The Kimberley, part 2: Animals

Perhaps the most exciting part of the trip was getting to see lots of interesting reef creatures. Unfortunately, it's also the part of the trip that was the hardest to photograph well, so there are a few things I saw you'll have to take my word for, including:

- probably blacktip reef sharks,at a distance splashing around on the reef
- probably an eel, at a distance splashing around on the reef
- an eagle swooping down on the water, catching a fish, and swooping back up again
- a green tree frog (courtesy of R, the researcher, along with a story about a guy who walked into his room without turning on the light, only to step on a green frog and SQUASH oops frog guts everywhere ew)
- albino-looking geckos all over the walls of our bathroom
- an enormous huntsman spider
- several brolgas (which the drivers were anxious to avoid hitting, as the birds mate for life, so if you kill one, you also make another brolga very lonely)
- a wallaby

On to the things I DID manage to (kind of) photograph.....

Giant clam getting murdered by the ranger guy for dinner for his family. I'm told the clams are nice and chewy.

Just in case you didn't realize what I meant by "giant" clam.

Coral on the reef. God I love my underwater camera.

The giant clam from above, underwater. This clam remains safely alive because he's green, and they don't eat the green ones.

A crab version of a horny toad! Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but this little guy was spiny and brown, but in the water looked fluffy and pink. He was adorable, until I realized his eyes are blood red like those satanic christmas animals from South Park.

A crazy researcher, a salty skipper, and a rad ranger all in one shot.

Okay, I know it's terrible, but those dark blobs under the water there? Nurse sharks. Trust me!

 Why did we get to see Nurse sharks?

Because they were waiting for the cast off remains of this fella, who was sitting in a boat at the community boat ramp:

The most photogenic green turtle is a dead green turtle.

More to come.....