Sponsorship update
ADVENTURE Canoeing the Cooper
Cooper Creek has a mystique stretching back to the Burke and Wills expedition of 1861. To our knowledge, no-one has canoed the entire creek from its origin, at the confluence of the Barcoo and Thompson rivers at Windorah in south-western Queensland, to Innamincka in South Australia, some 650km downstream. Four canoeists from Berri, SA, achieved this feat in May last year. The culmination of 12 months planning based on 20 years of outback and wilderness exploration by the team.
The Cooper is only navigable when enough rainfall from monsoonal activity occurs in south-central QLD, which is only about every 10 years. This is usually in late summer when temperatures can be above 40oC and insect life is horrendous. The Cooper floods in many channels, spreading out as much as 50km wide, posing navigation problems. Extensive GPS mapping from satellite imagery of previous floods was required, together with the satellite equipment to guide the canoe party.
BIOLOGY Humpback dolphins
After a decade observing this species in the Fitzroy River of central Queensland,
Dr Daniele Cagnazzi has documented numerous foraging tactics – but none as remarkable as strand-feeding, where dolphins herd fish onto the beach and launch themselves out of the water to feed. In Australia, humpback dolphins have been reported strand-feeding in the Northern Territory and along the Great Barrier Reef, indicating the behaviour is not limited to the Fitzroy. But the Fitzroy is the only location where the technique has been observed consistently, providing a great opportunity to document this amazing behaviour. To see footage captured by Daniele head to our website: australiangeographic.com.au
ADVENTURE Award deadline
Applications for the Nancy-Bird Walton sponsorship close at midnight AEST on Friday 31 January 2020. This prestigious $5000 award is to support female adventurers.
For details and to apply for the award, visit our website:
australiangeographic.com.au