Sunday quickly came around and I was back on a plane heading for Brisbane with two of my leaders from the school. Phil is a mad keen bird breeder, so he was happy to include some birding in the programme. Mark was neither, but diplomatically accepted that his boss was mad, and smiled patiently whenever I chatted about the possible birds I could see, which was often. We had an over night stay in Brisbane, and then flew to Carins and then on to Normanton, on the south-east corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria to visit a small indigenous school that we were keen to develop a "sister school" arrangement with. We landed just after lunch to a blamy 30 degrees celcius! A mate from the Sunshine Coast, whose school oversees the programme in Normanton, accompanied us and showed us the sights of Normanton. It took ten minutes. We settled into the local caravan park and prepared to spend the afternoon driving to Karumba to check out a boat trip that we would have as part of the "Top End" experience for our students if we went ahead with the "exchange".
We had only just left Normanton when we stopped the car very quickly - Sarus Crane virtually by the road! I was stoked, and even Mark looked somewhat impressed. Lifer Number 1 for the QLD adventure. Not a bad one to start with!! We also saw plenty of Brolgas, White-necked and White-faced Herons, Brown Falcons and Australian Kestrels on the drive to Karumba.
We were met by the locals at Karumba, who loaded us onto a boat, along with a very pleasant American couple, and away we went. The bird life was prolific - Jabiru (Black-necked Stork), Brahminy, Whistling and Black Kites, White-breasted Sea-Eagles, Great-billed Heron (only the second time I had seen them), Little and Great Egrets, Eastern Curlews, Sacred and Azure Kingfishers, and a White-breasted Whistler were the highlights. No extra lifers, but a fantastic late afternoon of birding, along with quite a few very impressive crocodiles. Absolutely recommend you go with the Ferryman cruises. They do specific birding boat trips and seem to know their stuff.
A Big Croc!
We then met up with the others and went over to the school. Gulf Christian College is a fantastic set-up with about 50 students. The staff are dedicated and passionate educators, and the faciltities are excellent. The kids seemed happy and enthusiastic, and we had a great conversation with them that we hope will now lead on to an ongoing relationship between the two schools. Very positive. We were soon back on the plane to Cairns, then on to Brisbane, where we collected out hire car and headed to the Sunshine Coast. A long but very successful day.
The next morning was a "rest" day, so Phil and I headed to the Noosa region - this is one of my favourite birding areas and I was keen to show it off. Again, the bird-life was prolific, and we saw an amazing array of species throughout the Noosa National Park and then at Jabiru Park on the way to Cooroy. Nothing new, for me that is, but lots of great spots for Phil, including a couple of "boobies" at Alexandria Bay. Unfortunately, they were ancient - enough said. We headed back to our hotel, met up with the rest of the team from the school and headed out for dinner with teams from Nambour Christian College and Thomas Hassall Anglican College. A great day, and a great night out. The next day was full of meetings and eating, all of which was incredibly useful, but of not much interest for birders, apart from a Pale-headed Rosella that appeared by the window during one meeting - found it hard to concentrate for a few minutes! Farewells were said that night, and Mike prepared himself for the major part of the trek - heading off for three weeks of non-stop birding. Prepare for Part 3!!
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