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Goannas (& other wildlife encounters)? 14-Aug-2018 At 4:29:52 PM gtempest

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About 6 months ago my partner and I watched a large (2m+) lace monitor (tree goanna) for around 20min or so just near to the parking area below Campbells Kingdom. It was in superb condition and didn’t show any fear of us (although we kept our distance). I’ve also recently seen a couple of slightly smaller lace monitors (possibly the same one?) in the paperbark forest at nearby Lake Wyn Wyn.
It’s interesting that when I was a ‘resident’ of the pines in the late 70s and early 80s goannas were quite common in the area. In fact we had times when we couldn’t keep food in our tents because the goannas would force their way in and cause damage. The lace monitors would regularly be sighted in the pines and would often climb up into the trees. In those days we would also see another type of monitor. I would often spend time on the boulders below the Pharos and would watch a particular shallow burrow in the sand. Every now and then a goanna would emerge. Unlike the larger and drabber lace monitor, this one was beautifully banded with yellow stripes and was physically much smaller. It also had a yellow tail tip. I always considered this to be a sand monitor but I’m no expert in goannas. The sand monitor appeared to be less common than the lace monitor. These days, unfortunately, goannas appear to be much rarer (at least around the front of the Mount). This is perhaps due to a few factors (maybe periodic changes in food sources or [more likely] the much larger numbers of people now using the cliffs and walking trails). Hope this helps.