Good afternoon all,
In response to several requests for a bit more
information on the trip to Iron
Range, here is the
following.
You don’t need to be a gung-ho birder, anyone
with an interest in bird watching is welcome. The banders will show you what we
catch but there is no compulsion to be with us all the time. There are plenty
of opportunities to bird watch by yourself if you want to.
We will be bush camping, hopefully at the one site in
the rainforest that has a toilet. There is a fee per night for camping,
possibly around $5 per night. It is a bring everything in, take most rubbish
out (there is a rubbish dump near both Lockhart River
and at Portland Roads). I would not rely on the store at the Aboriginal
settlement at Lockhart
River for anything other
than possibly fuel. The area may also be in an alcohol exclusion zone this time
around but I am not sure on this.
The main query is how best to get to IR. It is best
if you have a 4wd vehicle or can hitch a lift with someone who has one. In the
past we have had relatively small vehicles such as Subaru’s make it quite
OK. In 1990 one towing a trailer made it in, in 1999 a 2wd, long wheel base
Toyota van made it in and out again under fairly treacherous conditions as did
Alan Ford in a Subaru but Alan decided that discretion was the better part of
valour and bolted when we received heavy rain. I waited a few extra days before
I too abandoned ship. On the last trip a rather low slung but I think 4wd VW
Kombi made it in and out. His troubles started well after he left IR. Generally
what we do is if people are worried about travelling into IR from the main
road, we meet people at the Archer River Roadhouse, then travel in convoy to
the campsite.
For those without direct access to a 4wd there are
still several options. It is possible to hire a 4wd at Cairns
and drive up or you can fly from Cairns to Lockhart River, about 15 minutes drive from our
campsite. The only problem with this is that they have very limited cargo
capacity on the plane so you are very limited in what you can take. It also
means that someone has to be at the site to pick you up before the actual
banding dates start and take you back to the airport at the end of the banding week.
This could be a problem if we receive unexpected really heavy rain as people
will be keen to get out before the rivers and creeks flood. In the past we have
managed to get people with 4wds to take some gear up for the fliers but I
cannot guarantee this will happen this time. I am generally away for a month
birding as we go. I usually go via far western Queensland, the Gulf, then up from Cairns/Mareeba.
I can give people plenty of places to go birding around Cairns and the Atherton Tableland.
Please note I will not be organising vehicles etc.
This is up to all concerned. I may travel with one other vehicle when we leave
from Canberra
but that is yet to be organised. I also have a “waiting” list to
travel in my car. Any other queries please get back to me.
Mark
