Wrapping Up 14 Months in Australia

Happy Halloween! Or in other important happenings, t-minus one day until I leave Adelaide, and t-minus two days until I’m back home in Cincinnati! It’s finally here. And guess what? It STILL hasn’t fully hit me. I think once I’m on my way to the Adelaide airport tomorrow and all my last minute errands are done all my emotions will come to the surface. But until then I’m in stress mode, especially since I’ve been having problems with my excess baggage through Qantas (I have gotten my luggage down to three bags instead of four). The story goes like this: Before I booked my flights a month or so ago, I called Qantas about one of the flights on the itinerary I was looking at (a flight from Dallas to Cincinnati). It was listed as a “QF” (Qantas) flight, but said it was operated by American Airlines. In order to be able to buy additional baggage online ahead of time at a cheaper price than at the airport, your flights have to be “QF” listed flights, but the website said something about not being able to do that with codeshare flights. So I called Qantas and SPECIFICALLY asked about that flight, gave the lady the flight number, and she supposedly looked it up and then told me that yes, I would be able to order additional baggage online ahead of time at the cheaper price. When I went to order it several days ago there was no option in the booking manager to do that, so I called Qantas again and was told I couldn’t buy ahead of time and would have to pay the more expensive price at the airport. I had budgeted for the cheaper price so that extra money (even though it’s not a ton) is a bit of a hassle. When I go to the airport tomorrow I’m going to argue my case. I should not be penalized for the mistake and/or poor training of a Qantas employee. We’ll see how that goes...

Now to recap my last week in Australia. Last Thursday I had my last Pilates class in town. I’m going to miss doing that! I really hope I can get into a dance/exercise class when I get home to keep up my fitness. I’m not very good at exercising on my own, so group classes are great for me. I’ll have to look into options when I get back. Friday was a special evening. My friend Amber had me over for a DELICIOUS dinner (mmm, salmon!) and then she, her husband, and her two little girls, Piper and Adonya, came out with me to watch the emergence from Bat Cave. It was a perfect evening for it. About halfway through the emergence Amber commented that this was my last time watching an emergence. Wow, it was! I’m glad I got to spend my last evening at Bat Cave with my new friend and her girls, whom I have grown quite fond of. It was a special way to end my 14 months of watching these bats.

I spent the rest of Friday (and into Saturday morning) packing my bags and packing all my unneeded stuff to give to Chris when he came to pick me up the next day, as well as cleaning my room. Deb came to “inspect” my room on Saturday, since I was living in the park bunkhouse and had to leave the room in a livable state. I think I did a pretty darn good job of cleaning if I may say so myself! Unfortunately (?) Deb didn’t spend much time inspecting my room and just gave it a once-over. All my scrubbing and tidying was for nothing! Ahh well. It felt like moving out of the dorm every summer at OWU. Tons of crap, a late night spent packing and cleaning, and the final inspection. Good memories from college!

Chris arrived Saturday evening, and we went to drop my car off with the people who were buying it. It was quite funny actually because when the new owners and I completed our “deal”, they handed me a Ziploc bag of cash. Sweet! I suddenly felt rich, although that feeling has quickly faded since then...On the way out of their house I instinctively grabbed the car keys off the table, and they had to ask, “Aren’t those ours now?” Oops, I guess it’s just habit! The car is now officially no longer mine. Goodbye little Mitsubishi Lancer, you will be missed (although boy am I looking forward to driving my Subaru Outback when I get home)!

 Goodbye Sal!

After selling my car Chris and I headed into town for one last dinner at the Kincraig Pub with friends from the caves. I could finally say my proper goodbyes to everyone since I was leaving the next day and I wouldn’t keep running into everyone at the park and having to say another goodbye. I keep hoping that all my goodbyes aren’t FINAL goodbyes and that someday I will come back to visit!

Chris and I headed out on Sunday after loading up his car (well, his mom’s car, since he had to borrow it because he wasn’t sure if his car would have made it to Naracoorte and back). Leaving the bunkhouse and seeing it so empty was hard. I lived there for 14 months, and despite the many school groups and noisy kids that came through (and often, out of curiosity, tried to get into my room), it was home.

 My clean and empty room.

On the way through town we stopped at Andrew and Tash’s place to say goodbye, as they had not been able to make dinner the night before. Andrew was the one who helped me move in when I first got here and really helped me feel at home my first few weeks here. Thank you Andrew!

The drive to Adelaide was uneventful. I’ve spent the last three days finalizing my travel plans home (or trying to) and basically cutting all my official ties to Australia. I have sold my car and submitted the disposal paperwork, I’ve cancelled my car insurance, I’ve closed my bank account, and I just cancelled my phone plan. All is coming to an end. I’ve enjoyed spending a few days in Adelaide with Chris before I leave. We went to the beach under a beautiful full moon; had dinner with Terry and his partner Joan and spoke about American food that Joan and I miss (she’s also American); took the O-Bahn, which is basically like train tracks for buses so that the buses can avoid all other traffic and drive quite fast, into the city center; went to the midnight release for the new Assassin’s Creed III video game (our one VERY nerdy activity for the week); and have nearly finished watching Season 6 of Supernatural (only one more episode to go!). All in all a good way to end my time here in Australia. 

 Farewell from Naracoorte.

 Sunset on the way to Adelaide.

 Riding on a bus on the O-Bahn.

"You're a legend"

Deb held a farewell party for me at her house Friday evening. Members of the cave staff, as well as Cath, Terry, Dennis Matthews (who has been helping me with the technical stuff of my project), and Mark and Felicity from Biosis Research (who I went to Byaduk Caves with) came out to wish me a fond farewell. I held it together while Deb gave her little speech and while the group gave me their gifts (a beautiful dyed linen bag and coin purse from the guides (thank you Jinhwa for picking it out!), a bat pendant handmade by Liz Reed, the resident paleontologist here, and chocolates from Deb), but then Tom called for everyone to give me three cheers and they all yelled out, “Hip hip hooray” three times. That’s when I lost it. I couldn’t hold back the emotions. This place and these people have become my second home and second family over the past 14 months, and the thought of leaving it all behind makes me very emotional. I leave Naracoorte on Sunday, and I’ve been trying to say all my goodbyes this week. When Chris is here (he’s coming to pick me up to take me to Adelaide) we’ll have one last dinner at the Kincraig pub with all our friends. That will be a bittersweet moment...

Terry and Steve have told me numerous times that they are sad to see me go and that I need to stay at least another year to get more data (Terry fondly says to me, “You’re a legend” which he says to people he thinks highly of. I’m honored he thinks that way of me.). Recently they told me that they are going to slip some contraband in my luggage so I’d get arrested at the airport, and then they’d come bail me out and have me do community service with them (a.k.a. continue the bat project) to serve my sentence. I told them I didn’t think my parents would appreciate that, but I guess I would get to stay another year here...

Anyway, back to this past weekend. Terry, Dennis, Mark, and Felicity had come down for the weekend to test out Terry’s new marine radar, which Cath, Steve Bourne, and I joined them for early Saturday morning at Bool Lagoon. The goal of the radar is to get it to pick up small flying objects (like bats and birds) so it can be used to monitor bat activity at potential windfarm development sites. The problem with current monitoring methods at these sites is that they are typically done at ground height (or slightly higher). They don’t measure bat activity at blade height, which is what the real issue is when trying to determine the possible detrimental effects of the turbines on bats. If Terry can get this radar working, it could be a good way to see what height bats are flying at and could therefore be used in windfarm monitoring.

Terry thought it would be best to test it out on birds in the daytime when we can actually see what’s flying around and correlate that to what’s on the radar screen. This involved Terry playing with the radar settings and the rest of us spotting for birds and yelling out when they flew by. We had some success, but Terry decided he had to actually read the instructions (what is it with boys and their toys and not reading the instructions?) to get it working properly. 

 

Dennis, Mark, and Terry setting up the radar. 

Cath and Felicity on the lookout for flying birds. 

While driving around Bool Lagoon and back through the park, I began thinking about how soon I will be back in southern Ohio with different vegetation and a much more suburban atmosphere. That’s when it began to really sink in that I’m leaving in less than two weeks. I don’t think it will necessarily be hard to move home, but it will be an adjustment. For one thing, I’ll be living with my parents probably until I start graduate school. I haven’t lived at home for an extended period of time since high school, so it might feel a bit strange to have to “report” to someone instead of just doing things on my own. As I mentioned above, I’ll also have to get used to a dense suburban environment again after living in a rural area for 14 months. There will also be the cultural change, since the majority of the people in Naracoorte are white and there is not the multiculturalism like there is back home. And of course I’ll have to remember to drive on the right side of the road! All of this change makes me a little nervous, but I’m sure it will be just fine.

On Saturday afternoon we met with Deb to discuss the future of the bat monitoring project as well as the bat interpretation in the park. A lot of great ideas were brought up, including automating the collection of the thermal imaging videos so that it’s easy for anyone to do, collecting all night counts so we can monitor bat activity in Bat Cave throughout the night and get more accurate emergence and fly in counts, and erecting a screen on the fence around Bat Cave that the thermal imaging video could be shown on during bat tours, just to name a few. The overall goal is to get funding to continue my monitoring project over the next several years, with a DEWNR staff member or other person permanently assigned to the project. Until then, several Friends of Naracoorte Caves members and park staff will continue the thermal imaging counts this summer so we at least have data for one more year after I leave. Last week I met up with that group to show them how to set up the cameras and run the software, and this week I met with them again and let them do it. They did amazingly well and I’m excited that they’re interested in helping out. Of course it’s a great way to collect data, but it’s also a great way to involve the community in this project.

 

 The Friends of Naracoorte Caves folks learning how to use the thermal imaging cameras. 

While Terry and the bat crew were still here, we met back up on Saturday evening outside Cathedral Cave, one of the caves on the park that currently has a thousand or so bats in it. We set the radar back up and this time tested it in the dark. We had more success than the last time, and it all looked quite cool on the computer screens! Mark and Felicity had brought their hand-held thermal imaging camera (which Terry has decided he wants to replace our cameras with) and Dennis had brought his acoustic detector. We looked like quite the sight with all our spiffy gadgets! 

 The radar (left) set up beside Cathedral Cave.

 Terry's new toy.

 Battos (as Terry calls bat researchers) and their gadgets. 

 Cool stuff!

Before Terry and the others left on Sunday, we had a “debriefing” about my project. I talked about the main findings of my project, which are:

1. There is a lot of fluctuation in the number of bats in Bat Cave throughout the summer. We had previously thought that once all the bats came back to Bat Cave for the summer, they all stayed there. However, the thermal counts I’ve taken show this is not the case, and that the bats are using the surrounding caves during the summer in addition to the winter. Because of the fluctuations in numbers, previous counts at Bat Cave (which were taken only one to three times per summer) are not reliable since they may have been taken at times when a significant proportion of the bats were gone. This highlights the importance of regular monitoring, over multiple years, if we want to get accurate population counts.

2. During the winter survey we found only about 15,300 bats in all the known South Australian over-wintering caves. The peak population count I got at Bat Cave during the summer was about 40,400 bats. Where are the remaining 25,100 bats? It’s possible that we don’t know about all their over-wintering caves (there are likely some sea cliff caves that we cannot access) or that they migrate farther than we currently think.

It was good to have a chat with Terry and Dennis, as they always have good ideas and suggestions. I’ve been busy writing up the results, and now I have some more stuff to add after talking with them! Terry and I are planning to meet up when I’m in Adelaide, so luckily I didn’t have to say my final goodbye to him when he left.

Andrew and his partner Tash had me over for dinner on Monday, which is something we’d been planning to do for a long time and finally got around to. I got to meet Millie, their Ring-tailed possum, and their leaf-tailed gecko. Then on Tuesday they took me out to their friend’s place, where she has rescued native wildlife. And guess what? I GOT TO HOLD A BABY WOMBAT!!! Her name was Dolly and she was four months old and absolutely adorable! What a great thing to get to do my last week in Australia!

 

Holding Dolly the baby wombat.

 

A very young Tawny Frogmouth.

 

Molly the dog and Dolly the wombat.

 

Isn't she precious?

 

Roadblock in rural Australia. I'm going to miss rural life!

 

Farewell to the Naracoorte Girl Guides

Wednesday was my last Girl Guide meeting. We met at the Guide Hall and then did a Penny Hike, in which you flip a penny (or other coin) every time you get to a street junction to determine the direction you will go, from there to our new meeting place. A few weeks ago a big storm came through with fierce winds and the front of the Guide Hall fell in, so we currently cannot use it. We were lucky to find another place for our meetings.

Once we all got to the meeting place, I was told by Karlee, one of the girls, to stay outside. I did as told and after a minute or two Karlee came back for me and escorted me inside. The girls had all gathered together and when I entered the room they yelled out, “Thank you Cricket for being a great Guide leader!” I was so touched that I started to cry, and I admit that I did the beauty queen thing where I fanned my face with my hands as I cried. All the girls ran up to me to give me a big group hug, which only made me cry more.

They had set up a farewell party for me and everyone had brought some food to share. Before snack time though Kirsty and Andrea, along with two of the girls, presented me with a gift from the unit: a beautiful oilskin backpack. They had also invited Allen Attwood (the president of the Friends of Naracoorte Caves) and several other Friends members along. Allen stood up and talked a little about my involvement at the park with the Friends and about my bat research. I was so surprised that Kirsty and Andrea had gotten Allen and the Friends to come! I found out today that Deb had gone into the bank where Kirsty works and they had arranged for several Friends members to be at the party, and they all were told to keep quiet. They did a great job! Several of the girls also gave me cards with their addresses on it so I could write to them, and many others wanted to write back and forth too. It’ll be great to keep in touch with them and to hear about their new adventures. I’m so glad I got to continue my Girl Scouting/Guiding experience and be part of such a wonderful group. Thank You Naracoorte Girl Guides for welcoming me into your family and for making my year here in Australia that much richer. You will always hold a special place in my heart.

 The Naracoorte Girl Guides: one last time together. 

 And of course the obligatory funny photo.

Camping in the Grampians

Spring has definitely sprung! The weather is getting better and better, although there still are some cool and rainy days. This past weekend was the perfect time to go camping in the Grampians, which is what Cath, Alix, Kay (a former colleague of Cath’s at DENR), and I did. 

Before I met up with them on Friday I had a live radio interview with Stan Thomson of the ABC Southeast SA station. This was the first interview in which I had to go into the station. It’s just like you would imagine it: the “On Air” sign in red, the table with the microphones, and the interviewer sitting across from the interviewee, both wearing headphones. It was a fun experience! You can listen to the interview at the website below (the interview was on October 12 and my part starts about 2/3 of the way in that segment):

Radio interview with Stan Thomson at ABC Southeast SA 

We headed out on Friday afternoon for the Grampians National Park in Victoria after a yummy lunch at one of Mt. Gambier’s cafes and a quick stop at the bottle shop for some liquid refreshments for the weekend. Speaking of which, if you’ve never had Rekorderlig cider (alcoholic of course), you MUST try it. There are several different flavors, including Apple and Blackcurrant, Mango, and Strawberry and Lime, which tastes just like drinking a strawberry. So delicious!

Our drive took about 2 hours and took us through agricultural and forestry lands and then into more densely-forested areas. After setting up our campsite in the Boreang Campground (a quiet, secluded spot where we were the only campers), Cath, Alix, and I headed off to a nearby small river/stream to put out 21 crayfish nets for a crayfish survey. This entailed stuffing large chunks of raw liver into little pockets in the nets and then securing the nets under the water. Quite a smelly process.

 

 There they are: the Grampians!

 Our campsite.

By the time we got back to our campsite Kay had the fire and dinner (baked potatoes and baked beans) going. She was happy to see us as she proclaimed, “I’m glad you’re back because I’m getting pissed!” (a.k.a. drunk). Haha. Despite the light drizzle and overcast sky, the evening was great. We had a nice camp setup, with our kitchen area under a retractable awning on Alix’s 4WD and our chairs set up around the fire. It was so serene in the middle of nowhere. After the other two had gone to bed Cath and I took a walk to spotlight for nocturnal animals. We saw a Tawny Frogmouth sitting in a branch about five feet above our head. He just sat and stared and provided a perfect view.

 Alix getting raw liver for the crayfish traps.

After breakfast on Saturday morning we all went to check the crayfish traps in the drizzling rain. We caught some Yabbies (a type of crayfish) and a few Southern Pygmy Perch, but no Spiny Crayfish, which is what we were hoping for. After packing up the traps we headed back to camp to have morning tea before beginning our day out hiking. We had originally planned to do a long hike on Saturday, but because of the weather we decided to do a few shorter ones then and save the long one for Sunday. We first stopped at a beautiful waterfall and then proceeded to Reids Lookout and The Balconies, which provided great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

 Southern Pygmy Perch.

 Why hello, my pretty.

 

 At the waterfall with Kay and Cath.

 Spring is the perfect time to go to the Grampians. There are lots of pretty flowers!

 

 The view from Reids Lookout.

 

 

We made a stop in Halls Gap, one of the little tourist town in the park, for lunch and a bit of shopping. In one of the stores there were some beautiful stone rings, but unfortunately none of them fit my skinny fingers. One day I will find a ring that actually fits! In another store there was some American candy, so of course I bought a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and some Reese’s Pieces: a little taste of home.

Our next stop was Mt. William, which DEFINITELY felt like a mountain as we were climbing up to the top! Boy was it steep and long! I think I walked off the two pieces of birthday cake I’d eaten earlier...The view from the top was well worth the effort getting up.

 They weren't lying!

 

A Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum).

 The colors were absolutely gorgeous!

 The view was a perfect reward for reaching the top.

 Haha, in Australia!

 

 The gang at the top of Mt. William.

 Me in a bubble!

 

More beautiful colors. 

On the drive back to camp I nearly fell asleep from exhaustion, but we had one more place to check out: Paddy’s Castle, a rock outcrop that did look like a castle. After soaking up the sun for a few minutes there, we headed back and made dinner. Unlike the night before, we had company on Saturday night. It was an older couple who played some typical Australian music, as well as American country. The sky was crystal clear and the country music took my mind back to my time in Texas with Liz, Lauren, Dan, and Juan Jose. Such good memories. For dessert Alix made damper, a traditional Australian camping food. It’s just flour and milk, and then whatever else you decide to add. Alix put in some apples and it turned out great! For our evening entertainment we played with Alix’s nice camera and took some fun fire-writing pictures. They turned out pretty good! We also made s’mores, or at least as close as we could get to them without Hershey’s chocolate and graham crackers. Instead we used Cadbury chocolate and Belvita snack biscuits/cookies. Although not quite the same, they still turned out sickeningly sweet and delicious!

 

Almost sunset at Paddy's Castle.

  My first experience with damper. Very yum!

 Fire fire burning bright. 

Sunday turned out to be the perfect day for a longish hike. It was in the upper 70s and sunny. Perfect! We packed up camp and then drove to our hiking spot: the Lake Bellfield and Sundial Peak walk. The vegetation and dryness of the place reminded me a lot of Texas and the American Southwest, and some parts of the walk reminded me of South Carolina. It was a breathtaking place. Our hike took about two hours roundtrip. Of course a hike isn’t complete without a treat at the end, so we stopped back in Halls Gap for ice cream at a place that prided itself as being the “Home of the Homemade Waffle Cone.” The server piled my ice cream high and I almost couldn’t finish it all despite how amazing it was!

 This part reminded me of Texas/the American Southwest.

 

 

 

 Our lunch spot. What a view!

 This part reminded me of South Carolina. I think it had a lot to do with the boardwalk. 

 

Our last stop of the trip was another waterfall. The river it ran into flooded several years ago and you could see the large amount of debris that had been moved downriver, including the little pedestrian bridge. 

 

You can see the washed-out bridge downstream.

 

  Water breaking over the waterfall's edge.

  Alix and me. 

We arrived back in Mt. Gambier in the evening, and I stayed with Cath that night. I of course took advantage of Cath’s TV and cable, since I only get three channels in the bunkhouse. Ahh television.

I’m really glad I got to see the Grampians before I leave Australia. While they are no Rockies, they are certainly beautiful and amazing. To anyone who’s in Victoria, I highly recommend you take a little trip there!

Now for an update on the visa shenanigans: Earlier in October I was granted a Bridging Visa C, which made me legal (yay!). However, I was told that I’m not allowed to leave the country on that type of visa, and that if I did I wouldn’t be allowed back into the country in the future. I asked how long the processing time for my visa is, and was told 2-3 months. At that point I was leaving in about three weeks! The immigration people said I could apply for a tourist visa, which I would have done except it costs $290 (or so they told me) which I cannot afford right now. I sent an email to the department explaining my situation and asking for expedited processing of my visa. I received an automated reply saying that they endeavor to answer all emails within five working days, which would have put me at two weeks before my departure date. I didn’t think that gave me enough time, so I called the number I had for the people who actually process the visas. The guy told me he’d give my application to the case officer and she’d email me with a decision by the end of the week. However, when I got home from the Grampians the following Monday I still had not heard anything, so I called them up again on Tuesday. The guy said he’d pass my application onto the case officer, which is what he had told me the week before. It makes me wonder if he would have given her my application if I had not called...On Wednesday I FINALLY heard back from the case officer, who said she had finalized and approved my application. Now I’m all set! Phew, that sure took a lot of hoop-jumping! I’m just glad everything is taken care of so I can go home and have the option of coming back to Australia in the future.