February 24: Sailing to Straddie
Today we left our cozy apartments in Brisbane and headed east for North Stradbroke Island. The island, which is a large tourist destination for many Australians, is a sand island across Moreton bay. To reach it, we took a short ferry ride and hopped off on the island, but it was no sunny beach day. First thing we did was walk the trail along the rocky headlands of the island. When we reached the point, we could see the rough seas below and hear the occasional pfuussshhhhh of the rocky blowhole. The rain started pouring down on us, and many of us realized our “waterproof rain jackets” weren’t so waterproof.
After our very rainy trek along the headlands, we arrived at the research center where will be staying for the remainder of our time on Straddie, or Minjerribah as it is called by the indigenous Quandamooka people. The Quandamooka people are the indigenous people of Moreton bay, and are composed of three tribes: the Nunukul, the Goenpul and the Ngug. We learned how what sand islands are and how the form- as nutrient rich sand builds up on the ocean side it creates dunes, which allow plants to grow and uptake the nutrients from the sand. We also received a lecture from a Quandamooka Aboriginal educator who played the didgeridoo for us and taught us about the customs and traditions held by the Quandamooka people. He then took us for a walk and we saw koalas!
After this amazing lecture we got the opportunity to go seine netting. Half of us carried a weighted net into the bay, and walked towards the shore while watching out for stingrays! We caught garfish, toadfish, blue crabs, and digging crabs. It was so much fun we did it again before dinner. We ended the night by looking at zooplankton under microscopes. We saw so much oceanic larval diversity! From one drop of water you could find crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and fish! After an amazing lab we called it a night.
