Rainforest Live '97 Journals from Queensland, Australia

  From the week ending March 28, 1997

The Great Barrier Reef!
by Lisa Holderbach

As a class, we were able to see a small part of the Great Barrier Reef when we traveled along the northern coast to Cape Tribulation. This is the only area in Australia where the rainforest meets the ocean. We were not able to go snorkeling or scuba diving in this part of the reef because we ran out of time, but we were able to have lunch on a beautiful white beach that met the refreshing blue and green ocean.

I was able to travel around Australia before the program began and went snorkeling and scuba diving at Green Island in the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing! The corals were brilliant colors of blue, green, and yellow. Some of the different types of fish that I saw include the Harlequin Tusk Fish, the Fox-faced Rabbit Fish, the Long-finned Bat Fish, and Striped Coral Fish. I also swam with Black-tipped Sharks! It was so much fun! At first I was scared, but then I realized that they weren’t hungry and that I wasn’t in danger, so I decided to take pictures. The reef is definitely a place worth visiting if you get the chance. I am hoping to visit this beautiful place again at the end of our program. 

Swimming Holes
by Rebecca Curtis

Every week, we try to take time to go swimming. One of our favorite places to visit is Lake Eacham, a crater that was created by a volcano. The lake is surrounded by rainforest and we are able to see a lot of different animals. We usually go there several times a week, after long days in the field. At Lake Eacham, we see lots of Brush Turkeys, which are black birds with red and yellow facial features, and is a little bigger than a chicken. Occasionally, we see Geckos, which are small lizards, climbing trees. Several people have seen a Monitor Lizard sitting on a bank. In the water, there are many small, striped fish that swim around our feet.

We’ve been swimming in several other places besides Lake Eacham also. Last weekend, we went swimming at a gorge. The water was flowing very rapidly, and we had fun letting the current carry us downstream. We’ve been swimming in a river that has a rope swing hanging off of a tree. We enjoy swinging into the river and pretending that we are Tarzan. We’ve also been swimming in the ocean several times. The water is so warm that it feels like bath water. We have to swim in areas that are enclosed by special nets that keep out the jellyfish that are around this time of year. Some-times it can be dangerous to swim even inside of the net, because some of the smaller kinds of jellyfish can swim through the net. Last weekend, one of our group members got stung by an Irukandji, which is a small type of jellyfish. He was in a lot of pain that night, but the poison worked its way through his system, and he felt better the next day.

www.sitesalive.com / Rainforest Live