In the roo-nforest

With all the rain and swaying timber, the tree roos have been maintaining a low profile. But one broke cover to cross the garden the easy way. (Note the very loose definition of garden.)

Chillagoe: A Karst of Thousands

Sorry for the title.

The helicopter tree (Gyrocarpus americanus) is a common species on limestone at Chillagoe. Most individuals had lost their leaves, but still managed to look windswept and interesting with their golden bark.

No, really. The bark is a lot more attractive than it appears in this picture. Think of it as Gyrocarpus's passport photo.

Two species of kurrajong are abundant here. This is the Chillagoe kurrajong (Brachychiton chillagoensis), which is also found in the Undara region. I produced a more detailed post about this and the widespread Brachychiton australis during my last trip to Chillagoe.

The dark bark of Brachychiton chillagoensis sets off the pale leaves.

There's more karst to come ...

Chillagoe: Karsting Call

The Chillagoe region is looking lush and flush following several heavy downpours, the most recent of which swept in with TC Yasi last week. With more rain forecast for the afternoon and Chillagoe Creek only requiring a little push before it cut the road, we didn't hang around.

By lunchtime, storms were already building on the horizon.

Chillagoe - Mungana National Park was looking verdant and luxuriant. Just the way it should be in the Wet Season.

One of the few plants in flower was the stunning desert rose Gossypium australe.

A karst tower cloaked with vine thicket trees and shrubs. Many of these are Dry Season deciduous, so at this time of year they are popping out leaves like crazy.

The karst and associated vine thicket are home to a relatively high diversity of snails. This is a recently dead specimen of the camaenid Xanthomelon pachystylum, which is one of the few that also occur in the surrounding savannah. You can see a couple of other species of Chillagoe snails here and here.

Snails aren't the only invertebrates of note at Chillagoe. A monster mantis must have produced this ootheca shortly before we arrived. I didn't go looking for it among the leaves of the Abutilon, but I'm sure it was watching me!

Chillagoe: the Ramparts II

The Ramparts, east of Chillagoe, viewed from the track. Vegetation around the base includes Cullen's ironbark (Eucalyptus culleni) and a range of shrubs.

Vine thicket (a type of dry rainforest) is very vulnerable to fire. Chillagoe limestone weathers into towers and sharp ridges, providing shelter for these susceptible plants.

Pergid sawfly larvae are everywhere!

Not much was flowering at Chillagoe, but a couple of pea species were making an effort. This and the following photograph are of Cajanus marmoratus, a creeper related to the upright shrub C. reticulatus photographed in the previous post.

Another native pea, Tephrosia gaudium-solis. This purple gem and the golden Cajanus brightened up the woodland.

More from Chillagoe tomorrow.

Chillagoe: the Ramparts I

Yesterday, I headed inland to Chillagoe with a friend who was looking at plants. As you know, I completely lack any botanical credibility, so I thought this would be a chance to chip away at my ignorance. (It was also a good opportunity to boost my vitamin D levels. It's been a long time since I've encountered so much sun.)

Chillagoe is a small cattle and mining township about 220 km by road from Cairns or 150 km as the Torresian crow flies.

It lies on the Burke Developmental Road, which runs west from Mareeba to the Gulf of Carpentaria town of Normanton. It's not like this all the way.

The vegetation types change rapidly from humid forest to savannah woodland. Kurrajong (Brachychiton australis), a dry season deciduous tree, grows on rocky outcrops along the road.

Roadside plants include the pea Cajanus reticulatus and a variety of eucalypts.

Chillagoe-Mungana National Park is made up of several sections, each covering a patch of limestone with associated vine thicket and savannah woodland. The Ramparts is to the east of town, so is the first section encountered when driving in from the coast. The track is not designed for limousines.

Frilled lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii) are known for their defence behaviour, in which they erect the frill of skin around their heads and rush open-mouthed at a threat. (The frill is the Darth Vader helmet.)

This one opted for the more downbeat behaviour of clinging to a termite mound and hoping that the threat wouldn't notice. It was wrong.

In business

After six and a half days, power is back on at the Snail Shell! I'm mostly using it for making coffee, but other things will follow.

I spent the day botanising at Chillagoe - Mungana National Park. Well, I was pointing the camera at plants and saying 'What's this?', while a friend was doing all the important stuff. Tomorrow, I'll post the pics from the trip. But in the meantime, here's an image from the outskirts of Chillagoe township. What a sky!

Back (for a moment)

Just letting you know that I am in one piece, the house has all its elements in their original places (although it does have a new leafy motif) and the paddies are all present and correct. There is no power, so no internet connection. I will continue to be quiet until that is fixed. (I'm sending this from a friend's place in Atherton, which has been reconnected to the grid.)

Thanks for all your good wishes. Damage here was minimal compared with places to the south, especially Tully Heads and Hull Heads. These are small coastal towns that no one ever hears about. A bloody awful way to be put on the map.

Back soon.

Signing off ...

... for maybe a week. This is what the Bureau of Meteorology has to say about this monster.

SEVERE TC YASI IS A LARGE AND VERY POWERFUL TROPICAL CYCLONE AND POSES AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY WITHIN THE WARNING AREA, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN CAIRNS AND TOWNSVILLE.

THIS IMPACT IS LIKELY TO BE MORE LIFE THREATENING THAN ANY EXPERIENCED DURING RECENT GENERATIONS.

I'm off to stay with friends for the duration of the cyclone, so I will be sitting out this storm in excellent company. Because this system is likely to bring down transmission towers, there will probably be no electricity for at least five days. Maybe more than a week.

Good luck to everyone, especially those on the coast who are will be facing the storm surges.

If anyone is interested in following Yasi's progress, the Bureau of Meteorology has radar, frequent updates and forecast maps. The latter two are available under the Queensland heading.

Latest tracking map. (I'm a smidgeon to the west of Innisfail.)

Tropical Cyclone Yasi

It'll probably be a bit quieter than normal at A Snail's Eye View for the next few days as Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi approaches Queensland. This is a very big storm and is likely to do a lot of damage as it crosses the coast. The current watch zone extends from Cooktown to Yeppoon (near Rockhampton) and inland as far as Georgetown (about 300km from the coast.) Yasi is serious business.

Image from Fiji Meteorological Survey. (The small blob to the SW is ex-TC Anthony)

Bureau of Meteorology forecast track map for Severe TC Yasi 

(as of 31 Jan 2011)

The current BoM model has the storm making landfall between Innisfail and Mackay late Wednesday/early Thursday, although this prediction may change as more data become available. Given my location (about 55km inland from Innisfail), I'll be spending tomorrow making sure than everything important is in waterproof containers. Just in case something happens to the roof and/or windows. The BoM expects winds in excess of 100km/hr by mid-morning Wednesday, well in advance of the main part of the storm.

Meanwhile, a lot of people will be in a much worse position than me. Storm surge models show extensive inundation of the coastal plain. Also more than a metre of rain may fall in some areas during the cyclone. Ports from Cairns to Mackay have been closed, resorts and nursing homes evacuated and the population in low-lying areas asked to consider relocating.

It's going to be a bumpy ride.