Dave Angel: Eco Warrior

For pictures of crocodiles, scroll down to previous post.

Contrary to what I wrote on Monday, I had a day off today, on Wednesday. Our working day was short yesterday so when I got back to the hostel I called up and secured myself a spot on a Crocodile Safari for today!

I woke up at five AM and before departing to the safari I watched 8 episodes of HIMYM from seasons 1 and 2. At 9:10 I was picked up from the same bus stop I arrived at only 10 days earlier. (As a side note I have to tell you that as of yesterday, of the six people who arrived on that bus, I'm the only remaining person still at the hostel and working at the farm. For now.) Ten minutes later we were at the campsite base of the tour on the bank of Proserpine River.

After a quick introduction we were whisked off on to a boat on the river, where we sailed downstream and then upstream to see some crocodiles. More about them in a minute. After the boat trip was a BBQ lunch and then we mounted a tractor pulled open air wagon to see some of the bush and wetlands. After that we had some tea, had an opportunity to buy souvenirs and headed back to town.

I was supposed to go see some crocodiles near Cairns, but I didn't dare use my money for that before I had an income. So I was really excited to get on the boat and see some crocodiles today. As I said, we first sailed downstream towards the ocean in search of some "salties" or saltwater crocodiles.

Interesting tidbit No. 1: "Salties" are actually Estuarine crocodiles. Estuarine means a mix of saltwater and freshwater, which is exactly what this part of Proserpine river had. "Salties" also can live in freshwater, say a billabong (Aboriginie for lots of water, a pond) 1.5 Ks from the river.

The owner of the company, Steve, was our navigator and guide for the trip on the river. The most important rule was not to reach outside the boat as a crocodile can launch half of its body out of the water. So a four meter crocodile can snatch, for example, a hand as high as two meters in the air. My limbs stayed well inside the boat for the whole time.

It took us a while, but after seeing just some eyes, nostrils and ears floating on the surface we happened upon a crocodile basking in the sun on the muddy riverbank. I naturally took a couple of pictures.

The crocs didn't mind the boat we were on, because they were used to it, but what they didn't like was the fishing boats going up and down the river and sensing the, they went underwater where they couldn't be seen.

Interesting tidbit No. 2: A crocodile can stay underwater without breathing for up to 6 hours. It's heartbeat slows down to a couple of beats per minute and all the blood from it's three aortas is directed to vital organs; none for the muscles as the croc is stationary.

We saw some baby crocs on the upstream portion of the trip and a female crocodile basking in the sun. She was supposedly one of three girlfriends of one male crocodile. We also saw a bunch of crocs who had only the uppermost parts of their bodies on the shore, while their tails and bag legs were already on the water. The water was so murky that one of them had barely gone underwater when he was unable to be seen.

Interesting tidbit No. 3: 60% of crocodile attacks aka. people being bitten by crocodiles are connected to the use of alcohol. The crocodiles are not the ones doing the drinking.

Interesting tidbit No. 4: In the year 2000 less people in Australia were killed by crocodiles, sharks and snakes combined than by vending machines. Next time you might just want forget about your $2 and not knock the machine over yourself.

We got back to shore safely and were treated to a lovely BBQ lunch. I ate some beef, some chicken, lots of delicious fish, some salads and a piece of bread. I was most surprised by the awesome tasting fish and had some more since the chicken and beef ran out, not literally.

Then we took a ride on the open air wagon, which was a contraption not much different from street car with wheels like the one in Mikkeli if I remember correctly. Only this one was pulled by a tractor, although we didn't do that much off-roading. We had speakers in every wagon, but I was in the one closest to the tractor so I couldn't hear the commentary, while we were moving. The trip wasn't long but we stopped for long parts to listen to our one-eyed (as in he had an eye-patch on one eye, because, well, he had only one eye) guide tell us what we were looking at. He was very informative AND some of the things he told us were thought provoking, at least for me.

We were introduced to different kinds of trees growing in the area and how the aboriginals had used them for various purposes. We were told about billabongs, floods and the resilience of fish eggs. We heard about the differences between fishing and hunting aboriginals. We even learned about the geographical uniqueness of the area and how it relates to farming, my favorite subject.

The first tree we saw was called a sandpaper fig. The unimaginative naming of stuff in Australia forced this name on it because the leaves feel like sandpaper. In fact the sandpaper figs leaves can be used as actual sandpaper. Our guide called the tree an aboriginal supermarket. It can be used for good firewood, making a fire in less than three minutes, strong rope, curing ringworms and another disease I forgot about.

The next tree had such a dense bark that the southern sides of the tree were inflammable. They're wet and there is no oxygen between the multiple layers of the tree. Uses include big strong fishing boats and preparing food in it without burning it. Some well built aboriginal fisherman actually caught a 50-ton humpback whale with a boat built from this tree back in the day.

We then arrived at the billabong where there were a lot of birds. We were introduced to the mountain ranges on the west, east and north sides of the area. Three hundred thousand years ago there used to mountains to the south too, but they weren't strong granite mountains like the others so they eventually eroded away. Back then all this area inside the mountains was a huge base of a volcano. And that's the reason why the area is so fertile. The world's richest sugar cane farmers are here because they don't need fertilizer to grow new crops saving tens of thousands of dollars a year.

One more tree story. The leaves of this one different looking tree could be used for fishing. Rubbing the leaves together in the water causes a lime colorish goo to spill out. When it is unleashed in the billabong it makes all the oxygen in the water evaporate and in twenty minutes all the fish are belly up. Pretty easy fishing.

But if all the fish are dead then how come the same fisherman can do it again at the same billabong six months later? Because of a certain characteristic common to almost all fish eggs in the world. If a fish egg is released in a flooded area and then the water is sucked in to the ground. The fish egg itself is without water. But it doesn't need water. It concentrate to a tiny little cyst, which can survive for 40-60 years without water. It can even survive trucks running it over. When it gets back to the water, e.g. thanks to another flood, the fish will hatch. Fish swimming in a flooded sugar cane field have been spotted in the area.

Last interesting tidbit: The annual rainfall of Proserpine is 2 meters. But in 2007 from March the 1st to March the 14th it rained non-stop for two weeks. Rainfall: 4 meters. The flood water reached a height of two meters, which disappeared in three days once the rain ended. I hope it's not raining too much in Cairns in April when I get back there...

So, that was my crocodile experience. I had some fun, ate good food, was excited and learned to appreciate the nature of an area which has given my body aches and a less than great living area. I also got to thinking about aboriginals and how the European way of living has been wrong for centuries. Take a patch or land, scour it for all you can and when it stops growing stuff just move on to another place. An aboriginal on a walkabout uses only 10% of the natural resources of an area before moving on. When he comes back to the same area, it's fully recuperated. I don't think I could live that way and in our cultures where everything and everyplace is owned by someone instead of just existing naturally it would be impossible.

Deep shit, I know.

Tomorrow it's back to work at least for the day. I might work on Friday if I feel up to it, but it won't fatten up my paycheck for this week. Instead I'd get the money next Friday or Saturday. On Saturday it's packing, maybe Airlie Beach and then an overnight 18 hour bustrip to Brisbane where I'll be a cheap tourist for about a week before heading to chilly Melbourne. Still haven't gotten a call from my future boss though.

Be wise, stand clear of falling vending machines and you should be fine.

Photo Essay: Crocodile Hunter

Slim Pickins

It's the first day of my second week on the Tomato farm. I can't help but say that this definitely is not the job for me. Physically I feel worse and worse every day and even though I've been sleeping for 9 hours a night, I still feel very tired during work. My back feels stiff when I bend over to pick the tomatoes and when I squat down the backs oft knees are dirty and sunburnt so it hurts. It's also restricting the blood flow down my leg and my toes are numb every night, when we get back to the hostel.

For the first week I earned around $800, which is pretty much the minimum for a two week stay here. Add to that the pay from today, tomorrow and Wednesday and I might even end up leaving Proserpine with more money than I had when I decided to come here. Thursday is my day-off and depending in how I feel I might work on Friday or I might not... I'm either leaving on Saturday or early Sunday morning. I'd like to go see some crocodiles, but I probably can't do it on Thursday if I wanna leave this week.

Next up is Brisbane where I want to swim in the ocean, see the sights and try to recuperate from this ordeal before I move down to Melbourne. I'm waiting for details about my upcoming job there buy I will let you know as soon as I get some. Unofficially, I can say that it's going to be very really absolutely cool.

I'll blog more in a couple of days.

Workin' in 'Em Tomato Fields

Hello, and welcome to our first interview with our hero. Zachary.

Q: Where are you now?
A: I'm in Proserpine (pronounced like Prahs'pine) in the middle of the coast of Queensland.

Q: What is Proserpine like?
A: Well, Proserpine is a small town famous for it's sugar plant. The plant's two towers working day and night are the only visible landmark of the area. And nothing much happens here after 6 pm when only the local Woolworth's and pubs are open. Airlie Beach near the Whitsunday Islands is the closest tourist destination.

Q: Seems like a quiet place. What were your first feelings when you got there.
A: I felt horrible. It was a dark Sunday night, everything was closed. The hotel was nasty looking with a little too many people and not enough room. Waking up at 5 the next morning didn't sound very enticing either. But I took a little walk up and down Main Street and watched some HIMYM on DVD in my room.

Q: Where are you staying at?
A: I'm staying at a "hotel" upstairs from O'Duinn's Irish pub. The rent's $175 per week and it includes transportation to and back from work. My room is a small three person room and I've got the top bunk. All of my stuff is under a third of a bed while the other two occupants have built quite a nest for themselves. But it's still okay. I don't wanna get too cozy in a place that's really not. The room's mostly for sleeping and my stuff anyway.

Q: You mentioned something about work. Is that why you're in Proserpine? Tell our readers something about that?
A: I'm working in a tomato field near Bowen, which is a city 70 km back north from here. We work six days a week and we get by "contract" ie. how much we pick. A normal working day lasts close to ten hours. We work in crews of thirteen pickers and one driver. The driver gets payed by the hour but he is responsible for the crop. The pay is the same for the whole team. Picking about seventeen bins nets you $100 after taxes. That's been my team's average for the three days.

Q: Tell us about the work? What is it like?
A: Well, to call it "fun" would be lying. It's quite hard but I don't think life as a tomato picker is harder than life as a moving man. Since a tomato picker has no time for other life and it can feel good to be working outside in good weather. The first couple of days were gruesome. We leave to work at 5:20 and work until 4 or 5 PM. After ten we have our first eating break "Smoko" and after one, we can have lunch. Everybody brings their own lunch and water so most of the workers have a blue Woolworth's cool with 4-5 litres o water and something to eat and snack in it. To pick the tomatoes out of the bush you have to either be bent over or squatting to get to the bottom of the bush. And once your bucket of tomatoes starts to fill up it gets heavier and harder to move. When someone gets a full bucket we form a line and all the buckets are passed to the car with the big bins and emptied in those. The full buckets are very heavy and I've mostly been working next to the car, lifting all the buckets to the driver.

Q: Tell us about your working conditions.
A: It can get really hot and the UV rays are much stronger in Australia so you can get burned really badly if you don't apply enough sun screen. I've got a long sleeved shirt a hat and shorts so I've only burned my neck, nose and my legs. Fortunately not very badly as I try to use sun screen as often as I can. I also have Aloe Vera in my hostel room so that helps. Even though it can be hot the rows of tomatoes are irrigated and the ground is muddy. The mud sticks to your shoes and the bottom of your bucket so working gets heavier. The mud also makes your hands dirty. But when you need to you can clean your hands by smashing a raw green tomato and rubbing it against your hands. At the end of the day you'll have mud on your shins, your finrers and nails plus most of your clothes especially your shoes.

Q: How do you know which tomatoes to pick?
A: Basically what we have to do is leave the bush so that it only has green healthy tomatoes in it. We take out everything that has any color on it. If it's not rotten or too small or ALL red we put in the bucket. The rotten ones we throw to the ground so the bush can grow new better tomatoes. But because we payed by what we pick, most pickers pick some green ones too. That way we get payed more.

Q: You throw the red ones out, why?
A: Because they're soft and by the time they get to the sellers they'll break and mess the rest of the crops.

Q: What do they do with the green ones you pick? Throw them away?
A: Nah, they give the green ones the "German treatment" that is they put them in a gas chamber where one in five tomatoes stays green and the rest are good to go. Once a tomato has color it will turn red without the bush eventually.

Q: Tell us about the people. Who picks tomatoes and for how long?
A: Most people working on the farm are people who want to get a second working holiday visa. That pretty much narrows down the countries that people come to this place for. Most people are from Europe especially Ireland, UK, Germany and France. There are some Swedes, a couple of Fins, some Asians and even Canadians. My other roommate is American. Most people hear say that one shouldn't work on a tomato farm UNLESS they want their second year visa. That requires three months of work on one farm. I'm not going to do that and I doubt I'd want to spend two years in Australia. I believe I can manage with just the 8 months I've got planned.

Q: Today's your day off. Any special plans?
A: My main objective today was buying some essential stuff for living and working. I bought saline to keep my sinuses clear, earplugs to sleep more peacefully, gloves for tomato picking and keeping my nails alive through this ordeal and a new hat cause I lost my green sun hat on my second day. Before today's workers come back I'll visit the store to buy dinner and replenish my lunch stuff. I've been very hungry when we've gotten off work so I need to bring more to eat to the farm. Other than that I'm watching some movies and reading a big book which I hope to finish before I leave so I don't have to haul it around Australia anymore.

Q: Which book?
A: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy. It's got all five Hitchhiker's books in one volume and it weighs close to one kilogram.

Q: That's heavy. Speaking of going around Austalia, what are you're plans for the future. When are you gonna leave and where are you going to go?
A: I'm waiting for a call from my next employer. He's supposed to be back in Australia on Sunday. Initially we've had some e-mail discussions that work in his company would start the first week of October, three and a half weeks from now. If that's the case I'll leave Proserpine after four or so weeks of farm work and head to Melbourne via plane from Brisbane. If my new job needs me to take an RSA (responsible serving of alcohol) course, I might leave earlier. If the job were to fall through i'd probably stay for six weeks to get my $180 deposit back. After that I'd go to Sydney and get an RSA and maybe other courses done to have better job opportunities around the country.

Q: I have no more questions. Keep working hard and enjoy the rest of your day off!
A: I will, let's do this again, soon!