosing the monitor lizard took balance and concentration
Mark noosing the Kimberley rock monitor lizard Varanus glauerti	Kimberley rock monitor lizard Varanus glauerti
Show and tell with the Kimberley rock monitor lizard Varanus glauerti Photo: David Wright	Kimberley rock monitor lizard Varanus glauerti

On the snake front we captured a large by nonvenomous Common treesnake (Dendrelaphis punctulatus) and missed a venomous Black whipsnake (Demansia atra). Another large elapid was also seen in the area but it was impossible to say whether it was a whipsnake, brownsnake or taipan.

Common treesnake Dendrelaphis punctulatus