The Latest (Overdue) Wonders of AU & NZ

Greetings from Christchurch, New Zealand!

I've finally gotten around to writing another update for all of you back home - I must apologize for the lack of motivation I've displayed thus far when it comes to posting. You can take it as a good sign though; I am absolutely in love with Australia and New Zealand. Everything from the vistas to the beer seems to hit the spot. Of course I can't detail it all out now, but I will do my best to provide a reasonable synopsis of the last two weeks. Time flies when you're having fun (and conducting serious academic field research of course).

I'll start with the rest of our stint at Kioloa in NSW. We settled into a pretty good daily rhythm of field projects, paper reviews/presentations, and exploring. Some of the faculty-led field problems following my group's forest survey included an ant survey where we baited the local community with tuna fish and a "roo poo" survey intended to track the foraging activity of the local herbivores along a forest edge gradient. Things were always moving - while small breaks around lunch and dinner time were part of the usual schedule, we usually had other things to be working on. A few of us even invented a bit of extra work on the side. That is, if you consider setting motion capture cameras out in the bush to catch some of the more elusive local fauna on "film" to be work. While Mark & co. wanted to find a way to implement the cameras more seriously, we quickly found out that there wouldn't actually be time for any sort of organized study. So, a few of us inspired individuals decided to distribute the cameras around the site where we deemed the most activity was to be seen. Tracking in a dry sclerophyll forest is quite a bit different from looking for deer sign in Minnesota - there was definitely no sampling the local leavings to determine animal identities (sorry Bwana Dale). I suggested the placement of two cameras near water catchment ponds, one on the pasture edge and the other some way into the forest where a number of lyrebird sightings had occurred in the previous days. A third trap was placed at a fairly fresh lyrebird lek, and two others were later placed over a sampling of colored bottle caps and an active bowerbird bower in the forest.

To briefly contextualize the last couple of choices: the two birding "grails" of our stay at Kioloa were the Satin Bowerbird and Greater Lyrebird. Both of these species exhibit fascinating mating displays and behaviour - the bowerbird has its twig bower and collection of pretty baubles (they're obsessed with the color blue) and the lyrebird puts on an impressive dance accompanied by songs which can mimic everything from other birds to chainsaws and dirtbikes. Just google them, you won't be disappointed.

Naturally, both species were top priorities for a proper sighting before we left. So with the blue bottle cap baits out for the bowerbirds (shout out to Justin L. for executing that one) and a camera in a hot lyrebird spot, the waiting game began. The cameras were collected several days later and revealed not only our desired targets, but a major extra surprise......can you name this marsupial?

WOMBAT!! Totally unexpected catch on the forest water catchment camera trap. I was ecstatic. The bowerbird and lyrebird shots were great too of course.

 Greater Lyrebird

And the discoveries kept coming. The other top find by far was one of the only egg-laying mammals on the planet. Yep, ladies and gents, a Short-beaked Echidna. My forest survey crew heard it rustling about on the side of our trail one evening on the way back to the station. After sending a runner off to find Mark, we camped out and waited for the critter to poke its head back out of the dirt (it burrowed in as soon as we disturbed it). Just as Mark came jogging up the track we caught a glimpse of its pointy little beak, and then it was straight back into the dirt. This picture is the best we could manage - that thing was seriously wedged into the ground:

The remainder of our experience at Kioloa was slightly less exciting, but by no means less interesting. When everything was wrapped up, we loaded up and headed back to Sydney for a weekend break before the flight to Christchurch. This was actual free time, and everybody had a good chance to get out and see the town a bit and sample the local night life. We went out to a couple of bars and clubs the first night as a large group and proceeded to dominate every dance floor we encountered. The apex of the night came when we managed to get Madonna's "Like a Prayer" played at Scubar (the basement bar associated with our hostel) and the traditional Carl response partially ensued. The next morning we regrouped and explored town - a number of us spent the better part of the day at the Sydney Zoo. It was gorgeous and well worth the rather steep ($50) entrance fee which included round trip ferry rides across the picturesque harbour. We ended the day with a group dinner at the Australian Heritage Hotel restaurant which served a variety of gourmet bush-tucker pizzas (I had kangaroo and curried emu) and boasted 120 varieties of Australian beer. Pinch me. Then it was off to New Zealand.

Don't worry - I'm only a week behind at this point. We landed in Christchurch last Sunday, and after waiting for the vans to arrive, headed southwest to the Southern Alps. Our destination: Flock Hill Lodge, a working sheep station near the Waimakiri River and Arthur's Pass. I wish I could properly describe the vistas in those mountains - there's really no way to do it.

Mark & The Mountains

There is only snow on the very highest peaks at this time of year, but the mountains are no less impressive. In some places, the clouds seem to reach the ground and blanket the pass in a thick veil of white. The hills are coated in grasses and shrubs (a product of European land exploitation), with pockets of native Nothofagus forest and introduced pines. There are plenty of sheep and cows scattered about as well. In the native forests, moss and lichens coat every available surface, creating a veritable fairyland.

Every stream and lake is clear and icy blue in color. And the stars are unreal. It's cooler in the Alps - usually in the upper 60s on a sunny day and in the 40s at night, always with a noticeable breeze blowing through. Flock Hill is pretty and comfortable; the staff are friendly and the food is great. During the first week, we spent most of our time conducting new field studies, hiking to identify the native plant species, and discussing papers ranging from plant masting to the ecology of extinct moas. Guest lecturers included the great Dr. Curtis Lively, a pioneer contributor to the Red Queen hypothesis of sexual evolution. His lecture accompanied a group project which had me kayaking and wading in a frigid, eel-filled lake to collect tiny snails which have become the key example of this hypothesis.

I won't trouble you with all of the scientific details, but Red Queen is absolutely fascinating. While free time was uncommon, I managed to make it a good 1/3 of the way up the mountain behind our station one day with two of my compatriots, Christian and Ryan.

We climbed over and under dense brush, scrambled up shale scree, and free-climbed up a gully to finally reach a small waterfall and pool with frigid, clear water. Of course, I stripped to my long-johns and hopped right in.

We left Flock Hill last Friday, but we will be returning again tomorrow morning (they kicked us out temporarily to host a wedding). In the meantime, we've been back in Christchurch at the University of Canterbury taking another little break and wrapping up our time with Mark. Dan is here for the next segment of the trip, and while it promises to be a blast, we'll be missing Mark when he's gone. Our last days with him here included a trip to the stunning Banks Peninsula for a tour of the Hinewai Reserve led by its dynamic caretaker Hugh, as well as a lecture on bird pollination and seed dispersal in New Zealand by Dr. Dave Kelly (a major contributor to several important papers in my recent comps; the lecture was incredibly validating).

The next week at the Flock Hill station is all about independent group field projects - my crew will be surveying the spatial distribution of the native Nursery-web Spider. Dan will also be leading hikes and lecturing as part of his seminar - conservation and management are the big areas of focus now. I will do my best to write again in a week, since there's clearly way too much to be said in such infrequent posts. Stay tuned and stay warm!!

And so it begins...

Greetings from hot and sunny Kioloa Station!

It's been a week since our departure from the US (time is seriously flying by) and I've finally worked up the motivation to write a proper post for all of you patient followers across the Pacific. Where to start....
It's probably best that I begin this update with the huge travel mess that occurred before many of us even left the States last weekend. While most of us made it as far as LAX on Saturday (at least two students were stranded elsewhere due to the weather), half of the group discovered upon their arrival that their tickets had been cancelled/moved to a day later than the original group flight. Since all of the LAX-Sydney flights were full, there wasn't any wiggle room for this chunk of the group to travel on with the rest of us. Fortunately, I was one of the twelve with the original flight schedule. While our flight's departure was delayed until 1:00am, we didn't have to stay in LA for the additional two days that the rest of the group ultimately did. Thus "Group 1" made it to Sydney almost on time Monday morning (we lost a full day in transit due to the time change). We promptly checked in to the gigantic Sydney YHA hostel, discovering that in the absence of half our group and with pre-booked rooms, we had plenty of extra space. I got lucky and drew a single for the first night. Following check in we went out for group lunch and I discovered that ordering a steak "pink" essentially translates to lightly seared, but otherwise entirely rare inside. I have never been so overjoyed about a steak. The remainder of the day was spent settling in and exploring Sydney - we walked down to the harbour to check The Rocks and Opera House before dinner.

Day 2 was spent finishing up our orientation in Sydney and then riding the bus down to the ANU Kioloa Field Station, just south of Wollongong. This country is gorgeous. The first portion of the trip took us through rolling hills covered in green and brown gum forest, stretching as far as the eye could see. Further south we began to pass through picturesque green pasturelands dotted with cows, horses, sheep, and the occasional alpaca. Frequently to our left were the crashing waves of the ocean and rocky coastal headland. I think what really made the whole scene were the hills and perpetual state of lush floral growth. Everything is green and exotic and unique. The towns are also small and often quaint, with intriguing store fronts and wooden Santas which have yet to be taken down after the holidays. After all of the sensory overload of the bus ride, we were totally ready for Kioloa.

Picture stepping off a bus, jet-lagged and bewildered, to the sight of kangaroos calmly eating grass right in front of the bunkhouse. It's real, we're in Australia. The field station is a converted farm bordered on three sides by national park and the other by a road and coastal forest. It's a five minute walk to the beach, where the sand is fine and the waves big enough to draw surfers as the tides change. There are cow-grazed pastures immediately surrounding the station, but just beyond their edge, the forest begins. The eucalypt-dominated forest is overrun with huge cicadas that fill the daytime air with a high-pitched droning so loud we sometimes can't hear our professor during hiking lectures. There are land leeches and small ticks to contend with, but the other flora and fauna are definitely worth the trouble. There are lyrebirds, bowerbirds, huntsman spiders, and lace monitors in the forest, to name a few. Grey Kangaroos and Red-Necked Wallabies graze all over the open lawns of the station and colorful parrots of several varieties flit amongst the trees near the bunkhouses. We also have a cat-sized brushtail possum who frequents our deck every night - "Kitty". All in all, it's pretty unreal.

The Infamous "Kitty"

Of course it's not all play and exploration time, despite the delay we initially had in waiting for the second half of the group to arrive. We've been on a series of hikes to identify local flora and fauna as well as night hikes/truck rides to spot gliders and possums with several excellent Australian naturalists. Yesterday marked the first field study day of many, with a full group survey of the Banksia trees planted along the field station road. In addition to this study, we have been split into five smaller groups to organize faculty-led research projects on varying subjects around the station. Mark and the TA's suggest the study subject, the small group organizes all of the methodology, and the entire group then conducts the study and collects the data. This morning we surveyed ants in the pastureland and forest using little piles of tuna. My group will be leading a survey of forest trees tomorrow and we're also experimenting a bit with motion-capture cameras in the bush (the goal being to catch a lyrebird displaying; just youtube it and you'll understand why). Our days basically consist of an early self-made breakfast, morning field work, a catered lunch, afternoon paper discussions/lectures, and a catered dinner. The rest is free/study time, which most people have been using to sneak down to the beach. Also, the food prepared here is excellent.

I'd best cap this post now before I risk rambling on, but trust me, there's plenty more to be said. I will post again next weekend when we have returned to Sydney - the next stop will be New Zealand. I hope that the term has started off well for all of my Carleton readers back home and that the temperature has gotten more manageable since my departure. Cheers!

Abroad Again?!!

Hello again new readers and past followers,

It's time for a new travel blog. If you enjoyed the posts from my first collegiate sojourn to the Southern Hemisphere, you're bound to to enjoy this new one as well. By now I'm guessing that most of you are aware that I am participating in my second undergraduate study abroad program, this time through my beloved Carleton College's Biology Department. This year's destinations: Australia and New Zealand. The 10-week trip is broken down into three seminar segments (Evolutionary Ecology, Ecology & Conservation, and Comparative Reproduction of Vertebrates), each taught by a different professor in the department who specializes in the subjects we will be covering. There will be primary literature, there will be lectures, and there will be field work!! The best part. I'm getting things started with this first post from the balmy LAX - it's in the 60s here, already a far cry from the frigid conditions I left this morning in MN. The name of the game right now is killing time, since my 16 hour flight to Sydney doesn't depart until 11pm tonight. I've already managed to locate a couple fellow travelers and we're camped out in the airport bar lounge, cramming in the assigned reading for the trip. Don't worry, as mundane as this may sound, it's just the beginning of what promises to be an excellent trip to The Land Down Under (and New Zealand, of course). As my group bounces around various field stations, hostels, and other lodgings I will do my best to supply you all with the most entertaining details and stunning photos with whatever degree of regularity I can. Stay tuned and stay warm!