That’s not to say they don’t exist anywhere else. Some of these animals can be found, and in fact many are found, in the similarly occurring habitat of Papua New Guinea, signifying a common association between the two areas.

Setting out through its dense foliage, we didn’t know what we would come across, but with a vast list of infrequent and amazing animals – Green-backed honeyeater, Eclectus Parrot, Spotted Cuscus, Spiny-haired Bandicoot, Green Tree Python, and 25 different species of Butterflies to name but a few – it would be marvelous no less.

We walked on amidst the foliage, being constantly bombarded with the loud shrieks of what we presumed to be parrots, until we came to the epicenter of the commotion. It was a giant fig tree, and amongst its branches, the offending birds. The large and lively birds flew throughout the trees enormous branches fifty meters above us, uttering the loudest squawks you’ve ever heard that resonated throughout the forest.

“That is one loud bird,” Glen pointed out.

“I’ll say.”

Unfortunately, their commanding height in the trees made it difficult to ascertain their exact features, so aside from casual speculation that they were the much revered Eclectus parrot, we weren't exactly sure what species they were. Later we did find out that they were. Cool.

Taking the Land Rover further through the park, we came across a path accessible by car, and decided to drive in. The path took us down a steep hill and emptied us out into a luxuriantly tropical wilderness.

“Well Dom,” Glen was saying, “I think we found the spot to go cruising for Chondropythons.”

If we had a chance anywhere, it would definitely be here. As we got out of the Land Rover to explore the area on foot, from around the bend walked two men and a woman.

“How ya goin?” Glen said.

We introduced ourselves, and proceeded into the normal round of questions one asks when encountering people in such situations.

“Have you seen any snakes?” the woman asked.

“Sure,” Glen said. “Some amethyst pythons, a carpet python, a couple of olive pythons.”

“Really!” she said, “I haven’t seen a single one.”

“We came in last night, you see. And that’s always the best way, I think, to find pythons – to drive slowly along a bush track at night – because they quite often come down to soak up the last little bit of heat off the road.”

“That’s a dangerous place,” the woman said.

“It is. That’s why you quite often see them squished. People go a little too fast.”

“That’s a shame.”