a trip to Cape Hauy, Tasmania

[moloch05]

In the last few months, I have had a number of work-related trips to Tasmania. Most of the time, I have been too busy to get out but on a couple of occasions, I hired a car and headed drove to nearby national parks. In early November, I spent part of a day in the Port Arthur area and walked out to the spectacular Cape Hauy in the Tasman National Park. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid-20s and no wind.

Here is a view of the beach at the start of the walk:

Habitat along the way:

The cape area -- really worth a visit for those of you who travel to Tassie.

Cape Pillar in the distance:

The warm weather brought out a few reptiles, particularly the small skinks. I find the skinks in Tasmania to be quite confusing so these are my best guesses as to their identity. If any of you can help, I would appreciate the input. I found a useful site on Tasmanian reptiles at: http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/wildlife/reptile/Skinks.html

Eastern Three-striped Skink (Acritoscincus duperreyi). I only saw one pair of these skinks in the open heath not far from the cape.

Ocellated Skink (Niveoscincus ocellatus). These were common on the rocks of the cape. They are the most distinctive of the confusing genus, Niveoscincus ("Snow Skinks").

I think that this was possibly a Tasmanian Tree Skink (Niveoscincus pretiosus)

This is what I think to be a Metallic Skink (Niveoscincus metallicus).

I saw two White's Skinks (Egernia whitii). These seem more colourful than those that I have seen in New South Wales.

This skink I think to be a Lampropholis delicata, again quite different to those around Wollongong.

I only saw a single snake on the walk. It was a young Lowland Copperhead (Austrelaps superbus) that quickly crossed the trail in front of me.

This Echidna seemed to have longer fur that was lighter in colouration than those that I see here in Wollongong. It was actively feeding and it would lift small rocks and then probe beneath these. This animal was not at all wary and it walked right up to me.

... flightless Tasmanian Native Hen

... a terrestrial orchid that looked similar to the sun orchids near Wollongong.

... a boronia?

A view of the coast on the drive back to Hobart. I saw a DOR Blotched Blue-tongue in this area.

Regards,
David

 

[thals]

very nice scenic pics Dave, n those skinks are nice finds two, luvn the whites =)
And that echidna is soo cute, makes ya wanna cuddle 'em despite the quills n all haha
Nice work mate!

 

[Earthling]

Ive run all over Oz but no Tassie yet..reminds me of Ireland.

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

tassie is an amazing place.
i went there years ago ,lots of tiger snakes!

and i found a bluey there and just last night i was trying to remember what it looked like,

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Always great to see your pics david. The furry echidna is very cute as are the occelated skink pics.
The vistas are fantastic and im sure the fishing and sealife must be sensational.
The snake is not a copperhead i think and more likely a whitlip whip snake.
Is that the only pic of it?
Baz

 

[Chris.j]

Tassie is a great place to visit. I've been there a few times to paddle some of the many rivers down there and the wildlife and scenery is spectacular. On every trip we saw Echidnas galore, Tassie Devils, Wallabies, Quolls, Tiger snakes but the one the most memorable sights I witnessed was a platypus swimming around underneath my boat.

The last time I went however there were nowhere near the amount of Tassie Devils that we had seen on previous trips.

 

[jordo]

Nice pics, good to see you got plenty of skinks.
I agree with Baz, got this little guy up at Falls Creek.

 

[itbites]

It's beautiful! gorgeous mmm you're pics make me miss home

 

[Nephrurus]

Fantastic photos David.... I'm inspired to head down to Tassie! I'd be keen to get out and search for eastern and spotted quolls (as well as searching for herps). Freycinet Bay is another picturesque spot. I have a few photos from there, but they are on film (non-digital).

-H

 

[moloch05]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. Tasmania certainly is a beautiful place. I enjoy each trip there even when I only have time in Hobart.

Thanks, also, for the correct identification of the snake. I had no idea that White-lipped Snakes could be coloured so brightly. The snake was moving so I was not able to take any shots of the face. I had the impression that there were black stripes on the lips but I must have been wrong. I will post photos of an adult from the Dobson Lake area of Mt. Field before long. It looked much like Jordo's pic.

Here is a cropped version of the photo:

Chris,
Last Sunday, I headed over to Mt. Field for the day. On the drive there, I saw two DOR Tassie Devils along with many other road kills.


Regards,
David

 

[itbites]

poor Tassie Devils! if their not road kill they have cancers to worry about, i think unless a breeding program is started they may not have the brightest future

 

[Chris.j]

It's a real shame. We saw plenty of road kill to and I also reckon that facial tumour disease thats spreading so rampantly down there must have alot to do with the decreased numbers. Heading down there this weekend and can't wait.

 

[W.T.BUY]

any mountain dragons???

 

[moloch05]

W.T.BUY

I had no luck with mountain dragons. My wife and I stayed in West Hobart near Knocklofty Reserve and the dragons are included on a photo of the animals of the reserve. We walked there on most days but never encountered the dragons ... did see lots of skinks.

Regards