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itinerary |
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Departure
May 26 |
6:25 a.m. depart Pittsburgh Continental Airlines flight 3258
8:41 a.m. arrive Houston
9:35 a.m. depart Houston Continental Airlines flight 1 |
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| Great Barrier Reef |
May 27 |
5:25 p.m. arrive Guam
6:30 p.m. depart Guam
11:10 p.m. arrive Cairns
We will stay overnight in the Cairns Plaza Hotel. |
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May 28 to June 3 |
After breakfast, we will take a
30-minute charter flight over the Great Barrier Reef to
Lizard Island. Lizard
Island is located in the northern portion of Australia's Great Barrier
Reef, 270 km north of Cairns. It is a dry, rocky, mountainous
continental island. Almost the entire island is a national park and
it has 24 superb beaches and great places for swimming and snorkeling. We will settle in at the Lizard Island Research Station which is owned and operated by the Australian Museum, the oldest natural history museum in Australia. Later in the afternoon we will have an orientation session to the Research Station and the marine portion of our Australia field course. This will be followed by an introduction to snorkeling off the pure white sands of Research Beach. |
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Lizard Island was named by Joseph Banks, the botanist on Captain Cook's
ship, The Endeavour. It named it for the
goannas that
inhabit the island. Growing to 1.5 meters
long, these large monitor lizards are everywhere, sheltering in hidden
burrows at night, drinking from the clam shell footbaths outside the
buildings, and battling it out with their rivals for food and territory
all day. Generally, they move out of your way when you get too
close but occasionally one of the large males will stand his ground and
hiss loudly at you. When this happens, discretion is the better part of
valor; these lizards have claws that you wouldn't want to mess with and a
mouth full of bacteria. The island also has five species of snakes and two species of tree frogs. If you turn on the lights in the kitchen at night, you are almost certain to find a giant tree frog or gecko on the wall. The only mammals on the island (apart from humans) are two species of bat. About 10 species of bush birds are resident on Lizard Island, as well as numerous seabirds. |
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| There are four houses at the Lizard Island Research Station in which visitors cook and clean up after themselves. They have bedrooms, shared bathrooms, a kitchen, dining hall, and large verandah. Kitchens are equipped with all basic cooking and eating utensils; bathrooms have a composting toilet and solar hot water shower; all bedding and cleaning necessities are provided. | |||||
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During our six days on Lizard Island, we will explore the Great Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The course will include consist of practical field sessions in both the marine environment and the terrestrial environment. Marine activities will involve group snorkeling expeditions in the coral reef environment. We will take boats out to many of the reefs surrounding the island to observe different habitats and organisms. Each day will include a morning snorkel, a mid-day lecture, and an afternoon snorkel. There are many different reefs, beaches, and bays on Lizard Island, each with something unique to offer. We will go to a different site each time we go snorkeling, so you can experience the different habitats and see as many different organisms as possible. |
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Some of the sites that we will snorkel include:
One day, we will take time off to hike to the top of Lizard Island Mountain (360 meters) and stand on Captain Cook’s Look, where the famous Captain plotted his course after running aground on the Great Barrier Reef in 1788. The course will include lectures on the following topics: Reef Lecture 1: Introduction to the station/overview of course activities Reef Lecture 2: The Major Families of Reef Fishes, & sampling techniques. Reef Lecture 3: The Biology of Reef Fishes Reef Lecture 4: Identifying major taxa - hard & soft corals, other invertebrates Reef Lecture 5: Biology of Corals Reef Lecture 6: Physical characteristics & geomorphology of coral reefs Depart Lizard Island Charter flight – Lizard Is. - Cairns Bus transfer skytrans to Tuna Towers Hotel |
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June 3 to 4 |
Tuna Towers is located near the center of Cairns, right on the waterfront. It is a short stroll from the Cairns Esplanade and the city's main shopping precinct. From it windows, you'll have a view of some of Cairns most spectacular views across Trinity Bay and the surrounding mountains. |
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Mungalli Falls June 4 to 7 |
Depart Cairns 0900am Bus transfer Cairns - Mungalli Falls Accomm. Meals Mungalli Falls Student Village
Rainforest Lecture 1: Welcome to the Wet Tropics Rainforest Lecture 2: Flora and Fauna of the Wet Tropics Rainforest Rainforest Lecture 3: Determinants of diversity in the Wet Tropics Rainforest Lecture 4: Ecological processes
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Cardwell June 7 to 9 |
depart MFSV for Cardwell. Aboriginal field activities.
Depart Cardwell 4pm for Cairns - bus transfer |
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Cairns June 10 |
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Return to Pittsburgh June 11 |
Depart Cairns 1210am CO 903 | ||||
