We went for a drive through the bush last Tuesday. For us a drive through the bush means picking a track and driving until we find a more interesting one, then driving down that one, repeat, repeat, repeat.
We never get lost because we never have a destination, and we never really know where we are in the first place! The only rule is that we have to be looking for a main road by about 4pm-ish, otherwise it will be dark before we know it.
We have found the most unexpected and interesting things on these trips; ruins, bushfires, wildlife (scary and nice), giant mudpits that make the kids scream with delight…
Jacky Dragon.
Once we found some bushwalkers, one of their group had twisted his ankle badly and it was pouring with rain. We stopped and managed to stuff him, and his huge backpack, in the 4WD with us and give him a lift back to their camp at the bottom of the mountain. He was pretty lucky we chose that particular track that day, it would have been a long hop otherwise!
We always drive slowly, as we are too busy looking at the things around us to be bothered getting to the end of the track quickly.
This slow driving was helpful on Tuesday, when we were passing a rocky outcrop number 1 shouted incoherently from the back seat. The Man stopped quickly and it turned out that the incoherent shouting was “I see a lizard on a rock!”
We reversed back and sure enough there was a Jacky Dragon (I love that name!) sucking up the last few rays of the day. The kids and I got out quietly and wandered over to get a better look. The lizard was very cute and wasn’t too bothered by us. I managed to take a few photos before we left him to finish his sunbathing.
I couldn’t believe that number 1 had even spotted him as he was well off the track, and so camouflaged on the rock I needed him to be pointed out to me!
At least this lizard was a happier specimen than the last one I posted about. No grumpy hissing and tongue flicking this time!
