[Aqualist] 2018 AQUA Biennial Conference: pre-conference field trip

[Scott Mooney]

Dear AQUA Community,

As you may have seen we are in the process of organising a pre-conference field trip for Wednesday 5th to Saturday 8th of December. (This means we will be back in Canberra in plenty of time for the Conference Icebreaker function on Sunday afternoon, noting that the conference runs Monday 10th to Friday 14th.)

The preliminary schedule is:

Wednesday 5th: start in Canberra, drive to Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) via the ACT high country. The plan is to walk out to the only known Aboriginal art sites in the ACT at Yankee Hat in Namadji National Park and discuss the amazing sedimentary record in the adjacent Bogong Swamp. We will then drive to our accomodation  in Jindabyne or Sawpit Creek on the edge of KNP.

Thursday 6th: We will focus on the glacial features of the Australian high country. The plan is to do some (or all) of the Main Range Track starting at Charlotte Pass. For the less-adventurous (less mobile, or those with children) we will walk from Charlotte Pass to the Blue Lake look-out (~1.5 hrs each way). Accomodation will be back at Jindabyne or Sawpit Creek.

Friday 7th: Morning: The swamps of KNP: we will take the Rainbow Lake Trail (off Kosciuszko Rd), through Snow Gum and pretty alpine grassy areas and then into Diggers Creek Bog. In the afternoon we will leave KNP and head towards Bega Swamp (about 2 hr drive) to accomodation for the night (location still being confirmed).

Saturday 8th: in the morning we will visit Bega Swamp to discuss the amazing research that has, and continues at that site. By about lunch time we will drive back across the Monaro to end up in Canberra for late afternoon. (NB Accomodation in Canberra needs to be organised individually.)

In order for the planning to proceed I need a rough estimate of numbers (for transport, accommodation and ultimately the budget). Costs will be kept to a minimum (e.g. accomodation is planned for chalet-style accomodation see https://www.kosipark.com.au/accommodation.html for an idea, with costs depending on how many people share and level of comfort) but is likely to come in at about $300-$350. Cheaper options, such sleeping in a tent or self-drive, are also likely to be possible.

If you are planning on attending can you kindly let me (s.mooney at unsw.edu.au) know asap. If you have an idea of your preferences (e.g. on organised transport v self-drive; or organised single v shared accommodation v tent) please also let me know.

If you do contact me I will put you on a list of potential attendees, meaning I will add you to a list for future correspondence, however it won’t lock you into anything. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Best wishes
Scott

A/Prof Scott Mooney FIAG

Deputy Head of School
School of BEES
Faculty of Science
UNSW AUSTRALIA

T: +61 (0) 2 9385 8063
E:  s.mooney at unsw.edu.au<mailto:s.mooney at unsw.edu.au>
W: http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/staff/scott-mooney
P: School of BEES, UNSW, 2052 AUSTRALIA

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