Wildlife Habitat

On our last day in Port Douglas we visited the Wildlife Habitat. This is one of the smaller (and more expensive) zoo styled attractions in the area. They focus on local animals, running a large rescue and rehabilitation center, plus they have a successful breeding program for a number of endangered animals. 

What are you looking at?

I'm blue, I know.

Daytime Owl?

Tawny Frogmouth

(Normally hiding in the crooks of trees and very well camouflaged.)

For lunch they offered a really nice buffet. Afterwards they brought around a few lorikeets to visit. Having spent the last few days staring up at trees covered in these bright little guys, it was fun to get up close.

Next up, the marsupials. The wallabies take the cake. Fluffy, inquisitive and just the right size to put in your suitcase and take home.

We bought some 'roo food' and had a blast feeding them.

The wildlife habitat also had snakes, lizards and reptiles. This little wallaby followed us up the path to the crocs, still in hope of us feeding him. It was the only time we saw the croc move.

The kangaroos were also fun. These ones were bossy though, pushing the wallabies away and demanding food. (They are also not small enough for carry on luggage, so I can't see myself adopting one anytime soon.)

Last up is the koalas, passed out after having there own lunch buffet (also cute enough for carry on baggage, but they do sleep 19 hrs a day.)

Tomorrow we're leaving Port Douglas and heading to the other side of Australia. 

Photos from the great barrier reef

I traded up to a rental camera for our last day of diving the great barrier reef. The photos are a bit better. Here are some of the more interesting ones (not necessarily those best, but at least they are interesting.)

A moorish idol 

Giant clam

Another clam

 Turtle! (out of 12 dives, this was the only one we saw)

This is Greg, one of the Maori Wrasse resident on the reef.

The boat's photographer gets first dibs.

They are not actually social, they just come visit because there is some free food available from the guides.

Not sure what this one is...

My best shark shot, they tend to stay far away (at least during the day)

Some shots of the coral

Pink

Fan coral

This little guy on the left was constantly in front of the camera, so close it was hard to actually get a good shot of him.

Though a a little shaky, the schools of electric blue fish are fun to film.

Port Douglas

Port Douglas is a tiny town devoted to very high end tourism. It's the most northern town that is a significant gateway to the great barrier reef. After 2 nights in a hostel and three nights on a boat, we though it would be a good break.

Port Douglas Water Front

The town is surrounded by expensive resorts including amenities like golf courses, heli pads, moorage, charter boats, exclusive reef access and pet maori wrasse.

This one's name is Greg.

Located on a peninsula, one side hosts an estuary with mangrove swamps complete with crocodiles and jelly fish (stingers). The other side is 4 mile beach and home to spit ball crabs.

4 mile beach with swimming net

The harbour complete with salt water crocs.

Though the crocs rarely venture around the peninsula to bother the swimmers, they are in the harbour, so don't fall overboard. Even the locals are fearful of falling in, which should tell you something.

Crocodile at the wildlife retreat

Waterfront sign

The stingers, which are also potentially fatal, do make it over to the beach though. Because of that, for the spring and summer months, all swimming is strongly encouraged to stay within the netted area. (That doesn't stop some folks who head out in the open water anyways, some even without stinger suits.)

The most entertaining animal is the spit ball crabs however. Technically called sand bubblers, they sift through sand looking for food creating little balls as they go. The beach is covered in them and they scurry away when you get close.

Spot the crab

All in all, Port Douglas is a lovely little quirky town. If you plan on visiting, bring lots of money and stay at place with a nice pool, especially in the warm months.



Beach Review # 5: 4 mile beach
Rating: 2/5
Best Use: Sun tanning, and in winter, kite surfing.
Cool Stuff: This beach would have received a 0 as any beach with multiple deadly animals can't really be that great (and you could get sharks here too.) But, the crabs were really cool and the water was a balmy 27'C, making it almost worth visiting.

Diving With Dimwits

Today's adventure was a day aboard the SilverSonic visiting the Agincourt reefs. We've relocated up the coast slightly to beautiful Port Douglas and as a perk we can access some of the less visited sections of the GBR marine park.

Though the day wasn't a total disaster, I can certainly say I've learnt my lesson.

• One day trips that cater to all types of reef visitors = bad.
• -Multi-day trips (liveaboards) for divers = better.

This isn't a slight on the SilverSonic, her crew or their business model in general. It's just that the one day trips need to be lowest common denominator type affairs.

I heard that if ignorance is bliss, then tourists must be in heaven. Well, that certainly applies to some of the people on our dive trip yesterday.

The boat has a policy that all divers must be guided (even if you are certified). So, the boat puts six certified divers together with a guide. In hindsight, this is a good policy as it means there will always be a bit of supervision. But it's also like group work in grade school, where you're assigned a 'team' and the decent students have to pick up the slack for the incompetent ones.

Our group included one person who was a beginner. From a diving perspective she couldn't swim, had serious buoyancy control issues, and most importantly had no self awareness of her gear or body position in the water. As part of our pre-trip briefing we have all been lectured on the delicacy of the reef. If you're a beginner, keep your distance and don't touch anything. That message didn't sink in though.

For example, here she is milliseconds from bumping into the reef, and again as she turns around wondering what delicate coral she's just crushed.

It's one thing to be a beginner, that's forgivable. It's another to not care at all.

Near the end of our first dive you're required to wait around while the photographer takes your picture. This person, so intent on getting a photo with her buddy, uses a coral covered bommie to push off so she can swim about 5 meters. While I'm watching, completely shocked, she then sits down on the reef for her photo.

Fin contact with reef

Pushing off the reef

Sitting on the reef.

Let's recap. She SITS DOWN ON THE REEF. It's the great barrier reef folks, the world's largest single structure made up of connected organisms, visible from space, containing 1/3 of the worlds soft corals, it's a cornerstone of our entire planet's biodiversity. And she's sitting on it. What's worse, neither the guide nor the photographer did anything about it.

I just don't have the words. The GBR is a is also a gigantic tourist draw (we're here) and a significant part of Australia's tourism industry ($5 billion per annum). In the last 20 years, it's lost 1/2 of it's coral coverage. Wikipedia lists climate change, pollution, crown-of-thorns starfish and fishing as the primary threats to the health of the reef system.

So sad as it is, I guess the message here is that if you want to  come see it, visit soon. And if you do, please don't sit on it.


-E