Queensland Term Abroad

Notices Archive

This page archives old notices.

Check the Issues page for current notices.

3 November Okay, got the first four pages of pictures from Lamington up for perusal. Figure on the next couple of pages within a few days. We've also assembled a couple pages featuring images of campus and Brisbane.

Follow our trip from the beginning here or skip to the most recently posted images.

12 October Three more pages posted today (12 October), all from Lady Elliot Island. There are more to come; however, we're heading to Lamington National Park tomorrow morning, so the final batch won't be posted until we return to Brisbane in a week.

In case you missed it, three pages were posted on Friday (10 October): two from Lady Elliot Island and one from Friday's (10 October) trip to a koala sanctuary. The index also includes a bit of description as to what we're doing in the photos.

Follow our trip from the beginning here or skip to the most recently posted images.

10 October We've been in class this past week, studying diverse topics including coral defense (i.e., how corals attack each other), the Australian health system, and the development of the carbonate platform off the NE coast.

Today we headed out to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, a wildlife conservation park just outside of town. Lots of cuddly and not so cuddly marsupials to see here. You could have your picture snapped with a koala and stroll among the macropods. Enjoy!

Follow our trip from the beginning here or skip to the most recently posted images.

6 October We're back from Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Lady Elliot was quite a departure from Saddlers, starting with the flight from Hervey Bay in puddle-jumper planes and landing on the grass runway. Anyway, there will be more about Lady Elliot soon. Right now I'm just finishing the second half of Saddlers Springs. Saddlers is located near Carnarvon Gorge National Park in south-central Queensland and is a special place. Please see the new pictures chronicling our activities.

I'm working on the Lady Elliot stuff and hope to post it before we leave for Lamington National Park next week!

Follow our trip from the beginning here or skip to the most recently posted images.

27 September We're back from Saddler Springs, the cattle station in west central Queensland. Our time there was quite special; virtually everyone was wistful on our departure and I heard many people say "I don't want to leave". While there, we were treated to strenuous but rewarding hikes in Carnarvon Gorge National Park, an introduction to thought-provoking ancient art, demonstrations of the skills, hardships, and pleasures of making a life in this wild and different land, as well as time to enjoy singing by the campfire, hearty meals, and the proliferation of the Euchre bug. (Euchre, pronounced "you-ker", with stress on the first syllable, is a card game. Lauren and I remain the only unbeaten team.)

Follow our trip from the beginning here or skip to the most recently posted images.

19 September We've been back from Straddie and have been busy in the classroom. Two birthdays, lectures on marine plants, reef geology, marine vertebrates, indigenous dance and music, Aboriginal fire practice, sea-level change and more, we're preparing for two back-to-back trips. We'll be heading to a remote cattle station near Carnarvon Gorge National Park. This place is remote. It's a 10 hour bus ride from Brisbane, partly on unpaved roads. Stay tuned.

Follow our trip from the beginning here or skip to the most recently posted images.

13 August

Geneva Program Arrival -- UPDATE

This information changed 13 August. Our start time is fast approaching! We're getting excited (and frenetic) making our preparations. You may be wondering when you're supposed to arrive on campus, where you're supposed to go, etc....

First, plan to arrive by 6:00 pm. (Please contact us if that presents a problem.) Click Here for driving directions to campus. If you'd like more background on the campus, click here.

Second, Head for Campus Security, located in a red metal building accessed through the main parking lot. See a campus map with Security and Emerson Hall hilighted here. (Hit the back button on your browser to return to this page.) Here you'll pick up your key.

Third, Once you've got your key, head over to Emerson (where you'll be staying), dump your stuff and help us get set up for dinner. Note: parents or friends dropping you off in Geneva are welcome to stay for dinner.

See you there!

30 July

Current Security Warnings

The US Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on aviation security yesterday. According to the statement, "Attack venues may include the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia or the East Coast of the United States due to the relatively high concentration of government, military and economic targets". You can read more about the statement at CNN.com and at the Department of Homeland Security's website. While they did issue the statement, the DHS did not raise the US security level.

Naturally, we're keeping an eye on the situation, but we do not anticipate any problems. You may be wondering what would precipitate a change in plans. If Australia or New Zealand were placed on the State Department's Current Travel Warnings page, along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, and others, we'd cancel. So, again, we don't think this will impact our plans. Please contact us, including the Union and HWS Partnership for Global Education offices, if you have questions.

Water Equipment notes

I emailed something a few weeks ago about equipment for the water at Moreton Bay and Lady Elliot. Here's a bit of what Ian Tibbetts, the Marine Biology professor, wrote about that:

"We will be doing some reefwalking so dive booties (neoprene, "rubber" soled boots) are very useful. You can reef walk in trainers (sand shoes, track shoes or whatever you call them - Nikes), but dive booties are the best option. These can be used with open heel fins, which have a strap at the back. At LEI this is a bonus because you can walk over the reef flat and then slip your fins on at the reef edge without having to take booties off (which you would have to do if you were using closed heel (snorkelling) fins). The most effective combination is for open heel fins and a pair of booties. The booties, and possibly the fins, can also be used at Straddie (MBRS) so I like this option. I also like to take dive gloves. These can be cheap gardening gloves and do not have to be flask dive gloves (which cost a fortune)".

Again, it's probably easier to buy booties and gloves in Australia. In the States at least, dive shops that rent gear often have used booties for sale on the cheap.

Ian says he usually takes just one bathing suit, but hey, they're lightweight so two won't hurt. For Lady Elliot, "...it is suprising how little gear you need - sloppy joe (aka sweat shirt, jumper, pullover), T-shirts, jocks, socks and one pair of shoes (Ideally not a best pair because it is a rubble cay and can be rough on the leather). They provide room towels, but not beach towels. Ball gown and tuxes are not required." Note that we fly to Lady Elliot, and there's an 8 — 10 kg limit on gear, so you'll have to pack light. There's a dive shop at Lady Elliot that rents dive gear if you want it. Remember, diving is not required, so don't worry if you aren't certified. Do bring your certification cards if you plan on diving, though. DK

29 July

New Zealand Page now available

Updates to schedules page and fieldtrips page. Also, there's now a New Zealand page with some more specific information about the trip, including advice on storing baggage (a requirement) and a schedule. Of course, you already know that details of the daily New Zealand schedule are available starting on November 18.

Field Wear Note

Professor Arens has had some questions about warm-weather field wear. See her suggestions on the Suggested Equipment and Suggested Extended Equipment pages.

28 July

Web Page Alterations

I've altered the web site's front page so that news and announcements are immediately accesible. The course information formerly listed on the main page is now on the Classes page. A link for this page is now listed in the right margin.

Baggage Allowances

Katie Clifford wrote asking about baggage allowances on our flights. It looks like Delta allows two checked bags and Qantas lists 44 pounds on international flights. Check out these links for more info:   Delta and Qantas.

Storing Bags in New Zealand

You will be required to store most of your luggage in New Zealand. Look on the first page of the New Zealand schedule for more information.

24 June 2003 - Scheduling

We (Arens & Kendrick) have just returned from making arrangements for the New Zealand portion of the trip. We should have reservations confirmed in the next couple weeks.

We also spent some time with Ian Tibbetts and Mike Pole, the faculty at the Centre for Marine Studies, who'll be teaching the Marine Biology and Terrestrial Ecology classes while we're in Brisbane. The courses they've developed look great.

We've learned of some scheduling changes, particularly in the timing of some of our field excursions. Check the schedules page for updates. In addition, we'll be posting a new PDF with updated course info soon. The new PDF will supersede the old one, so, once it's posted, you can get rid of the old schedule. It should be available in a few days. I will update the Calendar, too, but it will take a few days as well.