February 22 – 24, 2014
By Claire Hinkley
The first time the group traveled to
Straddie a few weeks ago, we were mainly in lectures, learning about the biology and ecology
of the sand island. Nat and the GED office thought we ought to have a chance to
see some of the landforms we’d been hearing about, so last weekend we headed
back out to Stradbroke.
It’s been really hot and humid in
Brisbane this past week, and the news had been forecasting rain for the
weekend. My host dad told us not to listen to anything the newspeople say,
because they don’t know what they’re talking about. Unfortunately, the
reporters were right this time. Though our evening on the island on Friday was
lovely, sunny and warm, with beautiful views of the Milky Way from the beach at
night, Saturday was chilly and drizzly all day. Good thing we’re used to
Portland weather! Disregarding the storm clouds boiling along the horizon and
the gale-force winds whipping down the beach, almost everyone jumped in the water
at some point during the day.
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| Braving the Storm |
Saturday’s activities centered around
seeing some of the major ecological attractions on Straddie. We drove all
around the northern island, stopping first at 18-Mile Swamp and a beach on the
exposed side of the island. Then we drove to an old dune that had been burned
in a very destructive bushfire in January. The fire burned 60% of the foliage
on Straddie and turned the once-lush hill we were climbing into an otherworldly
moonscape of white sand and gray ash. Yet new shoots of green were already
starting to spring up from the blackened stumps of the Xanthorrhea plants. The hike up the dune was brutal, each
step an effort with little payback from the sinking sand beneath our feet.
However, the way down made up for it. A few of the group were more cautious,
but I practically flew all the way down, leaping meters at a time. The next
stop was Brown Lake, called so for the tannins that leach into the water from
the surrounding trees, turning the lake the color of over-steeped tea. The
acidity of the water supposedly has energizing effects, making the skin appear
more youthful. Brown Lake might be a good destination for our parents. (Ha, ha,
Mom).
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| Burned Vegetation on the Dune |
Speaking of parents, we spent Friday
night learning a new skill we can take with us into old age— lawn bowling, also
known as “barefoot bowls.” We students were the youngest people at the club by
about forty years. Though, the old men playing next to us were very friendly
and encouraging! We split off into teams of two against another team of two
(Emma and I, Team Sauron, lost to Shannon and Ian, Team Tron, by the smallest
margin possible… as they pointed out to us, though, maybe we should have picked
a team name that didn’t lose. Fair enough). We had a great time nonetheless and
finished off the evening with a delicious fish and seafood fry at the club
restaurant.
Several of us started off the final
morning on Straddie bright and early with a quick jaunt to the beach for a
final swim. It was a bit cold and gray, and the beach was pretty much empty—
such a nice change compared to the crowded Sydney beaches! We frolicked in the
waves for a while, until some locals came up to us with a helpful tip: apparently
a deep-sea current had brought up a lot of bait fish from the depths of the ocean,
which were attracting “big fish” (sharks) to feed… maybe we should stop
swimming? Suddenly, the deserted beach made sense. Needless to say, we got out
of the water pretty quickly.
Now we’re back in Brisbane, starting the
second week with our homestay families. I can’t wait for all the coming
adventures!
-Claire
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| On the Hike Between Home Beach & Cylinder Beach |
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