Ahh! A sleep in until 7 am! We packed, breakfasted, sorted the houses out and left our home of the last 6 days by about 9:30 am. Our challenge for today was to write a poem that started "O Zebedee..." and reflected the issues and adventures we had with this novel piece of lidar technology. There would be a poetry reading at the pub tonight.
On the way Gail decided to visit Dismal Swamp and the giant slide there. It has quite a good set of boardwalks through tall damp forest, such a contrast to the areas we've been in for the last week.
Back into the car and straight through to Elizabeth Town to collect our order from the bakery, arriving at Trowunna Wildlife Park in time for lunch (a little late) and a talk by Androo Kelly.
I have now been to Trowunna three times and it is quite amazing every time. It has a breeding colony of disease free devils and others of spotted-tailed quolls, eastern quolls, forester kangaroos, wombats and more. They also take in injured wildlife and nurse them until releasing them back into the wild.
Back to our accommodation to settle in and write a bit of poetry before we all headed for the Mole Creek Pub for dinner. We doubled the clientele at the pub and had a great social time down by the creek. No platypus this year but huge eels and some good fish.
Poems were read and there was much laughter over all the various takes on what people thought of the Zebedee and associated vegetation survey project that was a major component of this year's science at Arthur River. My naive offering ...
O Zebedee, our Zebedee
Needs a battery, a charged battery
Then Menna, Chris and vollies three
Can traipse through heath that's far too tall
With hidden holes in which to fall
To estimate what devils see
When out hunting for their tea.
There's lots to carry too, you see,
The pole of doom the size of a tree
Star pickets, rope and long sticks three
The womper stomper and mallet be
Carried there most carefully
By Menna, Chris and vollies three.
Oh woe is me, oh woe are we
When ants and leeches come to see
New juicy meals on neck and knee
Of Menna, Chris and vollies three.
But Sebastian and Gini
Keep trapping on with wicked glee
And only smile when we can't see
The camera hidden near a tree.
The GPS, our GPS
Needs a battery, a charged battery
For Menna, Chris and vollies three
To find that camera near that tree.
When at last the transect be,
The photos needed meant that we
Must stand and the 'diangularity'
So we don't go down in history
As part of each survey-y
With Menna, Chris and vollies three.
Thanks to Ian and to Gail-y
Who organise these trips so we
Can find devils and quolls, both free
With Menna, Chris and vollies three
And learn to listen and to see
Such details in nature there be;
To carry loads that heavy be;
And laugh when we return for tea.
Thank you Gail, and thanks to Ian
Thanks to Sebastian and Gini
From us all who hope to see
You soon to work again with thee
And Menna and Chris, as vollies three
A toast to all and Zebedee!
Home to bed by about 9 pm (when the pub closed). Some sat up socialising but Dianne and I were too pooped to do anything but sleep.
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