Starting my 3rd year at uni

Here I am sat in the library once more. This week is orientation week. A time where the new people startin uni learn about the campus. Therefore I'm not totally surprised that there is only two other people here other than myself. Outside a few people mill around the cafe drinking coffee and chatting with one another, but for the most part, the campus is empty. In the library all I can hear is my tap-tap-tapping on the keys as I type and the wirr of the air conditioning. When I first came to uni I thought that the campus would be packed and busselling with people. This however, never seems to be the case with this uni. It is quiet and quite peaceful. Next week I imagine this will get busier, but never by as much as you think. This campus is not the place to hang around. You just do what you need to and then get out.

This year will be my third and (hopefully) final year. This first semester I’ll be doing Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Geographical Information Systems (learning how to use a mapping computer program), Integrated Environmental Management and a Special Research Project on Ecotoxicology where we will be sampling and testing an alternative water source such as grey water or storm water. I hope it all goes well.

Heading to St George

Last week my friend Stewart and I went on a bit of a road trip out to St George in Southern Queensland. We went out there for three nights looking for any reptiles or amphibians that we could find. So the first night we headed out to St George looking for a rare snake called a Woma. I would have loved to find one but unfortunately luck wasn’t with us. We managed to find a sand-swimming lizard and a western brown snake but that was it. That night we camped by the side of the road under the stars. That night the wind started to blow.

Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata)

The next morning when we woke up and it was overcast. We packed up all are stuff and jumped back in the car heading to a place called Glenmorgan. It’s a small town about 5 hours from Brisbane. It’s still out in the bush. On the way there it started to rain. It was a nice drive on the back roads to get out there. Everything was green from recent rains and there were quite a few birds about including rainbow bee-eaters. They are a kaki coloured bird with blue and yellow stripes across the face and a downwardly curved beak. You don’t see them in Brisbane and for me, they just are so unexpected (although quite common) for me in the outback.

That night it rained. I was glad that we were staying with a couple of Stewart’s friends out there in a house. It was nice to lie in a warm bed listening to the rain falling on the tin roof. The next day it rained. It was our last night out and it wasn’t a good start. We started to head back to Dalby (the biggest down on the way out west after Toowoomba). Our campsite for the night was going to be Lake Broadwater. When we arrived it was raining. It was only drizzle, but with the gusty wind that was blowing made it feel like it was about 18oC, which is quite cool for being in the middle of summer. As it started to get dark we tossed up whether to stay at the lake. In the end we decided to pitch our tents under the covered area. It was actually a nice spot on the verandah of the hall fronting onto the lake. When you looked out east you could see across the lake and the next morning I woke up with the sun as it tried to poke itself between the clouds. That was the last morning of our trip. Stewart had to start work that day on a mine site doing a wildlife survey so I dropped him off in Dalby and headed back to Brisbane. It was a nice trip. We didn’t get to see much wildlife (except for lots of frogs that were out in the rain) but it was good all the same. I always like getting out of the city. Everything seems more relaxing in the country.

A Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) that I hit when driving away from St George

It was a nice trip but unfortunatly there was a casualty on the roads. I hit a bird as we were leaving St George. A pair of them flew across the road, the first one survived but this one wasn't so lucky. As I heard the thud on the grill I knew it was too late. It is a shame that I killed the bird but I couldn't avoid hitting him. It just goes to show that you've always got to be extra careful when it comes to wildlife.