Student Journals
From the week ending December 12, 1997
It's hard to believe that in just three days I'll be leaving the world that I've come to call my own. I'll miss waking up to the unique calls of the catbird, maclay's honeyeater, and even the gray headed robin. I'll miss the pademelons that cross my path as I head to breakfast in the morning. It's so hard to leave a place where I can remain barefoot most of the day and sleep under the stars at night. How do I say good bye to the people that have become family over the last three months? From singing at the top of our lungs in the trooper to swimming in fresh water lagoons, we've shared experiences that will last a lifetime. Yes, my time here will soon come to an end but I will always hold dear the memories that I've made.
When I decided to live in the Australian rainforest, the first thing that came to my mind was ...SNAKES! I had heard that Australia had some of the world's most poisonous snakes and they were everywhere. I have a snake phobia and was very nervous about living in the "land of snakes." I decided it was time I get over this fear.
My first encounter with a snake was in my cabin. Katie and I heard a loud noise on the roof, we looked up at a crack in the ceiling and to our surprise saw a python! It slithered back and forth along the roof in the hot sun so we decided to name the snake Suntan Sam. The next time I saw a snake was on the steps to the cabin late at night. This one was small, black, and shiny. I almost stepped on him! I was amazed at how well I handled the situation.
Throughout my time here I have seen fourteen different snakes, more than any other student! I've seen a red-bellied black snake, brown snakes, a scaly snake, and five different pythons. The most memorable snake encounter was the ten foot python I nearly stepped on in the middle of the night. It was huge! For Halloween I even dressed up as Suntan Sam. Now I'm fairly comfortable with snakes. Once I faced my greatest fear and lived through it, I realized it wasn't all that bad. I think I even like the critters now!
Sunday is the designated day off for students here at CRS. Due to limited transportation we have limited activities, but sometimes there is an organized activity such as swimming at Lake Eacham, visiting falls in the area, strawberry picking, or just hiking around the site. Some people enjoy hiking or running to our only easily-accessible tourist site—Danbulla State Forest which houses Gillie’s Outlook and the Cathedral Fig. It’s quite a time investment to go on this hike so many students make it a day long trip by bringing their lunch, a book to read, and their journals to write in.
The walk there is as great as the destination. The trail from our site brings you through the forest then through the pasture fields of our friendly neighbor. Walking through the pasture is an adventure in itself. One must strategically avoid the many cow droppings while enjoying the beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. Once you’ve conquered this, you meet up with a hilly, curvy country road. The road brings you past many curious cows and horses that interrupt their grazing in order to watch you walk by. I always like to stop and talk to the animals since they were nice enough to interrupt their feeding to greet us. There is a farm on the corner just before you enter the state forest. If you’re lucky enough you will get to see his pet peacock.
After you have completed this walk which is about 14 kilometers you are greeted by an amazing sight at the Gillie’s Outlook. You can see the many twists and turns of the Mulgrave River down below as well as those of the Gillie’s Highway which leads up the mountain to our site. A blanket of forest interrupted by pasture land adds to the beautiful view. There are usually a few adventuresome hangliders to watch take flight. Further down the road is the Cathedral Fig, a magnificent strangler fig found in the forest. This enormous tree is definitely picture worthy. Danbulla Forest provides us with a great way to escape on our days off.