On the way to Byron Bay, the sat phone started reporting errors. Consequently, we had to make a quick stop in Sydney to get it fixed (which fortunately turned out to be relatively cheap). Of course we timed it so we were in Sydney for the same weekend that Catherine was in Sydney (from the UK). Helen even managed to celebrate her birthday over dinner with her mum.
It was also a chance to do a bit of kayaking. Fred and Jenny's new place is great, and the waterfront location provides the perfect launch point to explore the lower reaches of Pittwater. Bob and Margaret's new place is also nice, but requires a short drive to reach Sydney harbour. Thanks for letting us stay, folks. Unfortunately, Sydney's waterways are as crowded with idiots as Sydney's roads.
With the running repairs out of the way, it's time to head back to the cold mountain weather, and help with the preparation of a report about the weeds and erosion on the Cudgegong River. Before we get too serious about the typing, we simply had to take advantage of one the local attractions, the hike to Castle Rocks.
The report preparation is a substantial effort.
Around 140 pages including 30 maps.
There are of course the obvious recommendations, like planting lots of native trees.
And the not so obvious ones, like the professional insertion of some large woody debris.
The CD to accompany it is equally substantial. About 600 photos of the river, with several index methods including HTML slide shows. There is the full GIS data from the survey, shareware applications to access it, and maps to display it. There are clickable maps for the photos and the revegetation tables. Overall there are over 2000 HTML pages on the CD, with over 10,000 internal hyperlinks.
The rivers were classified by type (Steep Headwater, Floodplain, etc.) by the erosion expert. A bunch of self important boffins at Macquarie University decided that even though virtually identical classifications are used worldwide, they should own the words River Style® and the world must pay homage to them. (A bit like the loonies in the UK who are currently fighting in court over who owns "silence". Keep talking, or you may be breaking the law!) We argued that our report should use the term River Type, and they should write River Style® on some large woody debris....
Needless to say the last few weeks of the project were pretty hectic, proof reading, double checking, inserting ®'s everywhere. Finally it is done and delivered. On the farm, the almonds, peaches, and quinces are in full flower, along with the wattle. The overnight temperatures are regularly above freezing. It's time to move on again.
The highlander laptop has died one more time. Fortunately, there are still a few weeks of warranty. The thing is a lemon. We've been in touch with them, and that particular saga continues.....