Tree House Challenge Day 8 : 14-08-2017

Yoav arrived last night and today we've found a great myrtle for the Tree House. The ropes are all set and ready to haul it up in the morning. We left enough time to take a walk through the forest and discover more about rainforest life.

In the early morning darkness I lay in the 'ground house' and listened to the noises of the forest. A distant clap of thunder, rain drops on the roof, a currawong and a kookaburra warbling and a faint cough coming from Yoav's tent. The darkness lasted a lot longer under the heavy foliage than in an open forest. After a hot drink and cold oats for breakfast we went searching for the tree to hang our house from. 

The ground is lumpy and bumpy because the geology here is limestone or dolomite. The weathering of thead rock can create caves and sinkholes. Both are here! After a circuit looking at myrtle, blackwood and sassafras candidates we chose a gorgeous straight myrtle right behind base camp.

It took a while to decide which branch to aim for with the slingshot and even longer to actually get the bean bag fired over it. Eventually we got the line up and hauled the climbing rope over a branch about 15 meters up. Yoav climbed up and rigged another line for me to follow. The growth on the trunk is the biggest difference between this tree and the Eucalyptus. 

By the time we'd set the ropes to haul the tree house up it was time to head into Smithton for the Science Gig, which is part of National Science Week. I'm writing this report just before we head to meet some students. 

The forum has been super busy and thanks to all the students using it as we hoped. For the few that are straying off topic or being too cheeky we are being very hard on you and blocking you from further use. Hopefully that keeps it a great learning space AND fun at the same time. 

Today's Tshirt winner is Big Red Dog for their great answer to Dr Sue's question:

What is the difference between an epiphyte and a parasite?

'Our research leads us to believe a parasite gets its energy from its host. When people have a parasite, it kind of steals our nutrients to survive. If a parasite is on a plant, it takes nutrients from the plant it is on.
An epiphyte (not an 'epic-fight' as one person thought we were talking about) lives on another plant, but survives on its own.'