Gosh, where do I even begin?
It’s been several weeks since my last detailed blog post about my activities
here. I’ve been so darn busy and it just doesn’t seem like it’s going to get
any less busy any time soon! Hmm, where to begin...
I’ll begin my update with
Chris’s and my visit to Starlight
Cave in mid-February. Starlight Cave
is located near Warrnambool,
Victoria and is about a 3 ½ hour
drive from Naracoorte. This cave is the second and only other maternity cave of
the Southern Bent-wing Bat besides Bat
Cave here in the park.
Chris and I went to help the Victorian Department of Sustainability and
Environment (DSE) with their emergence count at the cave. Starlight Cave is a
coastal cliff cave, which means getting down to the entrance to set up the
thermal imaging camera and record the emergence is quite difficult and entails
some rather dubious routes including: climbing down a crack in the rocks
running along the cliff without any ropes; climbing down the cliff face (this
time with ropes and a little climbing ladder); scrambling over wet, slippery
rocks in the gusting wind; timing your rock-jumping with the waves so you don’t
get hit by one; and climbing up another crack in the rock by wedging your knees
in the crack and leveraging yourself up to the cave entrance. This last part
sounded especially daunting, as my knee still gives me occasional pain (from my
slip back in November) and the thought of having to wedge it between hard rock
didn’t sound appealing. So instead of going down to the main entrance with the
rest of the group, I had arranged for Chris and me to stay up top and do some
emergence counts at two of the small exit holes in the ground above the cave.
While I was bummed I wouldn’t get to see the main cave (I hear it’s quite
spectacular with ceilings over 120 feet high) the information we could gather
from the top exit holes was also very important. The cave is on private
property, and the landowner wants to fill in the top exit holes because his
cattle could fall into them (although most of the holes are currently fenced
off anyway). My counts at these holes would show if the bats are using them to
enter/exit the cave. If they are, this would show that the holes provide an
important function for this Critically Endangered species and would provide
evidence supporting measures to prevent the farmer from filling in the holes. In
addition, the landowner wants to continue driving his tractors and trucks
through his property over the cave. However, we don’t know how thick the
ceiling rock layer is, and the DSE researchers believed that in some places it
might be as thin as one to two feet. The dangers of driving heavy machinery
over these areas are clear. During our visit, the DSE people tried to survey
the land, both above-ground and inside the cave, to determine the thickness of
the cave ceiling in hopes of showing the landowner why he’s not allowed to
drive over that part of his property (the government currently bans him from
doing this, as an accident into the cave below would essentially wipe out half
the total population of Southern Bent-wing Bats).
Chris and I left Naracoorte
early on Saturday morning and arrived at the motel in Warrnambool around noon.
We met with the others in the group who were helping with the count, including
bat biologist Lindy Lumsden of DSE (one of my Fulbright project collaborators),
several other DSE members, and two guys helping with the roping of the
equipment into the cave. I also finally met a guy taller than Chris, if you can
believe that! After a briefing of the night’s activities, we all headed to the
cave, about a 20 minute drive from the motel. Upon arrival, we began getting
equipment ready to lower to the cave entrance (which involved a lot of rope!) and
Lindy showed Chris and me the route they would be taking down the cliff wall.
We had a picnic dinner atop the seaside cliff, with a beautiful panorama of the
Southern Ocean before us. By 6:00pm the rest of the crew was heading down to
the cave (it takes about an hour to traverse down the cliff and over the rocks
to the cave entrance) and Chris and I began setting up our two thermal imaging
cameras at the two exit holes up top. It took a bit of playing around to figure
out the best locations to set them up, and in the end one of the cameras didn’t
work so well (there was a thick Australian Box Thorn bush behind it, which
retained the sun’s heat and made a really poor background to film the bats
against.). At least one of the cameras worked pretty well. Once the sun set and
it started to get dark, the bats began to come out of the holes. A lot more
actually went INTO the holes than emerged from them, so the bats may be exiting
the main cliff-side entrance and re-entering through the top holes. Not quite
what we expected, but the bats are still using the exit holes quite a bit,
which does support the government’s decision to ban the landowner from filling
in the holes. The rest of the crew finished their count and came back up the
cliff around 12:30am, when we packed up and headed back to the motel for a good
night’s sleep.
A diagram of the inside of Starlight Cave (the entrance is on the left). The
two main roosting chambers are the two tall chambers to the right. The exit
holes above the farthest chamber in (the farthest right) are the holes Chris
and I monitored.
An aerial view of the land above the
cave.
A beautiful view above the cave showing
part of the path through the rocks to the cave.
Rope-man David looking over the cliff to
lower equipment to the other rope-man waiting at the bottom.
David (in orange at the top) lowering
equipment along a rope line to the cave entrance.
The next morning we woke up
and packed all our gear, and then headed our separate ways. Chris and I headed
back to Naracoorte, as we had to prepare for the arrival of my mom, Aunt Tracy,
and my mom’s friend, Tina, early the next day (Monday). My mom later pointed
out that I hadn’t even mentioned their upcoming visit in my blog. I thought
about it and realized I hadn’t, which made me feel kind of bad! It’s definitely
not because I wasn’t excited to see them. I must admit the actual visit kind of
snuck up on me. I had been looking forward to it for many months and had been
telling all my friends about it, but when it actually came down to it time
seemed to slip by. Which of course meant Chris and I were left cleaning our
“apartment” the night before their arrival (they got to see my place the
cleanest it’s been since I arrived in August!). Definitely reminiscent of
parental visits to the dorm room during college...
My mom, Aunt Tracy, and Tina
arrived around 10:00am on Monday, when Chris and my mom finally got to meet in
person (instead of just over Skype). I know Chris was a bit nervous, and I must
admit I was too. There was really nothing to worry about, except for the fact
that Chris was going to see a glimpse of what I’d be like in 30 years. Although
I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. J After a brief introduction, we promptly headed off to
the visitor’s center to meet Jinhwa, one of the guides and Chris’ and my
friend, for an adventure cave tour. The adventure cave tours involve several
hours in a cave and lots of crawling around and squeezing through tight holes.
We did Blackberry
Cave, which is a “novice”
adventure tour and takes about 1 ½ hours. Chris, my mom, and I were stoked and
Aunt Tracy and Tina were, let’s just say, not so thrilled. We got fitted for
caving overalls (a.k.a. old construction worker uniforms or similar getups),
knee pads, and helmets. And then we were off!
Preparing for our caving adventure into Blackberry Cave.
Once we entered the cave, we
were quickly inducted into the caving world by a low area through which we had
to army-crawl. The rest of the cave consisted of lots of squeezes through tight
holes in the ground (and then having to climb back UP these holes on the way
out), crawling through low spaces, and overall bending our bodies in ways they
are not meant to be bent. I had a fantastic time (I can’t really speak for the
others...) and I got some fabulous pictures throughout! The others also came
out with some great bruises to show for their efforts, as well as certificates from
the park showing they had completed adventure caving! Now if that isn’t
something to be proud of I don’t know what is.
Here comes Aunt Tracy through the tiny hole!
And then Tina!
And finally my mom!
Me going through the “Letterbox,” which
required lots of squeezing, pushing, and bending.
My mom’s turn through the “Letterbox.”
Haha, Chris can fly!
Chris and me in Blackberry Cave.
Despite all the knee-scraping, elbow-hitting, and
back-bending, we survived.
That evening I took them out
to Bat Cave to watch the emergence and to see
my research setup. It was great to show them in person how things work instead
of trying to explain it over Skype. The next morning Chris, my mom, and I
headed out again for a second caving adventure, this time in Fox Cave,
a three hour expedition (Aunt Tracy and Tina bowed out as they had had their
fill of caving and could check it off their bucket lists).
About to begin our next caving
adventure: Fox Cave.
Fox Cave is a gorgeous cave with lots of formations, including
flowstone, stalactites and stalagmites, and shoals (a.k.a. “bacon”), in
addition to some really long tree roots hanging down from the cave ceiling. And
of course don’t forget all the crawling and squeezing!
A beautiful flowstone in Fox Cave.
A dripping stalactite.
Cave bacon!
Long, thin tree roots coming through the cave ceiling.
Taking our traditional photo with our
local hometown newspaper, “The Hilltop Press.”
On Wednesday, we all left for
Adelaide for
the next part of our adventure. Naracoorte to Adelaide is a 4 ½ hour car ride, so my mom
had plenty of time to drill Chris about himself. I must say, Chris quickly
warmed up to my mom, Aunt Tracy, and Tina, and he was quick to poke fun at them
and join in on their banter. I think he’ll fit right in with the rest of the
family...That evening in Adelaide
we met up with Chris’ family (his mom, sisters Natalie and Claire, and Claire’s
boyfriend, Steve) for dinner at a local restaurant. Everyone got along well
(phew!) and we had a very yummy meal. Afterwards Chris left with his family and
I went to the youth hostel with my gang, the beginning of three days of
adventures with them!
The next three days were a
whirlwind of activity and several early morning starts (5:00am anyone?) due to
the fact that my mom was in charge of planning the trip. On Thursday our “Surf
and Sun” tour guide picked us up at the hostel at 6:15am and we joined the rest
of the tour group. We had quite a bit more luggage than any of the other people
on the bus, which had us worried. (We later found out the reason, which I will
explain in a bit.) Several of the other people we had to pick up were late,
which put us behind schedule and made us almost miss the ferry from the
mainland to Kangaroo
Island (about a 45 minute
ride). Luckily we made it in the nick of time, and what followed was a
fantastic two-day sightseeing adventure around Kangaroo Island.
A few highlights of the trip
included:
- a short kayak paddle up an
inlet in Vivonne Bay, after which we walked to the beach
where Aunt Tracy commented that that beach was the most beautiful
she’d ever seen.
The beach that Aunt Tracy called “the most beautiful beach she’d ever seen.” - the
New Zealand Fur Seals (the pups are ADORABLE!) and the Admiral’s Arch in
Flinders Chase National
Park. Boy was it windy and cold at the arch!
My mom and me in front of the very windy Admiral’s Arch. - the
Remarkable Rocks. Such beautiful rock formations formed from erosion of the
granite over thousands
of years. This stop also included some funny poses with the rocks (for example,
hanging above the ocean, falling from the sky, riding a Harley Davidson, etc.)
and discoveries of some interesting images in the rocks (like a Smurf,
Voldemort’s face from Harry Potter, and an image for which Tony, our guide, had
to ask if everyone in the group was over 18 before he could divulge what it looked
like).
With Tina, my mom, and Aunt Tracy at an overlook with the Remarkable Rocks far in the distance.
One of the cool poses with the rocks that Tony showed us.
Cool pose #2: falling from the sky.
Squished by a giant rock!
Riding a Harley Davidson.
A Smurf!
Lord Voldemort’s face.
Use your imagination... - the time when Tony yelled from the driver’s seat on the bus, “Anybody want to go on a roller coaster ride?” and then proceeded to driver faster and faster towards a steep hill and then throw his hands up in the air with everyone else's as we went over the hill.
- a
night hike in the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to spotlight for koalas,
kangaroos, possums, etc. We were fantastically lucky that night with all our
sightings. We saw a Common Brush-tailed Possum mom with a tiny baby on her back
and we got up close to a wild koala as she came out of tree and walked through
our group within two feet of our legs. We also witnessed a male koala pursuing
that same female up a tree as she called out with a male call to deter him (it
didn’t, and let me just say that the calls a koala makes are definitely not
what you’d expect a koala to sound like. They grunt loudly and sound kind of
like noises from “The Exorcist”). We learned a few interesting facts about
koalas:
- They only eat about 5 of every 200 eucalyptus leaves they pick off the tree (they just throw the undesirable leaves to the ground).
- They sleep about 20 hours per day because they get so little energy from their eucalyptus leaf-only diet.
- A mom’s pouch is a vertical slit (instead of a pouch like a kangaroo) so that the baby can stick its backside out to pee/poop without the mom having to clean up after it.
An endangered Tammar wallaby at the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
A great close-up of a koala. That day they were very low in the trees due to the high temperatures. On hot days they come down low and come out of the trees to drink water.
A wild koala walked within two feet of our legs. How cool!The male koala saw the female walking on the ground to a tree, so he jumped out of his tree and pursued her. This is what ensued...
Petting a hand-raised kangaroo. - sitting
around a campfire with the other members of our tour group, which included
(mostly younger) people from countries like England,
Germany, the Netherlands, Italy,
and France.
I got to try my mouth(?) at playing the didgeridoo. Not such a success, but it
was fun!
Attempting to play the didgeridoo... - sand surfing! Unfortunately my board never went very fast, despite the fact that I waxed it. Ah well, it was still a blast, and a killer workout on the legs to climb back up the hill!
One of my slow descents down the hill. - Seal Bay, where we saw the endangered Australian Sea Lions.
Some cool facts about these guys:
- The females begin reproducing at age 3, after which they spend 18 months pregnant, have the pup, have two weeks “free,” then get pregnant again. Geez!
- Females will protect other females’ pups but will not feed them.
- The adults go on 3-day feeding trips about 100 km into the ocean, and if a mother does not return, her pup remains on shore waiting and calling and will die after about 2-3 weeks (we saw a young pup whose mother had been gone longer than three days, so its fate is sealed). Unfortunately, despite the fact that this species is endangered and will probably not last much longer in the wild, zoos will not take them into captivity. They require so much food that they are just too expensive to keep.
- There are no “beach masters” and the males don’t have territories, but they do have a hierarchy and only the old bulls get to mate. The hierarchy is pup, juvenile, teenager, and bull (12+ years).
- The bulls will try to keep the females on the beach. We witnessed this, and we were all cheering for the poor females to slip by the pesky male! (see video below)
- A big problem for
the sea lions is gill netting for sharks. This is when fishers stretch 2-3 m
high nets over the ocean floor for 2-3 km in order to catch sharks. The sharks
go through the netting and get stuck by their gills and drown to death. Seals,
sea lions, and other marine life also gets caught and drown. What a horrible
way to die. So the next time I see “flake” on the menu (in fish and chips,
etc.) I’ll make sure to think about how it was caught before ordering it.
A young sea lion taking a snooze in the sun.A male attempts to keep two females on the beach (he doesn’t actually bite them, although it may look like it. He’s simply putting his weight against them to pin them.). The whining wail in the background is a little pup calling for its mom, which has been out to sea for three days and is due to return.
- a visit to Stokes Bay,
where we enjoyed the sun, warm sand, and beautiful water by lounging on the
beach and snorkeling.
Soaking up the sun and surf in Stokes Bay.On Friday evening we learned that the reason we had more luggage than everyone else was because our tour was a three-day tour, while their bookings were for a two-day tour. And what, you may ask, were we to do on the third day? Two surf lessons, of course! My mom had no idea that’s what the tour package included, and you can imagine everyone’s surprise when we found out. I was super excited, as I’ve always wanted to try my hand at surfing, but I can’t say as much for the others. On Friday night we stayed at the Port Elliott YHA, and on Saturday morning one of our surf instructors picked us up and took us to the beach for our first lesson! We donned wetsuits and everything and looked the surfer part. I also wore goggles, which I’m sure looked stupid but there was no way I could get bashed around in the ocean and be able to see without my contacts coming out. I’m sure glad I wore the goggles! I did get tossed around a bit, and never quite got up on my feet on the board (I did kneel once). I think a few more lessons and I’d have it. We were scheduled for a second afternoon lesson, but by then we were all so pooped out that we bowed out. I think when Sarah (my college roommate) is here in June/July we might try to do a surf lesson.
Preparing for our first surf lesson! Also, my first time wearing a wet suit.The next day, Sunday, we picked up Chris and headed to the Garden Island Dolphin Sanctuary for an afternoon of kayaking. We saw several dolphins, paddled through a mangrove forest, and saw two shipwrecks. Chris and I kayaked together for the first time, and we did quite well. That must have been because I was in the stern, aka “captain”...
My first time kayaking with Chris! He was such a strong paddler that basically all I had to do was steer.
Dolphin!
An old shipwreck in the bay.Monday was our day “off” when we FINALLY didn’t have to get up before 7:00am! We Skyped home with my dad and grandma and grandpa, and then headed out for some shopping in Rundle Mall. I bought a pair of opal earrings, as for years I’ve wanted to replace an old pair that broke. My mom had bought me a beautiful opal necklace in the shape of a gum leaf with three “peas in a pod,” so now I can be all decked out in opals (but I guess that’s okay because it is my birthstone).Early Tuesday morning I had to say goodbye to my mom, Aunt Tracy, and Tina, which was really hard. I haven’t been homesick since the first week or so when I got here in August, but after getting a taste of home, that feeling came back. When Chris and I went back to Naracoorte I really missed my family and the desire to return home at the end of the year was even stronger. I’m definitely not ready to leave now, but I think when the holiday season rolls around again, the itch for home will come back.Speaking of the future, Chris and I have begun to think about what we’re going to do when my Fulbright ends in late August/September. Right now the tentative plan is for me to stay on a bit in Australia and extend my visa for a few months (possibly get a work visa so I can get a paying job for a bit) while Chris finishes uni. When he graduates in mid-November, we’ll go home to the US and be in Cincinnati for the holidays, and then we’ll probably stay in that area for most of 2013. During that time, we’ll both get jobs and apply to graduate school, probably to schools both in the US and in Australia. Then after that, who knows?And speaking of jobs, Chris just got hired as a park guide at the Naracoorte Caves! Now he’ll be able to start saving to come to the US at the end of the year. Plus, he’ll gain some park and tourism experience, so it’s all around fantastic! I just can’t wait to tag along on his tours and pull faces at him from the back of the group...
Parting shot: the skeleton of a dead bat still hanging from the cave ceiling (taken when Chris and I went looking for Southern Bent-wings in several caves in Marcollat, SA with Steve Bourne).
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