The bat who spent a day sleeping on our veranda
The sleeping bat has a benign face
The rear claws of the varanus are impressive
A small clam in a tank at the research station
A giant clam viewed through the bottom of the glass bottom boat
The dorsal (?) side of a crown of thorns at the research station
The ventral (?) side of the crown of thorns, showing its feeding organ which it places directly on a coral to feed on it
Joyce relaxing after a dinghy expedition
JPK enjoying a latte
Lizard Island from the air
The common varanus lizard, this one about 2 meters
A gorgeous head and neck shotHong Kong was sideswiped by Typhoon Neoguri today, Saturday, April 19, and as a result there was time to catch up on our blog.
Lizard Island has but one resort, managed by the same folks that manage Longitude 131 in the Outback. It is very deluxe, with all meals and drinks included, and with a variety of equipment available for either snorkeling or diving. We took a boat ("dinghy") out twice, first to explore the beach and second to snorkel. Joyce decided against snorkeling so I went out on my own. The reef is only a few feet beneath the surface of the water, which is crystal clear so that the fish and the coral, both soft and hard, are plainly visible.
On land, there are many lizards (believed to be varanus gouldii), which was not at all to Joyce's liking. We also had the good/bad fortune to see a snake on the way to dinner one evening, about six feet long, mostly brown with a yellow band on its side. We were especially favored by a small fruit bat who decided to spend the day on our little veranda.
One of the best experiences on Lizard Island was a lecture by one of the marine biologists at the research station on the other side of the island. There are a number of ongoing projects, and among other things we saw a clam in one of the tanks, and a crown of thorns -- quite a deadly looking animal. On a trip to the reef in a glass bottom boat later that day, we passed over several giant clams which measured about one meter in diameter.
The sun was very intense, and after three days, we were ready to return to the mainland (Cairns). We had expected Cairns to be a sleepy beach town, and found instead that it is a growing and beautiful city, with a fine promenade around the harbor, an enormous public pool complete with sandy beach, a botanic garden and many excellent restaurants facing the inner harbor. A great jumping off point for a visit to the Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong etc.
8 comments:
Hi J&J,
We miss both of you and we wish we could have seen those lizards! What a cute little bat! The additional PNG pics were great, that part of the trip sounds like it was most adventurous. The girls were squealing loudly when they saw the Cuscus. Ariel is driving here and there all over Parkland and is a good driver. No tennis tournaments lately but Bill wants Phoebe to come over to play the #4 player for Douglas High. We are going for Passover at the Friedman house, Colin is bringing the brisket and home-made macaroons. We will toast to you! Love you....Deb
OMG!
THAT STARFISH IS SO CUTE!!!!!
and that bat is by far the most adorable thing i have ever seen,
you should have played with it,
SOOO cute.
i'm sorry you didnt see as many animals as you would have liked to in PNG, but there will be plenty of exotic animals for u to see along your way
The cuscus is SOOO cute and fluffy XD
and the eagle is lovely,
i'm glad to see that you have checked out the GBR
its so cool.
im totally jealous =D
oh yeah!
we are having a Jew party at my friend Brooke's home toady XD
ITS TIME TO BREAK OUT THE MATZAH!
Deb and Ariel,
If you haven't already, please left-click on the lizard and bat photos to enlarge them, especially the back foot of the lizard and its enormous claws.
Deb, thanks for the update on Ariel's driving prowess, and Phoebe's tennis progress.
Will write from Bangkok -- our flight there departs Hong Kong in about 3 1/2 hours.
Love,
Dad/Gumpa
cool that the island has so many big lizards; of course I wonder what they are eating there. That little bat seemed like a tasty morsel.
the same cannot be said for the crown of thorns starfish. It seems that these animals are still a threat to the beauty of the reef; is that the question the researchers were addressing?
WE ARE GETTING JIPPED. Here we are checking for updates and you guys are just having fun; what's going on here. Just one email photo from Joycee documenting the fact that you have a personal servant.
by comparison, as I'm sure you might guess, things here are quiet. We are on a pretty regular schedule, we are all well, and we all love you.
Why do I feel that I am being flogged by my own family for having fun instead of slaving over a hot computer to post new photos and adventures? Seriously, we are on the hectic part of the trip, and I hope to catch up on at least Hong Kong after we have finished dodging the sacred cattle that infest the streets here in Varanasi/Benares, including the dying cow just outside the entrance of our hotel here. People are trying to feed the poor animal to sustain it but I think it is doomed and its carcass will be taken out of Varanasi for the Hindu equivalent of the coup de grace.
Be well.
PS...the sacred cow did die and was removed from the sidewalk (finally). I need to "process" my two days here in Varanasi before I start to think of what we have experienced! Really! We are now 4/26 in Delhi and no cows in sight.....
Joycee
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