“STAY very still – their vision is based on movement”.

This beautiful crested gecko was just one of the natural wonders that visitors got up close and personal with at Rose Hill’s Nature Day on Saturday.

The Zoo Bus pulled up at Rivermead Nature Park for the free event alongside bug-hunting games and cooking on a fire.

Rafael Santos, eight, said: “It was cool to have a gecko on my head as I have never done that before, but it felt very ticklish.”

The crested gecko, or eyelash gecko, is native to New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1994.

Adults can reach up to 4.5 inches in length and live up to 20 years.

Among the other creepy and crawly residents on board the Zoo Bus are tree frogs, a bearded dragon lizard, tarantulas and a two-metre-long boa constrictor.

The bus, which tours the UK, is driven by TV presenter Mike Leahy. He spent £8,000 adapting the bus, which he bought on eBay.