Innholdsfortegnelse for May - June 2021 i Australian Geographic

Your magazine finds its way very promptly to your antipodes here on the other side of the world, and is always well received. AG 161 (March–April 2021) excelled: every item – from features to news snippets – was well written and illustrated. From insight into slime moulds to adventures with camels, and from celebrations of nature writing to the history of war horses, there was something to wonder at and learn about on every page. Aussie Towns and Traces are always insightful and appealing. Can I add praise for the excellent cartography exhibited in your pages? AG 161’s accounts of the wukalina and Larapinta walks, and the wonderful chronicle of an extensive kayak trip around Lake Macquarie, were each enhanced by the functional and aesthetic maps accompanying them. The loose,…

The town of Laura is an important hub for people from Cape York Peninsula and home to one of Australia’s most significant collections of rock-art. It’s also the venue for a world famous celebration of Aboriginal culture – the Laura Quinkan Dance Festival. This annual event, which began in the early 1980s, is thought to be Australia’s longest-running Aboriginal festival. For three days it showcases the culture of Cape York Peninsula’s Aboriginal people through song and dance, attracting thousands of visitors. It enables the wider community to witness and gain insight into the uniqueness and vibrancy of this ancient living culture. After being cancelled last year due to COVID-19, the festival is back. Over the years it’s been coordinated by several organisations; this year the Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation is taking…

WHAT KIND of wingless creature can fly for more than 1000km nonstop, at an altitude higher than 4.5km? Amazingly, it’s a spider. This story begins on 31 October 1832, a hot and relatively calm and clear day on Charles Darwin’s voyage aboard HMS Beagle, about 100km off the coast of Argentina, a long way from land. Darwin saw the ship being inundated by thousands of red spiders, literally dropping from the sky. Each had silk threads (gossamer) hanging from them. Darwin wrote there were so many that “all the ropes were coated and fringed with gossamer web”. Watching keenly from when they began invading his ship until later taking off to continue their journey, he noted that a spider would “dart forth four or five threads from its spinners…[like] diverging…

IN FEBRUARY THIS year, as part of the triennial arts festival of the National Gallery of Victoria, huge photographic portraits were carried across the dry plains of the Menindee Lakes area by members of the local community as a drone camera captured aerial footage and photos. This striking environmental demonstration was conceived by French contemporary artist JR as one element in his major work for the festival, Homily to Country, which focuses on the complex environmental issues a. ecting the river (see Lifeblood of the nation, AG 160). The procession honoured the personal stories and experiences of the four portrait subjects, including Badger Bates, a senior Barkindji Elder and respected spokesperson on the Baaka (Darling) River. Also represented were the stories of orchardists Rachel Strachan and Alan Whyte, who have…

Dugongs need clean seas and healthy seagrass beds, but are often forced to live with the impacts of human activities such as pollution from coastal developments. The health and habitats of these marine mammals face increasing threats. In the hope of reducing these, University of Queensland researchers are investigating factors affecting dugong health. Your donation will support an annual health assessment program of dugongs living near a major city (Brisbane) to: assess general health and body condition; identify factors that cause chronic stress; measure pollutants that may cause harm; pinpoint factors that may affect their ability to reproduce; and screen for emerging diseases. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. PLEASE DONATE TODAY Funds raised will help save and support dugongs and their habitats. Visit australiangeographic.com.au/fundraising…

THE SMALL WOODEN door slides slowly upwards. Snow pokes out her sleek head, takes two determined and graceful hops forward, then spreads her tawny wings, flashing a brilliant white chest, and with just a few powerful beats, is away. Free. Snow, a white-bellied sea-eagle, is one of hundreds of coastal birds of prey that have recuperated as inpatients at the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital on Queensland’s Gold Coast. From outside, the hospital’s specialist Raptor Rehabilitation Facility looks like a huge shed. Inside are seven specially constructed ‘flights’, or enclosures. Humming away in one corner is a sturdy looking fridge with a sign saying “feather library”. It holds more than 300 feathers, removed from birds of prey that have succumbed to their injuries. These are used for imping, an ancient feather-mending treatment…

OFF THE MAP Subantarctic tundra Antarctic desert These 19 Australian ecosystems are already collapsing, due to concurrent human pressures, overlaid by the impacts of climate change. It’s warned that taking no action is highly likely to lead to total and irreversible loss of these critical natural systems. But through the simple 3A approach (far right), a strategy of intervention can be undertaken to see them continue to function in a changing world. Concurrent multiple pressures Concurrent pressure types Global climate change + Regional human impacts Ecosystem collapse trajectories ABRUPT STEPPED SMOOTH FLUCTUATING What to do Action options RECOVER Leave alone RESTORE Provide assistance RENOVATE Change elements to suit new conditions ADAPT Change major elements; create novel ecosystems NO ACTION HIGH RISK OF LOSS We should step in, resurrect, reclaim, restore…

JOIN state-of-the-art expedition ship Coral Geographer on this Australian Geographic partner voyage. Experience the region’s spectacular landscape, rich history and unique food experiences. Here, sweeping beaches and idyllic seaside towns meld into sprawling agricultural lands and then to vast and remote national parks harbouring some of the world’s rarest species of flora and fauna. This immersive voyage across our southern coastline will delight all of your senses. Embark on a once-in-a-lifetime crossing of the Great Australian Bight, hear from a knowledgeable Australian Geographic Society host, and taste the delicious cuisine produced in the exciting regions you visit. Departure & fares 14 nights | 1–15 March 2022 from $8290pp twin share Expedition highlights • Discover the wild islands and natural heritage of the Recherche Archipelago, WA. • Learn to shuck your…

CAIRNS IS THE GATEWAY to far north Queensland, a wildlife enthusiast’s paradise and the only place in the world where two World Heritage areas exist side by side. The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area is rich in biodiversity; it has 2800 plant species and 663 vertebrate animal species. It’s also home to the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, which provides living examples of some of the earliest flowering plants. It’s in this region, too, that the world’s songbirds emerged; 40 per cent of Australia’s bird species are found here, including the endangered southern cassowary. It also has the highest diversity of rainforest mammals in the country, such as tree kangaroos. The Daintree and Tablelands boast spectacular landscapes in which to observe reptiles, amphibians, monotremes and butterflies, including the platypus, saltwater crocodile…

Journey to the outer realms of the Great Barrier Reef with a special citizen science expedition in partnership with GBR Legacy and the Australian Geographic Society. Hosted by Dr Dean Miller, and accompanied by Dr Charlie Veron, you will take a veritable masterclass in marine science over 10 nights exploring the remote outer reef systems. Join with experts and assist surveying remote reefs. for diverse coral species and marine life. Departure & fares 10 nights | 30 June 2021 hosted by Dr Dean Miller From $12,400pp Contact us today coralexpeditions.com Call 1800 079 545…

At precisely 1.05pm on 15 February, after working every day for the previous 2797 days, Bruce Elder finally finished his ambitious Aussie Towns web project. From this he creates AG’s Aussie Towns series (page 128). He began on 20 June 2013, and during the next seven years, wrote a total of 2,663,486 words about 1322 Australian towns – the equivalent of 33 novels. During that time he drove to all 1322 towns, took tens of thousands of photographs and collected seemingly endless brochures and local history books. Aussie Towns began as a project to write detailed, useful and definitive accounts of all of the country’s significant towns. Bruce wanted to answer the fundamental question: “Why am I here?” He believes most people travel without a clear idea of what they…

ONE OF THE BEST regions in Australia for observing and photographing night skies is Central West New South Wales, where there are fewer clouds and less light pollution than at coastal and city destinations. The ideal time to experience these crystal-clear night skies is between March and October when the Milky Way stages a glorious, glittering celestial spectacle. Astrophotographer Ryan Heldoorn felt a little spooked when he found himself camping alone one night at Yerranderie, an isolated and abandoned former silver-mining township located along the old Oberon–Colong stock route. It’s accessible by four-wheel-drive vehicle from either Oberon, west of the Blue Mountains, or via Mittagong in the Southern Highlands. Yerranderie’s array of old buildings attracts visitors who can camp or stay in heritage accommodation, then explore the village and the…

THERE’S SOMETHING about gnarly old trees that inspire children’s book authors. The Goodreads website lists more than 120 books or series about such ‘magical’ trees. These don’t just spark young readers’ imaginations, but help foster interest and wonder in nature. I recall marvelling, as a seven-yearold boy, at a 500-year-old tallowwood deep in rainforest near Binna Burra, Queensland, that rangers likened to the subject of Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree books. It helped spawn my lifelong interest in the natural world and I’ve since taken my own children there. Of all the so-called fairy trees around Australia, one stands out above all others, both in scale and its rich heritage. It’s a towering manna gum hidden down a lonely country laneway at Reidsdale, a rural locality near Braidwood, in southern New…

ONE OF THE first official tasks tackled by Prime Minister Scott Morrison this year was to change one word in our national anthem: “young and free” became “one and free”. Other prime ministers also made updates. Bob Hawke changed “Australia’s sons” to “Australians all” after “Advance Australia Fair” replaced “God Save the Queen” in 1984, following a plebiscite conducted in 1977 by Malcolm Fraser. There was no great public outcry on those occasions, because although Aussies feel very proud of our landscape and nation, we don’t demonstrate it in a noisy, flag-waving way. This relaxed character comes to the fore when a sensible change is suggested to the national anthem. Meanwhile, we should be delighted we have the only national anthem to contain the rare old word “girt”. Look it…

It’s the only known migration of its kind – unique not just to Australia, but to the world. EACH YEAR ALONG the Eyre Peninsula’s Spencer Gulf in South Australia, visitors usually arrive from around the globe to see one of the marine world’s greatest natural spectacles. Just a 38km drive from the industrial and shipping town of Whyalla, in a stretch of water surrounding Point Lowly and Stony Point that includes False Bay, an annual migration of the Australian giant cuttlefish takes place. It’s the only known migration of its kind – unique not just to Australia, but to the world. Cuttlef ish belong to the animal group known as cephalopods. They are usually solitary animals that hide camouflaged in seaweed, under rocks and in underwater crevices. But adult giant…

The Northern Territory’s Red Centre is the epitome of ‘outback’ in all the ways that term conjures up – vast desert country, sprawling and ancient mountain ranges, secluded waterholes, rich Indigenous culture. What some visitors may not know is that it’s also home to what’s believed to be one of the world’s oldest waterways – the Finke River. This claim to fame suggests an incredibly remote, hard-to-reach historic location, which is true – but only to a point. It flows through Finke Gorge National Park, just 140km west of the Red Centre capital, Alice Springs. But the road trip to reach it is for experienced four-wheel-drive tourers and a 4WD is essential. If you don’t have one, you can join a guided tour out of Alice Springs. Finke Gorge NP…

IMMERSE YOURSELF in the Wet Tropics’ rich bounty of birds on this unique tour. Stretching from Townsville to Cooktown, and encompassing approximately 9000sq.km of rainforest interspersed with farmland, rivers, tropical savannah, coastline and coral cays, the region is home to more than 450 bird species, including 13 endemics, making it a twitching mecca. Join us on this journey as we cover a vast variety of birding hotspots in far north Queensland. Departures & fares 4 nights Dates: 14–18 September 2021 $2035pp twin share $330 single supplement Expedition highlights • Pre-dawn Daintree River cruise. Key target species include greatbilled heron, Papuan frogmouth, little kingfisher, azure kingfisher, black bittern, saltwater crocodile, green tree snake, water dragon and butterflies. • Access to Forever Wild Shared Earth Reserve and its 220 bird species. •…

THIS NORTHERN AUSTRALIAN birdwatching tour covers iconic areas such as Uluru and Watarrka NP in central Australia, Darwin and Kakadu NP in the Top End, and the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area of far north Queensland, including a reef trip and rainforest experience. Numerous species of endemic bird as well as other wildlife can be observed. The tour is led by renowned biologist Dr Tonia Cochran, who has over 30 years of experience in ecotourism in Australia. She has a broad knowledge of Australian marine and terrestrial fauna and flora, and draws on her years of field experience to design and lead exceptional wildlife tours throughout Australia. Departures & fares 14 nights Dates: 1–15 September 2021 $13,875pp twin share $3300 single supplement Expedition highlights • Visit Uluru, Kata…

Join Tim Faulkner for a unique hands-on experience with this breeding program for the Tasmanian devil and eastern quoll in the beautiful Barrington Tops of NSW. You’ll see devils up close as you help with feeding and monitoring individuals. There’ll also be opportunities to explore the region’s natural treasures and spot local wildlife at night. Don’t miss your chance to get involved. Departure & fares 2 nights (3 days) Dates: 22–24 September 2021 From $1400pp Contact us today admin@aussieark.org.au Call 02 4340 8610…

FOLLOW Peter on Twitter: @_peterrowland and Instagram: @_peterrowland EVEN FROM A distance most bird species are readily distinguished by bold markings, distinctive colours and overall size and shape. But some are very similar to others and key identifiers are less obvious. A good field guide will help. But noting key characteristics is key to refining ID choices. An upright, long-necked bird could be a heron, egret, spoonbill, ibis, bittern, stork or crane. So note main plumage colour, neck length in proportion to the body, leg colour and bill shape. Bitterns and some herons typically have more secretive behaviours. Some rails, crakes and snipes also skulk around wetlands. These can be distinguished by barring or spotting on the plumage, eye colour and bill shape and length. Other rails – including coots,…

WHAT DO astronomers see when they look beyond our Milky Way galaxy? More galaxies. Many more, in fact: the latest estimate of the total number we can observe is 200 billion. Many of these massive star systems are enormous distances away, corresponding to look-back times of billions of years due to the finite speed of light. We often see news reports of juvenile galaxies observed when the universe was in its infancy, just after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. But there is still much to learn about galaxies we see in today’s universe – those that are relatively close. No two galaxies are alike. They come in a huge variety of shapes, masses, colours, and gas and dust content, and with different varieties of the supermassive black holes…

VIC Spider crabs congregate, Port Phillip From late May to mid-June thousands of giant spider crabs gather to to moult, shedding their protective exoskeletons in the waters o. Melbourne. You can snorkel to see them from the piers at Rye or Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula. Watch for octopuses (pictured), dolphins, rays, birds and seals, which all come to feed on the vulnerable crabs while they are still so.. More info: Call Mornington Peninsula Visitor Information Centre on 03 5950 1579 or book a scuba tour from Melbourne with The Scuba Doctor by calling 03 5985 1700 or visiting scubadoctor.com.au NSW Rebounding birdlife, Macquarie Marshes With the return of rain, these internationally significant wetlands of central north-west NSW, 100km north of Warren, have burst resplendently back to life. The marshes…

The AG Society offers you a chance to hunt for rare opalised fossils. Guided by experts, you’ll discover new specimens for the Australian Opal Centre’s world-leading museum collection. Enrich your knowledge of opals and gems, opalised fossils and opals heritage. This was a sell out in 2021, so register your interest early for next year. August 2022 7 nights in August 2022 held over 2 weeks. Week 2 is for return participants only. Register your interest. Email us now. Contact us today dig@australianopalcentre.com Call 0427 904 587…

AMONG THE WILDFLOWERS OF the West Australian bush, wonders exist that baffle the mind and inspire the imagination. Hidden beneath native grasses, carnivorous flowers glue-trap their prey, liquefying hapless insects from which they absorb nutrients. Other seemingly harmless blooms spread pollen by striking visiting insects with a catapulting arm, their swatting actions triggered by the touch of tiny legs. Showy orchids achieve such convincing native wasp impersonations – including pheromones – that male wasps willingly attempt to mate with them. There are banksias that hide their branches underground, exposing only robust flower heads that sit on the soil’s surface. After only a day of stepping gingerly through native scrub in the state’s south-western corner, I find pastel-pink-and-green flowers so quirky they resemble Dr. Seuss caricatures. Some 72 hours and 460km…

LOOKING ACROSS THE windswept plateau of World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island in December 2008, ecologist Dana Bergstrom realised something was seriously wrong. “It was Christmas, and I was in alpine tundra,” recalls Dana, now head of Biodiversity Conservation with the Australian Antarctic Division’s Environmental Protection Program. “Everything should have been greening up. The cushion plants there go brown during winter, then turn green in spring–summer. But lots were still brown and some appeared dead.” Individual Macquarie cushions usually live hundreds of years. It’s a keystone plant species on the plateau, meaning it’s integral to much of the life on the Australia-governed subantarctic island, located in the Southern Ocean, between Tasmania and the Antarctic continent. Research by Dana and her island colleagues ultimately identified that protracted and unprecedented dry conditions caused by…

In a scratching of sand at Lake Wollumboola lie two tiny eggs, cream and mottled brown. Each, no bigger than a thumbnail, carries precious cargo – the beginnings of life. “They’re little terns, and they’re endangered,” says Frances Bray, who has been advocating for birdlife on and around the lake for three decades. “We have 40–50 birds and about 14 breeding pairs this season so far. I can take you in for a closer look, but follow my footsteps so we don’t upset the mother too much.” Ducking under a single strand of rope, erected by local shorebird volunteers to keep the general public out of the nesting site, we tread lightly across the sand flat towards the eagle-eyed mum watching us intently. We’re within 10m before she alights. “Softly…

THE ROAD TRIP You’ll need a 4WD with low-range gearing and high clearance. It’s also advisable to travel with more than one vehicle, in case you become bogged or suffer a mechanical breakdown. If travelling solo, be confident in your self-sufficiency and vehicle-recovery techniques The track surface is mostly sand, so drop tyre pressures down to about 24–26psi for better traction. Pack a puncture repair kit. Also travel with a sat phone or EPIRB (emergency beacon), and remote area first-aid kit (and know how to use it). Leave trip plans (start/finish dates) with a relative or local police. Guided 4WD trips: Alice Springs Expeditions offers 1, 2 and 3-day trips to Finke Gorge NP. alicespringsexpeditions.com.au/finke-river BEST TIME OF YEAR The cooler months of April to September are the best time…

ON THIS TOUR you’ll help with wildlife surveys on rarely visited islands at Ningaloo Reef, swim with whale sharks (March) or humpback whales (September), count endangered rockwallabies, and cruise Exmouth Gulf searching for dugongs and dolphins. Part of 6045sq.km Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, Cape Range National Park contains some of the oldest examples of life on Earth, while Ningaloo is home to large migrations of whale sharks, humpbacks, manta rays and other marine species. The beauty of the region is in its solitude and stunningly beautiful places – hidden gorges and coral reefs. During this unhurried eight-day journey you’ll immerse yourself in the region, help with citizenscience research and enjoy visiting places that most people rarely have the opportunity to see. Departures & fares 7 nights 17–24 September 2021…

Explore the lush farming district of Gloucester, the pristine wilderness of the magnificent World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforest region of Barrington Tops, and picturesque Nelson Bay. Quaint country towns, meandering rivers, fresh mountain air and beautiful coast wait for you on this journey to discover the hidden delights of NSW. Plus visit Aussie Ark, a safe haven for threatened native wildlife. Departures & fares 6 nights Dates: 17–23 October 2021; 21–27 November 2021 $3349pp twin share $650 single supplement Contact us today travel@australiangeographic.com Call 0413 560 210…

WHILE EXPLORING AUSTRALIA by helicopter in the 1980s, Dick and Pip Smith spied some unusual rock patterns along the Trans-Australian Railway line. Further investigation (for a story in AG 14) led to speculation these may have been World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) internment camps that held Italian soldiers shipped back from Africa or Europe. A subsequent letter from subscriber Jack Rodgers of Umina, New South Wales, shed more light on the rocks’ origins. He’d been posted to the area as a member of the Australian Army Catering Corps in 1942. The Commonwealth was replacing the sleepers for the railway line between Ooldea, South Australia, and Rawlinna in Western Australia and the work was being carried out by Italian POWs. A number of camps were strung out along the line where…