Although the owner returned a wave, it was strange
to come across company on this road that led no-
where other than a swamp, and I had my doubts
that the other driver was also interested in frogs.
Nevertheless, we arrived at our destination and in
the distance heard several species of frog calling. I
assembled my camera gear and we began hiking
toward the sounds of the frogs. First we checked a
small outflow trench that looked like perfect Growl-
ing Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis) habitat, but
nothing seemed to be active. The temperature
had dropped dramatically since the afternoon,
and our exhaled breaths condensed in the cool
air. We worked our way closer to the swamp
itself, following a worn gravel track into the dark-
ness. After a few minutes, Dan called out to say
that he’d almost stepped on a small frog. From a
distance I thought it was a small Pobblebonk
(Limnodynastes dumerilii) but on closer inspection it
turned out to be a young Sudell’s Frog
(Neobatrachus sudellae). This was a new species
for both of us. These burrowing frogs only surface
following periods of hard or persistent rainfall, and
this made sense as the previous few days had been
quite rainy. Dan soon discovered another frog, this
time a Mallee Spadefoot Toad (Neobatrachus
pictus). On the way to the swamp we found several
more Sudell’s Frogs that exhibited considerable
variation in patterning. The swamp itself was
anticlimactic, and nothing of interest was found, so
we retraced our footsteps back to the car, hoping
there wasn’t a white van waiting to greet us.
Thankfully we were alone, and began the journey
back to civilisation. We were driving along at the
breakneck speed of about ten kilometres an hour,
when suddenly a confused kangaroo or large wal-
laby jumped out and smacked into the passenger-
side window. Both the car and the kangaroo were
fine, but I almost required a change of underpants
after the ordeal! Luckily the rest of the drive back
‘Our exhaled breaths condensed
in the cool air as we began
hiking toward the
sound of the frogs .’
was relatively uneventful, with Dan stopping a few
times to move more Mallee Spadefoot Toads off the
road. We arrived back at the cabin after a day full of
driving and small brown skinks. Collapsing into bed,
I had the best sleep I have had in a quite a while.
We woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7am on
the Sunday morning, and after a hearty breakfast of
noodles, hit the road at 7:30, racing against time to
get to Warrnambool ahead of the heat that was
expected in the early afternoon. We planned to
meet up with Warrnambool’s premier herper and
reptile keeper Stephen Goodfield, a good friend of
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