Licking Ants’ Butts and Incredible Sights!

It was an intensive lesson this morning about indigenous coastal culture conducted by Linc, a native of Cooya Beach near Port Douglas.  He grew up in the area and still has a large family living here.  He is the first generation that has not been forcibly taken away to live in missions, the “stolen generation.”  His father was in a mission and only obtained a “Certificate of Exemption” in 1961 for his release!

The aborigines believe that they belong to the land; it does not belong to them.  Each mob or tribe have their own culture related to the land they live on.  Coastal traditions and foods vary from people that live in other areas, and they believe you adapt to the land not the land to you.

Linc performs a “smoking ceremony” waving smoke over each of us and chanting to ward off evil spirits and to welcome good ones before we enter his land to sit down.  Linc’s mob receive most of their tucker from the ocean or the beach area.  Besides various fish and crabs, they eat five types of sea turtles which are considered “pink meat”, five kinds of fresh water turtles which are “white meat”, manatees are “red meat” with a thick layer of fat similar to pork, and shellfish - oysters and clams.  Trees, shrubs and vines provide coconuts, berries, and leaves for food and medicine along with wood for weapons and musical instruments and fiber for weaving baskets.  Seashells and turtle shells are used for cutting and bowls along with decorative items.

We follow him along the beach learning about the ocean tide which is currently low and the large mudflats with part of the Great Barrier Reef in the distance.  He and his family have worked tirelessly to improve the condition of the mangroves and beach area restoring it to its natural condition.  He shows us plants that depose of salt by diverting it to particular leaves which turn yellow and die sacrificing themselves to protect the rest of the plant.  We have a spear throwing competition to “catch” a coconut.  I need lots of practice!

He also shows us the didgeridoo and demonstrates how to play it and the various sounds it produces.  Loose lips are necessary to produce the deep sonorous tones from this wooden musical instrument.  I barely make a squeak!

Green ants have formed a colony in leaves of a tree at his parents’ house.  These tiny creatures have a pinhead size drop of green liquid which is tannic acid at their rear ends.  I volunteer to pinch the ant’s head with my fingers and lick his butt!

Another new experience, and it tastes bitter and is numbing to my lips!  They use this for mouth or throat pain.  I may not be able to lick a toad, but I’ve now licked an Australian ant’s bottom!

Mosman Gorge is another national park which contains the oldest rainforest in the world.  Our speaker, Mooks, preforms a smoking ceremony also and tells us about his life being raised in the jungle.  He was born in the river, and his parents worked for a cattle station.  When he was less than a year old, officers came looking for light skin native children to remove them for “the betterment of the community”.  His grandmother hide him in the jungle for a month rubbing charcoal into his skin to darken it.  He returned home, but a few years later, his family was warned again that government officials were coming. This time he was hidden in a locked mailbag under the bed with instructions to stay quiet with a promised reward of licorice.  He remembers falling asleep in the bag, avoiding detection, but leaving the cattle station to be raised by his grandparents in a safer environment.

We walk along a beautiful path in Mosman Gorge besides huge trees and plants and a rollicking stream where families are playing and picnicking.  This is one of the safe places without crocodiles.  The air is heavy with moisture, and as we return from our walk, we cool our feet in the refreshing waters.

A marine biologist explains about the Great Barrier Reef…problems, history, and future.  The reef is not one continuous structure, but a series of 2,009 individual coral formations stretching 1,300 miles or as long as Italy and Japan together.  Some people have dire predictions for this largest living structure in the world, but he seems hopeful.

Three things stress the reef…changes in salinity, pH, and temperature. The latter is the biggest problem as our planet’s temperature increases.  Data has been collected on the reef since 1928, and it shows that the reef is very resilient.  The problem depends on the frequency of these stress conditions since the reef needs time to regenerate.

Multiple years show temperatures warmer than the ideal 78.8 degrees.  The reef can tolerate temperatures up to 86, but at 87.8 degrees…a minor difference, the corals go into heat stress, expel their symbiotic algae which results in the coral looking bleached.  Without the algae which produces oxygen and sugars through photosynthesis, the coral dies.

In 2016, 20% of the coral died and another 10% in 2017 which is 30% in 2 years.  2018 - 2022 were good years, and the coral rebounded until December 2023 when Cyclone Jasper hit causing massive flooding and landslides after 7’ of rain in 24 hrs.  And it rained for 7 days!

In-shore reefs were covered with fresh water and sediment, and 90% died.  Sixty to eighty year old giant clams larger than a car died.  Future predictions were dire, but the concern was slowing down the detrimental processes and letting the reef recuperate on its own.

Our guest marine biologist said the trend has always been up and down, but changes are happening more quickly recently which doesn’t give the reef time to regenerate.  These changes have been linked to carbon dioxide increases around the world.  The reef has a tidal flush two times every day so questions are being asked and experiments conducted about artificial coral propagation, the effects of microplastics, species more resistant to change and varied algae that can give coral a greater heat tolerance.

Dinner is in a popular local pub with live music and a chance to relax.  I hear about “cane toad racing” in another pub!  Alas, wrong one, but I would like to see these toads.  However, it’s a BIG day tomorrow as we are heading to the Great Barrier Reef!

The day breaks with a beautiful blue sky.  I’ve been anticipating snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef for years, and I believe it will be one of the highlights of my trip.  Michael asked me about scuba diving since I am certified, and I realize this is 1 in a million chance to dive on the reef.  While I like scuba diving, I LOVE to snorkel so I’m happy with my decision!

We board a large catamaran, receive our safety instructions, and cast off for the 1 1/2 hour trip to the reef.  We will be traveling to three different sites to explore, but first, they feed us.  We definitely have not gone hungry on this trip!

I grab a seat on the back outside upper deck, and the sun is shining, and the wind is blowing through my hair.   Life is amazing!  We are fitted for our mask, snorkel and fins along with a “stinger suit”, a black Lycra beauty of a full-body pantsuit including hand covers and a hood for your head!  We are advised that jellyfish or stingers shouldn’t be a problem, but if we are stung, it will be an immediate trip to the emergency room.

I resemble a large seal, and the bright orange flippers only make me more ungainly.  However, when it’s my turn, I fall without a modicum of grace into the ocean with a splash, a big smile, and a tight bite around my snorkel!

When you first put your mask into the water, it’s hard to describe to a non-snorkeler what a clear picture you have since a minute before you were looking through a water streaked piece of plastic.  I wanted to see God’s creation underwater, and it just opened up before me!

I kicked and ogled at the different corals and multitudes of fish…pools of small neons, groups of zebras, brightly colored parrot fish with hooked beaks and displaying blues and purples and greens as they nibbled on the coral algae.  Later in the day, there were black fish with long snouts, angel fish, black and white striped ones with bright yellow fins, small lemon colored ones, pearly white ones hanging patiently in the current rather than swimming around.  I saw long brown fuzzy sea cucumbers and finally giant clams whose shells were closed but lined with brilliant green dots which looked too neatly placed to have been natural.  I still don’t know what made those dots, but I watched their double muscular siphons contract and relax.  Then I was off to look at staghorn coral some with light blue tips, blue coral, boulder and fan coral, and one that looked like an undulating mushroom!  

I saw fish I’ve never seen before except in pictures and books.  Some people in our group saw a cuttlefish and even two black tip sharks.  I rented a go-pro camera and snapped pictures and took video, but I won’t know what I have until I download the SD card at home.  I told John I may have a lot of “almost good pictures” since I couldn’t really see what I was trying to capture on the tiny screen and just pointed and clicked.  However, even if my camera shots are rotten, I have a once in a lifetime memory of snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and being one with the colors and sea life which most people never get a chance to enjoy.  Thank you, Lord!

I loved every minute of the three different dives!  I am not a very good swimmer, but the salinity of the ocean and my own natural buoyancy plus a pair of large flippers on my feet makes me a fish!  In fact, I chased a few!  I did look behind me a couple of times to see if a large set of shiny white teeth were nearby, but if a great white shark is near, I’ll probably never see him since they attack from below!

I’m a couple of days late posting my blog since we stay so busy on tour, but I am still riding a high from the Great Barrier Reef.  The coral wasn’t as colorful as some people wished, but the sea life made up for any deficiencies.  For some of our group, this was the highlight of the trip.  It is definitely one of my top three!