Oh, hello Nemo.

Sleepy and cold, I literally rolled out of bed this morning with swimsuit in hand. Under the fearless guidance of Jayna, a shivering crew followed her to the shore ready for snorkeling… at 6 am.

One word that could describe it initially… cold. We all proceeded deeper and deeper until the water actually felt kinda warm. The currents were a little strong, quite akin to a watery treadmill. Once we cleared the reef, passing rainbows of fish, we reached the deep water. Almost immediately everyone’s arm was outstretched, pointing at the array of sea life: turtles, manta rays, cowtail rays, white-tipped reef sharks (about 2 ft a piece) and a tawny nurse shark (6-8 ft long!).  The manta rays were absolutely spectacular; we found them out by the buoys. There were two of the typical grey ones and one black one which, according to Jayna, are very rare. 

Nurse shark

Black and regular manta rays- huge. The anchor should give you a good size estimate

Cowtail ray

Gorgeous fish!

Breakfast was similar to how dinner was set up: LOTS of food… and very good. Of course, after we had breakfast the first thought was... SNORKELING! I went out into the ocean yet again with Jayna and Anthony to hunt down the mantas. During the snorkel we hunted down cuttlefish which looked like miniature squid swimming in packs. Of course, distracted as I am, less than a minute later I was completely distracted by mantas! Again, probably the same two greys and the black, but gorgeous all the same. Going from the lighthouse entry point to the coral garden exit, we saw fish of all colors, Nemo included. I nabbed as many photos as possible- many of them blurry beyond recognition. We also happened upon a barracuda. Coming closer to shore, we ran into a green sea turtle feeding by the surface. He swam right in front of me and I gave him a friendly shell scratch while he passed me by. Fascinated by the little guy I was completely taken aback by the enormous loggerhead turtle that swam by. He was at least 4 feet long, definitely bigger in mass than me. The guy could probably put a small pony to shame.

Herd of cuttlefish

Oh, hello parrotfish! And damselfish.

Big eye trevally?

BRIGHT yellow

Green sea turtle

Real life or finding nemo?

Parrotfish in the lead

GIANT loggerhead

Butterfly fish

More awesomeness

BRIGHT blue!!

Heading back we saw more parrotfish which were about the size of my forearm and an arrangement of other colorful fishies. Just stunning!

Since we were pressed for time, we hustled back across the airstrip and made it back just in time for our scuba lesson. The pool was absolutely icy but swimming underwater was just as they had described it- like flying!

So before then I just killed some time and attempted to sit on the beach but for fear of being blown away by the gusts of wind, I opted to sit on the porch instead. Such a trade off.

Not a bad view, eh?

My lunch company

Come 2:30pm it was time for the scuba dive… which meant I had to STRUGGLE to get into the wetsuit. Rough, rough stuff. I’m sure the scuba guides get a real kick out of seeing Americans hopping around slurring all kinds of colorful language in attempt to get a wet wetsuit on. Once properly adorned in our curvaceous attire, we finally hit the beach. Well, sorta. We hopped on a lovely boat, each weighing about 50 lbs more with the gear and weight belts. Finally, once we reached our jump off spot, we all plopped into the water and began our descent. I had to pop my ears literally every foot to keep myself equalized underwater.

The view was a lot like snorkeling, but so much bigger. Going deeper in the water allowed me to see the fish up-close and personal as well as see the largest sea cucumber EVER. That sucker must have been at least a meter long. I also saw a lot of grouper, each of them enormous.  I also saw a white-tipped reef shark as well as a green eel that was probably a meter long as well.

Cruising through the coral I saw every Nemo cast member, along with another Nemo and family. We saw a green sea turtle and another loggerhead, this one smaller than the one before but no less intimidating considering he was within arm’s reach. The array of fish that surrounded us were just astonishing, every color of the rainbow was represented on some sort of living creature, and some sported colors that I’d never even thought a living creature would have. After about an hour of exploring the alien landscape, we were ushered back towards the boat, one by one. For whatever reason, the drive instructor kept me under alone… for additional 10 or so minutes where he pointed out another eel as well as a VERY large shark. It was a grey something or another and a good bit away from us (a very safe buffer). While we awaited the ascent to the surface I was surrounded by a large school of very large fish… I’m pretty sure they were big eye trevally. It was rather nice, getting a one on one silent tour from an experienced guide. Coming out of the water was painful, way too cold! I shivered nonstop from the time I was on the boat until I got into the shower. And still cold.

More lectures followed as well as another spectacular dinner with lemon meringue pie for dessert. Fabulous.

Exhausted and barely able to keep my eyes open, Bob and I set out towards the beach to set up transects while a few students watched the Little Mermaid (Finding Nemo could not be located). So punny.

During the next few hours we worked on catching ghost crabs which was a lot less diving than I expected but nonetheless interesting. Each were scurrying frantically when the light spotted them but weren’t too horribly feisty… minus the one that pinched me pretty hard in an effort to be freed.

Luckily Bridget and Ansley managed to spot a silver moray eel along the shore and behind him were two procreating epaulette sharks each about a foot plus some in length. The next 30 minutes or so was spent watching the pair in a jaw-entangled death roll. Forget ghost crabs.

Love is in the air

Shortly after all the excitement going to bed was top priority… 6 am snorkel coming up!

Paradise? Yes, please.

A little more than 4 hours later, I had a wonderful night’s sleep. However, I awoke, much to my forgetting mind’s dismay to a jumble of still-wet socks and underwear. Ironing technique improved their condition bu certainly did not solve the problem. Hastily getting ready, I shoved the soggy clothes into my backpack and headed out to meet the coach, ready for another excursion. This time we were headed to LEI and each of us was restricted to 10 kg (22 lbs) on board the flight. The airport itself was a joke, the check-in counter was right next to the terminal and that was it. It was similar to the Galapagos airport but brighter. 

One very tiny plane. And this was the larger of the two.

The two hours of waiting were simply excruciating… I couldn’t wait ANY MORE to get to a beach! Finally the two teeny planes arrived, and we hopped on board. The plane that I was in was two seats abreast, nice and cozy. Zach, Beth, Chase and I were in our plane, and Chase managed to get the front seat. I suppose the excitement was a little much for him considering he fell asleep on the whopping 35 minute long ride. The pilot was attempting to evade his sleeping spell since the unconscious Chase insisted on laying his head on the pilot’s shoulder. Quite amusing.

Chase coming on to the captain... unconscious

  On our way into land, you could see all the reefs hugging the island. I scoured the ocean for turtles and manta rays, but I had no such luck. However there was a stunning rainbow and some clouds still dumping water onto the ocean from afar. Landing was terrifying. There’s really no other way to word it. The little prop plane teetered left and right just before slamming into the tiny grass strip.

Gorgeous waters

Local flora

Bob and Jayne welcomed us while we received a quick orientation to the island. We wasted very little time in getting started, I was just able to plop my stuff in the room with Jayna and then got my stylish crocs from the Eco Resort. From there the entire second flight group headed out for a reef walk. Ouch. I got to see SO many nifty critters but my legs are just shredded! Note to self, restock band-aids BEFORE LEI.

The walk itself was like tramping through a minefield of sea cucumbers. There were varying types, the less innocuous being the black varieties and the dangerous ones being the leopard sea cucumbers. Lucky us, we saw both!

Tramping further out, we found a BRIGHT blue starfish as well as an orange spotted one. Mid-way through the trek we were interrupted by a sea turtle making his way in towards the shore before high tide.

Me in the COLD with the starfish- blob created by seawater

Heading back after an adventurous wading session, I was chased by a damsel fish which, given the right type, will bite intruders. Nasty little bugger (in Simon’s terms). The more innocuous sort are quite small and BRIGHT blue, just beautiful fish.

Spectacular clams.. and these suckers are big!

After the walk we were invited to embark on our own snorkel adventure, but due to fridgid temperatures and lack of companionship opted for a walk around the island, tea in hand. I ran into Melanie, Kattie, Rebecca, and Charlie who were making a “mosaic” with the gorgeous shells they had found. Contributing a few purples and pinks, I hike onwards through the coral beach towards the other side. On my way I saw a little crab whom had his own personal pool, and seemed quite content with himself.

Mr. Crabby McCrustacean

Random assortment of coral that Kate, Rebecca, Melanie and Charlie gathered- just gorgeous!!

Walking back with the best intentions to shower pre-lecture, I hike through the center of the island, passing what seemed like millions of very friendly birds in the process. Realizing that I really didn’t have time to shower, I headed towards the cabin to retrieve my laptop for lecture. Along the way, I ran into Neil, Akshat, Jess, Adam and Katherine while they were playing volleyball and decided to join them! I was a fail. I definitely could have predicted that!

Lectures went by as per usual, except Jayna makes hers fun with pictures and video clips. She also tends to add random facts, like the angler fish fact: the males actually FUSE into the females. How sick is that?

Once the lecture was over, I headed straight to the west end of the island hoping to get a spectacular sunset. The colors certainly were gorgeous, but the giant rain blob directly in front of the sun put a bit of a damper on the whole ordeal. I’m so punny.

Clouds or no clouds- it's beautiful

Having had snack bars for lunch, the prospect of dinner was just too exciting. The buffet they provided to us was just fantastic- pumpkin, chicken, cauliflower, cheese trays, salad bar, cakes, brownies, fruit, coffee, tons of tea… heaven.

Rocky Roo

Another long driving day today. At least it was cut short by (more) module grading and grading the quizzes. 

Colin and I leaving Carnavron

The whole group ready to leave Carnavron

Breakfast was short, followed by the aforementioned quiz and then we headed out from Takarakka. On the way out Colin stopped the bus suddenly... and then we saw them.

ROOS BOXING!!!! It was amazing. According to Bob it was the highlight of his career.. and he used to live here!

Going at it!

The drive itself was rather dull but seemed to fly by. We watched the Unnatural History of the Cane Toad and Simon's favorite, Castle. We drove through the most boring mining town of “banana” along the way. Colin and Bob treated me to a great dinner at a local pub. It’s such a pity I have to pack tonight… my clothes are absolutely everywhere and for once I’m warm and I just want to GO TO BED!!

A spying possum in the ladies bathroom

A clever night club. Or just kinda gross.

My room literally looks like my suitcase exploded... and my hand washed laundry will never dry by morning. I'm ironing them dry. This could be involved.

Roo-babs

The roos bidding us farewell on our way to Boolimba

Promptly at 3:33am the dingoes did their very best to instill fear in the camp. Knowing that a tiny, flimsy screen door separated me and several ferocious, hungry carnivores really didn’t help matters. Despite the imminent howling, I quickly fell back asleep underneath my massive comforter and sleeping bag and other comforter and jacket... Morning came, cold as per usual, so I dismissed the idea of seeing another sunrise. Luckily today the hiking was far shorter, though much more intense. We hiked (ran) to the peak of Boolimba Bluff which provided a spectacular view of the canyon. The hike itself was also breathtaking.

Stephanie and I after the hike

Hopped the fence for this photo. Hush hush.

Oh hai!

After our hasty descent, Bob awaited us with all of our backpacks in a field of roos. We had a little snack and then headed up behind the visitor center to do an ant foraging exercise.  More inputting data; it’s my life’s dream! Let me hold back the tears of joy. I have to say it was pretty funny watching everyone walk around and stare at ants for over an hour. Akshat and Satyam made it even more “exciting”, if I can venture to use that term, by naming each food station after an ice cream shop. We had a Yoforia (equipped with a tree branch drive-thru), Yoguri, Brewster’s, and a Marble Slab. Of course, the Yoforia was hopping! At the conclusion of our vastly interesting ant exercise, we headed back to the bus for a free afternoon.

Greeting me as I walked up, a trio of pretty-faced wallabies were grazing. There was a teeny little joey in mum’s pouch eating as well. I fought the currawong tooth and nail as I attempted to eat my lunch in peace before procrastinating on taking a shower. One of the little beasties had his head wedged between the tent “ceiling” and the support pole... glaring at me with envious bright yellow eyes. Ever get the feeling you’re being watched?

The pretty-faced wallaby- right outside my room!

Home sweet home

Eventually I meandered back down to the dinner area where we rounded up another group for the spotlighting. During the trip we were able to stop a few greater gliders and one yellow-bellied glider who was apparently the big daddy of the pack. We didn’t see any echidnas but we heard some dingoes going bonkers in the background… like I hear now. Spooky.

For dinner Steve had prepared some great roo kebabs, affectionately called “roo-bobs” in my dictionary. The meat was definitely gamey but with a bit of barbeque sauce it was actually very good! For dessert we were very lucky to partake in tasting Steve’s famous chocolate cake, no doubt with ice cream and milo on top. It was absolutely fantastic.

After a quick Simon-drilling for quiz questions, we all trudged back to the tents for some module work and quiz-making for me. It’s going to be a long night… and breakfast is at 6:30am. Oh, goody.

The Great Gorge Trek

Last night was definitely stark contrast to the prior- I actually reached such a level of warmth inside my multiple comforter layers that I began to get hot. Unheard of! I slept so hard that the entire left hand side of my body became completely numb. That definitely qualifies as a good night’s sleep.

Today began the same as yesterday with a stunning sunrise. Did you know that it actually happened 8 minutes before I witnessed it? I learned that from the stargazing session. From there we hurriedly got ready for the day long hike and were treated to a full pancake breakfast before departing on our adventure. 

Perfect scenery.. if the cockatoos would stop squaking

The opposing side of the sunrise

Once on the trail Simon told us about all sorts of little critters and plants such as the quinine tree which bears fruits that can cause abortions, and if given in high enough doses it can make the ovaries stop working. The Aboriginals actually used this to their advantage for population control.

A spectator as we departed

He also showed us Australian mistletoe which “reads” the DNA of its host tree and mimics the leaves. This is especially helpful when it resides on the eucalypt tree which has toxic leaves but of course the mistletoe, disguising itself, is completely harmless.

a gum tree

 Throughout the 8-hour hike we visited the “art gallery”, Ward’s canyon, the Amphitheater, and the Moss gardens. The path itself was something to note, winding along the base of forests which played host to Seuss trees and Jurassic park foliage alike. We crossed ways with a Sydney spotted blue gum tree, which greatly resembles a koala’s bum, named “Frank” who is a home to arboreal termites. Passing by, he received a lot of love from the group as many of us gave him a big fat hug. 

Looking off of the trail

The gorgeous creek we crossed to reach the trails

The first stop we made was the art gallery which is actually quite an inappropriate name. Its significance to the Aboriginals is something more akin to a cathedral or a religious site. The walls are adorned with both engravings and stencil paintings alike. It’s hard to fathom that these relics are thousands of years in age.

Art or worship?

Another creek in the gorge

  Next up was the glorious Ward’s canyon where we enjoyed a late lunch. It was more or less a utopia; complete with fragile king ferns and red-tinted stones from the amounts of iron. It was just stunning. Words cannot even describe the place! Imagine rock city on steroids with some moss thrown in and you’ll be somewhat in the ballpark.

In the gorge

En route to the heart of Ward's canyon

Thinking that it couldn’t possibly get much better, we proceeded to hike onwards through streams and valleys to the amphitheater. After climbing the rickety metal staircase, it seemed like we entered into an alien landscape. The cold air gushed out and revealed a stunning patch of greenery within a deep cavern, only receiving light from a relatively small opening at least 100 feet above. I definitely had a few candids snapped as I gawked at the rock formations and the other-worldly atmosphere. Simon told us about incidents where little critters actually will fall from the land up above into the cavern below yet somehow only suffer from broken limbs… poor koalas.

Rocking the super stylish glorified fanny pack- awaiting the ascent

Is this earth?

Looking up: what a fallen koala sees

 One the way back home we made a stop at the moss gardens which exists due to the amount of sandstone on top of the residing shale. The permeable sandstone acts as the largest water filter I’ve ever seen. Once the water trickles down to the shale it pours out, creating as gorgeous waterfall and an abundance of moss. Simon treated us to some ANZAC biscuits which last an upwards of 6 months (and the recipe can be found thanks to the CWA on the net). Since we were running a bit ahead of schedule he allowed us some “fun time” for a quick scramble up the creek bed. What a sight to see! There was a gorgeous pool sporting blues, greens and yellows. If it wasn’t so bloody cold I would have LOVED to have gone for a swim!

Moss gardens: God made.

Would make for a refreshing swim!

Along the way in we also saw a raven carrying a prized cane toad, eating it belly first, no doubt. It brings back so many memories…

Tuckered out and ready for a nap and some food, we trudged back to the campsite. Steve and Colin prepared us a lovely meal of stir fry and orange cake for dessert which was wolfed down in no time. Not a second to spare, we packed up the bus and headed to Simon’s for star gazing. In the smack middle of a cow field all 35 of us laid down in our sleeping bags, eyes cast towards the immense sky. The stars were positively stunning, and we could see Saturn, Scorpio, Virgo, the Southern Cross (with the right technique it will guide you south) and, the brightest, dog star (Sirius!). We could also point out the emu dark constellation from the night before. 

I was harassed a bit for my get up since I was toting around a comforter from the cabins and refused to peel off any layers for fear of exposure to the unbearable cold. I suppose I must have looked a little ridiculous waddling around a cow pasture in pitch black, resembling giant larvae. Whatever, I was warm for once.