My good intentions of keeping up with a daily journal/blog of my field course exploits went out the window after that first post. The days have been SO full of learning, site seeing, and socialization that I'm too exhausted to even spend time on my computer let alone typing on it.
It's hard to believe that our time on North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay is up! It feels like we just got here. However, our ferry leaves at 10am tomorrow morning. We're off for a night in a backpackers in Brisbane, then a LONG bus ride to Gladstone, and then another backpacker's accommodation. We'll finally arrive on Heron Island the following afternoon. But don't worry, we still have at least one daily lecture scheduled to keep our brains from going to idle ;)
We've had an amazing time here on the island. I've had a bit of camera envy as several of the students have small cameras that take good pictures both on land and in the sea...with no need for a waterproof case. My little camera and waterproof case is a bit to old school to give me very good pictures. Though, I'm not convinced its not entirely operator error on the settings..... I'll try again on my next snorkel.
The highlights of this trip have been (in no particular order)
1. March of the soldier crabs. This was our first field exercise to survey seagrass beds. I left my good camera at home (thinking I might slip into the water....totally unnecessary worry) and my little camera was having a fit and wouldn't turn on (turns out it couldn't handle the larger memory card). So...I don't have any photos :( But it was an amazing vision watching a thousands small crabs walking in ranks across the mudflat. Amazingly you could even hear them walking! They sounded like rain drops on the mud.
2. Watching a colony of bats fly overhead. Again, no good photos since the light is quite low. There are a LOT of flying foxes (aka fruit bats) on the island near the research station. They are MASSIVE and so cool to see.
3. Swimming in the warm ocean. We had a great time keeping our footing in the heavy waves off Lookout point. Fortunately, the life guard hadn't packed up yet, as it wouldn't have been a terribly safe place without someone keeping watch. There was a strong undertow and a rip tide just past the waves. While I did end up farther out then I meant to and I did get rolled quite a few times, there was no need for the lifeguard to come in after me or anyone else. I was very pleased to leave the ocean a bit more tired but with both pieces of my bikini still in place (though there was a close call or two!).
4. Getting a full dose of Aussie wildlife. The wildlife has really been good to us on this trip. We were able to spot a good many dugongs surfacing during our boat excursion and we had humpbacks swim buy off shore just after we'd all finished playing in the ocean. Kangaroos were consistently present at the clifftop walk at Lookout Point and one of our group found a koala this morning in a tree near the station.
5. Science. It's been great fun doing science surveys that aren't being graded and aren't being written up in a report. We just get out and look at the ecosystems that we've been introduced too during an earlier lecture.
I'm sorry to say, I don't have time/energy to add pictures to this entry tonight. Hopefully at a later date. I know it's only 9:30, but breakfast is at 6:30 tomorrow! And I've been absolutely knackered after some pretty poor nights sleep (bloody birds that start screaming at 2 and 4 am!).
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