Heron Island Field Trip 2001

A WEEK IN TROPICAL PARADISE
HERON ISLAND FIELDTRIP 2001

By Victoria Cole (Organiser for Biolsoc Heron Island Fieldtrip 2001)

Everything at Heron is the best ? the air cleaner, the waters more blue, the sharks friendlier and most importantly the chitons bigger!

Traveling in ultimate class and style we arrived in Gladstone, staying the night at the Park View and dining in Gladstone RSL.  The next morning we boarded the Reef Adventurer II catamaran and braved the large swells on our way to "Tropical Paradise" aka Heron Island.  Greeted by the staff of Heron Island Research Station (HIRS) we were given a quick tour, then headed straight to the water for an introductory reef walk, seeing so much amazing biology.

The rest of the week consisted of spending the majority of the time in the water, whether it be taking the dive/snorkel boat out to the pristine areas of the reef eg. Wistari Reef, Blue Pools and Gorgonian Hole or snorkeling in and around the island shallows eg. Shark Bay, the channel and wreck.  Surrounded  by the diverse and abundant  corals and fishes and encountering turtles, rays and sharks ? it was surreal - we were in another world.

Evenings were spent idyllically sipping cocktails at the resort, staring at the stars, looking for chitons or rays or marveling at the female Loggerhead and Green turtles digging their egg chambers and laying eggs.

And yes, we did do research!  There were attempts at ray and egret catching.  Some groups assisted the tutors with their projects, some discovered their love for sea cucumbers and others reconfirmed their love for Christmas tree worms.  Final presentations were fantastic and displayed the hidden talents of all involved.

All in all we had a wonderful time and feel inspired for another year filled with fun and biology!  I would especially like to thank everyone who came and made the trip so enjoyable and most of all a big thank you to our tutors Meri Peach, Eric Dorfman and Brendan Kelaher.

AND for all those suffering from post-tropical paradise depression or wish they were able to join us, please note that HIRS is booked with Biolsoc:  9-15 January, 2002.