North Stradbroke Island

Hello from Straddie!
      We’ve been taking our first class, Coastal Resource Management, at the Moreton Bay Research Station on North Stradbroke Island for the past week and a half. To get here we rode a big “Red and White” Brisbane bus south to Cleveland and then drove onto a long blue ferry with other cars. During the beautiful ride past mangrove trees, shallow sandbanks, and spectacular turquoise ocean our group clambered out of the bus for a lovely view. Moreton Bay is a “multiple-use” marine park where fishing, trawling, and tourism are allowed only in certain zones.
      As soon as we arrived at the research station (a few minutes’ drive from the ferry dock in Dunwich on the bayside of the island) we endured a very long, detailed orientation session covering everything from making our beds properly to disposing our waste correctly. But that afternoon was definitely a favorite. After divvying up our rooms (four people in an area built for one!) we drove up to Point Lookout— appropriately named, as our jaws dropped in awe at the waves crashing on a long sandy beach beneath us. North Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world! Marisa and I took many pictures at Fishermen’s Beach and then wandered along an ocean side trail that brought us past eucalyptus trees and rocky cliffs. We ended the day with a perfect swim at Eighteen Mile Beach, which spans the entire ocean side of the island. As we jumped into the breaking waves we saw hundreds of tiny fish riding within the crest.
      The next morning (Monday) we were in for a bit of a shock as the real academics set in. Coastal Resource Management reminds me of the Earth Systems classes I have taken, emphasizing interdisciplinary scientific knowledge to implement sustainable plans. In fact, even though I am the only humanities major on this trip, my various science classes have well prepared me and I feel as if I am at the same level as the others. I like that I think differently, but at least have a basic scientific background.
      On that first morning we enjoyed a visit from Matt Burns, a cultural officer from the Quandamooka aboriginal tribe. Indigenous people have lived in the bay for more than 25,000 years, and Matt talked a lot about this history as he led us on a short walk explaining the medicinal value of many different plants. He even demonstrated playing the didgeridoo, a very long tubular instrument on which he grew up learning to imitate various birds and animals.
      Also that day we were introduced to the Australian tradition of “morning tea” (cookies around 10 AM) and “supper” (bread, teas, coffee, and hot chocolate eaten in the evening after dinner). The night before many of us had watched the hilarious movie Priscilla: Queen of the Desert— about three drag queens touring the vast Australian desert on a small bus— and completely missed out on this new supper custom!
      On Tuesday we embarked on a daylong “island transect by bus”— in other words, a field trip to Point Lookout (where I saw a wild kangaroo and kookaburras for the first time!) with the afternoon at Brown Lake, a “perched lake” in the center of the island created by rainwater and tree tannins. (Another nearby lake— Blue Lake— is a “window lake,” created when the topography dips below the water table.) Brown Lake was quite charming, somewhat like Walden Pond. After having lunch there we stopped halfway down Eighteen Mile Beach to witness firsthand the parabolic dunes forming the island. On the other side of the dunes is Eighteen Mile Swamp!
      Another highlight from the early part of the week was an afternoon trip to the mangrove trees at Myora Springs. Six or seven of us crowded into the back of a big white jeep and Jock, our course assistant and doctoral student specializing in mangroves, guided us through the brackish water past short bushy trees with long circular roots that curved out of the sand beneath them. Eventually we reached the beach, and took lots of pictures wearing our funny black booties!
      Our main project of the week was to evaluate a hypothetical development at Amity Point, north of Dunwich and west of Point Lookout. On the third day we trooped through the “site,” examining the caravan (trailer) park, mangrove trees, creek, heath land, and community center complex to be demolished for a hotel and marina. I felt comfortable with this group assignment because of my parents’ experience with the massive 40B development planned for the wetlands across our street. I know that construction involves both environmental and social considerations, and I liked working on this local case study because it incorporated a lot of the same issues. In fact, when our group held a comical mock town meeting one night, my parents and neighbors were attending a real ZBA meeting back home!
      Thursday was definitely one of the most interesting. We rode the bus to an environmentally friendly sand mine operated by CRL (Consolidated Rutile Limited) that extracts zircon, rutile, and ilmenite. A very informative and friendly educational officer explained the process of sand mining as we hiked over enormous white dunes jutting into clear blue skies. The day was excruciatingly hot and I drank my entire Nalgene bottle in less than two hours. The officer also took us to a portion of land undergoing an impressive rehabilitation program. Because the mine is slated to close within about six years, CRL experts will carefully restore and monitor the rest of the land as well. To me CRL certainly seemed like a committed company ready and willing to ensure minimal environmental impact.
      Unfortunately, we spent Friday and Saturday furiously completing our individual and group assignments. I wrote a short fact sheet about the resident Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins of Moreton Bay whose acoustic behavior is affected by boat traffic. They are also harmed by boat strikes, as are the dugong— an endangered marine mammal that looks much like the manatee. One of the world’s largest populations of dugong lives right in Moreton Bay! I would have loved to see one.
      On Saturday my group spent 14 hours preparing for Sunday’s presentation! We assumed the role of the Queensland EPA to assess the hypothetical development at Amity Point, designing a weighted ranking system to incorporate the various environmental issues. I really liked my group members and felt like we all contributed— a feeling I have very rarely experienced at Stanford. And even though we were the absolute last to present on Sunday afternoon I think we did well.
      After the eight group presentations on Sunday we all breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Everyone was thrilled to be outside after a grueling day and a half! Some people played rugby with one of our professors on the grassy green lawn, and Marisa and I went to collect seashells on the beach in front of the research station. Afterwards I settled in small nook to read my book. We were all really happy, especially because we found out at lunch that Stanford’s football team beat USC in an absolutely incredible game! That night Jock persuaded the bus driver to bring us to the bar at the Point Lookout Hotel… and needless to say, most people did not wake up until noon the next day!
      Some of us, however, went back to Point Lookout Monday morning to observe the annual humpback whale migration. Every fall about 7,000 whales swim south from their birthing and breeding grounds on the Great Barrier Reef to their home in Antarctica. They pass Point Lookout, and if you’re patient you’ll see them surface and spout far out near the horizon. For two hours my roommate Atiqah and I sat on a craggy rock face and stared out to sea. We counted three whales— what we think was a mother and baby— and even witnessed two of them breaching! Before long pods of bottlenose dolphins were jumping beneath us, their graceful bodies slicing the shallow ocean water. The group at Point Lookout is the largest resident bottlenose dolphin in the world! We were so happy that spotting at least four cute little sea turtles bobbing below us made us even more ecstatic. They popped up every so often and then quickly dove back down again. That morning was definitely one of my absolute favorites yet.
      In the afternoon our time on Stradbroke shifted gears as we started our Coastal Forest Ecosystems class with ecology professor John Hall. John is by far one of the best lecturers I’ve ever had, as his presentations are informative, accessible, and entertaining. He gave us a brief rundown about Australian vegetation before taking us into the field to complete an incredibly lengthy plant classification exercise. We split into groups to identify plants in various transects, and while such a task many sound boring, I really enjoyed learning how to distinguish very similar vegetation that I never would have noticed if I were just passing by. Plus, our group was incredibly lucky to witness a giant black monitor waddle across the dirt road! Monitors are big lizards that look a lot like gila monsters.
      I went to bed early that night to wake up for laundry and John’s 6:30 AM bird walk. It was drizzling and hazy, but we still managed to see some beautiful birds. I wish I knew more about birds and birding, as there are certainly some experienced ornithologists in our group. My favorites that morning were rainbow lorikeets (a gorgeous, vibrant, and multi-colored small parrot considered a pest) and black seagulls with white heads and orange beaks and feet.
      We went on another extended field trip that day, this time learning about the importance of fire for Australian vegetation. We completed exercises at two different field sites— the first a forest of “grass trees” (amazing plants that burn periodically and send tall, skinny, meters-long shoots that taste like honey into the sky afterwards), and the second a heath land, where trees don’t really grow but there is much plant diversity. In the afternoon we returned to Brown Lake for lunch and free time. My friends Jenny, Gwen and I went on an epic swim to the beach on the far side of lake— forty minutes there and half an hour with the current back! We felt great afterwards— and ready to conquer the heavy rain and thunderstorms that later soured a short hike up a large hill for beautiful island vistas.
      The next morning our group met for another bush hike through Blue Lake National Park in the center of the island, an important area for the Quandamooka aboriginal people. The destination lake was pretty, although without a beach. Afterwards we trooped along a small path near Point Lookout to climb an enormous parabolic sand dune! We were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the ocean and more steep white sand dunes as soon as we ascended. Being twenty-one and invincible, some of us ran all the way from the dunes’ highest point to the bottom!
      This last adventure was definitely an excellent way to say goodbye. Too soon we boarded the ferry for the mainland… but with great excitement for what lies ahead.