Bamaga and beyond..

Well the City Kid is back on the block! I had my excursion up country and into the back of beyond and boy was it a blast! I learnt so much and was so glad I had the opportunity to visit a place I may otherwise never travel to (yes you heard right, glad not bad) and interact with the locals of the Cape. It gave me a new appreciation and insight into aboriginal and torres strait affairs and highlighted how little I knew of Northern Qld - not only the flora and fauna but the general way of life.

While I may not think that I'm racist - when you discover how little interaction you have with anyone of non-european background, in my case aboriginal background, you also discover that you are indeed unwittingly alittle racist. I kept on remembering something I learnt during an anthropology course at uni - you experience, you don't insert your own view and beliefs onto others. That was certainly hard when it came to treatment of animals in Bamaga and other villages - there are so many dogs in poor condition it was hard not to think badly of the owners. However they don't view cats and dogs as pets as we might, unfortunately keeping them underfed so they don't misbehave and other such things I won't mention. Desexing is also not practised and the animals multiply rapidly and pretty much fend for themselves. Obviously this isn't the case for all - but it was hard to witness those who were so lifeless and underfed - especially one left in the bush which tried to follow us but we couldn't coax into the car to take back to town it was so mistreated. Apparently pig hunters take dogs with them out bush and if the pig gets away and only four dogs return out of five, they don't bother looking for the other one but leave it to find its own way back - if it can.

However, as I experienced in Vanuatu and Tonga, the people of Bamaga and Seisa (where we stayed) were so welcoming and helpful. The kids were inquisitive and so eager to learn what we were looking for in their back gardens. It was great to see how aware everyone in the Cape and Torres Straits were of Quarantine and what we were trying to do - much more so than anyone in Brisbane it seems!


So what did I do you may ask - as I did for most of the trip - basically I was a tag-along. I was with two very experienced scientists from Northern Quarantine who have done many surveys before in Northern Qld and Irianjaia and was absorbing all their knowledge. We visited villages around Bamaga which is located about 2 hrs south of the Tip of Cape York on the west coast. Over 5 days we went into people's backyards and looked at particular plants which are known to host exotic and unwanted pests and diseases ie. Mangoes, Bananas and Citrus. We also collected specimens (insects and disease samples) from other plants, which while they may already be in Australia, it is good to know the extent which they have spread.

I learnt a huge deal and was blown away by the beautiful countryside! I felt I was a true Aussie having stood on the 'Tip' as the lyrics "I come from a land down under" played in my mind. I marvelled at the towering termite mounds dotted amongst the tall bright green grass. I laughed along with a very exuberant entomologist with a mad sense of humour and a remarkable capacity for VB as he pulled fun of us poor plant pathologists and botanists and everyone in general. I also took back with me a new car game - "Did you know?..." - which was started by the ever entertaining entomologist nicknamed appropriately "Ant". Did you know that an echidna has a forked penis?!! Did you know that a fruit fly....well no one needs to know anything about blasted bugs!

Top tips from the tip - to know when you're a city kid:

1. You have no idea what 60 refers to on an outboard motor let alone if that 'is big for a dingy'.
2. Your idea of weekend activities include a trip to the movies vs a trip up the highest mountain in Qld for a relaxing bushwalk.
3. You drink a glass of wine vs a carton of VB in one sitting
4. You don't own a 4WD and have no idea how to drive in 4WD mode let alone what to do with a second gear shift?!
5. You have never seen or can not identify a - Cocky Apple bush, spear grass, snake weed or a taipan, at first glance.
6. You have a fear of picking up huge grasshoppers and do not engage in the pastime of pulling of their legs infront of aghast city kids (that may just be a personal one!).
7. Your greatest stories of wildlife gone bad are huge black 'killer' cockroaches which don't die vs loss of limbs and life to killer crocodiles!

Now I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Some fauna:










Views of the glorious coastline near our accomodation:















Traditional net fishing in crocodile infested water:



Where the rainforest meets the sea:


The 'tip':



Cairns - the little I saw from my hotel room:



The entomologist "Ant" (with beard) and botanist Debbie in action:

The plant pathologist (back view) in action and his inquisitive helpers: