Hook Island, Whitsundays, in January.

Our camp was very regularly patrolled by these long-legged insectivores, who rapidly became habituated to our presence. We missed them when we left.

The camp was also patrolled by this very large lizard, who would engage in hissing disputes with the birds, presumably over territory.

But the real powers were neither the mozzies, nor bird, lizards, or scary spiders in the bush toilet, but the tree ants. They were nearly everywhere. They did their best to colonise our tent and carry it away at one point. But in the end we persuaded them their own houses - which they built from leaves - had better views.