I woke up this morning at 6 AM Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) in a small hostel in Gladstone, where I shower for the day. Most other students are still asleep. The Hostel was Gladstone Backpackers, a small building with incredible personality. The beds were comfortable, and the people were inviting. At approximately 10 AM, my luggage was packed and I was ready to begin my venture towards the island. The other students and I were briefed before our departure on basic island procedures and information. Attendance was not optional. We pack sandwiches, thank our hosts, and depart. By 2 PM, we are on the ferry for the island. The ferry ride was relatively brief in comparison to the numerous overseas flights required to make it to Sydney, totaling slightly below two hours. Despite having relatively optimal sailing conditions, the seas were too rough for me to sit comfortably. On numerous occasions I needed to grab a bag for the potential event of a nausea attack, but I fortunately did not require it. I did, however, find myself unintentionally clenching my jaw during the trip. Ignoring my wave-intolerant status, the views of the ocean were staggering. As the mainland departed, small clusters of miniature islands emerged. The water was blue and only minutely opaque. Though I had seen the island on many occasions from the internet, many images were from elevated locations, and I found myself unable to determine which island was Heron. I mainly sat indoors to myself, attempting to monitor my own vital status, but eventually opted to move outside where the other students and professors were located. The wind helped my situation, and I arrived mere minutes before we began to see parts of the reef emerge, along with shouts of joy from the other students who had spotted the island before I did. Fast forward through my awe, the island itself looks absolutely gorgeous. The amount of images I took were limited, as we spent a fair amount of time learning the locations and procedures of the island, with the addition that the pants I wore did not have pockets for which to place my phone, but I will be posting more images as time progresses. The island is very green, and we were pleasantly informed that some of the turtle residents on the island have laid unusually late this year, and we will be among the island during the hatching of some of the local sea turtles. Before we situate ourselves into our living quarters, we are introduced to additional island staff, who found for us wet suits and other equipment for us to use during the trip. Personally, I brought with me my own goggles and swimwear, but still accepted additional materials including snorkels, flippers, and wet suits. We were given spare time before supper, which was to be held at a local cafeteria among the island, next to the dormitories for students. I'm uncertain as to what we ate, but it appeared to be a variation of lasagna that I have never seen before, but it was nevertheless very satisfying. Desert, to our surprise, was also provided. Served was chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries. I ate plenty. With one more micro lecture on tomorrow's activities, the students retired to their rooms, where I sit to this moment writing these words. My initial impressions of the island have been positive. The water looks clean and clear, the temperature was not unbearable during our arrival, and I was please with the openness of the environment. For those who are unaware, I am not terribly comfortable being in or around bodies of water, but I took this trip because I wanted to accomplish several things on my trip. The first is to break my habit of water shyness. The remainder of the trip, in my hopes, will blend serious instruction with light structuring. So little do I learn in the environment that I read through. In addition, I was exstatic for the more obvious reasons - It's the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Now, I was thinking on how I would end my daily posts, and I've come up with something entirely irrelevant, but in my eyes, fun. Most of the images I will be posting are of the marine environment, and very little will even contain any land upon them. I wish to end my blogs terrestrial organisms that can be found in Australia. Of course, many of the charismatic animals, such as Koalas and Kangaroos have been seen and depicted countless times, so I wish to avoid them and instead post an image of something slightly less well-known. I do this with some buddies at home anyway, so I thought it would help remind me of them from way out here. Thanks everyone for reading, and I look forward to further keeping you updated! Western Quoll
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AuthorMy name is Serafin Cardeli. I am Twenty years old and studying to become a Conservation & Restoration Ecologist. I wish to combine education, outreach, and legitimate scientific research to better environmental health and increase public awareness through applicable and relatable methodology. I attempt to specialize in all Canids. Categories |