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E.M.T.R.I.E.
What to Bring?
Here is some information on the field conditions in Australia and the packing list for the EMTRIE course.
During this course, you'll be spending your time on Magnetic and Lizard Islands. Both islands are Terrestrial National Parks, and their surrounding Coral Reefs are protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Magnetic Island is 7km from the city of Townsville (pop. 175,000) and is connected by regular ferry services. The Island has about 2000 permanent residents and all the facilities one would expect in a suburb of a regional city.
Lizard Island is located in the Northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, about
350km north of Cairns and some 650km north of Townsville. Lizard has no permanent
residents, other than the staff that work at the Resort and the Lizard
Island Research Station. You will be staying at the Research Station for
6 nights. We will bring all our own food and equipment to the station. They
provide bedding and there is a phone line for outgoing calls, and email and
internet access. We will drive by bus from Townsville to Cairns, stay one night,
and then fly to Lizard Island by light
aircraft.
The fieldwork in this course will involve group snorkelling over shallow coral
reef environments, and bush walking. We will be snorkeling between 5 - 6 hours
a day and it is imperative that students bring their own mask, snorkel, fins,
and a properly fitted full-length wetsuit (minimum thickness 3mm neoprene, maximum
5mm). Despite the tropical location, we will be working in mid-winter and water
temperatures will be 22-25° C, so wetsuits are essential. We recommend that
students also bring a small dive bag that can carry wet snorkelling gear to
and from our field sites, and a hat and long-sleeved shirt to protect against
sunburn while in boat transit. Weather conditions will vary between clear sunny
days with light winds, to partly cloudy “Trade wind” conditions
with 20 knot winds and intermittent rain showers. Day time maximum temperatures
will be 25-28° C, and night time temperatures 10-18° C. More info on
Australian weather conditions - click here.
Field Course Packing Checklist
Here is a Check-list of items that students should bring with them to Australia.
Travel Documents
• Passport
• Air tickets
• Visa
• Personal ID
• Travel insurance documents
• Contacts for next of Kin in USA
Clothing etc.
• Shorts and t-shirts (3-4 sets is enough)
• Bathing suit
• Warm clothes (sweater, jeans)
• Hat
• Raincoat
• Sunglasses (preferably polarised) with head-strap
• Shoes (suitable for bush-walking)
• Socks
• Towel
• Sandals / casual footware (eg. Tevas)
• shoes for reef-walking (Tevas will do, or dive booties)
• Sleeping bag (not essential but can be more comfortable than blankets
on cold nights)
Snorkelling / Field gear
• Mask
• Snorkel
• Fins (and dive booties if needed for open heel fins)
• Wetsuit (long arm and leg, min 3mm neoprene)
• Waterproof watch with timer/stopwatch function
• Dive bag / backpack to hold above items, for transport to field sites
• Camera & film / portable video (disposable underwater cameras can
be purchased in Australia)
• Flashlight (waterproof would be good)
• Binoculars (optional)
• Day pack (could double as dive bag if suitably sized)
• Nalgene or similar water bottle
• Pocketknife (Leatherman or Swiss army type - Please keep in checked
baggage)
Lecture materials
• Field notebook
• Lecture notebook
• Spare lined paper
• Manila folders for storing hand-outs etc.
• Pens, pencils, erasers, etc.
• USB flash disk min 512MB
• Laptop computer with wireless connectivity.
(This is not compulsory but students are strongly urged to bring their own laptop,
as lecture materials are disseminated via the wireless network and the machine
is used for course assignments and data analysis).
Toiletries / personal items
• Sunscreen
• Ear-drops (alcohol based, for preventing external ear infections)
• Antiseptic cream
• Bandaids
• Insect repellent
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Feminine Hygiene items (if applicable)
• Toothbrush & Toothpaste
• Anti-fungal cream (Daktarin or similar for treating minor fungal skin
infections)
• Mild painkillers (Panadol or Aspirin based, over the counter tablets)
• Personal prescription medicines if needed (obtain in USA before departure)
• Echinacea / Ginseng tablets (useful for preventing / treating colds
and Flu – take for 4 days before long-haul flights)
• CD walkman or similar
For more information on North Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Reef Ecology and weather, see the TEVENE'I MARINE Website “Links” page.