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antipodi
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Fri May 19, 2006 12:39 am
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 Winter in the West Australian Desert
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Winter in the West Australian Desert
With the approach of winter, arid Australia's treasure trove of natural wonders is enjoying cooler temperatures and cloudless skies and putting on a spectacular show for visitors.
Apart from Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent on Earth - around 70 percent of the mainland receives less than 500mm of rain each year, while 35 percent receives so little rain it is effectively desert.
The words 'desert' and 'outback' evoke images of shimmering heat, dust and a barren wasteland that seems to stretch unto infinity.
But contrary to the perception that the desert is a featureless wasteland, there is immense diversity within Australia's arid zone.
Desert Gems
There are outcrops of red mountain ranges, like the MacDonnell and Flinders ranges, with red-gum lined creeks, gorges and waterholes; individual mountains rising from flat plains, of which Uluru is the best-known; and fields of parallel sand dunes that run for hundreds of kilometres like those in the Simpson Desert.
Plains of wind-polished stones cover a vast area in the Stony Desert, while in the Pinnacles Desert of south-west Western Australia (WA), thousands of limestone pillars rise from shifting yellow sands. Salt lakes glitter where they lie in ancient drainage depressions, while the richly-coloured sands and rocks around Coober Pedy seem more like a painted moonscape than a place on earth.
Against this dramatic backdrop, native plants and animals have adapted to become as diverse and unique as the landscape they inhabit, thanks to millions of years of geological stability and relatively little disturbance until European arrival.
fact file
When: Most deserts are accessible year-round, however it is essential to check with the local Parks Authority or tourism office and to be adequately provisioned before venturing anywhere off the beaten track. Winter is a great time to visit as temperatures are cooler. WA's Wildflower season usually runs from July to September, depending on location.
Where: Many deserts are found in the relatively flat central lowlands of the country, from the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north to the plains of the Murray River in the South.
A suprising feature of Australia's deserts is the diversity of plants found throughout the arid zone, with more than 12,000 species found in WA alone.
Desert plants have adapted to the extremes of heat and aridity by using both physical and behavioural mechanisms, much like desert animals.
Some plants feature relatively few, dull-coloured, waxy or hairy leaves that help reduce moisture loss through evaporation, spines to protect them from hungry animals, and extremely long roots that tap water stored deep underground.
Others remain dormant during hot, dry periods - which can last for years - and spring to life when it rains. They grow rapidly and bloom prolifically, set seed and die back, all within a few weeks or months.
WA Winter Wonderland
Depending on the exact timing of annual rain, which varies from year to year, winter can be a great time to catch WA's world-renowned desert wildflower spectacle. In the north, wildflowers appear in July (or earlier) as rains hasten their arrival. The season continues until November as rain falls on the huge variety of microenvironments scattered throughout the vast arid zone.
According to Gina Broun, Flora Conservation Officer with WA's department of Conservation and Land Management (CaLM), one of the reasons for the immense diversity is the combination of microenvironments found in all deserts and the length of time that the land has been undisturbed.
"Each microenvironment has produced plants with their own set of fine adaptations. This creates a matrix of immense biodiversity," she says, "When Leseur National Park in south west WA was surveyed in the 1980s, it was found that in terms of number of plants per square metre, it was equivalent to the most diverse rainforest."
Winter basking
While there is no shortage of animals living in the desert, they can be pretty difficult to spot, especially in the summer months, where the heat dictates that they are most active during the night or in the very early hours of the day.
Rock wallabies love warming up in the early morning sun.
Lizards and small marsupials, as well as insects, play an important role in ensuring the continued richness and diversity of plant life throughout the deserts by fertilising and dispersing seeds.
Greg Fyfe, acting Zoology Curator at Alice Springs Desert Park says that one of the great things about visiting Central Australia in winter is many animals that spend the summer months resting under trees or in underground burrows are more active - and visible - for visitors during the day.
In addition to kangaroos grazing, small marsupials like fat-tailed antechinus and mulgarras warm up after chilly nights by basking in the sun. Rock wallabies also enjoy the sun's warmth in places like Ormiston Gorge, Simpson's Gap, Trephina Gorge in the MacDonnell Ranges and the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.
"They're easy to spot," Fyfe says. "Look up at any cliff edge in the early morning and they'll be there."
"Winter is also a bird-watchers paradise, with parrots, wrens and raptors like black kites filling the skies, especially if there has been rain and the wildflowers are blooming."
Waiting for the rains
Although unusual in winter, any desert rainfall brings out a spectacular array of animals, which have all developed canny survival strategies like the Shield Shrimp's eggs can last for years in dried up rock pools.
One of nature's oddities is found in rockpools and claypans throughout central Australia, and on Uluru itself. A remnant of prehistoric times, freshwater crustaceans - known as fairy shrimp and shield shrimp - lay eggs in the puddles that form after rain. When the puddles soon dry out, so do the eggs, remaining in suspended animation for years, until the next rain when they hatch and start their frenzied lifecycle all over again.
Surprisingly, a large number of amphibians are found in Australia's dry heartlands: Water-holding frogs survive the heat and aridity by burying themselves in the cool earth and creating a cocoon of shed skin. Sealed in a moist envelope, they emerge when the rains come to breed in puddles. The desert spadefoot toad hibernates in a burrow excavated in the sandy desert, while Spencer's Burrowing Frog also digs deep into the moist sand of central Australia's dry riverbeds.
Fyfe says that in a normal year visitors would be very fortunate to see any frogs in winter, however many small reptiles like skinks and netted dragons are active even during the middle of the day.
Starry starry night sky
Scorpuis starmap
Desert visitors should look for Scorpions in the sky as well as under their feet this winter.
Because it is so far from any strong lights, the desert is also a great place for seeing stars.
Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory, Dr Nick Lomb, says that at this time of year the Southern Cross stands almost vertically, high up in the southern sky and is best observed in the early evening in June, July and August.
Jupiter is also very prominent in the night sky in 2006, and easy to see. "It is the brightest object in the sky apart from the moon and will be visible until 2am especially in early July. Venus will also be visible in the north-east sky in early winter mornings", says Lomb.
This year the Scorpius (Scorpio) constellation is also easily recognisable, and is one of the few constellations that truly resembles its name. Lomb says that while binoculars will be needed to see some star clusters, the claws and tail are easily visible as is Antares, the bright reddish star that forms its heart.
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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dB
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Joined: 14 Apr 2006
Posts: 104
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Sat May 27, 2006 2:34 am
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Excellent article!!
I enjoyed reading that, thanks for sharing 
It amazes me how brilliant the Aborigines are, they adapt and survive in some of the harshest outbacks on the planet. I love watching documentaries about the Australian outback, going there for "real" would be a fantastic adventure, I might throw a few boomerangs! And believe me, boomerangs never come back, "OUCH" One just hit me  
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www.starsofwisdom.com
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antipodi
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Joined: 25 Jan 2006
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Sat May 27, 2006 10:01 am
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The outback and its vast wildness together with its concentration of wonderful indgenous peoples and animals makes it a fascinating place to be and visit ...I am ver proud of this part of Australia ..let us hope that big business does not destroy it through exploitation...
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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HHfrog
Pet Specialist
Joined: 30 Jan 2006
Posts: 49
Karma: +4 (4)
Location: Knoxville, TN, USA
Tue May 30, 2006 1:47 pm
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It is definately one of my life goals to travel to Australia and see the landscapes. And of course do lots and lots of herping!
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0.1 Schneider's skink
1.0 Chinese firebellied toad
0.0.3 Asian floating frogs
0.0.3 African clawed frogs
0.0.1 Fowler's toad
0.0.1 California kingsnake
1.0 Golden Gecko
0.0.1 Brown anole
0.0.1 Green anole
2.2 breeder guppies + babies
0.2 cats
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antipodi
Site Admin
Joined: 25 Jan 2006
Posts: 1141
Karma: +6 (6)
Tue May 30, 2006 2:52 pm
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Australia does have many reptiles we have Bluetongues living in our backyard ..they are great for keeping the snail population down...
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Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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