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Meeting a dingo
Date posted: Monday 23 January 2012
My mother and a dingo become acquainted
My mother and I dropped into Johnstone River Crocodile Farm today after heading south without really knowing where we were going. On Saturday we had met dingo pups through a wire fence at Daintree Wild Zoo and enjoyed the experience, and when we saw a roadside sign for the Johnstone River Crocodile Farm with a photo of a dingo we thought we would drop in for a while. On arrival we were told that the Farm tour would include having a dingo brought out so we could have a pat, and we thought that would be great. When it turned out that there were only six of us on the tour, the guide decided to give us a special treat – and we wandered into the enclosure to meet the five dingos in the enclosure. I don’t think I’ve ever liked a dog more, and I think it will almost certainly be the highlight of my mother’s visit. All five were very friendly, particularly the three youngsters, and it’s hard to associate the creatures we met with those responsible for various attacks.
It was nice to see the dingo enclosure done really well. The Johnstone River dingos have a large enclosure with good trees, a man-made cave in which to shelter, and a small pond/water feature. The only thing I would have liked would be a more natural cave entrance for photos.
- Two of the five dingos at Johnstone River Crocodile Farm
Lunchtime
Date posted: Monday 16 January 2012
A female great carpenter bee (Xylocarpa aruana) at lunch on Water Street, Cairnss
An aquarium in Cairns?
Date posted: Friday 13 January 2012Category: In my opinion, While I was browsing
The Cairns Post has had reports over the last couple of days about plans to create a public aquarium in Cairns:
Daniel Leipnik of Melbourne-based The Speciality Group, one of the largest manufacturers of technical textiles in Australia, told The Cairns Post that an aquarium in Cairns was “a no-brainer”.
He said if everything went to plan it could open in 2015.
…..
He said Cairns was crying out for an aquarium for visitors who did not, would not or could not go to the Reef.
“I want to bring the Great Barrier Reef to the city,” Mr Leipnik said.
There would be no marine mammals, such as dolphins or orcas, but the vision was to replicate the Reef as well as featuring the Wet Tropics, mangroves and swamps.
I think the decision not to have marine mammals may be a mistake, but I’m not thinking dolphins, orcas or any cetacean. How about dugongs? We have a little known creature that is very hard to see in the wild. Of those that do see them, it’s usually a brief glimpse of a snouth breaking the surface. A large, well designed tank featuring our native sirenians would be a great attraction.
It would be nice to see them put a fair effort into non-reef environments. Tidal flat and mangove environments could be very interesting, and sawfish and barramundi should make an appearance. I think box jellyfish would make an interesting addition, though it may have to be a seasonal exhibit given they can’t be kept alive over the dry season. Another good exhibit would be an estuarine crocodile in an exhibit where you can see it in the water, a bit like the one at the Cairns Rainforest Dome but larger.
I would also like to see them branch out a bit. We have the Great Barrier Reef just offshore, and ReefHQ’s reef aquarium down in Townsville.While I understand the main focus would be on fish of the region, to compete with ReefHQ and draw in more people who do get out to the reef, I think such a facility would benefit from a bit of diversity. It would be nice to see them add some non-Australian exhibits, something missing from ReefHQ, the Sydney and Melbourne Aquariums. How about an Amazon exhibit with arapaima? The Congo with goliath tigerfish? The cichlids of Lake Malawi? Giant sturgeon? Japanese giant salamander? I know we’re in the tropics, but I would love to see penguins. Please, have an exotics section. I promise to buy an annual ticket!
Location is going to be important. Sites near the Cairns Convention Centre may be too far from the tourist areas. The old Wharf area would be a little better. But another possibility comes to mind, in part due to the fact we used to have an aquarium in Cairns… Any chance they could just take over and convert the whole ground floor of the rapidly emptying Pier Marketplace?
Cairns Post stories:
Aborted fetus in your Superbowl
Date posted: Thursday 12 January 2012Category: In my opinion, While I was browsing
Mother Jones reports that over in the US viewers of the Superbowl will find some of the ads, usually a showcase of humorous and memorable product ads (or attempts at it), a little confronting:
Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry has been running graphic ads of aborted fetuses in key primary states, as my colleague Tim Murphy has reported. Now the gruesome ads are coming to the Super Bowl.
Nothing says “pass the dip” like a bloody fetus. Normally, Terry wouldn’t be able to get these kinds of ads on television. So he’s launching a non-serious campaign for president (running as a Democratic challenger to President Obama) in order to exploit a loophole in Federal Communications Commission rules that requires station to run campaign ads in the weeks ahead of a primary election—no matter how grisly they might be. In the 45 days ahead of a primary and 60 days ahead of a general election, candidates for federal office can run whatever they want on local stations, as long as they pay for the airtime.
Yes, the FCC can try to fine you a half-million dollars for a “wardrobe malfunction,” but bundles of bloody body parts is A-okay.
Read more at Mother Jones.
It really does tell you how well the anti-choice lobby is in the US. They compete for advertising with Pepsi and Coke. Of course the religious right gets even more extreme over there, with some even suporting legal amendments that would ban many forms of contraception.
Eastern spinebill
Date posted: Sunday 08 January 2012
Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) feeding on an umbrella tree (Schefflera actinophylla) at the Lake Barrine Teahouse
Hou Wang Temple, Atherton Chinatown
Date posted: Saturday 07 January 2012Category: In my opinion, Photos
I’ve driven past Atherton Chinatown and it’s temple a few times before, and never really thought about stopping. From the road it really doesn’t look like much more than a normal looking house for what turned out to be the museum, gallery and shop, and a smallish shed for the temple itself. The temple is the only building remaining from the early 1900s Chinatown, which once had a busstling community with 800-1000 people. Even when viewed from the front, the temple really doesn’t look like much.
Front view
Today my mother, up from Canberra, and I headed up to Lake Barrine, and stopped at the Atherton Market (which was a disappointment with almost nothing there) and found ourselves beside the temple. We decided to have a look, and spent some time wandering around the small museum, learning about the Chinese immigrants wwho came to the region, largely in search of gold. Some ended up living in the Atherton area and built a temple to serve Confucian, Buddhist and Daoist faiths.
After the museum we had a guided tour of the temple. It’s really quite remarkable walking up to what looks like a farm shed and going through the doors. The first thing that greets you is, oddly for someone like me unfamiliar with Chinese temples, another set of doors. Our guide explained that the second set of doors were a common feature, and were believed to help keep spirits out. They are always kept closed. We walked around the door’s frame to find the temple room. Lined with red cedar which scents the air, and dimly lit, it certainly gave it an unexpected atmosphere.
The temple
It was interesting to hear how various parts of the temple had been returned over time, with people realising they had part of the temple and sending it back. The offerings urn in the picture above, for example, had been given to a doctor decades ago and had ended up in Sydney. The family wasn’t aware of the urn’s provenance for a long time, but when they visited Atherton and the temple they realised what they had. They didn’t say anything at the time – the urn just appeared by courier. A couple of wooden banners with chinese script on them had been used as scaffolding by a local builder, before he realised what he had and offered to give them back. The roof above the pagoda at the front of the temple had apparently been used as a chicken shed after a cyclone had blown it off in the 1950s. Hopefully more missing pieces will be found and returned.
My mother and I both found it fascinating, and we’re glad we finally stopped to have a look in. I’ll definitely add it to my list of attractions that I recommend people visiting the region see.
Drop in to the Hou Wang Temple website for more information.
Who me?
Date posted: Friday 06 January 2012As I was watering the plants this evening something caught my eye. I looked, and just saw the leaves of my lime tree. I kept watering for a bit, then decided that I should look again. A jumping spider, about two centimeters from the tip of its front legs to those of its back, was trying not to be noticed:
The front on view of a jumping spider doing the spider equivalent of whistling innocently
Looking from another angle, I suspect it’s another example of bird poo on a leaf disguise:
The view from above
I really need to get a good book on FNQ arachnids.
