Last Updated on March 18, 2019 by Red Nomad OZ
The spectacular Gouldian finches* caged for the breeding program at the Mareeba Wetlands Visitor Centre are great, but there’s WAAAAAY more birds to be seen out and about around the lagoon or on one of the walks in the 5000 acre reserve.
So, bins** in hand, we took the Pandanus walk, its varied habitats promising – and delivering – a cross-section of local birds including Black-necked stork (amateur birdwatchers like me prefer the more poetic common name – Jabiru!), Red-backed Fairy wren, Comb-crested jacana, Green Pygmy Goose, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, Forest Kingfisher, and a whole family of Brown Quail! FAAAABULOUS!!
But then, through the trees I spied a glint of sun on silver metal. Quite a lot of metal, actually. Was it a picnic table? An abandoned car?? A plane wreck???
Our curiosity piqued, we moved in for a closer look – the scrub successfully obscuring its surreal identity until we were close enough to touch it.
No, none of our guesses were even close!!
It’s a mystery (to us, at least) who constructed this monstrous metal gecko – and why! Even more bizarre – why is it hidden away in the bush surrounding this Atherton Tablelands protected wetland habitat??
So … we admit defeat. Great photo opportunity that it is, we’re stumped!!
Any ideas?
*Go on! Do yourself a favour and take the link if you don’t know what they look like!!
**bins = birdo talk for ‘binoculars’ without which no self respecting twitcher would visit a wetland!
@Jenn – Hey, why not indeed?? How dull it would be if everything was as expected!!
Why a monstrous gecko? Why NOT? LOL
@Valerie – haha! Probably not much call for keywords like large shiny metal gecko …
@Lily – no, it’s a gecko that just happens to be several hundred times larger than the real thing!
@Manzanita – the unkind would say I’m making something out of nothing!!!
Discovery. You always run into some object of interest on your treks. But then I got to thinking, perhaps a lot of us do but you have the extra measure of inquisitiveness to bring it to life whereas most of us would pass right on by. 🙂
Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck
Is that a land serpent or a somewhat large Gecko?
H-m-m-m, I do know its not that cute little fella on the television commercials, could be a long lost cousin though. ha,ha
Have a great day – very interesting.
thanks for sharing – Lilly 🙂
Shiny object syndrome I have here & fixated on large metal ghecko. My superior google skills have been downgraded to mediocre. Very interesting!
@Windsmoke – it sure was an unexpected ‘pleasure’!
@Andrew – it’d have to be a VERY large garden! With no small children susceptible to a good scare …
@Sailor – done plenty, but plenty more to do!!
@River – but this one looks as if it could swallow a bit more than a few flies …
@Carolyn – Yeah! You could say that about quite a lot of the OZ ‘Big Things’!!
@diane b – that’s what makes OZ travel so cool – you never know what you’ll see next!!
@Aleah – who knows? It’s kind of a lot bigger than any natural OZ predator though …
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Hi all, and thanx for your comments – my internet access has been cactus for a couple of days, so apologies for not responding sooner!
@Wendy – welcome, and thanx! The bellbirds are one of my favourites; such a pure, clear call! Come back anytime!
@Marie – Big things ROCK!! This is my “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach … check out my previous ‘Big Koala’ post!! Thanx so much for doing my research for me and tracking down Kadimakara, too!!
I thought it was a frog at first glance! It looks cool though. Maybe it’s there to scare predators away? hmm… *head scratch*
A strange thing to find in the bush but looks an interesting sculpture.
Strange but well made.
A giant gecko! I love geckos, there’s a few living in my yard, though I rarely see them.
After following your blog it seems like you have traveled extensively all over the continent.
The gecko must have cost a lot of money to construct. It would be a nice adornment in a large garden.
When i first saw the monstrous metal Gecko i though it was a alien spaceship it looks grotesque and no wonder it was hidden behind the scrub :-).
Hee, hee… In Australia we are used to the collection of quirky “big” things that proliferate at the side of the highways. It’s some kind of crazy disease we have I think 🙂 Anyway, I did find a link to your big guy (Kadimakara) on the ABC http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/08/17/2008157.htm and it’s quite an interesting story. And he’s so much more handsome than the giant poo coloured koala outside of Stawell 🙂
I had a friend send me a video for the Bell Birds in Australia and I was in awe…They sound beautiful. You are so blessed to live where you do! Sounds like y’all had a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by my blog ~ Wen