The end of our summer wet season has given Fraser Island a refreshing new lease of life… amphibian life that is!Throughout the Wallum heath and Paperbark forest – just a stone’s throw from Kingfisher Bay Resort’s Centre Complex - our charismatic amphibians filled the air with a chorus of calls.
Each night, guests and Rangers alike listened intently for the sounds of the Wallum Rocketfrog with its fast ‘quacking’ or ‘yapping’, the Striped Rocketfrog’s intermittent ‘chirping’, the shy Cooloola Sedgefrog with its ‘reek… pip pip’ and the Wallum Sedgefrog’s ‘creek… crick’.
Occasionally, Green Tree frogs (picture courtesy of Grant Webster's photostream on Flickr) would also join in the Fraser Island choir.
Did you know that frogs are the only Amphibian native to Australia. Toads are frogs, but there are no true toads native to Australia! Cane Toads – including the ones found on Fraser Island - are actually introduced pests.
One February night, as we strolled through the Wallum with our guests in tow, a rustling in the undergrowth caught our attention. What could it be? As we waited and watched in silence the creature started to emerge… it was a Bandicoot!
These endearing nocturnal marsupials spend their nights digging for insects and plant roots under the sand. They also have one of the shortest gestation periods of any mammal in the world – it’s only twelve days from conception to birth! After birth, the joey climbs through the mother’s fur into the pouch where it feeds on milk until it’s developed enough to emerge.
The waters of Great Sandy Strait, on the lee side of Fraser Island, were alive with all manner of creatures over the past month – and all clearly visible - whether sailing on the Shayla Cruise, paddling on a Jetty Hut canoe, or up close on one of our Ranger Guided night walks.
Over the past month we’re spotted Blue Spotted Rays, Logger Head Turtles, Barramundi, Squid, Mud Crabs and Solider Crabs to name a few. For guests headed our way, the Jetty is a great spot to see our marine life in full glory – as is the journey from River Heads to Kingfisher Bay Resort - so keep your eyes peeled.
The Milky Way, containing over 200 billion stars, provided an impressive back drop as we searched the tree tops for Sugar Gliders, Tawny Frogmouths and the many Microbats that frequent the island.
We look forward to seeing what March brings and to showing you all that's wild and wonderful on gorgeous Fraser Island.
