“If I was a coral, I’d be bleaching by now!”

Greetings all! We are literally fresh off the plane coming back from Lizard Island, (see pics below) located right on the Great Barrier Reef, where we have spent the last 10 days of the program. 

Location of Lizard Island in proximity to the mainland

I am tired, a bit stressed (read below about this week’s “to-do” list, I’ve swallowed enough sea water to comprise a small ocean, but happier than ever. What an awesome 10 days it’s been! The island is a true tropical paradise complete with white sands and turquoise waters. We lived at the Lizard Island Research Center which is the equivalent to the Woods Hole of Australia, and thousands of researchers and scientists from around the world come there every year to do work. The center has a state of the art marine laboratory, complete with aquarium tanks, water systems and special tanks for scientists to conduct experiments. In order to get to the island we had to take several of the smallest planes in the world, only about 4-5 people per plane! The noise was deafening, since the motor was located just behind the back seats. (Mom and Dad – it reminded me a lot of our trip to Osa in Costa Rica. Luckily this time we were able to land on the first try and did not have to turn around.)

Our teeny-tiny plane

Buckle up! 

First glimpse of the island

Turquoise waters

Tropical paradise!

While we were on the island we also got to conduct our own surveys, counting fish abundances and monitoring behavior. This meant that we got to go snorkeling every morning (our schedule was literally: wake up at 6:45, Breakfast at 7:00, brief class period to check in about where we were in the research process, then hit the boats by 8:00 and be at the reef by 8:30-9:00) and then again in the afternoon. The morning snorkel was always at the same location, Watson’s Bay, where we would conduct our observations, but then in the afternoon we would go to a new reef and get to explore and snorkel for fun. For the project, my partner Chelsea, and I had to pick two species of the same family (we picked Trigger fish. See the pics below), so we spent the mornings watching them and counting how many were. I have learned that this is not as easy as it seems: fish do not like you to follow them and watch their behavior and if you do they will often run away and hide under rocks. It is also sometimes very hard to spot a single individual among a swarm of other fish species, and all of this while trying to fight the current and wind that is buffeting you around. :P

Fun in the sun! 

Chelsea and Jillian

But nonetheless it was a complete blast! Getting to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef every day for more than a week is not something that many people can claim to have done. We saw an enormous variety of fish and marine life, including: parrotfish, coral trout, damselfish, anemone fish (like nemos), surgeon fish, pufferfish, several stingrays, and even a few sharks! Surprisingly these are not as scary to swim with as you might think since they mostly just want to get away from you as fast as they can. The two species we saw the most were the Black-Tip and the White-Tip reef sharks. I actually got to pull on a shark’s tail! (ha ha but no worries, it was a special type of shark that has no teeth. Chelsea and I found one that was tucked into a hole and all that was sticking out was the end of his tail.) But that’s not something that gets to happen every day! For me the scariest thing to see was the giant eel that Chelsea spotted. It came out of the rocks completely several times, giving us a chance to see its full size. (it was very large). We also got to see a beautiful Eagle Ray, which actually jumped out of the water once, right in front of us! (it managed to get at least 3 feet in the air!) that might have been the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! 

I also got to celebrate my 21^st birthday while on Lizard Island (yay! I’m officially of legal drinking age in the US!) It was actually pretty uneventful. My birthday coincided with the weekly barbeque that happens on the island once a week so everyone on the island was gathered together anyways, and it gave us a chance to meet some of the other researchers on the island. We played a big, group game of volleyball and had some delicious burgers and veggie burgers. (fun fact: the brand of veggie burger they serve here is called, “Bubble and Squeak.” How adorable, right? They’re also the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had – I can eat them totally plain, without any sauces, and people who have eaten veggie burgers before can attest to this phenomenon.) My friends surprised me with a brownie cake, which finished the night perfectly. I definitely do not feel old at all and definitely not 21 :P

            On the second to last day of the trip, a group of kids had the idea to try and see the sunrise from the local mountain, Cook’s Look. (Named after Captain James Cook who discovered the island in 1770 and gave it the name due to all the lizards (Goannas) he found there.) The whole group was going to hike the mountain later that day anyways, but we wanted to see the sun come up. Unfortunately we missed the sunrise since we got lost a few times (to be fair, we had to get up at 4:00 AM so it was absolutely pitch black, and we were trying to rush in time to see the sunrise, we had gotten bad directions from Tony, and we were trying to run in sand. We still got to see the sunrise anyways, and in the end it was lucky that we didn’t attempt to climb the mountain in the dark since it was extremely steep at the beginning and one of us was bound to have sprained an ankle if we had tried. Once we got over the initial part, the rest of the climb was fairly manageable and we were able to make the complete hike in a little under an hour. The view from the top was absolutely incredible and definitely worth the hike.

VIew from the top of Cook's Look! 

The next day we were leaving Lizard island and since I had missed the sunrise the day before I decided to get up with several others to witness the sun come up from the beach. Even though I’ve seen the sun come up a hundred times, there is always something special about watching it and reminding yourself about how incredible the whole planetary and solar system is. (as my friend molly put it as we were watching the sun, “The sun is not rising, we’re just tilting towards it.”) Plus the beauty of a sunrise is unparalleled.

            So now we are back in Cairns, back at our old home the Northern Greenhouse. This week is going to be a tough one work wise and the stress is mounting. (part of the reason why I’m stressing is that I can’t motivate myself to alleviate my stress and actually start working :P) I also can’t believe that the program is basically 2/3 over – this Saturday I’m flying to Sydney to go work with my advisor, Sandra Vogel, and help her conduct population surveys of the penguin colonies of New South Wales (NSW). I’m so excited that the dream I had for my ISP is actually becoming a reality but also a bit stressed since I still have no idea where we’ll be living. My friends Greg and Chelsea are also coming to Sydney with me for their projects and we were hoping to find an apartment together somewhere near the University of New South Wales (where my advisor is going to grad school and where Greg will be doing his work). But so far we haven’t managed to find anything solid. (yikes!) but I am holding strong that something will work out. Until next time! :)

Peace, love and Triggerfish.

Katie

Ahoy Maties!

Greetings from the Rainforest! On friday we left Cairns after 5 days in town, recuperating from our camping trip, refueling and relaxing. (Although we did have class every day, plus we were all working hard on finishing up our Intensive Interview Projects.) While we were on the camping trip we were all supposed to break up into groups and conduct a interview/survey with either Uncle Russell, Darren and/or Imogen about an Australian Aboriginal issue. For example, one group was curious about the role of religion and spirituality in Aboriginal culture. My group was looking at the Aboriginal people's views on endangered species and species conservation. Uncle Russell and Darren were both very adamant that conservation was necessary and felt sad about the growing risk of extinction for the Sea Turtle and the Dugong, two species that used to be traditionally hunted by the Bandjin and other aboriginal tribes. Today the Bandjin people have enacted hunting limitations within their territory on both of these animals. It is already illegal for white Australian's to hunt Dugongs and Sea Turtles, but the Bandjin people feel that they have to do their part as well, and thanks to their preservation, both species' populations are doing well (at least within the Bandjin lands). A little way upstream, a population located in a place called Palm Island, have not done such a good job managing their turtle and Dugong populations - they are hunted without limits to the point where the animals flee if they hear a boat motor start. Uncle Russell and Darren admitted that this was selfish behavior and that something needed to be done. However things are looking up: the government is making big strides in starting to include aboriginal opinions and thoughts when it comes to new development projects, and any time a new project starts, the local tribes are consulted for their input. (to see if there is any sacred land, prime species habitat that needs protecting etc). 

Darren and Russell left us with inspiring words: even if the situation seems depressing and hopeless, if someone is doing something wrong, you need to stand up to them. Even if they get angry and fight back, you need to have your voice be heard. In my field of Environmental Studies it is sometimes hard to stay positive and true to what you believe in, especially at times when the situation gets tough. But it's always inspiring to meet people who still believe in the cause and are reusing to give up, even if it means taking it one small step at a time.

Sorry - I digress. To sum it all up, once we had collected perspectives from Uncle Rus and Darren, we returned to Cairns to figure out whether the rest of the Australian population (or at least the population in Cairns) had similar views. We had to come up with a short survey and then walk around asking random citizens on the street to take it. While the study was statistically insignificant and this was not a professional study, it was very fascinating to see the differences between the two societies. Most people in Cairns thought, yes, humans had had a negative effect on the environment, however most were not aware of specific pressing env. issues that existed in the country, nor were many involved in conservation projects or organizations themselves.  All the results of this project were collected and put into a powerpoint which we then presented to the rest of the group. 

So on friday we left for the Rainforest section of the program. Our first destination was Mission Beach. Along the way we stopped at Licuala State Forest for a short hike in the jungle, as well as a VERY rainy hike up Clump Hill. (Ironically, when Tony our AD had done this hike last semester with the SIT students during the Wet Season, the area had been hot and sunny. Just our luck that it was the exact reverse this time.) Here was when i realized the difference between "water proof" and "water resistant," and that my rain jacket and hiking pants were of the later kind :P Some people in our group also discovered the hard way that the rainforest is full of leeches and other things which like to bite. (Luckily I have not been bitten by a leech yet). However, throughout our time here so far we’ve seen a myriad of cool and unique wildlife including a cassowary! (I kid you not, it is the equivalent of a winged dinosaur. See picture below).

Cassoraptor-Velocawary

They are flightless birds, related to emus and kiwis and they have three long claws on the end of their feet that they use to kick out and attack predators with (including occasionally humans). People aren’t entirely sure what the crest on the top of their head is used for although some hypotheses are that they use it to pick up ultrasonic vibrations made by other cassowaries, and it also acts as a sort of battering ram, pushing away the oncoming vegetation as the Cassowary runs through the jungle. If feeds mostly on rainforest seeds and fruit and is the main disperser for many plants whose seeds are inedible to other creatures. So it plays a crucial role in maintaining rainforest ecosystems. All in all, a really cool bird. (My friends and I joke that it should be renamed, “Cassoraptor velossowary” after the dinosaur it resembles.) We also saw a Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo that literally hopped off the tree right in front of us and posed for several pictures. It was definitely not scared of people at all – such an incredible interaction with nature.

The Tree Kangaroo that landed right in front of us. (For an 

Here's what they look like from the front. So cute! (Thanks Google)

Impressively tall Kauri pine trees

Also got to see a Kookaburra! 

We've also had some less than savory experiences with nature. Once we stopped for lunch at a picnic spot that was swarming with March Flies. These flies are very similar to the Horse Flies we have back home in the states. And they love to take a bite at any people that stand still long enough. It was actually a rather humorous situation: watching everyone trying to eat lunch while stamping and jumping around trying to avoid the flies. But we managed to ditch the flies when we left for a hike down to a waterfall (see story below). But when we came back we discovered that our van was filled with about a hundred of them. A massive extermination attempt ensued with several people jumping on the bus and swatting at them with whatever tool they had handy. :P it was not pretty.  (The March Fly Massacre of 2012 will be remembered forever). 

The back of my friend Laura's pants - flies apparently love dark colors.

We spent the first 2 nights at this cute, hip hostel called Scottys, which was filled with a group of backpackers from the UK (my two friends who used to live in England, one still does, called them “chavs” aka “British white trash,” ha ha) but it was a really funky place and we had a good time there. (we had some epic rounds of mad libs both nights).

A plank stretched across the pool? What else are you supposed to do with it? 

After two days we headed towards the Atherton Tablelands (which we had visited during orientation). While we’ve been here, we’ve been exploring and learning a lot about environmental corridors, stretches of replanted vegetation that helps connect patches of forest that have been isolated due to logging/agriculture. Animals that are trapped in these remaining sections of rainforest are often cut off from other members of their species or parts of their territories, preventing them from mating or successfully finding food. But conservationists have started this trend of gradually replanting corridors of trees that provide safe passage for animals (and some plants too) to go from patch to patch. For the past five days we’ve been staying at Lake Eacham on the Atherton Tablelands, where we visited during orientation. We also got to visit another amazingly beautiful waterfall – Nandroya Falls, where we all went swimming. It was glorious and so refreshing! (Hopefully I’ll have some more pictures to show you soon!)

Swimming waterfalls - just another school day

Happy SIT Students :)

The other night we went spotlighting where we walked along the main road with a big spotlight and tried to spot nocturnal wildlife. It was a bit creepy but also really fun. We mostly had to rely on hearing instead of sight. We got to see some Coppery Brush Tail Possums and some cute little Bandicoots (see pictures below)

Copper-Brush Tailed Possum

Bandicoot

Side story: Three days ago I unfortunately woke up with a pretty bad scratch in my left cornea, which caused me to have to rush to the nearby Atherton Hospital. For some reason the pain was so bad that I wasn’t able to open my right eye either, so I was temporarily blind for most of the morning, until I got some medication and an eye patch (I got to walk around the rest of the day feeling/looking like a pirate. Don’t worry – plenty of pirate jokes ensued). Luckily I woke up yesterday feeling much better and when Meryl (a woman who works with Tony our AD), took me into Cairns for an appointment with an ophthalmologist that morning, I was told that my eye is already starting to heal, which is great news. Apparently in this climate, bacterial infections in the eyes run rampant, so it was a good thing I caught my scratch early. The doctor told me that he’d already seen 3 people this year who ended up losing the vision in one eye due to an infection. (yikes!) but I’m feeling much better now and hopefully it will only continue to get better. 

I can’t believe the semester is moving so quickly! It’s already been over a month and this time next month we’ll be at our ISPs. Speaking of which, it looks like I may have gotten an ISP studying penguins with a graduate student (Sandra Vogel) at the University of New South Wales! She’s looking at population dynamics of several different colonies in Jervis Bay and Bowen Island, which are off the coast of NSW (close to Canberra). Her research involves tagging penguins with microchips and checking for those that are already tagged, something that’s called “mark and recapture.” I’ll also possibly be helping her check burrow occupancy as well. I’m really excited since this is exactly what I was hoping to be doing for my ISP! I'll get to learn how to handle/catch penguins, check them for tags and also get a first-hand experience doing conservation field work. Dream come true! 

Here in Australia they're called "Fairy Penguins" cause they're so small! 

I've been out of the field for the past few days letting my eye heal up, so that's all the updates i have for now. But hopefully I’ll be adding some more pictures soon! We leave on Sunday to head back to Cairns for a few days before doing a quick turn around and flying out to Lizard Island for 10 days on Thursday. 

Yes - this is where we get to go to school :)

Also, shout-outs of congratulations to all my friends who have been accepted to study abroad next semester! I love you all even though it means it will be a year before I see you again, but I know you will all do great things and that you're going to have a fantabulous time! (I know I am!) <3  

Peace, so much love and keep your eyes peeled for any Cassoraptor-velocowaries! 

Katie

Spear-Throwing: 101 (aka "Just Another Thursday")

Hey all!

Long time no see! For the past week we’ve been camping out near the Cardwell mountain range, bonding and learning about aboriginal culture and their relationship with the land. Uncle Russell, his son Darren and 12-year old granddaughter Imogen (Immi), were our cultural and spiritual guides on this adventure. They were all members of the Bandjin tribe, who live in the rainforest, coastal area of Hinchenbrook. I’ll try to give you all a sufficient summary of what our experience was like. Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures since we were only allowed to bring two cameras collectively as a group, and since two kids in the program have super fancy, nice cameras, we all elected them to be the official photo takers. So all the photos (except the wallaby and boomerang pic) are theirs.

Oh before I forget: The last day of homestay my next door neighbor, Sonja, who was hosting another SIT student named Tyler, took me, him and our friend Chelsea up to Granite Gorge for a short hike, swim and plus to feed some wild rock wallabies. We had a great last day out in the sun, swimming, laughing and spending time with amazing Australian wildlife.

We were even lucky enough to come across a mom with a young joey in her pouch! 

So cute!  

Sonja made a good friend

So did Chelsea

Baby! 

True meditation

Our wonderful swimming hole

Now back to camping:

Sunday: said goodbye to our host families at a buffet breakfast at a local hotel. (they had the best chocolate mini muffins I’ve ever had in my life). After the goodbyes, we loaded up the three 4-wheel vehicles + trailers (these foretold that there was rough terrain ahead J) and set off. After about two hours of driving and some sloughing through a few muddy pastures and huge herds of bewildered cows, we pulled into our campsite, located next to a huge meadow and a beautifully clear, secluded pond. We set up about half a dozen tents, set up our makeshift kitchen, dug a hole for our wonderful latrine, and built our evening campfire. After a surprisingly delicious dinner of spaghetti, complete with garlic bread, (all of our meals during this week were absolutely scrumptious and not what is to be expected when camping), we sat around the campfire and listened to Uncle Russell tell us Dreamtime Stories. Uncle Russell was this amazingly charming, good-natured, rolly-polly human being, who had a deep and profound wisdom that just radiated from his personality.

Tent city 

Our waterhole - source of our bathing, swimming, drinking/cooking water

Tent city - full view

View from the cook tent. (the sleeping tents are around the grove of trees on the right)

Monday: Our first day was pretty laid back. during the trip to the campsite we had briefly stopped at a rest stop for a picnic lunch. While we were there, Darren had shown us how to throw boomerangs in a nearby field. (There was a pair of Masked Lapwings nesting in that field, that apparently didn’t want us around and so they literally dive bombed us whenever someone had to run out to retrieve a lost boomerang. We feared for our lives at times)

Bird attack! 

That first day, Uncle Russell had taught us how to paint our own boomerangs. We each received two boomerangs to paint and keep for our own. I learned that aboriginal painting is never symmetrical (so word of advice: if you see a piece of art that is supposedly done by aboriginals but the painting is the same on both sides, then you know it’s a fake), that the colors traditionally used are: black, red, white and yellow. Uncle Russell also demonstrated how to draw many of the traditional animals, including platypuses, barramundis (a type of fish), the Rainbow Serpent (one of the mythical beings that guards local water bodies), sea turtles, kangaroos and many more. Below are my finished works:

One traditional and one modern :)

The day concluded with some dips in the lake, playing cards, more swimming, sun bathing and trying to avoid getting eaten by sand flies and mozzies (mosquitos). We finally went to sleep with the moonlight shining brightly over head, the smoke from the campfire lingering in the air, and the hammering noise of a Nightjar, perched in a nearby tree. (my friend Chelsea nicknamed him "Radar" and he kept us company most of the nights. much to our displeasure about the inability to sleep).

Tuesday: went on a boat trip on a nearby river that bordered the Hinchenbrook area. Saw a lot of mangroves and cool coastal ecosystems. After the boat trip Uncle Russell and Darren showed us how to fish using a simple spool of thread and a hook. Unfortunately I wasn’t successful in my fishing attempts, but one kid in my group did catch a Butter Fish and we also got a bunch of large crabs which we had for dinner that night. That night around the campfire we heard more stories and learned more about aboriginal culture and tradition. This included being respectful when we were around traditional tribal areas. We should not pick anything off the ground without asking nor take it with us. Uncle Russell and Darren both had stories about people taking random stones and shells home with them and then later being visited by a spirit person. Not dangerous, these spirit people would continue to hang around until the person realized their mistake and brought the item back. Needless to say, we were all careful after that about picking things off the ground. 

A Goanna ("Go-Anna") that came to our picnic lunch one day

They can climb too 

Wednesday: We were supposed to go on a hike at the Wallaman Falls, but due to several transportation related issues we were fairly delayed in our departure. During our arrival the other day we had to cross a small, rickety wooden bridge that carried some visible signs of decay and rain rot. 

Fixing the bridge

Apparently one of the trailers had been on the heavier side and as it had gone over it had busted the bridge up a bit and also caused a tire on the trailer to go flat. So our first order of business of the day was to put on the spare tire and then try to support the vehicles by putting in a plank of wood on one side so that the tire wouldn’t drop off the end of the bridge and go flat again. Finally we got on the road, but now we had to deal with the flat tire problem, so we were required to stop in town. (we also had to do a grocery run as well. Feeding 19 people three meals a day is hard business). Over the course of the week we spent almost as much time in the vehicles as out of them. By the end we had all gotten very close (both physically and emotionally) and we had throughly expired everyone's stock of lame jokes and car games.

Best car group ever :)

Eventually we made it to the falls and began our 2 km hike to the bottom. Going down was fairly easy and the view from the bottom of the gorge was absolutely spectacular. The sheer power of the falls was breathtaking. The hike back up was a bit more of a trek. (I think I lost about ¼ of my body weight in sweat alone :P)

Wallaman Falls

Tourist shot (also for some size comparison)

That night we heard a great story from Uncle Russell about Why Dogs Sniff Each Other’s Butts When They Say Hello. According to Dreamtime Tradition, long ago all the dogs were summoned to a meeting. However before they could go into the meeting room they were all required to remove their bottoms and hang them on a hook outside. A little yellow dog arrived late and realized that all the hooks were taken. So he devised a sneaky plot and opened the door to the room and yelled, “FIRE!” All the dogs ran out and quickly grabbed the first bottom they could find. To this day all the dogs are looking for their proper bottom and so they sniff each new individual they meet, hoping to find it.

Thursday: Spear-Throwing Class 101. Yes – we learned how to throw spears. (At cereal boxes). It was much harder than Darren made it look, but by the end of our session we were getting pretty good. Turns out it’s a lot like tennis – a full arm extension and follow through are crucial. (see pics below). The rest of this day was spent in camp, doing what we as a group do best – waste time and relax. 

Going out for our class of the day

My tennis skills finally came in handy :)

The boys after a successful hunt

Friday: Went to see paintings that Uncle Russell’s ancestors had done on some nearby cave walls. He explained that each of the symbols represents an event or a story that a some member of the tribe experienced and then asked one of the tribe painters to put it on the wall. 

These paintings are thousands of years old

They also show if there is a nearby source of water, what food might be around, potential prey species etc. He said that many people had died of starvation or thirst after getting lost in the wilderness, even after finding the paintings, because they didn’t know how to interpret them. Later that afternoon we went to see another beautiful waterfall, complete with another wonderful picnic lunch. 

Throughout the week Uncle Russell was giving us all aboriginal names, based on our personalities he observed and our “energies.” Friday night at the campfire, I received my name of Gigin (pronounced: “gee-gin” (gin = said like “chin”)) which is the Bandjin name for Wallaby.

From left to right: Uncle Russell, Imogen, Darren

Saturday morning: up at dawn to start packing up the tents and cook tent. Spent a few hours loading up the trailers and then Uncle Russell and Darren showed us how to make fire without matches. So now if I ever get lost in the woods I'm not a guaranteed goner! yay! :) In all honesty though, it was an extremely useful and fascinating lesson and hopefully I can remember next time i need it!

Darren = fire master

After that amazing adventure, here we are back in Cairns, at our home away from home, the Northern Greenhouse. It was an incredible experience despite the fact that I haven’t showered in a week and I have so many bug bites that it looks like a map of the night sky across my body. (no joke, I actually do have the Little Dipper on my leg in bug bites). It was a bit disorienting and very immersing - we weren't allowed to wear our watches and instead relied on "Murri time" as our means of organization. (aka this meant we didn't really get anywhere when we were supposed to. But that's part of embracing the true Australian way). Our first night back, a group of us went out to this famous club called Gilligan’s where we danced away our pent up energy and stress, amid the pumping club scene of downtown Cairns. (only 20 more days till 21- yeaaahhh!) Last night was just a quiet night in with some of the group watching a movie, and then today it’s back to classes in Cairns at nearby Reef Teach classroom.

Until next time,

Peace, love and Dreamtime

Love, Gigin.