A Fun City

During our time here we have had several chances to spend extended periods in Cairns.  It is a fantastic city that is constantly full of life.  On our several weekends there we have had a fantastic time meeting many people from both Australia and the rest of the world.  We have had great interactions with several similar aged Germans as well as some very fun people we met while spending several days on a boat out on the Great Barrier Reef which is an upcoming story.  Cairns, although fairly touristy, is a great city full of talented people.  We have watched several fantastic busking acts as well as street performers while there and enjoyed the Esplanade in bright sun and heat. 
The night life of Cairns is quite fun as well.  The city stays alive until the early morning with biking cabs and people all around.  Our small group stuck together and hopped from place to place exploring a very colorful and exciting city. 

Our New Neighbors

Hercules Moth

In the past couple nights we have had some new visitors to the center.  One was the Hercules Moth.  He at first seemed quite disoriented and not well by his erratic flying and haphazard collisions with us and walls but he soon settled.  He appeared at about 1 in the morning and a friend and I watched him all night as we were up anyway working and enjoying the rainforest at all hours of the night.  The rest of our group was so pleased when he was still there in the morning perched on a beam above the long tables we eat at.  This magnificent creature stayed around for another half a day before moving on and fluttering off into the forest. Our other visitor was much smaller, and much fluffier.  We believe that our friend was a Mellomie.  It was a small mouse-like creature that was very social.  He had a particular attraction to shoes but mostly my exposed ankles.  He climbed up my shoe and nestled himself as far down in my shoe as he could for warmth and within minutes had fallen asleep.  We let him sleep there while he was thoroughly photographed before being moved back into the grasses to find a more suitable place to spend the night than my ankle.

Beauty of Place

Sunrise at 5:50 am in Chillagoe

In the past week I have found one of the most beautiful and majestic places I have ever visited - Chillagoe, Queensland.  We had the privilege to spend two nights and the most part of three days exploring and learning about this area.  The history of the area, going from 10,000 people during a mining boom to the current 220, is quite interesting.  The land is equally interesting and simply beautiful.  The dry and hot climate lights up the golden grasslands under open Eucalypt forests and it is gorgeous.  The group spent two evenings at Balancing Rock, a spectacular structure in itself, watching the sunset from towering sharply eroded limestone spires.  It was a surreal experience that made the whole group truly appreciate the place we were in.  On the full day we were in Chillagoe a small group of us hiked to see the sunrise at 5 in the morning and the same evening we watched the sunset from Balancing Rock again.  It was an amazing day to see the whole passage of the sun and know that we had lived so much between those times.  If ever in northern Australia, add Chillagoe to your list!

A Jungle Visitor

Although it has been three weeks now since we have been in the Wet Tropics we had a siting today that was quite the welcome.  Another of the students came running to the main center and announced a python on the path that had eaten something.  Obviously, all work was dropped and we followed him back along the path.  Our expectations were surpassed by far though when we saw a 3½ meter Python on the path that had eaten something the size of a small watermelon.  It had consumed the animal earlier that night probably and our professors thought it was either a brush turkey or possum by the size.  After we all watched it for ten or fifteen minutes it got sick of us observing him and he managed to move surprisingly quickly back into the brush towards a small sunny clearing.

The Daintree

Here only a half meter little one

Our four day trip to the Daintree was a large success except for one very elusive creature we are determined to spot.  This is the Cassowary.  The Daintree being one of the wettest and lushest of the Australian rainforests is home to Cassowaries.  We stayed at Crocodylus Hostel which, in my book is a five star hostel, has sightings commonly as does the Daintree Discovery Center which we visited on three different occasions. Our visit to the Daintree was in no means in lack of spectacular creatures though because we came across both a large tree snake and four meter salt water crocodile while on a riverboat tour and a Water Dragon while at the hostel.

First Week and It Feels like a Month

So the first week is over and we have already done so much that we have been here for much longer.  We have been on several excursions for classes so far including visiting local Cinder Cone volcanoes called the Seven Sisters and interviewing locals in the town of Karanda (pictured at right).  We have done a bunch of work at the station as well cleaning it up from the past season and especially getting the greenhouses up to par for planting this season.  A group of us spent three hours clearing over 500 potted trees out and weeding the massive amount of weeds that can grow in a year in the Wet Tropics.  As a group we have accomplished a lot and have bonded really well.  Our first night out last night was a blast where we hung out with a bunch of locals at the pub.  It is still astonishing that we have only been here a week because of how much we have packed into the few days we have actually been here.  To update the animal count we have two more snakes to add to the list, both on the list for most venomous in the area.  The Brown Tiger snake and the Small Eyed Black snake both were hanging out around the station.

Living in the Rainforest

Life got real when we went on our first walk around the school property today.  As we descended the first ravine we all commented that it was the set for Jurassic Park.  Our hyper-awareness of snakes and spiders came in handy as one group came across a black and yellow Carpet Snake.  The other creatures we have come across in the past couple days are Lace Monitors that hang around our composting unit, Bandicoots that roam the grounds at night, turkeys that wander like domestic chickens in the woods, and the occasional Pademelon at night.  The night after our walk around the property we thought that is was only necessary that we watch Jurassic Park and needless to say our walk back to our cabin (pictured in the last post) was slightly scary.  These cute creatures made up for it though.

The Preparation

After reading a packing list, weather reports, and talking to people who have visited this new part of the world many times, I have finally packed four bags with hopefully all I will need for the next 4 months.

As a little back story on Australia for me, I created a poster on Tasmania when I was in second grade.  Since that research, if it can be called that, was done I have suggested only 'Australia' when a family member asked where we should go on vacation.  Needless to say, it hasn't happened until now that I finally get to go.

Please enjoy the following 4 months of my travels as they happen. The beginning with a group of School for Field Studies students in the rainforest of Queensland, Australia and the later part which has yet to be planned will be traveling the eastern coast with some inland excursions.