Back to Work

After a short and comfortable flight on Cobham airlines I once again touched down on the runway of Barrow Island, with an audience of termite mounds and spinifex grasses going to seed in response to the squall like showers that have been marching over the parched land. Then came the long and dusty bus shuttle along the winding dirt roads that connect the various camps and drill sites on the island, followed by a boat transfer to the Finnmarken. Bridled Terns scoured our wake and Brown Boobies watched from their perches as we passed the steep sandstone cliffs of the north side, and wove between the many islets that shelter the transfer dock. Once aboard the Finnmarken I immediately found my room, found my bed, and took a nap…which didn’t last long as the voice from above announced crew transfers to the fleet would begin at 1300; time to go back to work.

I will be on the Taurus for the next few weeks, which is the cutter dredge, before switching to the new Gateway (suction dredge) that arrived on site last month. I will have a room on the Gateway so I won’t have to transfer back and forth between the Finnmarken everyday, which will be nice.

I am also happy to report that the turtles have apparently finished their nesting and have buggered off back out to sea. No more 120 turtle sightings per day. In fact I only saw 4 yesterday, along with 8 Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins. The whales aren’t scheduled to arrive for several months, so there should be a lot of starring at nothing in my future. I can always count on the birds though.

My fist night back at see was a picturesque one. There is still a tropical low lingering to the North West, which put on a spectacular lightning show on the horizon, as a full moon rose from the East and the sun, brilliant orange and red from the dust of the island, set to the West.