Only a 15 minute drive from Coffs Harbour lies a luscious rain forest full of strangler figs and cat birds. The Bruxner Park Flora Reserve is home to a spectacular and tranquil section of almost untouched tropical rain forest. This was one of the places I had to visit which I was going up the coast. There are a few bushwalks and 4WD tracks, but the most obvious start when venturing into the reserve is to check out Sealy Lookout which has a forest sky pier, overlooking the bush, the entire of Coffs Harbour and right out to the sea.

After witnessing the rain forest from a birds view, it makes it evening more enticing to go frolicking in the forest. The tracks through the rain forest are quite short (only a few km long) and have good accessibility. The first feature of the walks you are bound to notice is the huge canopy, being made up of towering Flooded Gums (Eucalyptus grandis), some with a Strangler Fig (Ficus watkinsiana) taking hold. Where ever you look there are epiphytes and ferns, mixed with the calls of rain forest frugivorious birds. There are also pebble creeks and leaf litter filled tributaries running intermittently throughout the park. These spots piqued my curiosity for the potential frogs found here which meant I just had to come back at night!

My curiosity about the potential amphibian fauna was piqued even more so after finding small tadpoles in a ditch made my a 4WD… Can anyone have a guess who these tadpoles might belong to? I will reveal the proud parent of them towards the end of this article.

All I needed in hopes for plenty of frogs to be out was some rain. A tropical storm could be heard brewing in the distance, and as if the clouds heard my wish, Bruxner Park was drenched in torrential rain for a good hour.

Starting near the creeks at one of the bush tracks, I set out just at sun set to explore the humid and wet forest. The first encounters of the night were the frogs calling from the stream. There were numerous Mountain Stream Frogs (Litoria phyllochroa) and also the Tusked Frog (Adelotus brevis), which is a strange amphibian, coming from one of the most ancient lineages of frogs found today. I also found a tiny metamorph of a tree frog, with no idea what species it could be.

After exploring the creek, the bush tracks were my next area to explore. With plenty of attention being showed to the ground, I saw amazing amounts and diversity of invertebrates running around. Its no wonder that there is an abundance of animals within this reserve, as the higher trophic level organisms have a huge range of food to choose from. I photographed some of the interesting invertebrates I cam across.

After a short while searching, I found a dried up tributary with a sizable chorus of Red-Backed Toadlets (Pseudophryne coriacea). These small frogs lay terrestrial nests and wait for there eggs to be washed into a near by pool of water for the tadpoles to emerge. They are an interesting and variable frog species and the taxonomy hints that they may comprise multiple species. The underside of these frogs is brightly marbled and may be used as a flash colouration to deter predators from eating it. Each frog has its own unique belly patterns.

While walking back to the car, I found a relaxed Eastern Stony-Creek Frog (Litoria wilcoxii) which is quite a common frog which are particularly nomadic, and seem to enjoy travelling. You can sometimes find them well away from any water body!

On the way back I heard a stuttering noise. Lo and behold, I found what frog species was breeding in a road ditch…

It made perfect sense to me that a Sandpaper Frog was responsible for these tadpoles. After all they much prefer breeding in highly ephemeral waters.

After the excitement of finding the mystery frog I sat back to watch the lighting storm which had made its way just past Coffs Harbour, onto the sea. That’s when I noticed that Sealy Point Lookout had not been closed yet…

I Instantly took the opportunity to check out the storm from this vantage point (and my presence ruined a couples romantic moment). I say it was worth it since I managed to get some photos of the storm above Coffs Harbour from the lookout. Even if I didn’t have a tripod.

The storm concluded my adventure in Bruxner Park Flora Reserve. This place is a must see for nature enthusiasts which are visiting Coffs Harbour. Next time you are up in the coast of northern NSW, it’s well worth a check out!

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