To Uluru and Back

1 week in 2 vans with 8 friends, 0 showers, no communication with the outside world, 100 hours driving, and 6000 km later...and we are back safely in Cairns after a roadtrip to Ayers Rock (Uluru) and back for our spring break. In summary, the "outback" is vast, breathtaking, and surprisingly full of life...but since every picture is worth a thousand words...without further adieu...

More pictures below...

Cape Tribulation

 Graeme picked me up at 8am this morning to head north - to Cape Tribulation. The 3.5-hour trip up was hands-down, the most beautiful drive I've ever experienced. The Great Dividing Range of rainforest-covered mountains on the left, a canopy of tree ferns and fan palms teeming with cockatoos and eagles above, and white sandy beaches and blue-green ocean on the right, with the distinct coloration of coral reef not far off shore. At Cape Kimberly, in the Daintree National Rainforest, we stopped for cappacinnos on the beach, where we could see the low-lying Snapper island on the horizon. Once we reached Port Douglas, a narrow railway followed the highway, where harvested cane was shipped to the port for export or processing. A variety of other crops could be seen along this stretch through the Mossman area, including bananas and tea. At the Daintree River, we crossed on a ferry - the only access to Cape Tribulation. Graeme explained the derivation of the cape's name - when Cpt. Cook was commisioned to map the east coast of Australia, he struck the Great Barrier Reef for the first time just off Cape Tribulation, resulting in significant damage to the ship. From that point on, it was only tribulation for himself and the crew - repairing the damage during harsh Pacific storms.

Absolutely Gorges

Within the last week, I've made it up to the spectacular Barron Gorge three times. It takes about a 40 minute bike ride over unforgiving hills just to get to the base of the gorge. The first time, Peter, Niko, Nina and I took the Douglas Track up to Glacier Rock, a terrific overlook of exposed granite. The hike up started as rainforest, turned into steep, grassy hillside shrouded in clouds, and then into eucalyptus forest. The second time, Peter and I started at the base of the gorge and followed the Barron River for about 3km, rock-hopping, wading, and climbing up the side of waterfalls to reach a small lake near the base of the giant Barron falls. On the way up, we passed about ten different waterfalls, each unique and with its own private swimming hole. By the time we reached the top, the Barron falls was just around the corner of a large rock-face, but we had to turn around and head back due to the quickly diminishing sunlight. On the way back, we slid through some thick vegetation to avoid a slippery rock face and both ended up with multiple patches of intense pain from the Stinging Tree, which we clearly failed to recognize. After a painful return trip, we used a combination of hot candles, wax strips, and benadryl in an attempt to alleviate the pain and remove some of the microscopic hairs (and our own hair, unfortunately). Despite this slight set-back, we returned to the gorge once again, addicted to the beauty. This time, we wore long pants, long sleeves, and shoes (we were barefoot last time), even though we vowed not to touch anything green. We reached the top around dusk again, but this time we built ourselves a fire out of the abundant drift-wood, and slept under the stars on a protected rock shelf, using our backpacks as pillows. 

[Click on any image to view full-size!]

Exploring the Wet Tropics

Within biking distance of the lodge lies a plethora of possibilities for adventure and recreation in the wet tropics. Just behind the campus, you can hack your way through dense rainforest to achieve a stunning view of the landscape below - from the uni all the way to Cairns and Yarrabah, the aboriginal land just south of the city. Or, you can explore the botanical gardens just north of Cairns, and hike to the top of Mt. Whitfield, overlooking the city and Cairns international airport. If you've got a friend with a car, you can take a 3km winding drive up the side of the tree-fern-covered mountains in the Dinden national park to arrive at a quiet cafe overlooking Lake Morris, created by the Copperlode dam. Still bored? Ride your bike to the Cattanna wetlands - eat a picnic lunch, sit in the bird hide with your binoculars and a field guide, walk on a boardwalk through the rainforest and come out wrapped in spider silk, or jog around the wetlands, watching your step for hungry crocs. Better yet, buy a $15 tent at Kmart and spend the night there, with naught but a box of cereal to eat the next morning as you watch the sun rise over the mountains. If you're not the bushwacker-type, and you'd rather collect shells or read a book on the beach, you can ride your bike or take the bus to Yorkie's beach, Trinity beach, Palm Cove, or Clifton beach. Take time to hack open a coconut - drink the milk, eat the fruit, and make a boat out of the husk. With no classes on Wednesday, Peter, Niko, and I have designated "Adventure Wednesdays" for just such explorations. Even with an entire semester to go, we'll not come near exhausting all the terrific locations within biking distance.

 Botanical Gardens  [click on any image to view full-size!]

Oh Yeah, it's called STUDY Abroad

After a week of fun and recreation, it's time to shift gears (somewhat) as we jump into the semester. Today we attended a few orientation sessions at the university, and I finalized my enrollment. Tropical entomology, venomous species of Australia, biodiversity of tropical Australia, and effective photography - not your typical course selection! The campus is small and cozy, similar in size to Rhode Island College, but nestled in the mountainous tropical rainforest, wallabies hopping around the car-park. There are about 4000 students total, and about 400 international students.

Aussie Vocabulary

Since my arrival last week, I've already encountered a number of differences in vocabulary. Some examples are listed here:

Give way = yield (on signs, buses, etc.)
Cuppa = coffee/tea
Arvo = afternoon
Servo = gas station
Capsicum = bell pepper
Mobile = cell phone
Jumper = hoody/sweatshirt
Petrol = gas (and it's cheap too! $1.20!)
Togs = swim trunks
Tea = lunch (this was confusing for the first few times)
Boot = car trunk
Bonnet = car hood

The Aussies also like to shorten words...

Rellies = relatives
Smithies = Smithfield shopping center
Tellie = telephone

Crystal Cascades

The Footprints Lodge is managed by a terrific, accommodating older couple - Sam and Marguerite. When we arrived, Marguerite provided us with all manner of amenities - drying racks, coat-hangers, hampers, etc. Today, we piled in the lodge's 15-passenger van and Sam drove us south to Crystal Cascades - a beautiful walking path along a series of waterfalls and swimming holes in the rainforest. Rainbow bee-eaters, cockatoos, sunbirds, and a Lace monitor were among the fauna we observed. This was definitely the first time I've seen a sign warning of stinging trees!

Arrival at the Footprints Student Lodge

After living out of a suitcase for two weeks, it was such a relief to move into our university housing today. The Footprints Student Lodge is across the highway from the "uni" (as the Aussies call it), about a ten-minute walk or five-minute bike ride.The lodge is divided into four L-shaped units, situated in pairs so as to create beautiful, shaded courtyards. From my third-story suite, I can look down into the courtyard or up into the rainforest-covered mountains whose peaks are often shrouded in white clouds. My suite is comprised of three rooms, a common area with couch, table, TV, kitchenette, and a tri-split bathroom (all three components can be used at once, theoretically). From my room, the double-window provides a beautiful view of the rainforest backyard, teeming with butterflies, birds, and...spiders. Alarm clocks are unnecessary when you have cockatoos and kookaburras screaming and laughing, respectively (NOT respectfully), outside your open window at 7am every morning. The aircon in my room doesn't see much use now (average temperature is 75F), but I'm sure it will be much appreciated come November! The beige and navy concrete walls are plain and overwhelming, so I've begun to collect natural objects to make it more interesting - shells, bugs, vines, seeds, and a bandicoot skull. I hope to bring the rainforest into my room by the time I leave. I also have a A2 sketchbook and colored pencils to create some colorful wall-art. First project will be a laughing kookaburra. All meals are provided at the attached Murraya restaurant. Breakfast is served at 7-9am, usually consisting of eggs, sausage, toast, cereal, yogurt, and fruit. Tea (lunch) is served at 12-1:30pm, and dinner at 5:30-7pm. The prospect of vanilla ice cream every night keeps me going throughout the day. Since the majority of students at the lodge are international, these times serve as planning sessions for my friends and I - proposing field trips, coordinating actities, and catching up - such that mealtimes often last an hour or so.

A Day on the Great Barrier Reef

For my part, today was the climax of our "culture and adventure" program. Aboard the beautiful, shiny Silverswift, we set out to explore the Great Barrier Reef, at three different locations. The ride out was about an hour long, across rather choppy waters. I found the best way to maintain one's constitution (and lunch) was to stand at the very front of the cat, gripping onto the rail as the ship would rise and fall on tremendous swells. At the first location, I jumped in with snorkeling gear and was instantly surrounded by the most colorful and diverse assortment of fish, invertebrate, and coral life. It was pure awesome. Nearly every marine fish I had ever seen pictures of was present within viewing distance - clownfish, triggerfish, wrasses, angelfish, butterflyfish, tangs, grammas, pufferfish, crabs, shrimp. Sometimes I would forget to breathe because it was so...well, breathtaking. At the second site, I saw much of the same, except that the reef was even closer to the water's surface, such that I had to be careful not to break the coral or skin my knee. And then, in an epic fulfillment of my life's dreams, I went scuba diving for the first time. In the Great Barrier Reef. Breathing through the equalizer and adjusting to the pressure changes upon descent were both far simpler than I had expected, making it easy to fully enjoy the scene. I'll admit I was a bit nervous when they strapped a pair of lead weights around my waist before the dive, and when the instructions were given by a young lady with a very heavy Asian accent. Movement underwater seemed more intuitive than walking - just face the direction you wish to head, and kick your feet! Among the many creatures present were giant clams (about four feet in diameter), barricudas, whitetip reef sharks, loggerheads, hawskbills, and large schools of fish that would boldy swim within inches of your face. On the rough, sandy bottom were large corals that felt like down feathers to the touch, and small invertebrates scuttling, swimming, pulsing, kicking, and even spiraling through the aquatic environment. I had to head to the surface before the rest of my group of four, because my oxygen was running out (after about half an hour) - I guess diving was a different kind of breathtaking! I felt so accomplished when they handed me my first scuba diving "certificate of recognition"!

The Sensitive Plant

The fern-like plant I mentioned in the previous post is called the "Sensitive Plant", or Mimosa pudica. This perennial herb is native to South and Central America, but has invaded tropical environments around the globe. Like many other plants, the leaves close at night and reopen in the morning. In addition, a stimulus of touch, wind, or shaking causes chemicals to be released which drive water out of the plant cells, decreasing turgidity and causing the leaflets to collapse inward. The response can be transmitted to all the leaves on a single stem. The leaves reopen after a few minutes. A local told me the flowers are great for the nervous system, one a day keeps the doctor away!

Photo credit: www.ogrodysklep.pl

Saving the Cassowary

Time for some community service! Today we headed up to the Cassowary Conservation Nursery in Kuranda. A hilarious old lady and Berend, an equally-enthusiastic young man, guided us as we mixed soil from Koala droppings and leaf litter, potted small seedlings, and planted trees along the edge of the rainforest. Because the Cassowary is becoming extremely endangered, groups like these strive to provide the proper vegetation to create habitats and food for the dinosaur-like birds. In the fields where we were planting, we discovered a small fern that closes as soon as it is touched, and has pink pom-pom flowers that are edible (and taste alright, too!). You can brush your hand across the bright green cover and watch it disappear instantly, revealing the dirt below! Back in Cairns, we ate dinner at Cock and Bull - home to the world record black marlin catch. Kangaroo steak and coconut curry - both firsts for me!

Photo credit: http://arttattler.com/Images/Archive/Oudry/Cassowary.jpg

The Church, The City

Today, I walked from my temporary accommodation at the Bohemia Resort to meet the local brethren for the first time. The group is about fifteen in total and meets on Grove St. in Manunda, Cairns. They handed me a list of songs as soon as I walked in and informed me that I was to lead singing! Most of the group was from Papua New Guinea, but all were fluent in English. A nice older couple, Stan and Kate Wall, gave me a lift back to the resort, pointing out some local attractions and restaurants on the way. Equipped with tennis-shoes and camera, I spent the rest of the day walking around downtown Cairns. The Rainforest Nature Dome, on the roof of a large casino, was free and accessible by elevator from the main entrance. The dome housed hundreds of different birds, flying around and squawking noisily. A particularly cheeky cockatiel found great sport in swooping down onto people's heads - much to the chagrin of most of the tourists. Afterward, I walked along the coastal boardwalk running all the way from Trinity Inlet to Cairns Harbour. Opposite the harbour rose rainforest-covered mountains with pillars of smoke rising from aboriginal settlements, setting a picturesque backdrop for the long rows of sailboats and catamarans along the main pier. Just as I pulled out my camera, a brief, cool rain passed over, leaving the most brilliant rainbow I've ever seen. For dinner, I rejoined the AustraLearn group for steak at Dunwoody's.

Click on any photo to view full-size.

Rainforestation in Kuranda

Today was the first day of AustraLearn's "Culture and Adventure" orientation week. We took a bus up to the Rainforestation in Kuranda, just north of Cairns. The nature park was home to most of the iconic Australian species, as well as many others. Kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, cassowaries, koalas, frogmouths, kookaburras, snakes, cane toads, wombats, blue-tongued skinks, saltwater crocodiles, and water dragons, just to name a few. A group of local aborigines performed tribal music and dance reminiscent of the flora and fauna of tropical Australia, and then taught us how to throw a boomerang and play a didgeridoo. Finally, we rode on an army DUKW through the rainforest and into a small pond, where we saw ancient tree ferns, various epiphytes and orchids, Ulysses butterflies, azure kingfishers, and many other small, colorful birds.
 

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Welcome!

This is Terra Australis Ignota [see explanation at right] - a venue for vicarious encounters with the Land Down Under! As a fourth-year undergraduate at Rhode Island College, I am spending a semester abroad at James Cook University in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. I am majoring in Biology with particular interest in marine, zoological, and environmental research. Follow along to hear of my studies, discoveries, and adventures in a new, exciting environment!

Photo credit: knol.google.com/k/australia-collection