Queensland

Hello everybody! Things have been going pretty well over here, although I have had some moments of loneliness and homesickness. I've also realized that I am an incurably pathetic workaholic - I miss work (and working) like crazy and still feel guilty at having indulged myself in this extended holiday. Still, I'm here now and plan to take full advantage of my time in this incredible country. Back to my adventures...I'm afraid this blog post will be a bit of an epic because I seem to have done an awful lot since leaving Phillip Island. In brief, I have covered most of the Queensland coast and made several forays into the outback, while increasing my bird list to almost 200! I also conquered my fear of driving over here. March is the height of the rainy season in Queensland, and was therefore not the opportune time to visit - humidity of over 95% daily just about killed me! I narrowly missed Cyclone Hamish, which ended up being a category 5 cyclone by the time it made land-fall where I had been just a few days before. I seem to be experiencing Australia at it's most extreme!

My rental car (Gutless Getz!)

I spent a few days in Brisbane, where I visited Brisbane Forest Park, before heading up to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is based on a sand-dune, and features rainforest and a number of beautiful perched lakes with incredibly soft water. I stayed at a hostel near Seventy-five Mile Beach, which, oddly enough, was a beach 75 miles in length! This beach also served as the island's only highway, likely to the detriment of the red-capped plovers and other birds brave enough to hang out there. Leaving Fraser Island became a bit of an adventure: the ferry came in at low tide and had a lot of trouble leaving again. At one point, the skipper asked us all, very seriously, to move to the right side of the boat to help get it over a hump! The passengers all became rather alarmed when we saw our tour bus rolling forward on the deck, towards the open gate - turned out they were just redistributing the weight to help the ferry along.

Lake Boomanjin, Fraser Island

I then spent five days in Epping Forest National Park, a small scientific research park located about six hours drive inland from Rockhampton, assisting with a northern hairy-nosed wombat project. The purpose of the fieldtrip was to prepare the wombat traps for a trapping session in a few weeks' time, which I was unfortunately not allowed to come (volunteers were not allowed due to the sensitive nature of the research program - capturing an incredibly endangered species and translocating them). We spent the days preparing the large traps for deployment, and went spotlighting one evening. We were extremely fortunate to see three northern hairy-nosed wombats (out of the 120 individuals left in Australia). Epping is a beautiful place in the outback, and I really enjoyed it out there. While I was there, a photographer was taking photos for an article in Time magazine (you can almost see me in photo 7, on the passenger side on the roof of the truck - to the right of the spotlight - we were getting completely coated in moths so I had shut off my spotlight): http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1884872,00.html

Northern hairy-nosed wombat, from the vantage point of the truck roof

Another h0t day in Epping NP

I decided to explore northern Queensland with my spare two weeks after Epping, with the intention of driving around the area and camping at night. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I am actually capable of driving on the left side of the road, and didn't once end up on the wrong side of the road! The camping, however, didn't work out quite so well. Let's just say that I seriously underestimated the severity of the rainy season, and overestimated the waterproofness of my tent! Leeches also played into my decision to ditch the idea of camping and stay indoors...blech, horrible creatures!

Palms in the tropical rainforest

My first stop was Wooroonooran National Park, which had lots of rainforest and waterfalls, as well as an over-abundance of leeches. I then spent several days in Undara Volcanic National Park, located about four hours drive southwest of Cairns. This park is based around the lava tubes formed from volcanic activity in the area. The tubes are between 12 - 18 m in diameter, and are actually are part of a single "tube", with sections that have caved in. The caved-in sections support pockets of rainforest in the drier outback, and the tubes themselves are home to many interesting critters. I went out on an evening tour to a section of lava tube that is home to half a million microbats (eastern horseshoe and bentwing bats mostly). Night tiger snakes suspended themselves from a tree at the mouth of the lava tube and attempted to capture bats as they emerged in the evening. A snake was successful in catching a bat, but his good luck was short-lived, as a second snake attempted to steal the poor bat away from him. The two snakes were deadlocked when we left.

Bats and snakes in Undara Volcanic NP

I next spent a few days exploring the Atherton Highlands and all the little national parks in the area. Australia seems to have an extraordinary number of tiny national parks, such as Curtain Tree Fig National Park, which is devoted entirely to a single tree, and Hypipamee Crater National Park, based around a small crater originating from volcanic activity. I stayed in Crater Lakes National Park for several days, where I enjoyed watching the numerous birds and mammals, including the dusky rat-kangaroo at Lake Barrine. An early morning visit to Hasties Swamp NP also prooved to be a productive birding adventure, especially after being chatted up by an old fellow who had been birding there for many years. The weather was generally nice in the morning and early afternoon, with the clouds building into the afternoon and rain starting mid-afternoon - inevitably continuing until early morning. I was glad that I decided not to tent, although disappointed that I couldn't hack it.

Green catbird in Crater Lakes National Park

Barron Falls, Barron Gorge National Park

After spending a couple of days in Kuranda and exploring the nearby Barron Gorge National Park, I drove up to Daintree. Wildlife abound in this part of the country, which is incredibly humid and tropical. I went on several wildlife cruises (just about the only thing to do in Daintree), and saw crocodiles and many species of birds. I proceeded to drive up to Cape Tribulation, which is the furthest north I could travel in my little Hyundai Getz. Along the way, I met some birders who informed me of a shorebird workshop in Cairns, which I decided to attend. The workshop was excellent, I learned a lot about shorebird ID, migration etc in Australia, and I am now a proud member of Birds Australia!

Crocodile

I am heading to Armidale in a few days, where I will be spending seven weeks working on nocturnal critters in the area. Someone said to be yesterday that it will be cold in Armidale...I guess after the heat and humidity of northern Queensland, it will seem much chillier! After that, I expect to spend another 10 days exploring the area, and then fly to Alice Springs, where I will be spending a couple of months. I hope to get up to Kakadu in July/August, and will most likely come home in late August or early September. I am starting to think longingly of having a home again, and knowing where I am when I wake up in the middle of the night. I just hope that with this economic downturn, there will be enough work to satisfy my workaholic cravings!

As always, please view a larger selection of my photos on the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/elk2378/Queensland?feat=directlink

Please send me your comments!