The goanna's ubiquity and sometimes brazen behaviour has made them a familiar favourite with generations of Australian bushwalkers, campers, and picnickers. This updated editon brings together the fascintating natural history of these ancient animals and other members of the family Varanidae, which includes the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon.

This is a comprehensive guide to all lizards in Australia, with color photographs of each species and its habitat.

Ever since he was a young man living on the Gold Coast, Gary had dreamed of riding a motor-cycle around Australia. His focus on family, qualifications, career and mortgage conspired to push this dream out of his mind. Life had stopped being fun and he could see that it wouldn’t get better unless he changed his thinking. Then one night while lying in his hammock, sipping red wine, and listening to music, a song from his past came over the speaker. It was a message from his younger self reminding him of his dreams. He made a goal, got a motorcycle and some camping gear, and within two years he was on a solo motorcycle adventure through Queensland. This book is more than a motorcycle travel story, it’s an adventure through the heart of Queensland and the soul of Australia. Along the way, Gary learns the secret of life, loses his money by betting on chickens and solves the murder of the swaggie from the song Waltzing Matilda. His message to the reader is that it’s never too late to set and achieve goals. If he can do it anyone can, and it’s easier than you think. Just twist the throttle and look out for kangaroos.

In the tradition of the iconic character Les Nortonhellip;Jim Dempsey is the new and hilarious Aussie hit! Working as head of security at one of Sydneyrsquo;s finest establishments has its perks and when Jim Dempseyrsquo;s millionaire boss asked him to house mind his beach bungalow on the far north coast of NSW it seemed too good to be true.In between chasing fast women, being mistaken for Prince Harry, starting a fight with the local Goanna Pulling Champion, this could potentially be his biggest earn everhellip;.Jim Dempsey proves one hell of a lot can happen in 7 dayshellip;

In 1935, an Australian government agency imported 101 specimens of the Central and South American Cane Toad in an attempt to manage insects that were decimating sugar-cane harvests. In Australia the Cane Toad adapted and evolved with abandon, voraciously consuming native wildlife and killing predators with its lethal skin toxin. Today, hundreds of millions of Cane Toads have spread across the northern part of Australia and continue to move westward. The humble Cane Toad has become a national villain. Cane Toad Wars chronicles the work of intrepid scientist Rick Shine, who has been documenting the toad’s ecological impact in Australia and seeking to buffer it. Despite predictions of devastation in the wake of advancing toad hordes, the author’s research reveals a more complex and nuanced story. A firsthand account of a perplexing ecological problem and an important exploration of how we measure evolutionary change and ecological resilience, this book makes an effective case for the value of long-term natural history research in informing conservation practice.

This classic resource is organized as follows: Chapter I: Origins The Customs and Traditions of Aboriginals The Story of the Creation The Coming of Mankind The Peewee’s Story The Eagle-hawk and the Crow The Birth of the Butterflies The Confusion of Tongues The Discovery and the Loss of the Secret of Fire The Moon The Wonderful Lizard The Lazy Goannas and what happened to them How the Selfish Goannas lost their Wives What some Aboriginal Carvings mean Chapter II: Animal Myths The Selfish Owl Why Frogs jump into the Water This is the legend of the frogs. Kinie Ger, the Native Cat The Porcupine and the Mountain Devil The Green Frog How the Tortoise got his Shell The Mischievous Crow and the Good he did Whowie The Flood and its Results How Spencer’s Gulf came into Existence Chapter III: Religion The Belief in a Great Spirit The Land of Perfection The Voice of the Great Spirit Witchcraft Chapter IV: Social Marriage Customs The Spirit of Help among the Aboriginals Ngia Ngiampe Hunting Fishing Sport Chapter V: Personal Myths Kirkin and Wyju The Love-story of the Two Sisters Cheeroonear The Keen Keeng Mr and Mrs Newal and their Dog Thardid Jimbo Palpinkalare Perindi and Harrimiah Bulpallungga Nurunderi's Wives Chirr-bookie, the Blue Crane Buthera and the Bat Yara-ma-yha-who The Origin of the Pleiades

Australian Deserts: Ecology and Landscapes is about the vast sweep of the Outback, a land of expanses making up three-quarters of the continent – the heart of Australia. Steve Morton brings his extensive first-hand knowledge and experience of arid Australia to this book, explaining how Australian deserts work ecologically. This book outlines why unpredictable rainfall and paucity of soil nutrients underpin the nature of desert ecosystems, while also describing how plants and animals came to be desert dwellers through evolutionary time. It shows how plants use uncertain rainfall to provide for persistence of their populations, alongside outlines of the dominant animals of the deserts and explanations of the features that help them succeed in the face of aridity and uncertainty. Richly illustrated with the photographs of Mike Gillam, this fascinating and accessible book will enhance your understanding of the nature of arid Australia.