Last day in the Top End

 Thursday October 6: 

We had been told several times that a high percentage of the land is proactively burned each year. Aboriginals have been doing this for centuries or more and some of the tree species have adapted to that cycle. The burning prompts fresh tender grass to grow (rather than the dry second year growth) and clearing the underbrush reduces fire hazard from the lightning storms that proceed the monsoon rains of the wet season. Overnight we got a taste of the intense rain that comes from the northeast during monsoon. 

For our last morning at Bamarru we went on a boat cruise on the tidal Sanpan Creek, which flows north into the Timor Sea. The tides here can be 5-6 meters in height! Our goal was to see kingfishers, based on the report from a group earlier in the week. We weren’t successful on that score, but on our way to the boat we saw a male Australian Bustard in breeding plumage and displaying. Even better, shortly after that we saw a Dingo out hunting in the grass. We also saw an enormous (guessing 15 feet long?) male (based on the size) saltwater crocodile slide into the water from the bank during our cruise. Once in the water he disappeared without a ripple, reinforcing the constant caution to stay away from the waters edge and to keep all limbs inside the boat! 

Pictured: male Australian bustard, royal spoonbill, black-shouldered kite, male agile wallaby 

Kakadu

 Wednesday October 5:

Today we took an excursion to Kakadu, the largest land-based national park in Australia at 20,000 square kilometers. It borders Arnhemland, a 100,000 sway referendum kilometer area that is protected aboriginal land. We starts with a scenic flight from Bamarru, flying low over the flood plains, mudflats and grasslands. As we neared Kakadu, a range of sandstone cliffs, representing an ancient sea shore, appeared. The features were very reminiscent of the American southwest, but this sandstone is many millions of years older. Australia has gone through ice ages and continental drift, but hasn’t seen a major uplift event in 180 million years. That explains both the number of species with ancient characteristics (as with the plants in the Daintree) and the age of the exposed Kakadu sandstone.

Kakadu is also one of the oldest locations in Australia in terms of human habitation, and the cliffs display paintings (made with red and yellow ochre, mangenite and white clay paints) across the spectrum of habitation. It is hard to date the paintings a priori as the underlying rock is so old, but the subjects of the paintings give a clue. The oldest paintings date to 20,000 years ago, about the time of the last ice age; scenes including fish date to 8,000 years ago when the sea came closer and the rivers became estuaries; and scenes with fresh water species date to about 1500 years ago, and the most recent reflect contact its Europeans about 200 years ago, for example images of guns.  One interesting aspect is the tendency to draw creatures, particularly fish, with their spines and inner organs depicted. We hiked up to the top of a plateau in the Ubirr sacred site, where both the view and breeze were much appreciated on a 40C day.

After lunch we took a cruise on the East Alligator River with an aboriginal guide. Obviously there are no alligators in Australia; the river was named by an American in 1822. We learned more about aboriginal traditions, including the use of trees and other plants for medicine, hunting equipment, paintbrushes, housing and even burials. We had the opportunity to visit Arnhemland for a few minutes without the usual visas required for white visitors, and saw a number of saltwater crocodiles. Kakadu is home to over 10,000 crocodiles and there are many stories of people who try to cross a river at too high a tide (most of the crossings are at grade and only safe at low tide). The vehicles get swept into the water, and people try to swim to shore rather than drown.. but the crocs get them first.  

Pictured: Kakadu escarpment, paintings of fish and wallaby, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Rides on water and land

 Tuesday October 4:

Our cabin is mostly mesh sided; it was nice to hear the birds (especially the Whistling Kites and Blue-winged Kookaburras) wake up with the dawn. After an early light breakfast we headed out for an airboat ride on the freshwater floodplain. When our trip leaders were here in June the water was very close to the lodge and the airboats were parked at the end of the cabin walkway. Today we took a 30-minute Jeep ride to get to the boats, and it was a bit of a struggle getting them off the mud to get under way. The airboats are quite loud, and frighten many animals, particularly crocodiles and the hordes of Magpie Geese which fill the reeds and trees along the water. Magpie Geese are protected, but here they are so plentiful that it seems impossible that they are in danger! The crocodiles (called saltwater because they can live in saltwater, but they are happy to live in fresh) really motored to get out of our way. In one case the water was too shallow and the croc had to essentially run through the mud leaving a wide wake behind him.

We saw many water birds while on the airboats, and some more while on a walk after lunch as well as on a drive in the late afternoon.  We also learned a lot of interesting tidbits. Buffalo have an oil on their hooves that allows them to stand in water for long periods without suffering from foot rot as horses would do.  Northern eucalyptus species do not have the oil or the moisture or the fragrance of southern species, which explains both the lower level of bush fires in the north and the lack of koalas, who get all their moisture from the leaves they eat. Koala means “no drink” in the native language. There are both tree termites and grass termites here. The aboriginal people would let the termites bore out the center of logs as the first step to making digeridoos. The grass termites create channels in the ground to allow them to avoid sunlight, but those channels are also useful to bring rainwater deeper into the soil in the wet season. Both types of termites provide food for other creatures, and other animals nest in parts of the termite mounds. Kookaburras are extremely territorial and careful about interbreeding with close relatives, so they steal eggs from other nests and raise the chicks carefully to provide fresh genetic material in the breeding pool.

It hasn’t seriously rained here in weeks, and we had a bit of the same pattern today. Big dark clouds rolled in, sometimes with thunder, sprinkles began, and then... the storm moved on. It did settle the dust a little, and for a while the breeze was cooler... but then the sun came out and the temperature zoomed up again. 

Pictured: Nankeen Night-heron, Black-necked stork (formerly Jabiru), Blue-winged kookaburra,  saltwater crocodile 

To Bamarru Plains

 After lunch (October 3) we flew to an airstrip near our next lodging at Bamarru Plains, east of Darwin and well into the “Top End” as Aussies call this part of the Northern Territory. We are much closer to Indonesia than to the rest of Australia. While the flight only took 30 minutes (in a 6-seater aircraft), we waited for 30 minutes on the runway to takeoff, as the Singapore Air Force was conducting training exercises and had priority over the airspace. We watched F15s, F27s and a big F35 takeoff, sometimes followed by dramatic maneuvers as soon as they were in the air. 

Bamarru is the largest buffalo ranch in the Southern Hemisphere, some 75,000 acres. The owners have three other properties across Australia that are much larger (one is over 1 million acres, which seems sort of impossible).  Buffalo breed really rapidly and are overwhelming some parts of the indigenous north, so this ranch is paid to go collect them, and are then permitted to sell them (mostly to Indonesia). At the moment Bamarru has about 4500 buffalo. The ranch also has 500 Brumbies (feral horses), some feral Red Deer and about 2500 Brahmin cattle. Bamarru has a driveway that is 18 km long, and the lodge area is about 5 km from the ocean... in the wet season 90% of the ranch is flooded. At this time of year the water has receded a lot, leaving small mudflats with puddles that attract wading birds as well as the cattle and buffalo.

We went for a safari drive in the late afternoon. It is nice to be back in a savanna environment where it is a asker to find creatures than in dense rainforest. It is quite (and we are told unseasonably) hot, but fairly dry.  As the sun set we watched the Agile Wallabies hop closer to our cabins to eat and drink for the night. 

Pictured: Forest Kingfisher, Straw-necked Ibis, Red-collared Lorikeet, Black Kite (forked tail), Whistling Kite

Darwin

 On Sunday, October 2nd we flew to Darwin (2.5 hours, this is a big country!) and spent part of the afternoon at the Darwin Botanical Garden. It is divided into sections with plants from all over the world. We were surprised by the Madagascar Garden, where they are successfully growing many species of Baobabs. Baobabs are very hard to cultivate, so to see them thriving and even blooming was a treat. On the other hand, the lack of native plants probably explains the relative paucity of birds.

We have been eating well and (too) plentifully, particularly on Barramundi and avocados. There is currently a glut of avocados in Australia and we are generously helping to put a dent in it. It’s a tough life.

On October 3rd we had a leisurely breakfast and a productive bird walk at the Darwin waterfront. We visited the local natural history and art museum, which had a fascinating exhibit of boats from the region. It included a number of Indonesian, balinese and fujian fishing boats that had been donated (or confiscated for illegal activities and then donated). Some of the boats seemed far too small and fragile to be ocean going! 

Pictured: Perrier’s Baobab blossom, Galah, Little Corella, female Crimson Finch, Agile Wallaby with Joey

Searching and finding

 Saturday October 1:

Today was all about trying to find a Cassowary. These solitary creatures are constantly on the move, so where they were seen on one day is a poor predictor of where they will be seen on the next day. And because they prefer deep rainforest undergrowth, they are surprisingly hard to spot for a large creature. Often the easiest place to see them is when they cross a road, so we spent quite a lot of time just driving through likely areas today. We also took several short strolls and one serious hike in search of them. In the end, no Cassowary was found (although our local guide had seen one on the road after dropping us at our lodge on Thursday).  The presence of dogs was an issue.  Cassowary hate dogs and stay far away whenever they pick up the scent of dogs.  Although dogs are prohibited in the park, we saw several, including in a secluded spot where our guide frequently saw the elusive bird.

We had seen Spectacled Flying Foxes roosting on Thursday evening and flying this morning, and then got a really good view of them on our way to lunch. After lunch we went on a long hike deep into the rainforest.  It was fascinating to see and be surrounded by the ancient forest.  During our trek we finally saw a Victoria’s Riflebird (so named because his call sounds like the crack of a rifle), which is a kind of Bird-of-Paradise. We had heard his call in several locations but had not seen him before. 

One of the most elusive creatures in the Daintree is Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo.  We knew that a group of three had been seen at Jindalgo on Thursday and that they do not move a lot, being nocturnal arboreal leaf eaters. Our longer hike was focused on looking for them as well as cassowaries.  Near the end of the hike, we noticed an isolated shower of rain hitting the epiphyte ferns on the side of a very large tree... a shower of urine from the Bennett’s at the very top of it!  Our local guide had never seen a Bennett’s before and was overjoyed.

We are staying tonight back in Cairns due to changes in our flight schedule, at a very posh hotel — quite a shock after a treehouse in the rainforest!

Pictured: Spectacled Flying Fox and baby, Victoria’s Riflebird, Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo

Daintree River and Mossman Gorge

 Friday September 30

This morning we went on a ride on the Daintree River in search of salt water crocodiles. The skiff itself was solar-electric powered and much quieter than a gas engine. We saw three crocodiles, one completely out of the water and one a 6-month-old.  We also saw some interesting birds including a pair of kingfishers and a frogmouth. The crocodiles are ancient but surprisingly complex creatures. Their snouts are more sensitive than our fingertips, and most of the time they catch their food by extending their bodies and waiting for something to bump into them. They can also hold their breath for a very long time, allowing them to stay submerged and invisible. Because they get most of their energy from the sun, eating is less important than in warm blooded creatures. They could survive (although getting pretty thin) for a year without eating. The females can lay 50 eggs in a single clutch that may include fertilization by three different fathers. The females lay their eggs high on the bank to try to avoid flooding, and when they hear the babies start to squeak inside the eggs, will come and dig them out, helping the hatchlings to emerge and then carrying each of them to the water, where they stay with mom for 3 months. Despite this level of maternal care, only 1% of those eggs will hatch and survive to 6 years old, the threshold for survival to full adulthood. We also saw some tree snakes and listened to the screams of a tree frog as it was slowly swallowed by a snake. On the whole we were glad not to actually see the event. 

We had lunch at the Daintree Teahouse, the oldest dining establishment in the Daintree. Lunch included sampling and learning about a wide variety of tropical fruits.  Along the way we passed the local primary school which has 30 students representing all the area north of the Daintree River and has a “cassowary lockdown drill”! 

After lunch we toured Mossman Gorge, an aboriginal cultural center and land area, with a local guide. We learned about aboriginal language, culture, medicinal plants and legends. We wrapped up the day with a walk through a beautiful and isolated section of rainforest where tree kangaroos and cassowaries were seen yesterday. We saw neither but the forest was lovely. 

Pictured: Juvenile Saltwater Crocodile, Papuan Frogmouth in nest, Torresian Kingfisher

Into Far North Queensland

 Thursday September 29

Today was mostly a travel day: a 2.5 hour flight from Brisbane to Cairns and then a 2+ hour drive from Cairns to the Cape Tribulation section of Daintree National Park.  Did you know that Melbourne is closer to Brisbane than Cairns is? The Daintree is unusual as it represents the intersection of two World Heritage regions, the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.  The Dividing Range of Mountains that run the length of Australia veer to the east and come right down to the shoreline in the Daintree. Daintree is also the oldest surviving rainforest in the world, estimated to be 180 millions years old, and it contains 13 of the 15 flowering plant species that remain from the Jurassic period. The area was not recognized for its importance until the 1970s, when a local farmer realized that a local fruit was killing his cows. Botanists were amazed that the “idiotfruit” still existed, and then discovered other ancient species in the area. The National Park was created in 1988, but as in places like the Adirondacks, there are private landholders within the park that decided to stay there rather than sell their land to the government for park inclusion.

While we will search for many species, the big target is to see a Southern Cassowary, a keystone species in the region. Cassowaries eat from 200 species of flowering and fruiting trees and disperse their seeds; for 100 of the species, passing through a cassowary is essential to the seed germinating. 

After dinner, we went on a night walk. We learned two interesting things about Orange-footed Scrubfowl, a guineafowl-like ground bird. They sleep on thin branches high above the ground so that if a snake approaches, the branch will bend and wake the bird up in time to flee. They also make enormous piles of leaf litter for nesting — they test the temperature with their beaks to be sure that they have dug a hole deep enough for their eggs. Then they cover their eggs and rely on the heat from the composting vegetation to incubate them without the fowl having to actually sit on the nest. Finally they dig dozens of other holes around the real egg hole as decoys to confuse predators. 

We also saw a number of Peppermint Stick Insects, nocturnal leaf eaters that exclusively live in a type of Pandanus palm in mangrove forests, and are named for the smell of the defensive (and corrosive) liquid they squirt. On our way out we saw a Striped Possum high in a tree peering down at us.

Pictured:  Orange-footed Scrubfowl,  Peppermint Stick Insect, Striped Possum