Al Gore --> coral death.

When my alarm cheerfully reminded me that another day had yet to begin, the rain was absolutely pouring outside. Knowing that the run would make me perky the rest of the day, I begrudgingly put on my (stinky) running clothes and headed outdoors. By then the rain had stopped... Australia seems fond of spontaneous monsoons.

Gympie Terrace is an interesting road.. especially with the invasion of the lorikeets early in the morning. They came in droves, so much so that the sky was blanketed with little black figures overhead and an ear-piercing squawking. I'm pretty sure anyone who has been exposed to "Alfred Hitchcock's the Birds” would have been convulsing in fear on the sidewalk. It was that ominous.

I hurriedly got ready for the Eumundi markets upon my return. When we were dropped off at the markets, an easy 20 minute drive, we were greeted by the manager. He treated us to coffee and we wandered in an out of the booths for a few hours while the students completed a questionnaire project. The crafts were quite similar to those offered at Marietta Farmer's market with the exception of boomerangs and didgeridoos nestled in a few of the stands. All in all it was a massive and fun place to walk around for a bit. It had a HUGE variety of produce and fresh breads. Too bad we already have too much food.

We came back to Coral Beach for a quick lunch and clothing change. However, we received some really not so great news: the green group may be stuck in Carnarvon. Unfortunately when it rains heavily the entry road gets really tricky to maneuver (enter the bus story from a few days back) and can't get out. Rumor has it that they aren't allowed to shower so that they have more fresh water to drink but Steve is able to get in and out with fair ease so food isn't an issue. They'll probably only be delayed a day or so, but the prospect of being stuck is probably far worse than it actually happening. Carnarvon really doesn't like us.

Honestly, I'd have a heyday if I was stranded there. Hello hiking paradise!! And furthermore.. hello excuse not to shower! Sounds brilliant to me. Don't get me wrong, showers are great and all, but when it gets as cold as Carnarvon at night.. that's the last thing you want to do.. have wet hair.

I mentioned Carnarvon to a local Aboriginal whom I chatted with at the Eumundi markets. He told me a story about a spirit child that lives there. Apparently only Aboriginals can see the boy. When he brought his children there they were describing this child they had spotted on a cliff edge nearby while the guide, non-Aboriginal, had no idea what they were talking about. The children were both able to describe in detail what the boy was wearing. Eerie. He elaborated and explained that Aboriginals didn't like to leave the earth when they passed away and didn't really understand the concept of heaven. This particular man had actually lived in the bush for years- a true “cowboy”. I love talking to strangers.

Anyways, we headed back out to go on our hike/weeding adventure shortly after a quick break for lunch. Group B, my group, went weeding first. We met with a group of about 7 local weeding enthusiasts and hiked into the Noosa National Park. I absolutely am in love with this park.

The weeding spot was right on Oyster Rocks, a very beautiful part of the area. It was right on the beach as well- a nude beach, mind you. Luckily there were no awkward beach guests... like last year.

We started out by attacking the asparagus weeds. This thing looks nothing like asparagus in my mind. It was a bush. A big one. With pricklies. And a massive root system. We were equipped with buckets, gloves, giant knife-things, and spades. In order to uproot and remove the bushes, we were instructed to literally saw off the bottoms to get the “crown”. The first time was a doozie and Emily and I STRUGGLED. After that they were quite easy. Moving on to another floral victim, we started targeting the lilies (not as pretty as they sound) which were a bit of the opposite. So delicate that pulling on them (or looking at them funny) would make the stem pop right off. BUT in order to get rid of the whole plant we had to dig down DEEP (sometimes a foot or more) to get the bulb.

Just call me lily killer. By the end of the two hours I was a lily pulling/killing/terminating master. 

We had a lovely biscuit break on the beach where we were given a lovely display of colors as if the beach wasn't enough pretty to stare at.

The rainbow just kept on going..

Walking back towards the city, Bob pointed out soldier crab burrows as well as several blue bottles (Portuguese man o' war) that had washed up on shore. Scary stuff.

We stopped to talk at Hell's Gate for a bit and then headed back along the track to Main beach. The scenery is just astounding; I wish we had more time to take it in. We saw quite a few surfers, one in particular that was really testing his luck with his location selection. There was also a couple getting wedding photos- it's a perfect place for it.

Lagging behind as I was designated to take up the rear, we met with the rest of the group as they were gawking at a koala in a tree. He moved maybe one centimeter the entire time we were looking at him. Terribly exciting creatures, koalas.

While Mike lectured on Main beach, we watched the surfers play in the waves. Continuing our lecture time, we hiked down the beach quite a ways to the Spit. The ocean assaulted me to the point where my (finally) dry shoes became soaked... and then the long walk became barefoot in the sand. It was glorious.

Bob, Silvia and I made ourselves a feast for dinner tonight and it was absolutely well-earned. After that the real rains poured in while we were safely inside. We've been so busy the last few days all I have had time for is grading.. so I procrastinated a little bit to take time to clean my disaster area of a room. At least now I can tell what the carpet color is.

Grading the concept maps was hilarious- some of my students wrote some ridiculous things on there to keep it interesting. Others had practical artwork as their map. To grade them I had them covering the kitchen floor and sat right in the middle. Bob thought this was incredibly comical.. I have to agree... especially when I start cracking up just reading the comments that some of them made on their maps. We've got a creative bunch this year!