Last Day

Today is it. This is my last day in Cairns, at the lodge and with all these wonderful people who have made this semester what it is.
You have taught me so much from hulua-hooping and handstands to why adventures are what makes life wonderful. Water towers, rainstorms, beaches, and all.
I already miss you and feel slightly sick at the thought of leaving.
Say we will follow through and go around the world on that trip together?

So lets make this last day- however long it may be- a good one.

Love you,

Ann

And for those not pictured: Jovanna, Marissa, Marenn, Leon, my fellow Americans now scattered across the States and so many more!

Stoney Creek!

Park Sign

I finally in this amazing last week have made it to the fabled Stoney Creek in the Barron Falls National Park. This is thanks to awesome endeavoring to my dear friend Marren Sagar, his dad, and their van of awesomeness!
We painted a cupboard, baked cake with spumontti (sp?) fruit in it, and did art with the wonderful house-mates Leon, Rachele, and Ellie. Their house is absolutely gorgeous. It has multiple porches that wrap around and have couches and cushions. Tall ceilings. Large windows. And is absolutely surrounded by forest. It is so peaceful there.

Lemon-Poppyseed-Spumontti Cake with Turkish Delight

SO stoney creek is full of cold -COLD- clear water that flows through granite boulders, tree roots, and vines. It flows below Barron Falls and the full trail ends at the falls- we didn't get that far because it was getting dark pretty fast. But we found a pool a bit off the trail with flat rocks that was great for swimming. The water was cold enough to take your breath out of you on the first plunge.
Even better was walking back in the dark and seeing the rare mysterious glow of blinking fire flies.

The next day we went to another pool that had boulders tall and water deep enough to have a rope swing for jumping. It was heaps and heaps of fun- and the water didn't seem as cold with the sunshine.

Stoney Creek at dusk

It is, like so much of this country, such a beautiful compact area just off the beaten track. It is something you would never hear about unlike the Outback or the Great Barrier Reef, but that doesn't make it any less special.

Word Answers

Recognize these words? Well here they are with their definitions.


Thongs- not undergarments; these are your flippy-floppies

Scrogan- trail mix or gorp

Sunnies- sun-glasses

Kiwi- someone from that island with all the sheep or a New Zealander

Chips- french fries (or if your a Amurican freedom fries)

Jelly- not for your toast! This is Jello

Swimmers- When some tells you to grad your swimmers, it means to get your bathing suit and towel

Drop-bear- a ferocious beast of a koala bear with pointy teeth and an apitite for people. Particularly American tourists. They drop out of trees on people and then.....well I'd rather not talk about it.

Serviette- Don't you wish you had paid attention in French class? This is the word for napkin and Australians use it too.

Uni- In case you haven't noticed Australians love to shorten words to as few syllables as possible. So Uni stands for University.

State of Origin

The stadiums are sold out. The crowds roar with excitment, joy, and anticipation- they are painted and flag waving. The Maroons vs. Blues. Queensland vs. New South Wales. It's Australian Rugby Leagues most popular event- it is the State of Origin!

Ok, I am actually just watching this on the tellie in my friends' apartment in the next building over. I don't understand rugby- league or union- well if at all. (What knowledge I have gained is due to the patient repetitions of my friend Anthony about what is going on and answering my very odd questions)

Rugby enthusiasts forgive me in my explanation. Rugby is a very athletic sport where you can only pass the ball behind you (or throw backwards) while your team is trying to run the ball down the field to score. While doing this your opponent is trying to tackle you. They don't where much padding and many opt out of a helmet. These are big tough blokes.

The State of Origin is a best-two-of-three series between the Australian State of Queensland and the State of New South Wales. The teams are made up of players based on which state they started their professional career in. The rivalry is fierce!

Image Source: footygear.com.au

The Queenslanders are decked out in Marroon and advertising their state's beer XXXX. New South Wales wears Blue and advertises Victoria Bitters.

In the first game, held in Brisbane or Brizy, Queensland won handily.

In this close second game- or what to me looked close based on the actions of the players- New South Wales won. Tying the series up and leaving the passionate Queenslanders hungry in anticipation for the next and deciding game!

Feral or Ferrrrall!

Feral is a term used to describe a wild version of a domesticated animal or an invasive species. (All ferals are invasive but not all invasives are ferals.)
Ferrall!! is what you or your friend say to describe a horrible, disgusting, rude, or occasionally epic event or experience.

These are some of the many ferals and invasives that live in Australia.

Young Adult Cane Toad

Cane Toads- this is probably the most famous case of an introduced species that has caused problems. It is featured in textbooks everywhere as why humans should be extremely careful or not interfere by introducing new species intentionally. The cane toads were introduced to eat the cane-beetle which was damaging the sugar can crop. The toad has no natural predators, it secretes a poisonous toxin from glands behind their necks, and can lay hundreds of eggs in puddles too small for other amphibians to utilize. All of these factors makes them an extremely successful species. Unfortunately this leads them to out compete and eat native amphibians. They aren't picky either they consume native insects, reptiles, and when they get big enough, even birds and mammals. Their extent and massive ability to reproduce makes it impossible to eradicate them. Containment involves events where volunteers go toad bashing and prizes are given to those who bring in the most dead cane toads.

Cactus- Prickly-pear cactus is considered one of the most noxious weeds in Australia. It was transplanted from the Americas for gardens and as a potential hedge plant. It escaped from these plantings and began out competing local vegetation. To control it cactoblast caterpillars were introduced which only eat the prickly pear cactus. Now both populations come and go in waves but, the cactus is still a pervasive problem.

Pigs- Feral Pigs are one of the most destructive feral species in Australia. Their feeding habits and behavior damage plants and animals and they eat whatever they can find. When they eat plants the use their snouts to dig up the soil and get to the roots and shoots of tasty native plants. Like cane toads they will eat whatever native animals they are big enough to swallow. This includes endangered species such as sea turtles. They are fast, smart, adaptable, and produce large litters of piglets all year round. They travel in groups and lead to wide spread environmental and agriculture degradation. Different management plans try to keep them from spreding/invading new areas using fences. To control in areas they have already entered they are hunted, culled, and trapped.

Domestic Camels: the same type as the feral camels

Camels- these fuzzy beasties are definitely one of my favorite ferals. Camels were brought to Australia's arid areas to transport people and goods before automobiles. One of the stories associated with how the camels became feral is that when the automobile was introduced no one (the rich people developing arid Australia) wanted to use the camels. The handlers were ordered to kill their camels but instead they let them go. Since camels are browsers and grazers that need little to no drinking water they adapted to the climate well. The negative impacts they have occur to vegetation and water places. Because their numbers have increased so much over the years they have the potential to over use certain species of vegetation and cause those species to become extinct. During drought, they are driven like other creatures to seek refuge in waterholes. All these camels in one place causes damage to the plants and the quality of the water. There is currently a management plan in development and camels are considered a useful feral because of its meat and that it can be re-domesticated.

All of these species put added pressures on native species by introducing diseases and new invasive plants or weeds. These coupled with pressures from humans, like development, or environmental disasters such as cyclones.
These pressures increase the chances of endangered species becoming extinct, and non-threatened species to become endangered.

This is why it is so important to prevent new invasives or ferals from moving in to an area and develop management plans for those already there.

The source for much of this information came from http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html. This is also a great website for more information on these and other ferals. The images are my own photographs.

The Beaches

Trinity Park

Down the road from Smithfield are a series of little communities named things like Trinity Beach, Kuarra Beach, or Palm Cove. These communities all derive their names from the sandy shores they butt up against. And if one was determined they could walk from the pier at Palm Cove all the way to Trinity Park Beach with only one sojourn inland to scramble over a rocky outcrop.
But it is just as lovely to sit in the warm sand, swim in the equally warm water, and avoid being stung by stingers (jellyfish).
These are three of my favorites and are in order of south to north - or the one closest to vs. the one you would have to walk the farthest to get to from the student lodge.

Trinity Park: This one is closest to the lodge and my favorite. There are no structures though it butts up against the Trinity Park Marina at the far end. It has a mangrove swamp at its back. No stinger nets or life guards so you are swimming at your own risk but its worth it. Local families and students use the beach  and it is on the opposite side of the Trinity Beach's rocks so it is more isolated then the others. It is the beach I visited the most to celebrate with friends or find a peaceful place to study.

Trinity Beach: This beach officially starts the series of communities who all have the coveted word 'beach' in their name. Houses, apartment buildings, small eateries and a couple small hotel like establishments line the street. It has a very casual laid back feel. The area of sand it claims is a little smaller then those further up the coast but it has a rocky edge that is fun for climbing and investigating sea life. There is also a trail that leads up the rocky point to a huge boulder that presents a great view of the ocean. This beach doesn't receive as heavy tourist traffic as Palm Cove and lots of locals use it for running or walking their dogs.

Palm Cove

Melaleucas or Paper-Bark Trees

Palm Cove: Like Trinity Beach, this one is a blend of tourism and locals. There are hotels lining the street facing the beach as well as cafes and a fish and chips place. Memorably there are these huge beautiful trees that are a species of Melaleuca or Paper-bark trees. They have the girth of some of the oldest cottonwoods in the states, shready sandy color bark, and are three to four stories tall. Absolutely beautiful. From this beach you can look back and see the great sweeping crescent of sand which stretches from the rocks at Trinity Beach all the way to Palm Cove's Pier.
The pier is used by locals to catch all sorts of sea fair- from cod to small sharks. Once we even saw an osprey try to make off with a shark-fisher's bait fish. Both survived the incident none the worse for wear. If you are lucky, and look up from shell collecting or crab spotting you may even see dolphins!

Kuranda with the Folks

Mom feeding a wallaby

This week not only is one of the last weeks of classes but also I am lucky enough to spend some time with my parents who decided to visit Australia in honor of my mom's retirement.
Apart from spending some time in Cairns and on the Esplanade we all took a trip up to the village of Kuranda.

Dad becomes a parrot perch

Though slightly the epitome of a tourism town; by corralling my parents to the walkway through the Koala Gardens, Bird World, and the Butterfly Sanctuary we were able to have a lot of fun and avoid most of the interpretation and ROS analysis. Mom got an official Australian souvenir of her picture with a "cuddly" koala. The grey kangaroos weren't too active so we coerced the wallabies into posing for pictures.

Her hat is now a toy

Then there was the birds. They needed no encouragement as my parents boldly ignored signs asking hats, shiny objects, and other lose hanging objects to be put away. The birds saw everything from their glasses, hats, and backpacks as new toys and perches. 
We walked around a bit and had lunch. Unfortunately, I am feeling a bit under the weather so we called it quits there. They are headed up north for some days on the beach and in the rainforest. I really hope they get a chance to relax and have lots of fun; it's been ages since they have had a real vacation.

Aunt Nancy do you recognize this one?