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!