I forgot to mention that we would probably not have access to the internet while on our 32 hour train ride. The night before we left, several students uploaded posts, so hopefully you had enough reading to keep you occupied.
On Sunday, Mother’s Day, 7 students went to the Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin’s zoo. Charlie and I went with them; it was another chance to see native Australian animals that I am not likely to see in the wild. And some I don’t want to see in the wild!
There were more crocodiles here than at Lone Pine, and the trainers at one of the shows we attended encouraged a large croc to swim into the stadium and to walk about a bit. Apparently, an egret has invited itself to all the shows, flying in as the show starts and leaving when the crowd departs. I was so afraid the crocodile was going to help himself to some live raw meat; both were on the stage, the egret seemingly oblivious to anything but the crowd. It was all good, and the egret attended the predator bird show in the afternoon.
The Australia Zoo has more than just native animals. There were 6 alligators, 3 tigers, and 2 elephants. Typically there are 3 elephants there, but one was lent out for a movie. The highlight of the afternoon was the feeding of the elephants. My students and I pulled a slice of squash, I think, out of a bucket and held it out to the elephant. She picked it up with the end of her trunk and lifted it to her mouth. The trunk felt leathery. I missed the opening statements because I stayed too long at the bird show (another story!) so I didn’t realize my picture was taken. I wonder what they do with unclaimed photos.
The bird show started with predators and ran through birds similar to the ones we saw at Taronga Zoo. It was followed by a flying display of colorful Amazon rainforest birds which went on and on because the birds would not return to their trainers. Other sets of birds were due to be released as a part of the show, but couldn’t until the parrots were brought in. It was fascinating to watch the tricks the trainers used to convince the birds to return: trainers alternated and they would jump out of sight for a few seconds and return again (like playing “peek-a-boo”), whistling a command and holding out their arms. Meanwhile, the narrator was running out of patter. As we left the stadium to get to the elephants, the narrator gave up, sat down, and watched the one remaining renegade with the rest of the audience.
Three of our students have friends who are living in Australia and all three have been able to visit their friends. On Sunday, a group of students who did not go to the zoo went on a beach outing with one of these friends. The details are in the students’ postings.
Monday was also a free day. It was also a day of downpours. I Skyped with family members for an hour or more in the morning (it was Mother’s Day in the States); Charlie edited my quiz and printed it. We then walked around Brisbane for a few hours, doing some light shopping and visiting a museum with a very nice Torres Strait Islander exhibit. Charlie may add this to the Brisbane tour next year.
After dinner, the packing started – and the unpacking. The checked baggage on the train must be 44 lbs or less per bag. For air travel, the limit has been 50 lbs, so students would pack, weigh, and then pull things out. This continued through the evening, into the morning and right up to the train station itself. Remember the bag with the broken wheel? It was replaced and discarded and then reclaimed – as the overflow case. Dan carried it to the train station, and those who had bags over the limit tossed stuff into it.
All of us had sleeping berths, the students three to a berth. Several students asked for the quiz to begin immediately so that they could pull out their beds and get some sleep (at 9 a.m.! My sons also will stay up the night before a long trip starts so that they can sleep the drive away.) After grading the quizzes and journals, Charlie and I were able to watch out the window. Up until dusk, I saw farm animals: sheep, cattle, horses. Just before sunset, I did see a kangaroo on the run.
In the morning, near the Townsville station, we passed over a river filled with sand flats. There was no vegetation, no signs of life – no footprints –on these sands. We started to see extensive damage here: uprooted trees, buildings with collapsed roofs. The region was hit by a flood and a cyclone early in the year.
We’ve checked into the hotel, had our typical pasta dinner, listened to a pitch for adventures in the area, and now I hope to post this blog. We have a full day planned tomorrow, including “Reef Teach” in the evening.
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