SAND DUNES, GHOST NETS, A SEA SNAKE and UTV BUGGIES

Hello from a hot and humid Croker Island.

Nance is still in Queensland spending time with her elderly mother and other family. 

It has been quite a while since my last post. An aunt and an uncle have passed away during the last 6 months - the last of mum and dad's generation. And there has been a tricky and at times stressful HR issue at work all making for a challenging period.

Getting out of town helps to clear the mind and regain perspective. The drone photo below is of some wind shaped sand dunes in the northern part of Croker Island. 

Picking up fishing nets that wash up on the beach is a constant part of the Garngi Ranger's work. This small section of net unfortunately had a small dead turtle caught in it. These nets cause so much environmental harm.

During a recent Biosecurity survey to Cape Croker we came across this sea snake on the beach - still alive - only just though. The larger than usual waves had washed it up onto the beach. Once out of the water they very clumsy but still very venomous. We returned it to the water and watched it swim away to 'fight another day'.

A group photo during the above survey shows some of the Garngi rangers, some elders and traditional owners and a Biosecurity Australia officer. 

 Garngi Rangers have recently received two UTV's or Side by Sides. ATV's or Quad bikes have become less popular due to safety concerns.  

A couple of the young male rangers are keen on the more sporty Can Am defender X MR below as opposed to the more functional Can Am Defender Pro above. 

We are into the Top End's build up season now. This is the most physically demanding time of the year with hight temperatures and humidity but little or no rain. Over on the mainland they have received some early storms however here on the islands unfortunately we miss most of these early storms. We try to do most of our field work in the mornings and then do our office work in the afternoons.

Cheers for now

Bryan