The Wild Dolphins of Tangalooma

Last weekend, I had the joy of embarking on a little day trip to Tangalooma on Moreton Island. Moreton is the third largest sand island in the world behind Fraser and Stradbroke Islands. Tangalooma is a famous area on the island as it is home to the Wild Dolphin Resort. I'll get to the dolphins in a little bit, but first we must talk about the whales.

Actually, I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start the very beginning... a very good place to start... Sorry, I'm a musical theater major. Getting back on topic: First I took a ferry ride from Brisbane to Moreton Island. It took about forty-five minutes once we really started going. I was traveling with two friends, Ashley and Ivana. The weather was cloudy that day which made it breezy on the ferry but the conditions were very very calm which made for smooth sailing.

Once we reached the Tangalooma most people got off the boat. There were a lot of families with small children going to the resort. Tangalooma is like the Aussie version of Disney World. You can stay overnight at the resort, and there are lots of activities to participate in. Our first activity was whale watching. I had never been before so I was extremely excited.

The boat took us out to the tip of the island; about a half hour ride. All the time we were scanning the ocean for footprints of the whales, and the whales themselves. Our marine biologist on board knew where to go and he pointed out lots of pods of whales. We saw mamas and babies as well as males chasing after females. The whales that we saw were South Pacific Humpback whales. They migrate every year from Antarctica to Australia from June to October. We were able to see lots and lots of whales and they got fairly close to our boat. I was able to get some pictures but they don't come very far out of the water, so the pictures just look like black blobs. But it was so cool to see them come up to the surface for air, and then dive back down under water. I tried to take a page out of Dory's book and speak to them, but they didn't get it... (Finding Nemo anyone?)

We were served a light lunch on board the whale watching boat and after about three hours on the boat we headed back to the resort. We had some time to kill so we just hung out on the beach and watched the sunset.

When it got to be dark (around 6:30 PM) we made our way to the jetty, or the dock in order to see the Wild Dolphins of Tangalooma. This is what Tangalooma is famous for. A family of dolphins has been visiting the resort for more than 20 years. It is hard to explain, so here is the story:

During 1977, 78, 79, and 1980, the Osborne Family visited Tangalooma as Resort Guests. During that time we enjoyed watching the dolphins visit the Resort jetty at night. Lights had recently been installed on the jetty and they were attracting bait fish for the Dolphins to hunt. In December 1980, the Osborne family purchased the Resort property. At that time Tangalooma Resort employed 27 staff in total. This is a little different to the 325 staff now employed by Tangalooma.

During the 80's, we continued we continued to visit the jetty at night to look out for the dolphins that arrived at all different times after sunset. The most regular dolphin at the jetty was a dolphin that had been named Eric. Eric became a much more regular dolphin in 1986 when he arrived with a new calf that we named Bobo. It was then obvious that Eric was a female. We then thought it was wise to change Eric's name. Betty said that because she had such a beautiful nature she would be named Beauty.

During that time, Resort guests fishing on the jetty at night started throwing their reject fish and bait to Beauty, and she slowly began to accept them. She also began to raise her eyes above the water and look for our guests. This only encouraged the guests more and more to feed her. Betty became concerned about the quality of the fish being cast to the dolphins, so we arranged for a bucket of fresh fish to be left on the jetty each night for guests to cast to Beauty when she arrived. During late 1990 Beauty arrived with a new baby that we named Tinkerbell, and Beauty became a very regular visitor during 1991.

In January 1992 Betty decided that it was time to try to hand feed Beauty as she was becoming very friendly and showed no signs of stress when near Betty on the jetty loading platform. Betty found two other interested staff members and commenced entering the water and casting fish closer and closer. Beauty came close enough in 1992 to take her first fish from Betty's hand. Bobo and Tinkerbell hung back and watched from a safe distance. The jetty lighting was poor and the water was gloomy and quite scary to enter, particularly as Beauty would not come in closer than shoulder deep water to hand feed.

Throughout 1991 and the winter of 1992, Betty, myself and our poodle Yoplait, spent every night sitting on the patio waiting patiently for the dolphins to arrive. Yoplait was always the first to hear or smell them when they arrived, and would run along the beach and out onto the jetty barking and looking into the water to greet them.

Once Beauty became comfortable being close to us, she began to encourage her siblings Bobo and Tinkerbell to hand feed. Soon after, Bess and Karma started to come in closer to take fish from Betty, and other Resort staff members.

It soon became apparent that Beauty and Betty had an affinity together, as Beauty would always swim straight to Betty whenever she was present in the water. Beauty was also very comfortable bringing Tinkerbell close to Betty.

In August 1992, we decided that we could not continue sitting around up until 2.00am to feed dolphins. We therefore made a decision that if they had not arrived by 9.00pm we would pack up and go to bed. It did not take long for the dolphins to learn that lesson and arrive earlier.

1992 was a big year for the dolphin program. By years end we had 6 regular dolphins with all except with all except Rani hand feeding. We had established our Dolphin Care Protocols, and had them approved by the Marine Park Authority. We installed better lighting on the jetty and in December 92 we tentatively commenced to allow Resort Guests into the water to feed dolphins. We also announced the program to the media and soon became well known around the world for our program.

During 1993 and old male dolphin that we had named Blind Freddie arrived (later reduced to Fred). Fred used to bump into all of us in the water and could not grab the fish properly. We assumed that he was nearly blind. After Beauty, Fred became our second favorite dolphin. For a male, he was just so calm and contented around all of us. Echo arrived in July. His mother brought him in over a period of 3 nights. She stayed out the back, and allowed Echo to investigate. Then they both disappeared for 3 nights and on the fourth night Echo came charging in and commenced feeding greedily. He was only about 8 months old and in very poor condition. It was obvious by then that he had become an orphan. We decided to break our protocol and for the next 2 years, we fed Echo until he was satisfied. He was still too young to survive on his own. Fred took Echo into his charge and they arrived and departed together. At around 2 years old, Echo was observed chasing and eventually catching a fish. We then decided to slowly reduce his feeding intake back down to 20% of his daily requirement like all the other dolphins. Echo is now one of the best and fastest fish hunters in the group. Rani began to feed and with the addition of Fred, Echo and and other arrival Nick, we were up to 9 dolphins feeding on a regular basis.

During 1994 Lefty arrived and Karma stopped attending, but are still often sighted around the area. We opened and staffed our Dolphin Education Centre, and we set up the Tangalooma Research Grant Program to help fund Marine Research in conjunction with the University of Queensland.

Our best news in 1994 was the arrival of Beauty on the 10th October with a new born calf we named Shadow.

The second half of 1995 was a devastating time for us. Beauty suffered an infectious tumor on her rostrum that degenerated to a point where she could not swim fast enough to catch fish. We had Sea World Veterinarians observe her and they concluded that nothing could be done to save her. We then urned our minds to Shadow. She was only 9 months old, and not capable of surviving on her own. Our experience with Echo had taught us a lot, and we knew that we had to try and keep Beauty around for as long as possible to give Shadow a chance at survival. We gain decided to break from our protocol, and we lifted Beauty's feeding allowance and started to encourage Shadow with small fish.

Sadly, Beauty last visited us on 24th December, 95. We searched for her for several days without success. Then on 27th December Shadow arrived on her own and we knew then that Beauty was gone forever.

The next 14 years (1996 to 2010) have seen many changes to the program. A new jetty and grandstand, a new Dolphin Education Centre managed by Trevor Hassard and staffed by out extremely dedicated Marine Biologists and other team members, and an extensive Marine Education Program which provides free programs to all South East Queensland Schools.

We have lost Freddie and Bess to natural causes. Bess has left behind her 2 boys, Nari and Rani. Freddie has left us with some great memories and many smiles and laughs.

Beauty has left us with some wonderful memories of how she started it all but more importantly, she has left us with her 3 children, Bobo, Tinkerbell and Shadow, Tinkerbell's 3 children, Tangles, Storm and Pheonix, and Shadow's 2 children Silhouette and Zephyr. What a family it is. All gentle and well mannered like their mother and grandmother Beauty. With 5 females in the list of offspring, we can hp[e for many more arrivals and generations to come from beauty.

When we visit the jetty now to watch the program, I know that Betty's mind always goes back to remember Beauty as she watches the antics of the young dolphins at play. What an incredible legacy Beauty has left us.

-Brian Osborne (March 2010)

I know that pictures are blurry, but it was dark and as though I did ask nicely, the dolphins would not stay still!

So we got to wade out into the water, with a guide, and we got to hand feed the dolphins. We just put our hands under the water with a fish and they came up and ate it right out of our hands! It was one of the coolest experiences ever.

After a long day I was pretty tired. We spent the ferry ride back to Brisbane with our eyes shut and when we got back we just chilled the rest of the night, watching Earth. There was a special part about Humpback Whales. We thought it was very fitting.

Next week is our spring holiday, yes it is spring time here. So trips and things to do are in the works. The parental units made their plans for coming down so it is all coming together now. And in ten short weeks I will be back state side. Crazy!

Until next time, Cheers!

Sydney

Last weekend I went on a little holiday to Sydney. And I have to say, it was one of the best little get away trips I have ever been on. I have been very blessed in my life to see a lot of very astonishing things... And seeing the sights in Sydney completely on par with seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Sistine Chapel, and all of the other great sights.

I landed in Sydney late on Thursday evening. I was supposed to get a shuttle to the hostel I was staying at, but because it was so late at night the shuttle had stopped running. So instead, I took the train. The hostel was located in Kings Cross, not the nicest part of town, but I felt safe all of the time. Since I had class that morning, and had traveled I was fairly tired, so after checking in, getting my linens and making my bed, I crashed for the night.

Friday morning I got up early and met up with the other two girls that I had planned the trip with. They got in on Wednesday and were staying in a different room. Our plan was to head into the Blue Mountains for the day. So we had an early start in order to catch an early train ride up into the mountain town of Katoomba. Now, the fun thing about hostels, or backpackers, is that you meet so many other travelers. So two German girls and a guy from Jersey City made the trip with us. After and hour train ride we arrived in Katoomba. We went straight to the Trolley Tours office and booked out tickets for the Trolley Tour and for Scenic World.

The Trolley Tour started off in the city of Katoomba and showed us different spots like the Carrington Hotel which is the highest point of Katoomba, and other shops in the town. You can hop on and off of the Trolley whenever you like, so we decided to get off at Gordon Falls because we wanted to hike around the mountain range a little. The first thing that we saw when we got onto the hiking trail was Mt. Solitary which is the picture above. Gorgeous right? The Blue Mountains is really a big canyon, like the Grand Canyon but nowhere near as deep. We walked from the Gordon Falls all the way to Echo Point. It was a beautiful hike with lots of lookouts and breath-taking scenery. The whole hike took about 2 and a half hours and we got to Echo Point just as the rain started. We walked through the Prince Henry Cliffs, the Leura Cascades and The Three Sisters which is the most famous thing of the Blue Mountains. Really The Three Sisters are three small "peaks" off of the side of a cliff. The cool thing about The Three Sisters is the legend about them:

The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle. As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

After we took lots and lots of pictures at Echo Point we got back on the trolley and headed to Scenic World. Scenic World is a series of rides that takes you around the canyons. First you take the Skyway which is a cable car across the canyon. The car also has a glass bottom so your can look down the entire way across. Once across, we took the steepest and oldest railway down the canyon. No joke, it is in the Guinness Book of World Records. The ride isn't very long, it only takes about 2 minutes, it is 415 meters long with a 52 degree incline at the steepest point. The guy driving was so nice that he gave our group a few free rides on it was well.

At the bottom of the canyon after the railway ride there is a boardwalk that leads you through the canyon and tells about the history, and the old coal mine that was in the canyon. To get back up to the top of the canyon, we took a cable car. And thus ended the rides at Scenic World. We got back on the Trolley and drove back to the Katoomba train station.

We caught the train back to Sydney and all of us were so tired that everyone passed out on the ride back into the city. Back at the hostel we had an Australian Sausage Sizzle and chilled with some new friends before calling it a night.

Saturday was another early morning, this time we took the train to Circular Quay. From the train station as soon as we got off the train, the Sydney Harbour (Aussie Spelling) Bridge was to our left, the Opera House to our left, and in the middle was the harbour with boats and cruises and the most beautiful glistening blue water. I felt like a kid at a candy store, or at Disney World and immediately started snapping pictures. I was truly in awe. We walked over to the Opera House first where I could not stop taking pictures. You have no idea how magnificent it is until you are standing there looking at one of the most complicated piece of architecture in the world. The weather was brilliant and the sun reflected of the tile roof onto the water.

Tearing ourselves away from the Opera House was hard but we had lots to do. Next we ventured to the opposite side of the harbour to The Rocks. The Rocks is a historic area, the first place that was settled in Sydney. The entire area has so much character in the buildings and layout and it is so much fun to walk around. They also have lots of markets and shops to stroll through.

We were then planning on hoping on a ferry to sail around the harbour when my cell phone beeped from a text message. Now I do have some friends, so receiving texts is not entirely uncomon. However, when the number starts with 303 and 045 that is something to make you think twice. It turned out that non other than Mr. Giancola (neighbor from home) had just landed in Sydney on business and was having lunch on the Opera House Promenade. He had texted my father telling him he had just landed in Sydney and my dad had told him that I was there. Talk about a small world indeed. So I ventured over and had a lovely chat with Mr. G. It was wonderful to see a familar face so far away from home. A little bizarre, but wonderful.

Next, we made our way to the Sydney Tower. Basically, think of the Seattle Space Needle, but in Sydney Australia. You can see for miles from the top and the weather was totally clear so we got some great shots from the top. By the time we left it was time to start getting ready for the big rugby game that night, so we headed back to our hostel, changed and got ready and headed to the stadium.

The biggest rivalery game, the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies took place at the ANZ Stadium in Olympic Park. Yes we got to see a rugby match at the same place that the Opening Ceremonies took place in 2000. It was very cool. And the game was even better. It started with the most intimidating two minutes of my entire life when the All Blacks took the field for the haka. For those of you who don't know what it is, YouTube it. It will terrify you. The game was just as epic. The Wallabies were leading most of the game but it ended in the last 15 minutes when the All Blacks scored two TRYs (kinda like touchdowns). The final score was 23 to 22 All Blacks. We lost by one point. It was sad, but still, to be at that game was amazing.

Again, it was a long night, so falling into bed that night felt really good.

Sunday was my last day in Sydney. I spent most of the day lying on the ever famous, Bondi Beach watching the Festival of the Winds. Tons of kites filled the sky and it was lovely to watch. Finishing the day off with a walk around Paddington, and then it was time to head back to the airport.

I had the best weekend ever and saw some of the most incredible sights. I can not wait to go back and play tour guide for my parents. Hope everything is well back home. Until next time, Cheers!

The Brisbane Experience

This past weekend was all about Brisbane. Saturday marked the kickoff to the Brisbane Festival with Riverfire and Sunday we took a drive up to Mt. Coot-tha. It was a fun weekend and has been a good beginning of week eight. Details below:

The weekend started off on Friday night with a girl's night. There was fort building in the living room/kitchen and there may have been some pranking of the boys in our group. We shaving creamed (I don't know if that is proper English... help me out mom) their mirrors, turned their posters in their rooms upside down and wrote messages on their doors. The war has begun and slowly they have been getting us girls back. I am still waiting for what they will do to me, but revenge is sweet and the girls still have several tricks up our sleeves.

Saturday was Riverfire. Basically, think Disneyworld firework show, on a river with, no joke, half a million people. There is no place to sit, or stand and walking is just not an option. But for a half hour after sunset, everyone turns their heads to the sky to watch the show. The Airforce did a show with three dump and burns and then the fireworks started. They are shot off of buildings in the city, the river and surrounding bridges. The entire show is set to Aboriginal music and didgeridoos playing. The show doesn't last long, but it was truly spectacular.

On Sunday, I planned to hike to the Brisbane lookout on Mt. Coot-tha. However, it rained all day Sunday and into Monday. So instead a friend of mine and I drove to the top. I still want to hike it on a sunny day but the view was still breath-taking. You can see all of Brisbane and more. Everything is so green and beautiful and city scape actually reminds me a little bit of Denver. I did manage to get a few pictures, but more will come when the weather gets a little bit better.

Tomorrow, we leave for Sydney. I am so excited. We will only be there for the weekend but we are planning to fit a lot in. I promise to post when I return and I will include lots of pictures. After that will be the start of week nine. Can you believe it? I sure can't, but I say that all the time. The rest of the time will fly by with weekend trips, spring break, and traveling over the exam period. Before I know it, my lovely parents will be half way across the world with me and then it will be time for me to leave this beautiful country and venture home. But I am not going to think about that now... there are too many things happening before then!

Until next time, Cheers!