AustraliaQuest is an interactive expedition developed by Classroom Connect. For five weeks a team of scientists and explorers will examine the ancient culture of the Aborigines and attempt to determine how it affects their modern existence.

Yabbis are Yummy!

Once boiled, yabbis turn from blue to red

OK, I admit it. I'm scared.

I'm tens of thousands of miles away from home. My face is sunburned, my legs are scraped from cycling in the bush, and this strange food has my stomach feeling like something crawled in there and died. Worse, my first big report -- this one -- is due in two hours!

It's a little unnerving to be suddenly living on a different continent with a group of people I barely know. Don't get me wrong. The team has been great but I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the responsibilities of being the team biologist. I can't help thinking I should know every animal and plant we encounter. Fortunately, we have Aboriginal team members like Terry Coulthard to help us learn a bit about Outback ecology.

Today, we traveled to Terry's home in Iga Warta, in the northern Flinders Ranges. It's a peaceful place, surrounded by thousands of acres of desert-like Outback. As I sit here now there is an amazingly huge sky full of stars. The din and confusion of my daily life in the States seems a million miles away.

VIDEO View the team's daily movie feature on the AustaliaQuest site Play video     More on AustraliaQuest from Classroom Connect: Nature Notes Gross and Disgusting Make a Discovery Mystery Photo Quest Map        MORE REPORTS COMING SOON Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25

Just a couple of hours ago, Terry and I took a walk into the hills near his house to check out some of the native plants and animals here. I wanted him to teach me about the unique relationship he shares with them. He pointed out edible plants and animals-something he calls "bush tucker."

First we found waxy red quondong hanging like crabapples on a prickly tree. I bit into one. It tasted like bland cranberries. Then Terry showed me how to break open the fruit's pit and get the soft, coconutty meat inside.

Growing on the wattle plants, we found the green pods called "bush bananas." They weren't ripe but Terry still cut one open. It "bled" white, just like a milkweed plant. He cut out chunks of the white flesh for us to taste.

"It tastes like a milk carton," Dan joked.

"It may not taste good," Terry replied, "but it if you're hungry enough, you'll be glad to find it."

My favorite part of the day was hunting for yabbi, a freshwater crawfish. We traveled to a reedy waterhole where, after taking off our shoes and socks, I followed Terry into the water. Stinky mud oozed between my toes. I kept on thinking about the movie "Crocodile Dundee" and how huge reptiles seemed to live in water like this. Was I the hunter or the hunted now?

The ruby red rind of the quondong fruit can be eaten raw or sweetened, mashed, and made into a tasty fruit leather like a fruit roll-up!

Terry splashed around for several minutes and didn't find anything. Just then, this huge blue thing darted towards my feet. I tried to grab it once and missed. But on the second try, I nabbed him! "Good as dead." Terry made a campfire and we boiled it up. Voila! Outback seafood. You could eat well out here after all.

For me, learning how to eat was a special experience, but for Terry, it was once a matter of survival. As a baby, he rode around on his mother's back while she gathered bush tucker, hunted small animals, and cooked for the family. When he was about six years old, he helped the older men set traps. By the time he was eight, he knew enough to survive for days on his own!

Part of Terry's recipe for living off the land and not abusing it is that he really loves his land. In fact, when he leaves it and comes back, he likes to just stand a while and smell it. "It's like the plants are sending a perfume to greet me," he said.

Terry believes that the animals and plants need him, just as he needs them. He told me about one medicinal plant that benefits from him pulling the leaves off from time to time. The next season, even more leaves replace the old ones. His family is careful not to over hunt species. In fact, he tries to kill animals whose populations are especially big. That way, he may actually help prevent a massive die-off from disease or lack of food.

I know I've only scratched the surface of learning about the spiritual and sustainable relationship Aboriginal Australians have with their ecosystems. The good news is that we have four more weeks to dig for answers. The bad news is that Jerome, our satellite technologist, is glaring at me. My first report is now officially late. Yikes!

Bonzer Biologist,

Sherri Hitz

AustraliaQuest
Classroom Connect