Return from the bush... Lamington National Park

Sunset from the lodge at Binna Burra

Wow I am now back from the bush and done with finals and I finally have time and internet to post about my last month in Queensland. First stop was Lamington National Park.

The python.

We arrieved on Monday April 23^rd, checked into our tents (yes tents more on them later) and ate lunch.  After lunch we had some time to organize our tents and enjoy the outdoors.  We weren’t on the grounds of Binna Burra two hours before Julia screamed SNAKE!!!!! And as good little bio neards we all came running.  None of us were 100% sure what type of snake it was so we consulted a field guide and snapped some pictures.  Rob on of our lectures was milling about so a couple of us grabbed him hopping he could help us ID the snake.  Well we had been correct Rob comfirmed that the snake was a Carpet Python (nonvenomous) and then he proceded to pick up the python which was about 4 ft long.  After a quick lesson in snake biology and proper handeling technique the snake was passed from person to person while everyone else took pictures. I thought about holding it but backed out at the last minute when I saw that it was getting a bit squirmy.  

The rest of our time in Lamington was pretty much like that.  Everyday we were out in the sub-tropical rainforest or some other type of forest one on one with nature.  Unfortunately not every part of nature is friendly (especially in Australia) as we found out when we met the land leeches.  These little blood suckers were everywhere especially when it was raining.  Once we discovered that dousing our feet in bug spray and then socks over the pants kept them out for the most part it was better.

  

Lamington is a beautiful place and we spent a lot of time hiking around on the many trails that left from Binna Burra.  Not only did we hike along the trails but we also used those areas for our projects.  My group looked at vines that grow near the bottom of tree trunks while others looked at spider burrows on the trail banks.  There was also a larger group project where half of us looked at the rainforest and recorded things about flora and the other half did the same in the sclerophyll forrest (Eucalypt forest).  I ended up having to climb over huge fig tree buttresses with the help of vines to get out of our survey site.  And it didn't help that it was raining the day my group had to survey.

Paddymelon