LordNigel's Travels - Australian Wombat Special

Hi everyone,

Today I thought I'd post about my experience helping out conservation volunteers Australia.

It's a weekend, there isn't much to do, so why not get out doors and get back to nature.

A while back I decided to go out for a couple of days and nights to count Wombats in the Riverland area South Australia.

Why?...why the heck not!

So the plan is take this GPS device, run around in the bush and try to find Wombat holes.

Still asking why?...well there are scientists and conservationist that are worried about the little guys, theres lotsa sciency reasons why they want to know what they are up to - I just know it's fun!

So yeah find the holes, get out your tape and measure how many holes in a cluster, how far apart they are and register them on this GPS. 

All these readings taken by various sources get fed back to the scientists and yeah it gives them some data to know how they are going. You do give some other details like:

• Whats the condition of the holes, like if there is cob webs or are they falling in etc. 
• Are there foot prints or are they looking abandoned 
• Are there fresh droppings or food leftovers etc.

It's all like candy to these science guys haha. You can see this hole below is well used, a few broken bushes about, lotsa foot prints.

You do need to watch out though if you are in wombat territory and looking at burrows, they are normally clustered so if your not careful you could walk on a spot and the ground can give way and then your in a hole up to your neck, not only injuring yourself but killing a wombat underneath as well. I suggest only doing this with someone who knows what they are doing.

Hey whats that noise..these guys are only suppose to be out at night - must have woke it up..Sorry!

It's hot work in the Australian sun, and worthy of a break. My preferred goto in the bush is apples and water.

At the end of a hard day, there is always a glorious Australian sunset to say goodbye.

All the best.