Fantastic Beasts and where to find them: my humble version. Part the first.

I’ve always carried within me a curiosity and interest in our natural world and our fellow co-inhabiting life forms. This probably originates in my childhood sojourns into the amazing world of SE Asian…backyards! I have many fond memories looking for jumping spiders under leaves, looking under bricks and other material to find little geckoes, observing the ceaseless industry of red and black ants, listening to the chirping of crickets at dawn and dusk….the list goes infinitely on and on. Mind you, this was the era before electronic devices and the like, so I was spared the distracting power of the world wide web as a child.

My childhood memories clearly continue to pervade into my adult life, as whenever I can I still look forward to hiking natural surrounds, armed with my trusty and humble camera in order to harmlessly ‘shoot’ any amazing creatures I manage to stumble across. What follows are a sample of ‘Fantastic beasts’ I have encountered, and an account of the feelings and thoughts each have stirred up within me, as well as any relevant story associated with each sighting. I have structured this post in a way whereby the associated written account will be found underneath the picture. Given the fact that I now live in Australia, be prepared that most of what follows will be sourced from good old Aussie Wildlife!

I fondly refer to these kangaroos here as the ‘Ansteyroos’, as a significant number of them live here in Anstey Hill Conservation Park. Near the ruins of what was once the largest nursery in the Southern Hemisphere lives a mob of these ‘roos, whose presence at twilight always feels to me like they are nature’s appointed emissaries, here to assure human visitors to their domain that we will be safe.

Of course, in reality they are entirely unconcerned with our well-being and are just getting on with the practical necessities of feeding, mating and caring for their young joeys. Nonetheless, their sublime outlines amidst the shimmering and fading rays of sunlight on the backdrop of a rugged, red rock-face blanketed by thorny majesty of thistle plants, certainly stimulates at least this visitor’s imagination.

The above pictures of this delightful Jewel spider depict a surprise within a surprise during a recent afternoon jaunt. Surprise within a surprise? I do mean this literally. Let me explain. Again, the setting was Anstey Hill. I was fortunate to have a few hours to myself that day, so what better way than to spend them exploring in and around the previously mentioned Newmans nursery ruins. I then decided to hike up the aptly named "Torture Hill track", a small but steep ascent of several hundred metres where in my younger years, I used to test the limits of my anaerobic physical endurance by way of hill sprints.

At the top of this particular track is located a long-abandoned Silver Mine, its precipitous and threatening circumference responsibly fenced off in order to reduce the risk of falling in. While peering in over the steep edges, I noticed a small, barely discernible track: barely wide enough for a single hiker, snaking its way down an incline adjacent to the mine. My curiosity possessed me, and I made my way down.

The first surprise greeted me at the bottom of this track: a little cave entrance whose dark opening compelled me to enter, and enter I did. The underground tunnel was barely high enough to accommodate my crouching self, and I scrambled my way blindly in the one direction toward a hint of light at the other end. After twenty metres or so of crawling in semi-claustrophobic darkness, I emerged..or slithered from what was essentially a slit like opening at the passage's end. I had unknowingly emerged into the floor of the silver mine.

As I congratulated myself on this chance discovery, I noticed a number of perfectly symmetrical webs, gracefully draping themselves in their subtle, silken grace across a desert of shrivelled and dried native roses. Sitting within these webs were what I recognised as Jewel Spiders.

As you can see, their contrasting colours- scintillating in their brilliance, along with their spiny shapes made them appear like little diamonds hovering in the air around me. It is no wonder they are called what they are. Their webs conjured up images of mythologies I read as a young child: the infinite reflections of Indra's web, and Sakyamuni Buddha's use of a spider's thread to try and save a tormented soul in hell from one of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short stories.

This abandoned mine may no longer hold any value regarding the acquisition of silver, however treasures such as these may still be found within.

Our next beastie graces our presence from Thailand, the small and little known island of Ko Phra Thong to be exact. This little gem of an island can be found off the coast adjacent to the lush tropical jungle that forms Khao Sok National Park. On Ko Phra Thong, at this point there is very limited tourism, with none of the fancy hotels, cheaper hostels and the myriad of stalls and restaurants found in more popular destinations such as Phuket or Ko Samui. In fact, with a population of two hundred, with the majority of these still living the traditional Moken sea gypsy lifestyle, this island idyllic for its serenity and resistance to modern development.

I was here with my pre-teen daughter last year, in an attempt to expose her to more traditional ways of living and to detoxify her from technology. One evening, as we were relaxing on the porch of our little straw hut, we heard a violent crunch, followed by loud squishing, chewing noises that made us both feel a hint of queasiness.

On looking up to the edge of the thatched roof, we saw this bejewelled Tokay gecko, famous for its derogatory sounding nocturnal calls. In fact, based on this, US soldiers used to name this the "F**k U Gecko". But we are not here to discuss this aspect of Tokay here. This specimen was feasting upon a large coconut beetle it had managed to pounce successfully on. As the beetle continue to writhe in its death throes, we were reminded of the brutal reality of nature. That behind what we see as an idyllic paradise, this struggle for survival; this violent dance of predators red in tooth and claw; this painful death of their tortured victims: this is the stark reality of evolution and the inseparable nature of life and death.

Here ends the first part of this bestiary. If readers are interested, I will proceed with writing about other such encounters in future posts. Spiny echidnas, colourful insects, majestic whale sharks and tasty crustaceans are some of the animals that await should this literary exercise continue.