The rugged Australian interior, a land of drought and flooding rains is the oldest, driest inhabited continent on earth. The Great Dividing Range of mountains in the east has deprived this area of moisture. Animals in this desert landscape adapt to the extreme conditions; rains are sparse and unpredictable. In the east Channel Country is crisscrossed by dry riverbeds. Here the thorny devil, desert specialist, has a water-wicking skin that gathers moisture from the air at dawn. Once covered by ancient seas, deposited iron has oxidized, giving this soil distinctive red hues. The perentie lizard, the largest monitor lizard in Australia, roams far and wide for food, aided by the scent sensors in its tongue. The venomous inland taipan snake also hunts in this region, and adapts to changes in temperature by changing the colour of its head. The eastern hooded scaly-foot, a legless lizard that looks like a snake, feeds on termites. The emu, a flightless bird, has adapted to this hot environment with feathers that reflect heat and a leg structure that conserves energy. In the Great Sandy Desert, the red kangaroo is the largest of all marsupials, and must also travel far for food, but it also has evolved energy efficient adaptations. Here lies Uluru (Ayers Rock), a massive monolith sandstone rock that has weathered away over eons. Another nearby outcropping, Kata Tjuta, was formed in a similar way from a coarser conglomerate rock. The sandstone of the MacDonnell Mountain Ranges soak up any rain that falls forming permanent springs supporting oases of life. The rare centralian tree frog thrives in the shelter of the bloodwood tree, and male emus raise their chicks. After years of drought, long awaited rains transform the landscape, and seeds that have lain dormant for years are sprouting, and the desert blooms in a matter of days. Kangaroos have developed the ability to use embryonic diopause to delay development of joeys until the environment is favourable, then a kangaroo baby boom ensues. A Spencers' burrowing frog has also been waiting under the desert sands for the rains. Mating calls sound out in the pools of rain water, and breeding quickly takes place. The nocturnal plague rats also go into a breeding frenzy, devouring huge amounts of food, but the woma python finds them using infra-red sensitive pits under its chin in the hunt. When the waters rise, underground nests are flooded, but termites nests above ground are safe. The nests are built on a north-south axis to deflect the heat of the day. Each caste of the termites has a specific job. When desert rains bring dormant plants back to life, they can also revive ancient waterways and bring to life dormant brine shrimp eggs in newly filled Lake Eyre, resurrecting an entire food chain. Somehow pelicans know there's a new food source, and they fly hundreds of kilometers to breed here. Australia's arid interior is the story of constant change.