Little-button Quail (Turnix velox)

Button Quail, originally uploaded by Ryan McLean.

He may be have a funny hair style, but he's as cute as a button.

Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus)

Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus), originally uploaded by Ryan McLean.

It may be called horridus, but really it's quite cute.

My first day as an EHO

Today the culmination of three years of university study. Today I began my new career as an Environmental Health Officer. Actually, today was like many others that I've had in the four months or so that I've been here with the exception that I'm now responsible for sampling of vector insects in areas of high risk in Alice Springs. That basically means that I go out to the swamp and set traps for mozzies. After I'd sent them up to Darwin it was back to my usual administration role. I'll be doing the two jobs for a little while while I'm learning what I'm supposed to do as an EHO. Over the next couple of weeks I'll also be going out on inspections with the others in the office. Now for the steep learning curve, let's hope I can make it up!

House Hunting

The house prices in Alice Springs are ridiculous. It was good to hear someone else voicing my views. I was standing in line at the real estate office listening to the rental manager explain why it wasn't the fault of the real estate agents (even though they 'value' the properties and give their prices to the owners) but instead it was the property owners who thought they could get what ever they asked for. It made me smile. Everyone appears blameless. When I left Alice Springs I though that prices were expensive. It might have just been my wage making everything look out of reach but now I've returned I realise that now things are ridiciously expensive.

I'm house hunting at the moment. To share, or not to share. That is the question. But what is the answer. I don't know. Sharing has its benifits. Instead of paying full price for a rental plus utilities you only pay a part of it. Most of the share places are around $200 a week where you share with 2 or 3 others (including the bathroom). The cheapest one bedroom rental property is $250 plus utilities. I don't know which I should choose. On one hand you get everything included but you have to share with 3 strangers. On the other you have to pay out even more money which drastically reduces your savings. In the end it came down to 'eenie, meenie, minee, mo! With that I'd chosen to get my own place and not share. That is the plan at the moment. I'm supposed to be spending a bit of my time out bush as part of my job so it might be a lot to spend if it turns out I'm not there much. For the next few months though I'll be in Alice learning the ropes so I'm sure it will be nice to have my own place and be able to do what I want when I want. We'll have to see how it all goes. It's so hard to see if the right decision has been made when you don't know what the future holds. I guess I've just got to wait and see.

Finishing uni and continuing work

Last week was exam week. My last exam was all about Health Promoting Settings. Stewart was kind enough to 'invigilate' my exam for me. As I pushed my chair back from the desk after writing my final paragraph, my had was aching and my head was spinning. If all went well, I told myself, that was the last exam of my degree. It was a sobering thought. I only had one assignment to complete before it would all be over. That assignment took me the rest of the week and most of the weekend to finish but when it was over, it was over. It didn't feel it though. When I was at uni and finished an exam or assignment there was great relief. Not this time though. This time it didn't really feel as if I had finished. Of course my evenings were a lot more relaxing afterwards. I could sit down and watch telly and let my mind just fade away into oblivion. Before I'd be up until the wee hours (or at least around 10 or 11 o'clock) doing my readings, writing notes or drafting assignments, or at the very least thinking about what I needed to do. But it didn't feel like I'd finished. I guess that's because I'm now working full time (and have been over the last semester). Uni took a bit of a back seat in things as work took over. Now I've got to wait until my results. Then I'll see if I can get the bit of paper to make me and EHO. In the meantime, I start work as an EHO on the first of December. No relief, just fear.

Taking Procrastination to a new level

I just bought a new vaccum cleaner in order to clean my house better the next time I procrastinate. As it's coming up to exams it's needless to say that my house is the cleanest it has ever been!

The mystery of the missing wheelie bin

It was about 1:30 in the morning when I awoke to a loud banging sound. It took me a few minutes to realise what it was. As I looked outside I saw a group of around 7 or 8 kids milling about outside the front of the flats. I say kids but they were probably around 15 or 16 years old. The banging continued. It sounded like they were trying to break down the fence that stood at the end of the row. Why? Who knows. I'm sure they didn't even know, it was just something to do. I was just wondering if I should tell them to leave when one of the neighbours yelled out of her bedroom window that they should move along. After a short argument (with lots of short four letter words) the boys departed into the street with my neighbours wheelie bin where they proceeded to make a racket for the next 15 minutes or so giving each other rides and chasing each other up the street. When they got tired of that, they went on their way. When I first moved into this flat my wheelie bin was missing. I'm pretty sure I know what happened to it now. Lucky my replacement was full of stinky rubbish otherwise I think they would have taken mine as well. Lucky I forgot to put it out to be emptied this week.

The Floating City and Sydney

Floating City, originally uploaded by Ryan McLean.

Overnight this ship docked at Circular Quay. It dwarfed the ferries below and even stood it's own against the skyscrapers. You can see why they are called floating cities.

Visiting my new Niece

The next morning before the city had started to rise (it was about 8 o’clock but it was a Saturday bear in mind), I was sat on a train heading for Newcastle, to visit my new little niece (and of course Lewis and Naomi). It was a nice train ride up there. You leave Sydney through the back end before turning north. Before you know it you’re travelling through forest and along the Hawkesbury River. I arrived at the station and, with the help of my iPhone map application, found my way to Lewis and Naomi’s door. Inside Edie was just waking up and before I knew it I was holding her. She certainly was small. She just sat in my lap and stared up at me. I thought I was facinating her but it turns out that it was just the light she was looking at. At the moment to her, I'm just a blur. I’d arrived early so Lewis was out on a bike ride. He returned before long and we went out for lunch at one of the local cafés.

After lunch Lewis and Naomi took me out to the local wetlands centre. They'd been past it many times but as I was there they thought that they'd go in and have a look. The wetlands were filled with birds. There were sacred ibis, splendid fairy-wrens, welcome swallows, many other species of bird all living in the wetlands. I took lots of photos as we walked around. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Lewis and Edie

A Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)

Lewis and Naomi with Edie


Lewis and Naomi going for a stroll

We left the park when it started to rain and headed back home. After gorging myself on many mulberries from the tree in their backyard, I headed back down to Sydney.

To the Zoo

The next day I went to Taronga Zoo. Taronga Zoo is perched on the hill on the banks of Sydney Harbour. The zoo had everything that one would expect in a zoo. Lions, tigers, giraffes, elephants, seals, penguins, kangaroos, birds and reptiles. What I really enjoyed was the setup that they have for the platypus. There was a massive tank set up like a creek bed. It was well put together and the platypus was swimming up and down. The Australian Nocturnal house was good although it made me wonder. They had the sounds of the night being piped in to the background. I think that they must have been going for show rather than realism as on several occasions the wail of a coyote came through the speakers as I stared at ring-tailed possums and phascogales. A coyote is not something you expect in the Australian bush. By the end of the day I was exhausted. Another day of walking, but well worth seeing (again).

A cormorant sunning itself in the aviary

An Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis) outside the Zebra enclosure

A Peaceful Dove (Geopelia striata) sitting on a rock

A Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

A Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)

The view of Sydney Harbour from the zoo's amphitheatre