Even Mammals Lay Eggs Here

Still waiting for the call from the blasting people, looks like we won’t start our observations until Tuesday. I hope I get to see a blast before this first swing is over. Apparently it won’t be a mushroom cloud or anything. The water may rise a few meters around the blast zone, with the occasional bubble. I don’t even think we’ll hear a sound, especially with all of the ambient conveyor belt, sand blasting, and machinery noise around us. Today we will be going back up to the south tower to run through another mock procedure to make sure we know what the game plan will be on D-Day. We should look quite stupid with our camping table and chair atop a massive steal platform. Especially with our Box-o-matic 3000, the device to keep the sun glare off the computer screen. Not to mention my PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) that was designed for massive people, I guess I should start lifting weights.

We had a full day off yesterday which was great. Finally got to explore a bit of the area and dabble in the local culture of Mackay. It actually is reminiscent of redneck California, expect the pine trees have been replaced by gums. The four of use piled into our truck and made our first stop at the petrol station. It took us 2 minutes to put the gas cap on the proper side, and another 5 minutes to decide if the engine was diesel or petrol. We settled with petrol, but a call to our team leader told us it was diesel. We would have lost major man points on that one. So another 2 minutes to pull the truck around to the diesel pump and we were ready to go.

We wanted to see how expansive the coal mines were inland, so we drove about 45 minutes to Nebo, the heart of coal mining country. After chatting with a few of the locals however, we discovered that seeing the mines would be equivalent to “getting into the Oval Office”. The only place the mining operations are visible from a public access road was another 2 hour drive further west (inland). We opted out of seeing the mines and instead found a local pub for a cold one (expect for the driver).

Our next stop was Eungella National Refuge, where we were told one could reliably spot platypuses…or is it platypi? Actually the plural could just be platypus, like sheep. Anyways so we backtracked in the direction of Mackay again, then veered to the north. We were entering sugar cane territory, and the plant was growing in almost every piece of unused land. It again reminded me of driving through the Central Valley; dry, hot, and instead of corn fields it was sugar cane. The tracks for the sugar cane trains crossed in all directions, all converging into the multiple processing plants. The air had a sweet smell of syrupy molasses when downwind from the plants.

Whe finally made our way to the platypus viewing platform, where we saw many turtles…but no platypus. The Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were mocking us I think, very loud buggers which were in massive flocks. So we decided to take a stroll down the river a bit and try our chances off the beaten trail. Suddenly a beautiful neon blue and orange Azure Kingfisher swooped by and landed on a branch overhanging the river. The bird was simply stunning, then another appeared to seal the deal. Just as one of them dove into the creek to catch a fish, a freaking platypus surfaced and then dove again right under the kingfisher. It was amazing. We were able to watch at least 4 platypus come up for a few breathes before diving to the bottom and using their broad mammalian bills to plow through the mud in search of crayfish and other invertebrates. We stayed and watched for a good 30 minutes as they came up and dove again, finally some marine (well at least aquatic) fauna observing. My first experience with a wild egg laying mammal. In fact I’m not sure I’ve even see one in a zoo. This is why I came to Australia in the first place; my spirits were instantly higher after that.

The photo is looking north atop the south tower. The conveyor transports the coal from the holding area back on land, out along the trestle, and onto a huge cargo ship which would dock on the right side of the trestle.

Australia Bird List: Mackay Additions

Dusky Moorhen                     Gallinula tenebrosa

Pale-vented Bush-hen             Amaurornis moluccana

Australian Bush-turkey            Alectura lathami

Nankeen Kestrel                     Falco cenchroides

Black Kite                              Milvus migrans

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo      Cocatua gelerita

Azure Kingfisher                     Ceyx azurea

Eastern Yellow Robin             Eopsaltria australis
Straw-necked Ibis                  Threskiornis spinicollis