Getting Our Feet Wet

Aussie lesson in pronunciation…

“Betadine” – While normal people would pronounce this like “bey-tuh-dayn,” Australians pronounce this word “beh-ta-deen.” 

“Basil” – Americans pronounce this like “bay-zil” while Australians pronounce this like “Bah-zil”

            This week marked the beginning and end of my third and final field trip, and it was definitely an experience to remember! The fun part was of course NOT the getting up at 3:00 am to load on the bus and all the traveling thereafter, but we did get to sleep almost the entirety of the bus ride and then the boat ride after that which was certainly nice.  We had to split up into two groups for the hour and a half ferry across to the island since we had so much darn gear and equipment to take over with us! Fortunately, I was able to get on the first ferry which meant that the two hours we had waiting for the other half of the team were spent hanging out on the beach drinking coffee J.

 

A whole sea urchin exoskeleton

            I really loved how laid back the whole thing was, not even close to how packed and fast paced my other field trips were! We had most of the first day on the island to settle in and just explore. We got a rundown of a few of the reef related processes on the island (this is Coral Reef Geomorphology after all) and some explanations of the impacts the recent and past cyclones have had on the island and reef.

            Day two was when the work really got started and we kicked it off with a couple lectures for catch-up and then it was off to start our surveying! The thing we wanted to look at was the difference between high and low energy reef systems and we did this largely by measuring the reef topography.

            Essentially, we had this tall measuring stake and a laser level devise with which we measured the height variances starting from the very top of the beach, down the ridge, onto the reef flat, and out across to the live reef.  

            We did that on two different areas per beach and over the four days I think we surveyed three or so different beaches.

            There was Pioneer Bay which was right smack dab in front of the research station…

            …the point around the side a little ways from Pioneer Bay…

            …and Iris Point on the other side of the island which we took a boat out to. 

Leaving Orpheus for a full day of surveying

The reef flat of Iris Bay

            We did another little stop over at an area called Horseshoe Bay and the big thing that stuck out there was just how many butterflies there were! Oh my gosh, they were simply everywhere! We took a short bush walk a little inland to get a look at a swamp that is believed to have been put there by some past tsunami and I think when our lecturer said we were using a “trail,” he was using that term very loosely!

            The first day or so of surveying I was the conscientious tennis shoe owner and such with wearing my slightly oversized yet thick soled sandles in favor of keeping my rather nice tennis shoes in good order.  After getting cut a couple times and slipping on a rock and falling flat on my rump into the lovely salty, murkiness of the ocean, I made the big leap and finally decided to wear my tennis shoes on the following day of surveying. Of course, that was the day we spent the entirety of away from the research station and spent half the time wading through the nutrient rich waters of the ocean. I can't say I regret the protection they offered but boy were my feet mighty weird looking by the end! And my shoes didn't smell too stellar either... Thus is life though eh?

Olivia looking oh so enthusiastic while taking our transect in the waters of Iris Bay

            One evening we watched a documentary about reef island nations and their vulnerability to environmental changes like sea level rise. I will tell you now that the absolute BEST way to watch a documentary is with your teacher in the room when he is IN the documentary.  Funniest. Thing. Ever! There were the obligatory side face shots looking serenely off into the distance with deeply thoughtful music playing, the shots that showed him doing the exact thing we were doing during our field trip, and really just everything he did which everyone in the room found utterly hilarious. Including the teacher himself, don’t worry!

Sunset over the waters on the way back to the research station after a full day of surveying.

            Another evening, some classmates taught me how to play the card game "Scum." I seriously think I was smacked upside the head with a giant streak of winners luck.  We played 7 rounds in total I think and all the last 5 I won hands down.  One of the things they did in the game was name the winner the President and the last place finisher the peasant with all the neutrals in the middle. I think my title morphed over time from President to Dictator to King and finally to God. 

            It was another early morning our final day since we had to catch the boat back to the mainland in time for the tides to be right.  I can't say I really complained at the 5:00 am wake-up call since for one, it wasn't nearly as early as 3:00, and for another, we got to see the lovely sunrise again over Orpheus Island.

Sunrise over Orpheus Island

Hinchinbrook Island