Australian-Geographic-Magazine-September-Octobe..

CONTENTS

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2014

FEATURES

BOLD, BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

Feast your eyes on entries from the Australian Geographic

ANZANG Nature Photographer of the Year competition.

WALKING THE SOUTHERN CAPE

The Tasman Coastal Trail gives walkers access to Tasmania’s

highest sea cliffs and some of its most arresting views.

COLOURING IN THE DINOSAURS

Science has painted prehistory with unexpected colour: for

the fi rst time we know the real hues of a range of dinosaurs.

UP FRONT

14 BIG PICTURE Unforgettable images

18 TOPOGRAPHICAL El Niño: from fi re to fl ood

21 NATURE In search of the giant echidna

22 SPACE Siding Spring Observatory’s half-century

24 SNAPSHOT A love affair with chandeliers

28 EVEREST An Aussie fi rst in 1984

32 ROCK ART New depictions of early European settlers

41 COMMENTARY Feathered dinosaurs Down Under?

OUT BACK

100 DESTINATIONS Remote Mongolia

108 LAT/LONG Heron Island Research Station, Queensland

119 YOUR AG Mailbag; Ask an expert; Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

129 FROM THE FIELD Behind the scenes with AG

130 REWIND Goyder's line

YOUR

SOCIETY

YOUR

Learn about new AGS

-sponsored projects,

backyard bandicoots,

avalanche relief efforts

and our upcoming Gala

Awards dinner. p

A hairy frogfish in the spotlight by ANZANG entrant

Michael Gallagher. “Frogfish are ambush predators

and often blend into their surroundings; this specimen

resembles a bright orange sponge,” says Michael,

who took this while diving in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

ON THE

COVER

6 A
 G ­€‚ƒ„

WILD CROCODILE RIVER

On a remote nature reserve at the northern tip of Australia

Steve Irwin’s memory continues to inspire conservation.

FACE TO FACE WITH HOBBIT

An AGS-sponsored project sought to reconstruct the facial

features of an ancient and mysterious people.

42

56

68

80

88

SPIDER:

Leucauge granulata

; TAKEN AT LAKE MACDONALD BOTANICAL GARDENS, QLD, ON A CANON EOS 5D MK II, 100MM MACRO, 1/320, F/13, ISO 800, HANDHELD;

FISH:

Antennarius striatus

; TAKEN ON A CANON EOS 50D, TOKINA 35MM MACRO LENS, 1/200, F/22, ISO 200, INON Z-240 STROBE, HUGYFOT HOUSING, HANDHELD.

Spider in mist. “The silver orb spider web was built just beyond the shaded

front of a shed, allowing the intense back-lighting to last for an hour,” says

Raoul Slater, photographer of this ANZANG entry. “I had time to drink a coffee

and then fi nd just the right shutter speed to capture the droplets of mist.”

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