Iwayn

After my trip up to Ngamakoon with Steve, it stayed pretty quiet. We were half-expecting a visit from the Ngama mob sometime before my departure on the 21st of September, but since such things are oft-promised and rarely done Steve, Deb, and I weren't too worried about getting Djugarargyn ready for the visit. Instead, Deb went to her job at Djarindjin as usual while Steve and I worked on a few projects around the block.

On the 16th, Deb came back from Djarindjin with some interesting news: Trevor Sampi was curious if I'd like to come out on the boats with the Rangers. The next day, I was in Djarindjin with Deb, waiting for the pickup. Soon enough, we were in the boats on our way over to Iwayn (Sunday Island).

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

The Rangers had a mapping exercise to complete on the island, but it wasn't so serious that we couldn't do a little traditional fishing in the mangroves beforehand!

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

Trevor, Louise the instructor and I wandered down to an old settlement to map invasive species, while Dwayne minded the boat.

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

After finishing up GPS instruction, we rode over to the beach where we'd be sleeping over night and set up camp.

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

Then we went fishing for golden-lined spinefoot. A Bardi favorite. Trevor and Dwayne really cleaned up with the spearguns. Louise and I had a much harder time of it.

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

The camp was very, very nice except for the sandflies and most people agreed that if you know what you're doing, living on a desert island really isn't that bad. In the morning, as we waited for the tide to come back into harbor, Mark Shadforth took Louise and me on an ant-collecting mission.

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

Then Nathan Sampi showed us how to harvest the meat from giant clams.

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

I soaked up the scenery on the ride home and it's a good thing too, as this proved to be the last adventure of my first season with the Bardi. I left Broome four days later and returned to America on the 24th to deal with culture shock and plan my next trip.