May 9
Cairns
Sunny, breezy. Cloudy late.
We have returned from our Day cruise on the Great Barrier Reef on the good ship Passions of Paradise. It is actually early in the morning on the 10th, a free day in the calendar, though my colleague will host a group dinner tonight at the Cock 'n' Bull restaurant nearby.
The day cruise was a little different than the ones we have done in the past. We have always used the same outfit. Passions of Paradise (PoP) is a sailing catamaran, a vessel large enough to hold about 80 passengers. The name refers to Paradise Reef, a part of the patches for which the PoP holds exclusive visitation rights. several bits of the Reef are franchised this way, while others are off limits to any commercial or private use. The idea, of course, is to keep the reef as pristine as possible.
The Reef is being threatened by many things: rising ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching, a phenomena in which the coral expel the algae that they host, leading to the coral starvation. Agricultural runoff from the large cane fields and other farms enrich the waters around the reef, causing rises in the population of species such as the crown-of-thorns that predate upon the coral. Mangroves act as a barrier between ecosystems, and, among other things, hold such runoff in check. Thus, the removal of the mangroves to create oceanfront and increase property values also threatens the Reef. And of course, the ignorant tourist contributes as well, by touching the coral, and in some cases, walking on it.
The only thing that was different was the order of the day: we visited Michaelmas Cay first, a huge bit of patch reef with a small stage I island at the back. This island is a bird sanctuary; we are only allowed to stand on a small portion of the coral sand beach as we swim out to the snorkeling sites.
The snorkeling I did was most pleasant. I invested finally in an underwater camera with a flash, preloaded with high-speed (800 ISO) film. It's a good investment, though the prints are still developing. In the past, I was pretty uncomfortable being in the water, and I was not sure I was going to even get in, but I'm glad I did. I saw the cleaner wrasses busily at work at their cleaning stations, parrot fish crunching away at algae, all manner of damsel fish, wrasses, angel fish, and many of the others we learned about at Reef Teach. My hope is that some of the flash pictures will lose that blue-green cast.
Some of the students found a neat device for rent the day before: underwater digital cameras. One rents these before leaving on the cruise, takes all the pictures desired, and then returns the camera. The shop then transfers all the photos onto a CD, together with some of additional professional photos. A very nice idea that I will definitely think about for next year.
The weather was great in the morning. They collected us for lunch, and as we began heading toward Paradise Reef for our second snorkeling experience, it started clouding up- a bit. I stay on the boat the second time, but most of the students went in for a second visit. A few grumbled afterwards, as the sea was getting some moderate swells -- nothing dangerous, just annoying. I suspect that this is the reason that the boat visits Michaelmas Cay first; it's the one most likely to draw folks, and fewer passengers decide to snorkel at Paradise Reef, thus making their custodial role a little easier.
After returning to Cairns, my colleague and I visited the Cock 'n' Bull ourselves for dinner and to make the arrangements for tonight's group dinner. We were both tired, and so turned in pretty early. All in all, a pretty nice day for the course.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Reef Teach
May 8
Cairns
Sunny, warm
It is mid-afternoon on the 8th, and I have a little time before I start dinner for my colleague and me. It is a beautiful day here in Cairns, sunny, slightly warm and humid, but with a very stout breeze. I am sitting on the second level patio of the hotel, just watching the palms wave about.
There are so many types of palms that I think I cannot even begin to get them all straight. Of course, there are the ones that produce crops, such as date palms or coconut palms. And there are short ones, tall ones; some have a different leaf structure, like the fan palms; others are characterized by their vines, like rattan... I am sitting at this table looking at two palms. Both have fruits: one has a number of short stalks from which tiny green buds sprout and grow into a red berry; the other has a similar but thicker stalk, and the fruit appears to be a nut that turns from green to a deep red. It might be a date palm, I suppose ...
We have an evening activity, but the day was free, so I spent the morning walking along the Esplanade and taking some photos. I found a few nice blossoms, including the sensitivity plant with its light purple fuzz ball flower. I know little about it, other than that I've seen it here, but do not know if it is native or not. I also got a couple of mudskippers and a crab; I hope they turn out.
Dinner tonight is a pork and vegetable stir-fry with rice. I'll probably throw in some curry powder I bought for a little kick. It is incredibly expensive even to make a meal this simple! The meat was $14/kilo -- that's about $7 per pound. I used the smallest package I could find. Vegetable prices were outrageous, too. But, still, it's no doubt less expensive than what we'd pay to order it in a restaurant.
===
Reef Teach is a two-hour evening lecture to which we have brought our students every year we have offered the course. In years past, the lecture was run by an Irish fellow named Paddy, a marine biologist committed to protecting the Reef by educating tourists on how to best prepare for their cruise. Paddy retired and sold the business last year, so our host this time 'round was Natalie. She is not so much older than our students -- I would guess her at about 30 or so -- so the students warmed up to her very quickly.
The lecture itself was as informative as ever: we are introduced via slides and pass-around exhibits to the types of creatures we might find on the Reef: fishes, turtles, sea stars (incorrectly a.k.a. 'star fishes'), octopuses, prawns and shrimp, dolphins, dugongs, and whales. And of course, coral.
Natalie's style is very different from Paddy's. Paddy was sometimes a little over the top in his mannerisms and his sounds, and, while entertaining, these things sometimes got in the way of student learning, as though the show was the thing, not the reef. I never thought that was his intention; he was the same fellow that would be on the Passions of Paradise cruise with us the following day answering additional questions the students would have, the same man who would spend his off-days planting trees along estuaries to help stop agricultural runoff. Natalie's presentation style is more accessible to a crowd like ours, though.
The facility that Reef Teach uses is the fourth one they've occupied. For the first few years of the course, they had a store front on the ground floor of one of the streets just off the Esplanade and across from the casino, a very nice location. Then they moved to a first floor location on the same street; Paddy told me that this was due to an increase in the rent -- sounds like a similar story to what all too often happens to small businesses in America. The new owners occupied a ground-level storefront again for a short time, before moving to this second floor location a few blocks away on Lake Street. We were the first to arrive, and I was afraid that it would be only us, but the lecture room filled up pretty quickly. So, I am hopeful that this is not a business withering away; a lecture like this before we go on the cruise is an important piece of understanding the Reef.
Cairns
Sunny, warm
It is mid-afternoon on the 8th, and I have a little time before I start dinner for my colleague and me. It is a beautiful day here in Cairns, sunny, slightly warm and humid, but with a very stout breeze. I am sitting on the second level patio of the hotel, just watching the palms wave about.
There are so many types of palms that I think I cannot even begin to get them all straight. Of course, there are the ones that produce crops, such as date palms or coconut palms. And there are short ones, tall ones; some have a different leaf structure, like the fan palms; others are characterized by their vines, like rattan... I am sitting at this table looking at two palms. Both have fruits: one has a number of short stalks from which tiny green buds sprout and grow into a red berry; the other has a similar but thicker stalk, and the fruit appears to be a nut that turns from green to a deep red. It might be a date palm, I suppose ...
We have an evening activity, but the day was free, so I spent the morning walking along the Esplanade and taking some photos. I found a few nice blossoms, including the sensitivity plant with its light purple fuzz ball flower. I know little about it, other than that I've seen it here, but do not know if it is native or not. I also got a couple of mudskippers and a crab; I hope they turn out.
Dinner tonight is a pork and vegetable stir-fry with rice. I'll probably throw in some curry powder I bought for a little kick. It is incredibly expensive even to make a meal this simple! The meat was $14/kilo -- that's about $7 per pound. I used the smallest package I could find. Vegetable prices were outrageous, too. But, still, it's no doubt less expensive than what we'd pay to order it in a restaurant.
===
Reef Teach is a two-hour evening lecture to which we have brought our students every year we have offered the course. In years past, the lecture was run by an Irish fellow named Paddy, a marine biologist committed to protecting the Reef by educating tourists on how to best prepare for their cruise. Paddy retired and sold the business last year, so our host this time 'round was Natalie. She is not so much older than our students -- I would guess her at about 30 or so -- so the students warmed up to her very quickly.
The lecture itself was as informative as ever: we are introduced via slides and pass-around exhibits to the types of creatures we might find on the Reef: fishes, turtles, sea stars (incorrectly a.k.a. 'star fishes'), octopuses, prawns and shrimp, dolphins, dugongs, and whales. And of course, coral.
Natalie's style is very different from Paddy's. Paddy was sometimes a little over the top in his mannerisms and his sounds, and, while entertaining, these things sometimes got in the way of student learning, as though the show was the thing, not the reef. I never thought that was his intention; he was the same fellow that would be on the Passions of Paradise cruise with us the following day answering additional questions the students would have, the same man who would spend his off-days planting trees along estuaries to help stop agricultural runoff. Natalie's presentation style is more accessible to a crowd like ours, though.
The facility that Reef Teach uses is the fourth one they've occupied. For the first few years of the course, they had a store front on the ground floor of one of the streets just off the Esplanade and across from the casino, a very nice location. Then they moved to a first floor location on the same street; Paddy told me that this was due to an increase in the rent -- sounds like a similar story to what all too often happens to small businesses in America. The new owners occupied a ground-level storefront again for a short time, before moving to this second floor location a few blocks away on Lake Street. We were the first to arrive, and I was afraid that it would be only us, but the lecture room filled up pretty quickly. So, I am hopeful that this is not a business withering away; a lecture like this before we go on the cruise is an important piece of understanding the Reef.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Sunlander at Townsville
May 6
Sunlander Train
Sunny, pleasant
(I am actually uploading this on the 8th. So, the shot of the Townsville platform might be problematic if you are following our progress with a map, as Townsville is much farther north than the city of Rockhampton that I mention below.)
We're on the train taking us from Brisbane to Cairns, passing through the immense sugar cane fields and the eucalyptus scrubland tracts. It's about a half hour before dinner begins in the buffet car, so I thought I'd write down a few notes about the last couple of days.
I think I had mentioned that there was a cold circulating through our ranks. The first student reported getting a scratchy throat the night before we left for Fraser Island, with others -- myself included -- becoming symptomatic shortly afterwards. I am still fighting the cold, but it does not appear to be too severe in my case. One student seemed to have it pretty rough on the island, but reports feeling much better now that we're on board.
------
My colleague and I just returned from dinner in the buffet car -- which is not a dining car, as the conductor informed me via a somewhat stern lecture this morning. I guess it's not a dining car because the table service is not complete; one orders at a window, sits down, and then the food is brought to you. So, buffet, not dining. It's important to have this right, y'know. By the way, 'buffet' rhymes with 'little Miss Muffett.'
I had the steak, with mixed vegetables and roasted potatoes. Very good, and only about $15. My colleague had the fish and gave it a very good report. The train food on the Sunlander has always been quite good and reasonably priced. The dining-- buffet -- car was very crowded, as a number of our students arrived at 6 pm right along with the older crowd with us up here in the single berths.
As usual, the presence of our student group has not gone unnoticed on the train. Some of the other passengers have asked my colleague and I about the course. And the Club Car hostess just came on the PA system and announced that in honor of the special group from New York, the next movie they show will be Hairspray. I do not have the heart to tell them that the movie is set in Baltimore.
Back to the 5th of May: that was Labour Day here in Australia. I confess that I did not know that they celebrated it here. But it is a holiday that honors workers, particularly union workers. Some of the papers published articles on Monday examining Australian attitudes about the holiday. Many people do not know what the holiday represents, and treat it as another day off-- that's true of a lot of Americans, too. Some business folks want the holiday abolished, since only about 19% of the labor force here is unionized. Others want it moved to a different time of the year; since it falls so close to ANZAC Day, they claim that productivity falls during this time. I just wanted more shops to be opened.
What we would call a 'pharmacy,' Australians call a 'chemist.' There were no chemists open during the day, so I could find no cold medicines. And when one was open in the evening, I found the experience of shopping there strange; I am used to just going to the shelves and finding the product that I need, but that is not at all how it works in Australia. One must tell the chemist behind the counter the symptoms, and then he/she will recommend a medication. I felt so confused by the process that I didn't get anything.
Mostly, I just rested on Monday, like a lot of the students who have the cold. But some students went up to the Australian Zoo at Beerwah, about a hour north of Brisbane. This is the zoo of the late Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. The zoo is run by his widow, Terri, and their daughter Bindy is prominently featured these days, with her own nature show and many personal appearances. This was the second group of students to go this year; another group had gone before we left for Fraser Island. We had taken the students there in 2006, and it is a nice zoo -- I like Taronga Zoo better, but that's not meant as a knock on the Australian Zoo at all. It is a tribute to Steve Irwin that he could take his parents' small reptile park and turn it into a huge commercial success, and going beyond that to fund wildlife research and rescue efforts in many parts of the world. We might think of Steve as a bit of a nut -- many Aussies do -- but the man did truly good work, spotlighting endangered species and working with governments on the animals' behalf-- he was especially vigorous in his work with the Bengal tiger. And his zoo reflects his love of animals with many mega-habitats for creatures from all over. Both groups of students thoroughly enjoyed their visits this year.
I did get out a bit to develop some photos, walk around the Botanical Gardens, and shop a bit. I found two books for the train: War Letters of General Monash, and The Bone Man of Kokoda. General Monash was one of the first significant military leaders of the ANZACs, and was a brilliant strategist, some say the best ever. He was responsible for many ANZAC and British victories on the Western Front in WWI. I just finished his letters about the battle of Gallipoli, and hope to get through the Western Front letters this evening.
I wrote a little about the Kokoda trail last week. The 'Bone Man' is Kokichi Nishimura, a Japanese soldier and the only member of his troop to survive the battle along the trail. Determined to find the remains of his fellow soldiers, in 1979, he gave away all his assets to his wife and children, and went back to New Guinea. Not only did he work at finding his comrades, but he also began helping the impoverished Papuans. Some friends of my wife were missionaries in Papua New Guinea during this time; it's possible that they might know this fellow. But it looks like interesting reading; I hope to start it in the morning.
We have stopped at Rockhampton for about a half hour, and will depart shortly. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through this city, so we are truly entering the tropics right now. The train will cruise through the night; we will be in Townsville in the morning, and arrive in Cairns in the later afternoon, around 4:15 pm.
Sunlander Train
Sunny, pleasant
(I am actually uploading this on the 8th. So, the shot of the Townsville platform might be problematic if you are following our progress with a map, as Townsville is much farther north than the city of Rockhampton that I mention below.)
We're on the train taking us from Brisbane to Cairns, passing through the immense sugar cane fields and the eucalyptus scrubland tracts. It's about a half hour before dinner begins in the buffet car, so I thought I'd write down a few notes about the last couple of days.
I think I had mentioned that there was a cold circulating through our ranks. The first student reported getting a scratchy throat the night before we left for Fraser Island, with others -- myself included -- becoming symptomatic shortly afterwards. I am still fighting the cold, but it does not appear to be too severe in my case. One student seemed to have it pretty rough on the island, but reports feeling much better now that we're on board.
------
My colleague and I just returned from dinner in the buffet car -- which is not a dining car, as the conductor informed me via a somewhat stern lecture this morning. I guess it's not a dining car because the table service is not complete; one orders at a window, sits down, and then the food is brought to you. So, buffet, not dining. It's important to have this right, y'know. By the way, 'buffet' rhymes with 'little Miss Muffett.'
I had the steak, with mixed vegetables and roasted potatoes. Very good, and only about $15. My colleague had the fish and gave it a very good report. The train food on the Sunlander has always been quite good and reasonably priced. The dining-- buffet -- car was very crowded, as a number of our students arrived at 6 pm right along with the older crowd with us up here in the single berths.
As usual, the presence of our student group has not gone unnoticed on the train. Some of the other passengers have asked my colleague and I about the course. And the Club Car hostess just came on the PA system and announced that in honor of the special group from New York, the next movie they show will be Hairspray. I do not have the heart to tell them that the movie is set in Baltimore.
Back to the 5th of May: that was Labour Day here in Australia. I confess that I did not know that they celebrated it here. But it is a holiday that honors workers, particularly union workers. Some of the papers published articles on Monday examining Australian attitudes about the holiday. Many people do not know what the holiday represents, and treat it as another day off-- that's true of a lot of Americans, too. Some business folks want the holiday abolished, since only about 19% of the labor force here is unionized. Others want it moved to a different time of the year; since it falls so close to ANZAC Day, they claim that productivity falls during this time. I just wanted more shops to be opened.
What we would call a 'pharmacy,' Australians call a 'chemist.' There were no chemists open during the day, so I could find no cold medicines. And when one was open in the evening, I found the experience of shopping there strange; I am used to just going to the shelves and finding the product that I need, but that is not at all how it works in Australia. One must tell the chemist behind the counter the symptoms, and then he/she will recommend a medication. I felt so confused by the process that I didn't get anything.
Mostly, I just rested on Monday, like a lot of the students who have the cold. But some students went up to the Australian Zoo at Beerwah, about a hour north of Brisbane. This is the zoo of the late Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. The zoo is run by his widow, Terri, and their daughter Bindy is prominently featured these days, with her own nature show and many personal appearances. This was the second group of students to go this year; another group had gone before we left for Fraser Island. We had taken the students there in 2006, and it is a nice zoo -- I like Taronga Zoo better, but that's not meant as a knock on the Australian Zoo at all. It is a tribute to Steve Irwin that he could take his parents' small reptile park and turn it into a huge commercial success, and going beyond that to fund wildlife research and rescue efforts in many parts of the world. We might think of Steve as a bit of a nut -- many Aussies do -- but the man did truly good work, spotlighting endangered species and working with governments on the animals' behalf-- he was especially vigorous in his work with the Bengal tiger. And his zoo reflects his love of animals with many mega-habitats for creatures from all over. Both groups of students thoroughly enjoyed their visits this year.
I did get out a bit to develop some photos, walk around the Botanical Gardens, and shop a bit. I found two books for the train: War Letters of General Monash, and The Bone Man of Kokoda. General Monash was one of the first significant military leaders of the ANZACs, and was a brilliant strategist, some say the best ever. He was responsible for many ANZAC and British victories on the Western Front in WWI. I just finished his letters about the battle of Gallipoli, and hope to get through the Western Front letters this evening.
I wrote a little about the Kokoda trail last week. The 'Bone Man' is Kokichi Nishimura, a Japanese soldier and the only member of his troop to survive the battle along the trail. Determined to find the remains of his fellow soldiers, in 1979, he gave away all his assets to his wife and children, and went back to New Guinea. Not only did he work at finding his comrades, but he also began helping the impoverished Papuans. Some friends of my wife were missionaries in Papua New Guinea during this time; it's possible that they might know this fellow. But it looks like interesting reading; I hope to start it in the morning.
We have stopped at Rockhampton for about a half hour, and will depart shortly. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through this city, so we are truly entering the tropics right now. The train will cruise through the night; we will be in Townsville in the morning, and arrive in Cairns in the later afternoon, around 4:15 pm.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Fraser Island. part 3
May 4
Fraser Island
Sunny, breezy
This is the last of three blog entries about the Fraser Island camping trip. I am writing this one on the 6th, shortly before our departure on the Sunlander for Cairns. Once again, I will be out of touch for a day or so as we travel up to the tropics.
The morning started out cloudy and slightly rainy, but it never did much more than sprinkle a little. One of the students had taken his sleeping bag outside to sleep by the campfire and had to relocate under the dining area tarp.
After breakfast, we drove up the beach for our last lake visit. We met two more dingoes, one of them quite large, according to the guide. I got no photos, as I had given up the front seat to one of the students who was nursing a cold. Butt a couple of the students did, so I am hopeful that they will share some with me.
Lake Wabby is a barrage lake, created when a sand dune moves to cut off a stream. The effect is reminiscent of an oxbow lake sometimes formed when a river changes course, though the process is quite different. The lake is at the end of a 2 km walk, one kilometer of scrubland forest, the other of sand dune. It is a challenging walk, especially for an older out-of-shape guy like me -- my legs are still a little sore from it.
The students actually found the lake a little boring, and many left by an alternate path early to head back to the seashore. That's another thing we'll change about the tour next year: more time on the walks to and from Lake Wabby; less time at the lake itself.
And the walks were interesting: more cycads, including a couple with ripening seed pods -- I hung a photo of these at the Flickr site. We also started to see some of the tropical birds: cockatoos, lorikeets, and parrots. No photos yet, but I should have opportunities in Cairns.
We returned to Brisbane with only a minor incident. The van holding the other American group was pulled over for speeding. That group was a bit wild for my taste anyway.
There is a bit of a cold running through the students and faculty. I have it but am recovering. I think we all agree that the train travel today (May 6) will be exactly the rest we need after our intense camping trip at Fraser Island.
Fraser Island
Sunny, breezy
This is the last of three blog entries about the Fraser Island camping trip. I am writing this one on the 6th, shortly before our departure on the Sunlander for Cairns. Once again, I will be out of touch for a day or so as we travel up to the tropics.
The morning started out cloudy and slightly rainy, but it never did much more than sprinkle a little. One of the students had taken his sleeping bag outside to sleep by the campfire and had to relocate under the dining area tarp.
After breakfast, we drove up the beach for our last lake visit. We met two more dingoes, one of them quite large, according to the guide. I got no photos, as I had given up the front seat to one of the students who was nursing a cold. Butt a couple of the students did, so I am hopeful that they will share some with me.
Lake Wabby is a barrage lake, created when a sand dune moves to cut off a stream. The effect is reminiscent of an oxbow lake sometimes formed when a river changes course, though the process is quite different. The lake is at the end of a 2 km walk, one kilometer of scrubland forest, the other of sand dune. It is a challenging walk, especially for an older out-of-shape guy like me -- my legs are still a little sore from it.
The students actually found the lake a little boring, and many left by an alternate path early to head back to the seashore. That's another thing we'll change about the tour next year: more time on the walks to and from Lake Wabby; less time at the lake itself.
And the walks were interesting: more cycads, including a couple with ripening seed pods -- I hung a photo of these at the Flickr site. We also started to see some of the tropical birds: cockatoos, lorikeets, and parrots. No photos yet, but I should have opportunities in Cairns.
We returned to Brisbane with only a minor incident. The van holding the other American group was pulled over for speeding. That group was a bit wild for my taste anyway.
There is a bit of a cold running through the students and faculty. I have it but am recovering. I think we all agree that the train travel today (May 6) will be exactly the rest we need after our intense camping trip at Fraser Island.
Fraser Island, Part 2
May 3
Fraser Island
Sunny, breezy
This is the second of three blog entries about the Fraser Island camping trip. One more will follow. I am writing these on the 4th and 5th, after our return to Brisbane.
I get up pretty early in the morning, and even earlier while down here, since my internal clock is still a bit messed up. The campsite we use on Fraser Island has a dingo-proof fence around it -- not that the dingoes would come into a camp site populated by humans and get vicious; it's mostly to keep them out of the rubbish bins. There's a nice little path just outside the fence that's perfect for a pre-dawn stroll.
I found this wooly caterpillar chain. Eight of them marching along a sandy road, head of one direct behind the backside of another, slowly crossing the road. Nearby, several more seemed to be writhing about in a ball. When I asked Reg about these later in the day, he told me that they were poisonous to the touch.
Breakfast at the campsite was simple: cereal and toast, with coffee, tea, and juice. The toast spreads included the usual: margarine and jam, peanut butter -- and of course Vegemite. Vegemite is a 'yeast extract.' I've never been completely clear on what that means, and the rumors about the way it's made vary, with some saying it's a byproduct of beer-making and others saying grosser things about yeast 'poo.' It's a dark brown in color, and has a consistency about like peanut butter, though not as sticky. The taste is tangy and very salty. I like the stuff just fine, but in very small doses. Americans generally do not seem to like it much. I do suspect that half the reason Australians have it around is to get some amusement out of tourists trying to cope with the stuff. I will bring a jar to the course reception at the end of the trip for those brave enough to try it.
Because Fraser Island has such a high water table, many streams pop out of the sand, cutting deep sandy gorges as the fresh water finds it way to the sea. When these reach the beach, they fan out and become very shallow. The larger ones will have steep banks that the tour guides must slow down for and maneuver through, while the small ones are a quick bumpy thrill when taken at high speed. The map of these streams is ever-changing: some dry up, others change course, new ones appear.
The largest and most permanent of these is Eli Creek, about 2/3 of the way up the eastern side of the island. We spent about an hour walking through the lower part of the creek -- literally walking in the water of the creek at some points. Th water was pleasantly cool, and the plant life abundant. Some of the students saw some eels, but I only noticed some fish that may have been Moses perch.
Right after we pulled away from Eli Creek, our tour guide stopped and had us dig up pippis, small mollusks similar to clams. Once I knew what I was doing, I managed to find about a half-dozen. That evening, we cooked them and had them as an entree dish. Their taste is like a clam or mussel but a little more delicate. I've never been a fan of either, but the pippis were not too bad if you like that sort of thing. One of the tour guides encouraged our students to eat them raw, and one actually did -- I was not nearby to discourage her. (For the parents: she's fine.)
We had lunch at Indian Head near the northern tip of the island. The climb up to the lookout point was challenging, especially for those of us who were barefoot, but the view of the water below was breathtaking. Some of the students reported seeing sharks and manta rays from their vantage point. Indian Head also seemed to be a chance for some of our younger tour guides to go surfing. They seemed to be quite good; but I know little about the sport. One of them came in very quickly after seeing a shark only a few metres from him, one of the same sharks our students saw from the lookout point.
After lunch, the students had a chance to visit some nearby tidal pools. There was a barnacle-like animal lining the seaward side of the pool that would squirt water when stepped on. The pools also had some fish, small stripeys and whiting. The students had a good time splashing about.
Later in the day, we went for a subtropical rainforest walk. It was a little unfortunate that the student groups arrived at different times, as we were unable to offer them a consistent guided experience. I was able to talk to my group about the rainforest canopy, a few of the trees found in the rainforest, strangler figs, epiphytes, and cycads, but other groups were left without any such commentary. It was also late in the day, so they were all a little tired. The order of the day's activities is something that we will change next year.
The evening was pretty much devoted to card games. Some students played Uno, while another group attempted to teach me how to play Pitch. It seems to be a relative of the bridge/euchre style of games, with a complex point structure. We played a few hands and then stopped for a simple dinner of hamburgers and sausages. I was exhausted enough to turn in early and get ready for our last day on the island.
Fraser Island
Sunny, breezy
This is the second of three blog entries about the Fraser Island camping trip. One more will follow. I am writing these on the 4th and 5th, after our return to Brisbane.
I get up pretty early in the morning, and even earlier while down here, since my internal clock is still a bit messed up. The campsite we use on Fraser Island has a dingo-proof fence around it -- not that the dingoes would come into a camp site populated by humans and get vicious; it's mostly to keep them out of the rubbish bins. There's a nice little path just outside the fence that's perfect for a pre-dawn stroll.
I found this wooly caterpillar chain. Eight of them marching along a sandy road, head of one direct behind the backside of another, slowly crossing the road. Nearby, several more seemed to be writhing about in a ball. When I asked Reg about these later in the day, he told me that they were poisonous to the touch.
Breakfast at the campsite was simple: cereal and toast, with coffee, tea, and juice. The toast spreads included the usual: margarine and jam, peanut butter -- and of course Vegemite. Vegemite is a 'yeast extract.' I've never been completely clear on what that means, and the rumors about the way it's made vary, with some saying it's a byproduct of beer-making and others saying grosser things about yeast 'poo.' It's a dark brown in color, and has a consistency about like peanut butter, though not as sticky. The taste is tangy and very salty. I like the stuff just fine, but in very small doses. Americans generally do not seem to like it much. I do suspect that half the reason Australians have it around is to get some amusement out of tourists trying to cope with the stuff. I will bring a jar to the course reception at the end of the trip for those brave enough to try it.
Because Fraser Island has such a high water table, many streams pop out of the sand, cutting deep sandy gorges as the fresh water finds it way to the sea. When these reach the beach, they fan out and become very shallow. The larger ones will have steep banks that the tour guides must slow down for and maneuver through, while the small ones are a quick bumpy thrill when taken at high speed. The map of these streams is ever-changing: some dry up, others change course, new ones appear.
The largest and most permanent of these is Eli Creek, about 2/3 of the way up the eastern side of the island. We spent about an hour walking through the lower part of the creek -- literally walking in the water of the creek at some points. Th water was pleasantly cool, and the plant life abundant. Some of the students saw some eels, but I only noticed some fish that may have been Moses perch.
Right after we pulled away from Eli Creek, our tour guide stopped and had us dig up pippis, small mollusks similar to clams. Once I knew what I was doing, I managed to find about a half-dozen. That evening, we cooked them and had them as an entree dish. Their taste is like a clam or mussel but a little more delicate. I've never been a fan of either, but the pippis were not too bad if you like that sort of thing. One of the tour guides encouraged our students to eat them raw, and one actually did -- I was not nearby to discourage her. (For the parents: she's fine.)
We had lunch at Indian Head near the northern tip of the island. The climb up to the lookout point was challenging, especially for those of us who were barefoot, but the view of the water below was breathtaking. Some of the students reported seeing sharks and manta rays from their vantage point. Indian Head also seemed to be a chance for some of our younger tour guides to go surfing. They seemed to be quite good; but I know little about the sport. One of them came in very quickly after seeing a shark only a few metres from him, one of the same sharks our students saw from the lookout point.
After lunch, the students had a chance to visit some nearby tidal pools. There was a barnacle-like animal lining the seaward side of the pool that would squirt water when stepped on. The pools also had some fish, small stripeys and whiting. The students had a good time splashing about.
Later in the day, we went for a subtropical rainforest walk. It was a little unfortunate that the student groups arrived at different times, as we were unable to offer them a consistent guided experience. I was able to talk to my group about the rainforest canopy, a few of the trees found in the rainforest, strangler figs, epiphytes, and cycads, but other groups were left without any such commentary. It was also late in the day, so they were all a little tired. The order of the day's activities is something that we will change next year.
The evening was pretty much devoted to card games. Some students played Uno, while another group attempted to teach me how to play Pitch. It seems to be a relative of the bridge/euchre style of games, with a complex point structure. We played a few hands and then stopped for a simple dinner of hamburgers and sausages. I was exhausted enough to turn in early and get ready for our last day on the island.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Fraser Island, Part 1
May 2
Fraser Island
Sunny, breezy
This is the first of three blog entries about the Fraser Island camping trip. Two more will follow. I am writing these on the 4th and 5th, after our return to Brisbane.
The drive from Brisbane to Rainbow Beach is a little tedious, and one of the things I will seek to alter in the future. But there's little to be done about it; it's not likely that we'll move the island closer to the city -- and I don't think we'd want to, anyway.
But I cannot say that the scenery is bad; quite the contrary. And it is really only the second chance the students have had to see something outside the city. One of the things I think I might want to do in future offerings of the course is to decrease the big city portion and have more country experiences. But that's for another day. North of Brisbane on the way to Rainbow Beach lies a lot of pulpwood plantations that we passed through, so that's perhaps what made it a little boring.
We stopped for lunch at the seaside village of Rainbow Village, a pleasant little town just a few minutes from the barge ferry that would take us to Fraser Island. We had about an hour to wander around and eat. I ordered a hamburger made in the Aussie fashion -- and that means beets. Yes, they put a slice of beetroot on their burgers. Now I love beets, and having them on a burger is fine -- but definitely an Aussie thing.
Our tour guides are Reg, Wes, and Graham. Joining us for the first days were eight American students; they are on a weekend jaunt from some universities and are led by another guide, Matt. And Brendan, a guide I knew from years past, just showed up on the night of the 3rd with some backpackers.
Reg is the oldest of the bunch, roughly my age (early-mid 50s). He's had an interesting life in and out of the tourism industry; I think this is a semi-retirement position for him, taking jobs as he pleases. A very pleasant fellow that the students like a lot. The other guides are much younger. Wes is the driver of the LandCruiser I am riding in. He and Graham are both surfers, and in fact ran off several times looking for the perfect wave during today's stops. He's a nice man, but very young. The girls adore him. They like Graham too. He's a lot like Wes -- I think they're mates away from the job -- but sports a large set of dreadlocks, as does Brendan. Matt reminds me of the sidekick in Shaun of the Dead.
We crossed over to the Island via a small ferry barge. There were three that I saw operating, and probably were normally kept busy. Th island does seem oddly quiet -- it is, after all, a holiday weekend. Once on the island, we went driving up the beach at highway speed.
Fraser Island is a sand island, an accumulation of sand against a harder undersea mountain, taking place over eons. It is the largest such island in the world. This gives the island a very unique geography: sand dunes held in place with dense vegetation; sub-tropical rainforests inland; about 75 miles of beach on the seaward side; mangroves on the side facing the mainland.
Dingoes are the wild dogs of Australia, and Fraser Island is the last place on earth that one can find dingoes that have a purely dingo ancestry -- I am reluctant to call them 'purebred' because that implies a breeding program that does not exist. But most of the dingoes on the mainland have interbred with the European dogs brought by the settlers, so the pure dingo line no longer exists there. To keep the population on Fraser Island pristine, no one can bring a dog onto the island for any reason.
As we were driving along, we saw a woman outside a truck with a medium-sized dingo with dark honey-colored fur. It was very comfortable with her, and did not run away when we pulled up for a photo. But once several other cars pulled up for a photo, it ran off. Wes told us the woman is a researcher who is studying the dingo; apparently befriending them and gaining their trust along the way.
We also saw a sea snake as we drove along, and stopped for some pictures of it. It was a sad event, though; the snake had been washed ashore with the tide and was clearly exhausted with the struggle to regain the water. They are highly venomous and aggressive, so there was nothing we could do. The tide was coming in, but the guides figured that the snake would become a meal for a dingo or a sea eagle in awhile.
After dumping our bags at camp, Our first stop was Lake Mackenzie, a window lake. Window lakes are clear like a pane of glass, but they are so named for a different reason. Fraser Island has a fresh water table about 30 metres above sea level -- though they do mix, fresh water will tend to float on salt water. When the sand dune level on the island drops below the water table, a pool of fresh water forms, essentially a window into the water table.
The water in Lake Mackenzie is acidic, enough so that the acid combined with the fine silica sand will act as a metal polish. Tour guides often invite people to put rings or other jewelry into the lake to see the effect. The acid level keeps most fishes out; only a few turtles populate the lake. The water is one of the deepest blues one might ever see, and the sand is as white as snow and as fine as popcorn salt.
The walk-around would take too long to complete for the time we have at the lake, but I do manage to get to the second beach, effectively hidden from the first by a stand of paperbark trees. Since it is seldom used, this beach does sport some life not found on the heavily used main beach. There's a small red carnivorous plant called a sundew that secretes a sweet and sticky substance to attract ants and other small insects. Once the animal has approached, the red branches curl over it and the plant proceeds to digest it.
After the evening camp meal, my colleague gave a lecture on the Southern Sky. Because our heads are inverted in relation to yours in America, the constellations that we both can see appear upside-down to us. Leo is lying on his back, for instance. On the other hand, Orion is still in the West in the evening, and because of its proximity to the celestial equator, does not appear much different. And there are some things that we can no longer see down here: we can only see some stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, though it is almost directly overhead for you at night.
Just as pointer stars in the Big Dipper helps one locate the relatively dim North Star, anyone in the Southern Hemisphere can use the Southern Cross to find south. And because there are 'false crosses' in the sky, the Southern cross itself is located with two bright pointer stars in the constellation Centaurus. One of those, Alpha Centauri, is the closest visible star outside of our solar system.
The Southern Cross lies in the Milky Way, the edge-on view we have of our home galaxy. One can see much of the Milky Way in the Southern Sky at this time of year, and the view is spectacular. The Cross and the constellation next to it, Carinae, contain the Carina Arm of the Galaxy, the one in which our own solar system lies. The constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius contain the galactic center, an area so bright that we would cast shadows at night from it were it not for the immense dust clouds that block our view. Still, the image of the Milky Way Galaxy spread out before us like that is pretty unforgettable.
Toward the south celestial pole are many celestial sights of interest. There are two objects that look like clouds at first, until one realizes that they move with the sky and not with the wind. These are the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, small dwarf galaxies that orbit our own. The clouds themselves are visible with the naked eye, though a small pair of binoculars would reveal individual stellar structure.
After the Star lecture, we all went off to sleep, resting up for the next day's adventures. I will write about those in the next entry.
Fraser Island
Sunny, breezy
This is the first of three blog entries about the Fraser Island camping trip. Two more will follow. I am writing these on the 4th and 5th, after our return to Brisbane.
The drive from Brisbane to Rainbow Beach is a little tedious, and one of the things I will seek to alter in the future. But there's little to be done about it; it's not likely that we'll move the island closer to the city -- and I don't think we'd want to, anyway.
But I cannot say that the scenery is bad; quite the contrary. And it is really only the second chance the students have had to see something outside the city. One of the things I think I might want to do in future offerings of the course is to decrease the big city portion and have more country experiences. But that's for another day. North of Brisbane on the way to Rainbow Beach lies a lot of pulpwood plantations that we passed through, so that's perhaps what made it a little boring.
We stopped for lunch at the seaside village of Rainbow Village, a pleasant little town just a few minutes from the barge ferry that would take us to Fraser Island. We had about an hour to wander around and eat. I ordered a hamburger made in the Aussie fashion -- and that means beets. Yes, they put a slice of beetroot on their burgers. Now I love beets, and having them on a burger is fine -- but definitely an Aussie thing.
Our tour guides are Reg, Wes, and Graham. Joining us for the first days were eight American students; they are on a weekend jaunt from some universities and are led by another guide, Matt. And Brendan, a guide I knew from years past, just showed up on the night of the 3rd with some backpackers.
Reg is the oldest of the bunch, roughly my age (early-mid 50s). He's had an interesting life in and out of the tourism industry; I think this is a semi-retirement position for him, taking jobs as he pleases. A very pleasant fellow that the students like a lot. The other guides are much younger. Wes is the driver of the LandCruiser I am riding in. He and Graham are both surfers, and in fact ran off several times looking for the perfect wave during today's stops. He's a nice man, but very young. The girls adore him. They like Graham too. He's a lot like Wes -- I think they're mates away from the job -- but sports a large set of dreadlocks, as does Brendan. Matt reminds me of the sidekick in Shaun of the Dead.
We crossed over to the Island via a small ferry barge. There were three that I saw operating, and probably were normally kept busy. Th island does seem oddly quiet -- it is, after all, a holiday weekend. Once on the island, we went driving up the beach at highway speed.
Fraser Island is a sand island, an accumulation of sand against a harder undersea mountain, taking place over eons. It is the largest such island in the world. This gives the island a very unique geography: sand dunes held in place with dense vegetation; sub-tropical rainforests inland; about 75 miles of beach on the seaward side; mangroves on the side facing the mainland.
Dingoes are the wild dogs of Australia, and Fraser Island is the last place on earth that one can find dingoes that have a purely dingo ancestry -- I am reluctant to call them 'purebred' because that implies a breeding program that does not exist. But most of the dingoes on the mainland have interbred with the European dogs brought by the settlers, so the pure dingo line no longer exists there. To keep the population on Fraser Island pristine, no one can bring a dog onto the island for any reason.
As we were driving along, we saw a woman outside a truck with a medium-sized dingo with dark honey-colored fur. It was very comfortable with her, and did not run away when we pulled up for a photo. But once several other cars pulled up for a photo, it ran off. Wes told us the woman is a researcher who is studying the dingo; apparently befriending them and gaining their trust along the way.
We also saw a sea snake as we drove along, and stopped for some pictures of it. It was a sad event, though; the snake had been washed ashore with the tide and was clearly exhausted with the struggle to regain the water. They are highly venomous and aggressive, so there was nothing we could do. The tide was coming in, but the guides figured that the snake would become a meal for a dingo or a sea eagle in awhile.
After dumping our bags at camp, Our first stop was Lake Mackenzie, a window lake. Window lakes are clear like a pane of glass, but they are so named for a different reason. Fraser Island has a fresh water table about 30 metres above sea level -- though they do mix, fresh water will tend to float on salt water. When the sand dune level on the island drops below the water table, a pool of fresh water forms, essentially a window into the water table.
The water in Lake Mackenzie is acidic, enough so that the acid combined with the fine silica sand will act as a metal polish. Tour guides often invite people to put rings or other jewelry into the lake to see the effect. The acid level keeps most fishes out; only a few turtles populate the lake. The water is one of the deepest blues one might ever see, and the sand is as white as snow and as fine as popcorn salt.
The walk-around would take too long to complete for the time we have at the lake, but I do manage to get to the second beach, effectively hidden from the first by a stand of paperbark trees. Since it is seldom used, this beach does sport some life not found on the heavily used main beach. There's a small red carnivorous plant called a sundew that secretes a sweet and sticky substance to attract ants and other small insects. Once the animal has approached, the red branches curl over it and the plant proceeds to digest it.
After the evening camp meal, my colleague gave a lecture on the Southern Sky. Because our heads are inverted in relation to yours in America, the constellations that we both can see appear upside-down to us. Leo is lying on his back, for instance. On the other hand, Orion is still in the West in the evening, and because of its proximity to the celestial equator, does not appear much different. And there are some things that we can no longer see down here: we can only see some stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, though it is almost directly overhead for you at night.
Just as pointer stars in the Big Dipper helps one locate the relatively dim North Star, anyone in the Southern Hemisphere can use the Southern Cross to find south. And because there are 'false crosses' in the sky, the Southern cross itself is located with two bright pointer stars in the constellation Centaurus. One of those, Alpha Centauri, is the closest visible star outside of our solar system.
The Southern Cross lies in the Milky Way, the edge-on view we have of our home galaxy. One can see much of the Milky Way in the Southern Sky at this time of year, and the view is spectacular. The Cross and the constellation next to it, Carinae, contain the Carina Arm of the Galaxy, the one in which our own solar system lies. The constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius contain the galactic center, an area so bright that we would cast shadows at night from it were it not for the immense dust clouds that block our view. Still, the image of the Milky Way Galaxy spread out before us like that is pretty unforgettable.
Toward the south celestial pole are many celestial sights of interest. There are two objects that look like clouds at first, until one realizes that they move with the sky and not with the wind. These are the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, small dwarf galaxies that orbit our own. The clouds themselves are visible with the naked eye, though a small pair of binoculars would reveal individual stellar structure.
After the Star lecture, we all went off to sleep, resting up for the next day's adventures. I will write about those in the next entry.
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