10 May
Cairns
Rainy, Windy, and Humid
(Partly sunny on the reef)
It is the morning of Mother's Day here in Australia. It's been a busy time, but I finally have a few moments to recount the last few days.
The rainy weather has been less than perfect for frolicking, but it does illustrate why we call them rain forests. As I write this, the sun is just beginning to break through the morning clouds. Perhaps the weather system is moving on.
Our travels on the 7th took us from Magnetic Island to Cairns. The region around Townsville, which includes Magnetic Island, is called the dry tropics, and the flora reflect this, favoring more the eucalypus and less the tropical. So, as we move north, we head into the wet tropics, a region more dominated with the strangler figs, tea trees, and turpentines.
The soil from Brisbane to Cairns is rich enough to support a lot of agriculture. DUring the 19th century, a lot of the rainforest wascut down and replaced with farmland and pasture for dairy cattle. as we drove along, we saw many cane fields, pineapple and banana plantations, and grazing cows.
We stopped at the Sugar Museum just south of Innisfail, for a presentation on the sugar industray and a peek at some of the tools of the trade and its history. After wool and minerals, sugar is ne of Australia's most imprtahnt eports, traded with many countries in Asia and the Pacific, as well as the USA and Canada. The curator of the museum had a surprise for us. AFter the tour, he produced a couple of cane toads to show us. They're everywhere in Queensland, so he had little trouble catching them the night before. One had exuded a bit of it's venom, and so had a bit of a dull white coating above one eye, but he handled them, not us. I do not understand why Aussies like these animals; they are ruining the ecosystem here. But clearly the curator was very fond of them.
After lunch at Innisfail, our afternoon stop was a visit to the Curtain Fig Tree, an amazing natural work-in-progress. A strangler fig has a most unusual life cycle. A bird or a bat eats the fruit of the fig and then deposits the seeds in the branches of another tree -- which need not be a fig tree. The seeds sprout and begin life as an epiphyte, a plant that uses another plant for support but not for nutrients as a parasite would. The young plant sends out vines that reach toward the forest floor, where they take root and turn hard and woody. as the plant sends more vines out, those that have taken root begin to merge into a large hollow trunk that surrounds the host tree. The fig continues to grow and envelop the host, which eventually dies as its ability to perform photosynthesis is compromised. At this point, only the fig remains, with the dead encased tree slowly decaying. This process can take hundres of years.
The Curtain Fig Tree is a stuinning example of this process. This strangler fig is encasing not one but two trees, one of which fell during a storm and is leaning against the other. Thousands of vines dangle down, others have combined into trunks. The host trees are still alive, though it's only a matter of time. Nearby trees are being affected as well, so there may well be at some point in the future where this fig takes over four or five trees and becomes some scary super-fig. Out driver estimated that this tree was 450 years old, but I suspect it's much older. Some of the strangler figs we will see in the Daintree are a few thousand years old.
We arrived in Cairns late in the day on the 7th. Since we have kitchenette units, some of the students went off to the local IGA to shop, while I led another group down the Esplanade along the mud flat. We saw a few things, but the weather was cloudy and the tide was in, so much of the interesting of the ecology was hidden.
We visited Reef Teach the evening of the next day, and went on our day cruise of the Reef the day after. I will write about those in my next entry.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Koala Sanctuary
6 May
Magnetic Island
Sunny and very warm on the 5th
Morning showers on the 6th
We woke up today to rain and cloudy skies, the first day of really poor weather in our travels thus far. The weather system that's been sitting off the coast a hundred kilometers or so appears to finally be moving inland, so there's rain all along the Queensland coast, from Brisbane to Cairns. Since the brunch the students planned is an indoor event, there should be no problems with it, but I know that a group was planning to go horseback riding on the beach this afternoon, so we'll have to see what the day brings to them. I have little planned, apart from course business and laundry.
Yesterday, we visited the Bungalow Bay Koala Sanctuary, located at the Magnetic Island YHA near Horseshoe Bay. In past years, we have often gone to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, in Brisbane, but as we did not visit Brisbane this year, we substituted Bungalow Bay instead.
I had asked our apartment managers to arrange this for us, and they seemed to agree to do so, but I had no evidence that it was happening, so I went ahead and booked it myself. It's easy enough to get there, as it's right on the bus line and we all have passes for the three days, and there's no reason for me not to do it, apart from the fact that when the lodging managers make the booking they earn a 10% commission. But when planning this course, I depend on people doing what they say they will do. So, it was a little disappointing.
But it changed nothing as far as the students were concerned. Our tour began at 10am, and lasted about two hours. Our tour guide Tony led us out to the exhibits, beginning with two small estuarine crocodiles. They were about 2 feet long, typical for three-year olds. We each had a chance to hold one of them. On the course blog (http://ecaustralia09.blogspot.com), I posted a photo of one of the students holding one; I had a chance to hold it, too. The croc skin feels smoother than one might imagine, though I suspect that the older crocs feel rougher, owing to the years taking their toll and adding scar tissue. When I held it, it closed it eyes and appeared to go to sleep.
Tony editorialized a fair amount during his talk, but he did make an interesting point about global warming. Crocs have been around for hundreds of millions of years. They have endured ice ages, periods of mass extinction, and other global calamities. Perhaps crocs have a lot less to worry about from global warming than we do.
We next went to a central patio area where there were a couple of cockatoos, a black cockatoo we were able to hold and feed, and a sulfur-crested cockatoo with a bit of an attitude. The black cockatoo would perch on a person's arm, who would then hold a sunflower seed between his/her lips. The cockatoo would then take the seed, giving the illusion of the bird and the person kissing. Several of us did this, too.
There was also a rock wallaby running around, too: an orphan rescued when its mother was killed on the road. It had no fear of people at all -- it attacked my shoes, biting at my shoelaces and the loop at the back. It was a cute little rascal.
In the next exhibit, we saw some bearded dragons, a blue-tongued lizard, and an echidna. The echidna is an unusual animal; it is a monotreme, an egg-laying mammal, like a platypus. They are an ancient mammal, with a line diverging from the rest of the mammals not long after the mammals and the reptiles split. Their bones are lighter and some skeletal features are similar to reptiles. The echidna has a long tongue used to get into termite and ant mounds for its staple diet. It's covered with extremely coarse and thick hairs that appear to be spikes; it thus has few predators. Its hind legs are oddly constructed, facing backwards. when threatened, the echidna will dig into the ground quickly, leaving only its coarse hairs above ground, so that it appears to be a small bit of scrub grass. I have long wanted to get a picture of an echidna for the course booklet, and got plenty. So, that was nice.
We next moved to the koala exhibit, where the students had the opportunity to hold it and be photographed. This experience a little from the other places that offer such an opportunity in a couple of ways: (1) we all held the same koala; and (2) it was a male koala that we held. At Lone Pine and at Rainforest Station, the koalas are rotated so as to minimize the stress the holding session puts on them. Koalas have a pretty primitive brain, their behaviors are somewhat limited, and they have a grouchy nature, so stressing them increases the chance that they might misbehave in some way and harm the holder. That it's a male koala can only compound the problem, as the males can be aggressive when provoked. In addition, the males have a scent gland on their chest used for marking trees, so holding a male might result in getting ones clothes a little smelly. Nevertheless, the students enjoyed it, and no one got hurt.
The final exhibit of the tour was the python. The one that Tony brought out was about 5 feet long, so it was pretty small. Quite playful, too, and very comfortable being handled. I think by the time it was my turn, it was a little tired, so we cut my holding it short, but it was still a fun experience. One of the things hat Tony pointed out after we had held the koala was that while the python had never bitten anyone, the koala had bitten 35 people over the last three years.
After we were done, we went our separate ways, with some students heading back to Nelly Bay for lunch, while others staying to have lunch there at the hostel. I walked over to Horseshoe Bay for a quick bite and an unsuccessful hunt for a good internet cafe. Later in the day, one of the students told me about a spot a few blocks from our apartments, so I was able to upload the previous entries and a few photos.
It's now 11:30 in the morning. We've had a very nice brunch, and several of the students have left for their adventures for the day. Though the skies look a little gloomy, we've had no rain since early this morning, so we hope that they will have a good time. I'm doing a little laundry and phoning ahead to get ready for our next destination, Cairns.
Magnetic Island
Sunny and very warm on the 5th
Morning showers on the 6th
We woke up today to rain and cloudy skies, the first day of really poor weather in our travels thus far. The weather system that's been sitting off the coast a hundred kilometers or so appears to finally be moving inland, so there's rain all along the Queensland coast, from Brisbane to Cairns. Since the brunch the students planned is an indoor event, there should be no problems with it, but I know that a group was planning to go horseback riding on the beach this afternoon, so we'll have to see what the day brings to them. I have little planned, apart from course business and laundry.
Yesterday, we visited the Bungalow Bay Koala Sanctuary, located at the Magnetic Island YHA near Horseshoe Bay. In past years, we have often gone to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, in Brisbane, but as we did not visit Brisbane this year, we substituted Bungalow Bay instead.
I had asked our apartment managers to arrange this for us, and they seemed to agree to do so, but I had no evidence that it was happening, so I went ahead and booked it myself. It's easy enough to get there, as it's right on the bus line and we all have passes for the three days, and there's no reason for me not to do it, apart from the fact that when the lodging managers make the booking they earn a 10% commission. But when planning this course, I depend on people doing what they say they will do. So, it was a little disappointing.
But it changed nothing as far as the students were concerned. Our tour began at 10am, and lasted about two hours. Our tour guide Tony led us out to the exhibits, beginning with two small estuarine crocodiles. They were about 2 feet long, typical for three-year olds. We each had a chance to hold one of them. On the course blog (http://ecaustralia09.blogspot.com), I posted a photo of one of the students holding one; I had a chance to hold it, too. The croc skin feels smoother than one might imagine, though I suspect that the older crocs feel rougher, owing to the years taking their toll and adding scar tissue. When I held it, it closed it eyes and appeared to go to sleep.
Tony editorialized a fair amount during his talk, but he did make an interesting point about global warming. Crocs have been around for hundreds of millions of years. They have endured ice ages, periods of mass extinction, and other global calamities. Perhaps crocs have a lot less to worry about from global warming than we do.
We next went to a central patio area where there were a couple of cockatoos, a black cockatoo we were able to hold and feed, and a sulfur-crested cockatoo with a bit of an attitude. The black cockatoo would perch on a person's arm, who would then hold a sunflower seed between his/her lips. The cockatoo would then take the seed, giving the illusion of the bird and the person kissing. Several of us did this, too.
There was also a rock wallaby running around, too: an orphan rescued when its mother was killed on the road. It had no fear of people at all -- it attacked my shoes, biting at my shoelaces and the loop at the back. It was a cute little rascal.
In the next exhibit, we saw some bearded dragons, a blue-tongued lizard, and an echidna. The echidna is an unusual animal; it is a monotreme, an egg-laying mammal, like a platypus. They are an ancient mammal, with a line diverging from the rest of the mammals not long after the mammals and the reptiles split. Their bones are lighter and some skeletal features are similar to reptiles. The echidna has a long tongue used to get into termite and ant mounds for its staple diet. It's covered with extremely coarse and thick hairs that appear to be spikes; it thus has few predators. Its hind legs are oddly constructed, facing backwards. when threatened, the echidna will dig into the ground quickly, leaving only its coarse hairs above ground, so that it appears to be a small bit of scrub grass. I have long wanted to get a picture of an echidna for the course booklet, and got plenty. So, that was nice.
We next moved to the koala exhibit, where the students had the opportunity to hold it and be photographed. This experience a little from the other places that offer such an opportunity in a couple of ways: (1) we all held the same koala; and (2) it was a male koala that we held. At Lone Pine and at Rainforest Station, the koalas are rotated so as to minimize the stress the holding session puts on them. Koalas have a pretty primitive brain, their behaviors are somewhat limited, and they have a grouchy nature, so stressing them increases the chance that they might misbehave in some way and harm the holder. That it's a male koala can only compound the problem, as the males can be aggressive when provoked. In addition, the males have a scent gland on their chest used for marking trees, so holding a male might result in getting ones clothes a little smelly. Nevertheless, the students enjoyed it, and no one got hurt.
The final exhibit of the tour was the python. The one that Tony brought out was about 5 feet long, so it was pretty small. Quite playful, too, and very comfortable being handled. I think by the time it was my turn, it was a little tired, so we cut my holding it short, but it was still a fun experience. One of the things hat Tony pointed out after we had held the koala was that while the python had never bitten anyone, the koala had bitten 35 people over the last three years.
After we were done, we went our separate ways, with some students heading back to Nelly Bay for lunch, while others staying to have lunch there at the hostel. I walked over to Horseshoe Bay for a quick bite and an unsuccessful hunt for a good internet cafe. Later in the day, one of the students told me about a spot a few blocks from our apartments, so I was able to upload the previous entries and a few photos.
It's now 11:30 in the morning. We've had a very nice brunch, and several of the students have left for their adventures for the day. Though the skies look a little gloomy, we've had no rain since early this morning, so we hope that they will have a good time. I'm doing a little laundry and phoning ahead to get ready for our next destination, Cairns.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Magnetic Island Tour
(This is the last of four posts that I have accumulated over the last few days when we could not upload.)
4 May
Magnetic Island
Sunny and very warm
It is now the first evening of our stay on Magnetic Island. After an uneventful transfer from the mainland to the island, we got a bus transfer to our apartments, found some lunch nearby, took an afternoon tour of the island, and bought cooking provisions.
Our ferry ride across the channel had a few fun moments. Though it's a large ferry, we hit some waves that were big enough to send some water splashing over the front and sides and soaking those passengers who were exposed, including a few of the students. But no one was hurt, and everyone was in good spirits when we arrived.
I was a little annoyed about the coach for our transfer to the apartments. I did tell them ahead of time that we are arriving with a month's worth of luggage in the hope that they might provide a coach with luggage bays, but to no avail. We had to put our luggage on board with us. What a pain! Well, if it's the worst thing that happens, then we've done alright. The apartment manager met us and distributed keys, and as we had about a hour before our tour of the island, we went to a nearby bistro for lunch. I had a Thai beef wrap that was only okay, though the students seemed to enjoy their meals.
We spent the afternoon touring the island by coach. Our driver Harold kept up a commentary on the history of the island, its flora and fauna, and some of the current events. Magnetic Island is poised to undergo some extensive development, and it seems that there are mixed feelings about this among the locals. I know that should the island become too commercialized, it would be a reason for us to skip it -- apart from the Forts, there's little here that we could not do elsewhere.
Having said that, there were many unique moments on the tour. Our students got to feed rock wallabies, timid creatures that live in the tumble-down rocks off Alma Bay. We also saw a wild koala resting in a tree, as well as many kangaroos that have been released onto the island. Evidently, they've become a problem, as they are not native, but their population is expanding.
We concluded the day with a shopping visit to the island's IGA. Since we have kitchen units, it made sense to buy provisions for meals for the next few days. The students also want to do a brunch on Wednesday -- I am to bring the coffee, tea, and juices.
Tomorrow, we go to the koala sanctuary.
4 May
Magnetic Island
Sunny and very warm
It is now the first evening of our stay on Magnetic Island. After an uneventful transfer from the mainland to the island, we got a bus transfer to our apartments, found some lunch nearby, took an afternoon tour of the island, and bought cooking provisions.
Our ferry ride across the channel had a few fun moments. Though it's a large ferry, we hit some waves that were big enough to send some water splashing over the front and sides and soaking those passengers who were exposed, including a few of the students. But no one was hurt, and everyone was in good spirits when we arrived.
I was a little annoyed about the coach for our transfer to the apartments. I did tell them ahead of time that we are arriving with a month's worth of luggage in the hope that they might provide a coach with luggage bays, but to no avail. We had to put our luggage on board with us. What a pain! Well, if it's the worst thing that happens, then we've done alright. The apartment manager met us and distributed keys, and as we had about a hour before our tour of the island, we went to a nearby bistro for lunch. I had a Thai beef wrap that was only okay, though the students seemed to enjoy their meals.
We spent the afternoon touring the island by coach. Our driver Harold kept up a commentary on the history of the island, its flora and fauna, and some of the current events. Magnetic Island is poised to undergo some extensive development, and it seems that there are mixed feelings about this among the locals. I know that should the island become too commercialized, it would be a reason for us to skip it -- apart from the Forts, there's little here that we could not do elsewhere.
Having said that, there were many unique moments on the tour. Our students got to feed rock wallabies, timid creatures that live in the tumble-down rocks off Alma Bay. We also saw a wild koala resting in a tree, as well as many kangaroos that have been released onto the island. Evidently, they've become a problem, as they are not native, but their population is expanding.
We concluded the day with a shopping visit to the island's IGA. Since we have kitchen units, it made sense to buy provisions for meals for the next few days. The students also want to do a brunch on Wednesday -- I am to bring the coffee, tea, and juices.
Tomorrow, we go to the koala sanctuary.
On the Sunlander Train
(This is the third of four posts that I have accumulated over the last few days.)
4 May
Sunlander Train
Sunny and warm
At the moment, we are pulling into Ayr, a small stop a couple hours south of Townsville. It's about 7:30, so the train is on schedule for the most part -- it may be a little bit behind. But the train ride has been most comfortable, long enough to get us well into the tropics, short enough so that we'll have most of the day before us when we arrive on Magnetic Island.
The Sunlander runs service from Brisbane to Cairns twice a week, on Sundays and Tuesdays. It offers dining services, a club car, and seating cars in addition to the sleepers we use. The sleepers that the students are in are triple berths with a long sofa that folds into two beds; the third one folds down from the top. They are a little narrow, but quite comfortable. My room is a single in the next car. It's smaller than theirs, of course, but still quite nice.
We boarded the train yesterday at Maryborough West. Maryborough is a large city a little ways inland from Hervey Bay, so my assumption was that the station was on the west side of the city, and that we would have some time to visit some surrounding shops and perhaps pick up a meal. But Maryborough West is far west of the city, essentially in the countryside. So, no lunch until we were on board.
The students took their second quiz and turned in their course journals. They are doing quite well. I designed the quizzes to test whether they are paying attention to the tour guides and travel experiences, so I'm pretty confident that they are taking from the course what I hoped they would. We still have a ways to go, of course.
As we ride along, we pass field after field of sugar cane, a major crop of Queensland. The fields are a few weeks away from being harvested; I doubt that the course timing will ever permit us to witness that. Of course, these days they do not burn the fields as they did in the past, but rather use the leaves and other trash generated by the harvesting to help fuel the refineries. This results in a lot less pollution -- and a lower chance of bush fires.
There's a lot of wildlife to see out the windows. I've seen some kangaroos, and a lot of birds: cattle egrets, bustards, birds of prey, lorikeets. One of the students saw a wombat waddling by a roadside during a slow spot. I have not talked to everyone yet, so I'll be interested to hear what else they noticed.
We should be arriving in Townsville shortly, and the it's on to Magnetic Island.
4 May
Sunlander Train
Sunny and warm
At the moment, we are pulling into Ayr, a small stop a couple hours south of Townsville. It's about 7:30, so the train is on schedule for the most part -- it may be a little bit behind. But the train ride has been most comfortable, long enough to get us well into the tropics, short enough so that we'll have most of the day before us when we arrive on Magnetic Island.
The Sunlander runs service from Brisbane to Cairns twice a week, on Sundays and Tuesdays. It offers dining services, a club car, and seating cars in addition to the sleepers we use. The sleepers that the students are in are triple berths with a long sofa that folds into two beds; the third one folds down from the top. They are a little narrow, but quite comfortable. My room is a single in the next car. It's smaller than theirs, of course, but still quite nice.
We boarded the train yesterday at Maryborough West. Maryborough is a large city a little ways inland from Hervey Bay, so my assumption was that the station was on the west side of the city, and that we would have some time to visit some surrounding shops and perhaps pick up a meal. But Maryborough West is far west of the city, essentially in the countryside. So, no lunch until we were on board.
The students took their second quiz and turned in their course journals. They are doing quite well. I designed the quizzes to test whether they are paying attention to the tour guides and travel experiences, so I'm pretty confident that they are taking from the course what I hoped they would. We still have a ways to go, of course.
As we ride along, we pass field after field of sugar cane, a major crop of Queensland. The fields are a few weeks away from being harvested; I doubt that the course timing will ever permit us to witness that. Of course, these days they do not burn the fields as they did in the past, but rather use the leaves and other trash generated by the harvesting to help fuel the refineries. This results in a lot less pollution -- and a lower chance of bush fires.
There's a lot of wildlife to see out the windows. I've seen some kangaroos, and a lot of birds: cattle egrets, bustards, birds of prey, lorikeets. One of the students saw a wombat waddling by a roadside during a slow spot. I have not talked to everyone yet, so I'll be interested to hear what else they noticed.
We should be arriving in Townsville shortly, and the it's on to Magnetic Island.
Hervey Bay and Fraser Island
(This is the second of several entries I have accumulated over the last few days.)
30 April - 2 May
Hervey Bay
Partly sunny and warm
The 30th was devoted to travel, as we combined a 90-minute flight from Canberra to Brisbane with a 4-hour coach ride from Brisbane to Hervey Bay. Going from Canberra in the southeast to the Brisbane area is always a bit of an adjustment for the students, who have decided at this point in the course that Australia is pretty much cold and autumnal. Landing in the warm subtropics is yet another reminder that we are not in New York State anymore.
The drive up from Brisbane was pretty uneventful. We did stop for lunch at a roadhouse that I recognized. A roadhouse is a combination of a truck stop and a camp ground; one finds these all along the coastal highways. The one we stopped at was a Matilda's, a popular franchise. The reason I recognized this one was because of the picnic area populated by several water birds. There were about two dozen white ibises, many swamp hens, and a species of duck that I did not recognize. The food was okay, though a little greasy.
We also encountered some roadworks outside of Hervey Bay that delayed us for awhile. Still, we arrived at the YHA here before 4pm. The Colonial Inn YHA is on the eastern end of Hervey Bay, in the area called Urangan. Though it's a few blocks to the beaches, marinas, and shops, it is a little secluded, perfect for the students. Inexpensive meals are served nightly; there are a variety of evening activities; the place is beautiful and clean. My senior colleague and I were here many years ago, and it is pretty much as I recall it from then. Instead of cabins, most of the students are in small twin rooms -- the male students did get a cabin, and got scolded a bit from the women for it, all in good fun.
The manager is an American from New Jersey who is desperately trying to get her work visa extended. The world economy being what it is, She's having a hard time of it, as the trend in Australia at the moment is to hire an Australian when possible. It's easy to feel sympathy for her, but it's also easy to see the government's point of view, too. I just hope happier days lie ahead for everyone.
After a good night's rest, we set off early on a tour of Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. We first crossed the channel between the mainland and the island around sunrise. No matter where you are in latitude, being on the water around sunrise is always a little chilly! There was a mist hanging over the island, and we did get sprinkled upon a bit when we arrived. Our tour guide met us at the boat, and led us on a short nature walk before getting on board our massive 4-wheel drive bus to begin our tour.
Fraser Island is a huge mound of sand that has accumulated due to ocean currents over eons on Australia's east coast at its easternmost point. As it piled up and the ocean levels change, the sand began to acquire organic material, and soon various types of forest developed on the island: eucalyptus and banksia in some parts, subtropical with satinays and turpentines in others. Many portions of the island have moving dunes called sand blows. Little vegetation grows on these dunes as they roll on in slow-motion collisions with forests and streams.
Our morning walk took us through Rainbow Gorge, a system of sand blows cut by a stream. One of the dunes had swallowed a stand of woods long ago. The dune is shifting and uncovering the wood again, revealing a ghost forest reminiscent of those on the shores of Lake Superior. One particular steep dune offered a challenge that many of the students could not resist; there will certainly be several uploads of photos of footprints up the dune and students at the top.
After a very nice buffet lunch served at one of the resorts on the eastern side, we drove inland again to Central Station, so named as it was a central point for the logging trolleys that were on the island long ago. Many of the woodlands of the island were cut down for timber, leaving a changed forest that will take hundreds of years to heal. But the section we walked through, happily, was untouched, and so we were able to see kauri pines, tea trees, turpentines, as well as king ferns, cycads, and many epiphytes like staghorn and elkhorn ferns. The other effect at Fraser Island due to so much sand is the presence of water. The sand of Fraser Island acts like a huge sponge, soaking up all rainfall, creating a huge reservoir resting above the salt water below. The water slowly leeches out of the sand, forming many freshwater streams flowing into the ocean, as well as several lakes. Some lakes result from the sand level going below the water table; these lakes are window lakes, as they are a window into the waiter system. In cases where the sand has combined with other material to create anon-porous layer, the water is trapped and the lake is a perched lake -- somewhat like a bird bath, A third type of lake is a barrage lake, resulting from a sand dune trapping a bend in a stream, producing a boomerang shaped lake.
The chemistry of perched lakes is interesting, and varies from one to the next. Some perched lakes are filled with tannins and other chemicals from decaying organic material, while others appear pristine owing to higher acidity. Our final visit of the day was to Lake Mackenzie, a perched lake surrounded by the whitest sand I've ever seen. We had about an hour there, so the students had some time to splash about in the refreshing waters, while I walked about to photograph some of the plant life.
I am sorry to report that I saw no dingoes this time while on the island. Because of a recent cyclone, there was enough beach erosion to expose some areas of coffee rocks, sand that has been compressed and mixed with organic material to form a harder material. Not quite sandstone, but on its way. The coffee rocks are treacherous to navigate, and people have died when they've attempted. So, the driver would not take us up the long stretches of beach where dingoes sometimes come out for an afternoon romp. We also could not see the wreck of the Maheno, a rusting hull of a ship from the WWII era, nor could we wade in Eli Creek, a cute freshwater stream that goes back several hundred meters into the dunes. A bit disappointing, but....
As we boarded our ferry back to the mainland, it began to sprinkle a bit, but at the same time, the Sun dipped below the clouds in the west, giving us one of the loveliest rainbows. It appeared to begin right at the jetty from which we departed, and persisted form quite some time. So, though we missed some nice things about the island, we still saw some pretty special things.
May 2nd was a free day. For me, it was mostly running errands, doing some things to get ready for the train trip on the 3rd, and of course doing laundry. Some of the students had a picnic, some went bike riding the length of the esplanade at Hervey Bay, and a few went kayaking in the bay. I think they'd like to stay here, but we do need to move on. Next, it's the train to Townsville and the ferries to Magnetic Island.
Canberra
(This is the first of several entries that I have been accumulating. )
29 April
Canberra
Sunny and pleasantly cool
Our trip to Canberra culminates with a day tour that includes visits to the Australian Parliament House, the U.S. Embassy, and the ANZAC War Memorial and Museum.
Our tour guide for Parliament House was Irina, who sounded as though she hailed originally from Russia. She spoke about the design of the embassy and its architecture, and the government and how it works.
The building is striking n its appearance. It is dominated by a four-posted tower that swoops up to hold an enormous flagpole, visible from almost anywhere in Canberra. Most of the building itself is below ground, with grassy parkland and walkways above, a reminder that the government is there to support the people. Inside, there is a great hall in the middle with a huge tapestry depicting a eucalyptus forest. Though this is the site for state dinners and national events, the hall is available for private functions; Irina tells us the rent is pretty steep, but that it has hosted both weddings and birthday parties.
Australia's government is a mixture of the British and American models. Their seat of government lies in the House of Representatives, much like the House of Commons. The majority coalition elects a Prime Minister, who is the head of the government. In this way, it is much like Britain, with executive duties and legislative duties mixed within the same branch. But they have a Senate much like ours. And like our Congress, both houses must pass a bill, so there is a check to the government's power.
After we left Parliament House, we drove over to the U.S. Embassy, where we met with several staff members from the various sections. The Embassy was constructed during WWII, a signal to the Australians that we were going to take our relationship with them seriously -- more about that when I write about the Museum in a moment. It was built in the Colonial Williamsburg style, setting a trend that other embassies in Canberra follow. This makes a drive in the Embassy section very entertaining, as one can see many different architectural styles reflecting the cultures of the countries.
Listening to Foreign Service personnel discuss their careers is always interesting. They rotate in their assignments every 3 years, so that they do not get too attached to one country and forget that they represent the USA. SO, they travel a lot. One of the staff members was an accountant who had been posted in at least eight different countries, including Kenya, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Jamaica. Needless to say, the job does involve some danger. One of them recounted a story of being evacuated from Khinshasha during the revolution in the Congo.
After our visit to the Embassy, we had lunch, followed by a walk down one side of the ANZAC Parade, a boulevard lined with memorials to various wars and various branches of the service. There is one that is particularly striking to me. It is a memorial to the Turkish soldiers against which the Australians fought at the WWI battle of Gallipoli. This would be like the USA building a memorial to the Viet Cong on the National Mall! I do not think I would be ready to do such a thing. It shows just how big the Australian heart can be.
Canberra is laid out to keep a clear line of sight between Parliament House and the ANZAC War Memorial. The reason is simple; those in government need to keep it in mind that their decisions can cost Australian lives. After they vote to put troops in harm's nway, the lawmakers traditionally will stand atop Parliament and face the Memorial, knowing that they have just voted to, among other things, add names to the walls there. It's a way of making sure that when Australia puts troops on the line, the cause is worth it.
This year was a little different, in that I did the Checkpoints tour for the students, as there were no docents available to do it. It is of course better if an Australian does the introduction to the Museum, but I guess I did alright. I showed them the memorial itself and explained a bit of its meaning, the battle diagrams of Gallipoli, the dioramas of the European battles of WWI, the displays on the forging of the alliance between Australia and the USA in WWII, and the big submarine and airplane displays in the rear of the building. After that, they were left to explore on their own. So, I did alright, but I think that next year, we'll get a tour guide if at all possible.
Well, we came to Australia to enjoy warm weather, and it's about time we got some. Tomorrow, we head up the coast to subtropical Hervey Bay.
29 April
Canberra
Sunny and pleasantly cool
Our trip to Canberra culminates with a day tour that includes visits to the Australian Parliament House, the U.S. Embassy, and the ANZAC War Memorial and Museum.
Our tour guide for Parliament House was Irina, who sounded as though she hailed originally from Russia. She spoke about the design of the embassy and its architecture, and the government and how it works.
The building is striking n its appearance. It is dominated by a four-posted tower that swoops up to hold an enormous flagpole, visible from almost anywhere in Canberra. Most of the building itself is below ground, with grassy parkland and walkways above, a reminder that the government is there to support the people. Inside, there is a great hall in the middle with a huge tapestry depicting a eucalyptus forest. Though this is the site for state dinners and national events, the hall is available for private functions; Irina tells us the rent is pretty steep, but that it has hosted both weddings and birthday parties.
Australia's government is a mixture of the British and American models. Their seat of government lies in the House of Representatives, much like the House of Commons. The majority coalition elects a Prime Minister, who is the head of the government. In this way, it is much like Britain, with executive duties and legislative duties mixed within the same branch. But they have a Senate much like ours. And like our Congress, both houses must pass a bill, so there is a check to the government's power.
After we left Parliament House, we drove over to the U.S. Embassy, where we met with several staff members from the various sections. The Embassy was constructed during WWII, a signal to the Australians that we were going to take our relationship with them seriously -- more about that when I write about the Museum in a moment. It was built in the Colonial Williamsburg style, setting a trend that other embassies in Canberra follow. This makes a drive in the Embassy section very entertaining, as one can see many different architectural styles reflecting the cultures of the countries.
Listening to Foreign Service personnel discuss their careers is always interesting. They rotate in their assignments every 3 years, so that they do not get too attached to one country and forget that they represent the USA. SO, they travel a lot. One of the staff members was an accountant who had been posted in at least eight different countries, including Kenya, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Jamaica. Needless to say, the job does involve some danger. One of them recounted a story of being evacuated from Khinshasha during the revolution in the Congo.
After our visit to the Embassy, we had lunch, followed by a walk down one side of the ANZAC Parade, a boulevard lined with memorials to various wars and various branches of the service. There is one that is particularly striking to me. It is a memorial to the Turkish soldiers against which the Australians fought at the WWI battle of Gallipoli. This would be like the USA building a memorial to the Viet Cong on the National Mall! I do not think I would be ready to do such a thing. It shows just how big the Australian heart can be.
Canberra is laid out to keep a clear line of sight between Parliament House and the ANZAC War Memorial. The reason is simple; those in government need to keep it in mind that their decisions can cost Australian lives. After they vote to put troops in harm's nway, the lawmakers traditionally will stand atop Parliament and face the Memorial, knowing that they have just voted to, among other things, add names to the walls there. It's a way of making sure that when Australia puts troops on the line, the cause is worth it.
This year was a little different, in that I did the Checkpoints tour for the students, as there were no docents available to do it. It is of course better if an Australian does the introduction to the Museum, but I guess I did alright. I showed them the memorial itself and explained a bit of its meaning, the battle diagrams of Gallipoli, the dioramas of the European battles of WWI, the displays on the forging of the alliance between Australia and the USA in WWII, and the big submarine and airplane displays in the rear of the building. After that, they were left to explore on their own. So, I did alright, but I think that next year, we'll get a tour guide if at all possible.
Well, we came to Australia to enjoy warm weather, and it's about time we got some. Tomorrow, we head up the coast to subtropical Hervey Bay.
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