Woman vs Wild

Ok - just had one of those more unpleasant experiences in the wild. Well...not sure if I would call it the wild seeing it was about 300 metres from our house but it certainly feels like its a million miles from nowhere.

We recently discovered, just below our eerie where we live at the top of Cooktown, the old water reservoir that used to supply all the water to the town. Its now a pretty 'dam' with a large metal tower in one corner with old taps and pipes where they would have controlled the water release.  Its now not frequented and you aren't really supposed to swim there but this late in the dry season, it is a pretty dam surrounded by soft grasses and sits at the bottom of Mt Cook. Quite idyllic.
We went there last week and the kids had a swim and it was glorious. After much persistence and with the current closure of the Cooktown pool, I agreed to take the kids there for a swim yesterday afternoon.
They raced into the water and I decided to take a stroll around the dam and check for any birdlife. As I say the reservoir is so close to our house and I often se birds flying towards it or hear unusual bird calls at night.

Well the next minute there is this swooping noise and I am being attacked head on by two Lapwing Plovers (locally known as Milganduur). They flew at me from different directions aiming straight for my head/face and only deflected a few inches from me! I started waving my camera at them and shouting and this seemed to urge them on. 


With visions of Alfred Hitchcock I started to run for it flailing my arms around as they continued their vociferous attack. The kids thought it was hilarious but I can tell you I was not amused in the slightest! After 10 mins in safety with the two birds watching us intently from equi-distant points across the dam, I called for home and we headed off. You have to admire their tenacity I guess. Paradise lost for me.

Smoke on the water....

Smoke over Mt Saunders

The smell of smoke is cloying tonight. There is no wind and the smoke is all pervading. Fires have been burning for days on lovely Mt Saunders and tonight the horizon is blood red with the fire.  It seems to die away and then starts again in another area. Unsure whether it was purpose lit or not, it has burnt out miles of pristine land with lovely old trees, acres of tree palms and goodness knows what animals, orchids and birds. I am still unconvinced by the need to burn off and whether this really some traditional necessity or was the fire lit by some ciggies thrown out a window or an old beer bottle. AS the fire is burning through traditional but 'vacant' land there seems to be no need to put it out or contain it. I cant imagine anyone out there keeping an eye on it...sadly.

Winter in Cape York

This is the most amazing time of year. The wet has well and truly gone, the humidity with it and the light is stunning. We are very happy enjoying our new house and space and of course the view which is at its best in the mornings, with drifting clouds over the mountains beyond.
The kids gave me a fabulous pair of binoculars for Mothers Day and this morning I was able to watch a silken parachute as it floated west across the river below. Not sure who it belonged to and I hope it wasnt from someone dropping into the Endeavour to become some croc's breakfast!

Sorghum heads on the rd to Laura

I have been flat out again this year with both my 'day job' working with the Kuku Nyungkal Rangers as well as a new project - the Laura Dance Festival.  This is a great gig - doing all the marketing and publicity for the Festival - a dream event that happens every two years. Anyway more on that once it happens next week

In the meantime the days are glorious, the nights are cool and hit has been nice not sweating at all for the first time in months.  There are an abundance of Blue winged kookaburras on every power pole at the moment - just amazing to see them everywhere with their bright blue flash on their wings.  The kids are busy, with Toby recently competing in the Cape York Cross Country championships  he did quite well , coming 11th out of 47, seeing he had got up at 5am and driven all the way from Cooktown to Cairns (well..he didnt drive). Toby heads off an Environmental camp next week and then it is the school holidays and we head north to explore the top of Cape York.

The Cooktown Orchid - in bloom and beautiful

The orchid seems to have a particular hold on people and none more so than the Cooktown Orchid which is a rare and beautiful sight.  


Chosen as Queensland’s floral emblem in 1959 by popular vote, the Cooktown Orchid (Dendrobium phalaenopsis) was seen to be unique, decorative, distinctive and easily cultivated.

 Found in northern Queensland, from Johnston River to Iron Range, these days it is rarely seen other than by orchid growers and enthusiasts.  The Cooktown Orchid blooms only in the months of April and May each year- a delicate and elegant flower about 3 to 6 cm wide and are normally deep to pale lilac/pink in colour. These plants can grow up to 80 cm in height and can have from 3 to 20 flowering canes.

Although it is found in tropical districts with very high summer rainfall, it is not a rainforest species but grows in exposed situations, usually attached to tree trunks such as paperbark melaleucas in savannah woodland or in vine thickets. Habitat alteration and indiscriminate harvesting by some commercial plant collectors have made this species rare or extinct in some places within its range, especially in the southern part.

Here in Cooktown these days it is hard to find although many people have them hidden in their gardens or high in the gum trees. The Botanic Gardens had placed some in a viewing area which were stolen and have now had to build a caged orchid house so that people can at least see them but not take. Sad that its come to this.

Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival

This year I am not working so much on the Cooktown Discovery Festival which took over my life for some 6 mths for the first part of last year.  This time I am being paid to do marketing and promotion of the famous Laura Dance Festival which is a great thing to work on.....despite the fact I have never been to it!

The culturally rich landscape of Laura in Far North Queensland is the setting for one of Australia's most well-established and vibrant cultural festivals. Generally acknowledged as the celebration and showcase of the culture of the Aboriginal Communities of Cape York Peninsula, the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival (LADF) is a unique event.

Only held every two years, the festival celebrates the traditional song, dance and culture of the Aboriginal people of Cape York Peninsula. The performance and practice of Aboriginal Dance & Culture at the Festival is an important element in the continuance of the unique culture of the region. The Festival allows the audience to experience the story telling and history of Aboriginal culture through dance, language and art primarily to ensure the integrity of the Festival’s vision. If you feel the urge come along and enjoy the fun....sit under a gum tree beside a river and watch the Aboriginal people from all over the cape come to together and dance!

see www.lauradancefestival.com

An Englishman abroad

We recently were visited by our lovely 'Englishman abroad' - Rupert Chetwynd. I managed to entice him up to our corner of the world just before he departed for India where his wife Luciana was working on a film with Roland Joffe. 

Arriving in typical style with akubra, riding boots and a small backpack, Rupert delighted us with his wonderful stories, experiences and views on all things.  I managed to harness his extraordinary mind and organise afternoon-tea with some of the Cooktown ladies so he could impart his thoughts on the local museum, ideas for the Re-enactment Association and other tourism ideas for the area.

 Other than that he delighted in walking the town and we showed him as much as we could even when the weather was less than desirable.  He was there when we first saw the birdwing butterfly in the garden of our new house and then again at Finch Bay and again and again. Whenever I see a birdwing now I always think of Rupert.


After a trip to Trevethan Falls we spied some boxing wallabies which was so funny to watch.  We also managed to find a glorious day north of Cooktown and Elim Beach, Cape Bedford and shared a picnic lunch on the beach, a scavenge for drift wood, shells and other detritus to be found on our wild beaches.

Rupert is married to my mother's cousin but I have spent many a dinner round his table over the last 30 years, either in London, Suffolk, Italy or Malaysia. It was lovely to show him our new corner of the world and introduce him to our kids and cook a couple of meals for him. 

A new view on Life

 

They say a change is as good as a holiday and I feel like I can vouch for that.  We recently moved house after 21 mths in our tiny rather old tree house to a much larger house with the most amazing view over Cooktown.  I reckoned for the same price in rent, that to have 4 bedrooms and a large living area was better than the two tiny rooms we had been living in with no flat space for the kids to run around in.
Mind you this is no salubrious pad - rather what I have referred to as a blank canvas - a standard rectangular house but with room to move. And we managed to furnish it with help from our friends here her lent us beds, sofa, someone donated a dining room table, various eclectic chairs and some plastic chairs for the outdoors. 

Birdwing Butterfly

The amusing thing is that for the first time in their lives Toby and Phoebe have their own rooms and space and are now in full swing of the no-girls/no-boys allowed in each but I guess that's a novelty for them having shared the smallest space for the last 6 years.

We had a our first BBQ here with about 12 people for dinner on Sat night which was lovely - room to move and when it rained we just moved under the carport for the rest of the evening. Lovely.

Our garden here is also filled with lovely birds and butterflies including the amazing Birdwing butterfly that only appears at this time of year. There are also limes and soursop, custard apples and frangipani's dotted around - the previous owner was an avid gardener. Just no mango's to drop on my head........