Despatches from Agent Orange

Recently I wrote an article for the Macarthur Herpetological  Society Newsletter. So I thought I’d share the article on here.

Firstly it must be said that this little native of inland Queensland has been known to herpetologists for many years however was not formal described until 1985 by Wells and Wellington in the Australian Journal of Herpetology. The name for the species was disputed for the coming years, with some using Amphibolurus rankini or Pogona brevis in publications, until Cogger published the name again in Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th edition in 2000.

In terms of common names, there are a few including, Lawson’s Dragon, Rankin’s Dragon, Downs Dragon, Dumpy Dragon, Pygmy Dragon and Black Soil Plains Dragon, referring to the geographical area of Queensland in which it is typically found. It is often incorrectly called a Dwarf Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor).

Whilst the smallest of the Pogona genus, it has a far less developed beard, more like a stubble really. It has a typical threat display with mouth wide open; trying it’s hardest to look frightening. Seriously though, I think they forget just how small they actually are, with an average SVL of less than 15cm. They are very easy to handle, however obviously, when young must be handled with some care. They can all too easily get lost in adult hands and are somewhat nervous. Mind you, I’d be nervous too at that size! They don’t have a huge colour range that other dragons have, in fact some would say their colours are dull, but that doesn’t stop them from being a good looking little dragon.

Whilst their natural habitat is rather sparse, it doesn’t stop these little dragons from being good climbers. My four regularly like to climb up sticks or rocks, just to hang out. They are very social dragons and very tolerant of each other. Of course a hierarchy is in place, but it’s not unusual to find them laying all next to each other or grouped together on a rock and so on.

Being so small, a large cage is not necessary; however I still like to have some room for them to move around on the floor of the cage and room for them to climb.

In terms of food, they are omnivores and eat a wide variety of foods.  I feed mine live crickets, it’s great fun to watch these little dragons stalk their prey, as well as fresh vegetables such as green beans, squash, broccoli stalks and herbs such as parsley. They can tackle the parsley quite comfortably off the bunch, however vegetable must obviously cut up in to a small enough size for them to get a hold of and chew. Sometimes their eyes are bigger than their mouths and they will game fully attempt to eat larger pieces of vegetables. As for water, my 4 dragons don’t like to drink from a small dish, rather they prefer to be sprayed with a water mist and drink the water droplets off their bodies and surrounding surfaces. I like to spray enough water so that items in their cage such as rocks are dripping wet, which allows them to get a good drink. I feed them greens more so than crickets now. As they’ve gotten mature they aren’t as interested in crickets as much as they were when they were juveniles where they’d eat crickets every day if they could! They do enjoy a variety of vegetables and don’t have a problem eating vegetables covered with calcium powder.

It must be said that despite their size, these little dragons can produce some serious waste! As a result fairly regular cage cleans are required.

Over the years I’ve had these dragons; I’ve tried many substrates but have found that Kritter’s Krumble or similiar is the most suitable and practical.

In terms of lighting, I run a 13W UVB 10.0 and 60W basking spot. In colder months I also run a heat mat.

If you’re looking for a lizard that doesn’t take up a lot of space, is guaranteed to get people to say “Awww!” and you love beardies, then Pogona henrylawsoni is the dragon for you.

Oh and once last thing. The species name. Yes, it is named after Australian balladeer and poet, Henry Lawson. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps it maybe because they are from the harsh interior of our country, a topic which Henry Lawson was very fond of writing about. Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, I don’t think an imagination as raw as Henry Lawson’s would’ve even dreamt up having a lizard named after him.

Oh my! It has been a hell of a long time between posts. Sorry about that. Much has past since my last post. I’ve settled into my team at work and have been enjoying being out there doing my job on the network. There have been some interesting incidents and some funny ones too. I’ve gone “hands on”, which means I’ve physically restrained a person. They gave up reasonably quickly, which is good and ceased resisting. All my training kicked in and my instincts proved correct. It was comforting that everything went well and no one was injured. The environment in which I work can be very dangerous for a whole range of reasons. Moving trains, overhead power, concrete platforms, stairs and concourses, narrow areas, steep stairs, moving escalators, swaying carriages, enclosed spaces etc etc. Injury can occur quite easily on the network and it something I’m acutely aware of. Then there are those whole use the network. There are some bad people out there. Really bad. My situational awareness is increasing with every shift. I’m learning to read body language better. I’m learning to pick people out in a crowd or on a train quicker. I’m learning to constantly scan the environment quicker and accurately. I’m fortunate I’m in a good team surrounded by experienced and sensible officers. Each shift we learn something from each other. I’ve also started to build some good working relationships with Police Officers I come into contact with  in passing or work with on an operation.

Enough of work. I went for a flight in a Tiger Moth! What an experience! Flying in an open cockpit aircraft is just truly amazing! This grand old lady of the skies was an absolute delight. This particular Tiger Moth was built in 1940 in Bankstown. She was all original apart from having the front flight controls removed, modern radio and intercom system installed, modern safety belts and modern propeller blades.

I’ve flown in a lot of commercial aircraft, a dozen light aircraft and sports aircraft, but this was completely different. I know have some idea of what it must have been like when open cockpit aircraft were the only aircraft flying. There is just something so amazing about being exposed to the elements whilst flying. OK, at first it was slightly nerving when doing some wing overs and loops, but still there is just this aura about the open cockpit.

The aircraft was based at Camden and David & Yvonne came out to photograph me taking off and landing. My pilot flew out to the South Coast and we flew down the the coast towards Wollongong and then turned back in land and followed the Cataract and Nepean Rivers back to Camden. It was a glorious day for flying (and photography) with blue skies and plenty of sunshine.

It was a little bumpy on the return leg as the air was warming up and the thermal winds buffeted the aircraft from time to time. Taking off and landing in a Tiger Moth is just beautiful. She gracefully takes to the sky and she gracefully comes back to earth again. Using the grass runway at Camden made it all the more special. It just wouldn’t seem right using a tarmac runway. Whilst I was up there enjoying the wonderful views, I couldn’t help but think about all the young men who had flown in this magnificent girl during the war, for the Tiger Moth was the primary trainer of many of the Commonwealth (Empire back then) air forces during the Second World War. Hundreds of these aircraft served with the Royal Australian Air Force, with many privately owned Tiger Moths being pressed into service with the RAAF. Anyway I plan on taking a few more flights in the future. I hope to fly in a Boeing Stearman and a de Havilland Chipmunk (the successor to the Tiger Moth). Frankly I have no hope of flying in a two seat jet aircraft, simply because it is prohibitively expensive! I can still dream though!

Six months. It seems like a long time. Feels like a long time. Yet in some aspects it went by so fast, it’s left me gasping for air! Starting any new chapter in your life is both exciting and difficult. Finishing nursing and moving literally straight into law enforcement training was somewhat of a blur. It has been a hard, tough, frustrating and demanding 6 months of training and assessments. Whilst at the same time it has been fun, exciting and rewarding.  New friendships have been forged. Many lessons learned, so the hard way. This week I earned my stripe. A single chevron to be worn on an epaulette on each shoulder. In a way it seems strange that I’ve worked so hard for a piece of embroidery and material to worn on my shoulders. I mean it’s simple a symbol of rank. A symbol of my position within the law enforcement function. However it means a whole lot. I earned it. I wasn’t just given it, I worked hard for it. I deserve it. I’m immensely proud of myself. I’ve tackled something completely new, something completely different from my entire working life and I made it to the end. The end culminated in a very small, ceremony if you will, in which we all sat in the briefing room, listened some bosses speak and then receive our certificates and epaulettes. Nothing grand or pompous.

It didn’t take me long to take my probationary epaulettes off and replace them with my new ones. It felt good and frankly looks good too. I’m proud of the uniform I wear. I’m also damn proud to wear those stripes. I’m on my own now. No trainers observing my every move. All decisions are mine. I’ll be working in a team of officers, together as a cohesive unit, doing our job. I must say it was strange going to a different office, seeing different faces, being treated differently. Being treated like an officer, not a trainee. Yes, I’m a newbie and as a newbie to a team, you always cop a little stick, but it’s all in good fun. They’re a great group of people and I’m looking forward to working with them some more. I’m lucky that a few of the guys I trained with, are in the same team as me. It’s good for all of us. It’ll be good fun to go out and work with them.

I’ve been assigned to the West Region. There are 3 Regions in the Division. North, South and West Regions. These 3 Regions cover the entire network. My region covers the Western Line, Blue Mountains Line, Cumberland Line, Southern Highlands Line, Carlingford Branch Line, Richmond Branch Line and Olympic Park Loop. Region Office is in Parramatta, which is great as I don’t have as far to travel. Parking is a slight issue when I have to drive. Some of my shifts finish after trains have finished running, so I have to drive in to the office.

So another journey begins. It should be fun.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

No, your eyes don’t deceive you! Yes, it is a podcast! Yes, it is finally another episode of Despatches From Agent Orange! It’s not the greatest offering, but it’s a start or should I say a restart of a restart. As previously mentioned in my blog post, I purchased a Zoom H1 mini recorder. A good friend of mine was out from Germany and we managed to catch up for a drink at an Irish pub in Sydney. She agreed to be “interviewed” for the show. It was great and I was most pleased until I went to stop recording. Why was the H1 off? I swear I’d switched it on!!! It appears that the battery had died almost exactly half way through. Serves me right for using the cheap battery that came with the recorder. So I’ve salvaged what was recorded. It is “slightly” noisy being in a pub, but that adds to the fun of it. At least I hope it does! We discuss a variety of things from how we met and became friends, to differences between our two countries, including things like laws, photography, taxes, cars and jobs. Please enjoy and I look forward to recording another episode soon.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

… Far to quickly! I’m sorry, it’s 2011 already?!?! Most of 2010 seems to have been a blur for me. It’s seriously went quickly. New job has seen me doing some very unsocial shift times and experiencing plenty of interesting experiences. I worked NYE and New Years Day (Cha Ching! Hello penalty rates!) which was fun and boring at the same time. I was at Bondi Junction for NYE and the crowds were very well behaved. No real dramas to deal with which was good. Started at 2000hrs (8pm) and finished at 0600hrs (6am), train home, a few hours sleep and then train back to work for a 1600hrs (4pm) shift start which finished at midnight. So pay packet will be very nice indeed thank you very much.

Back tracking a little, Christmas was a family affair held out at my brother in law & sister’s place in Grose Vale. They have a large house on acreage out there.  Family and in laws all had a nice day, with much fun had. My girls had a great time playing with their 2 cousins and their aunts and uncles. It’s a nice part of the world out there at Grose Vale. Jeremy. my brother in law, was telling me they have some resident reptiles and amphibians. A large healthy looking blue tongue, some Eastern bearded dragons, loads of various frogs and some Red Bellied Black Snakes have been sighted near their dam. No doubt they were hunting frogs, a RBBS favourite. I’ll have to do some herping out and about their place. Sure to find some interesting creatures.

Lately I’ve been really getting into things that I was fascinated by during my childhood. I’ve rekindled my interest in archaeology after watching loads of Time Team episodes from the UK. I’ve been looking around to see if there are short courses and the like that I might be able to do on archaeology. I’ve been mulling over finally going and learn to scuba diver and then be PADI qualified. Loved the idea of scuba diving since I was kid after watching Jacques Cousteau on TV exploring the world’s oceans and seas. Now, having a job that pays me well, I’m able to afford a scuba diving course and some basic gear. Archery has once again peaked my interested. Love bows and arrows. I used to make bows and arrows as a kid. Much fun. Bows and arrows have been around millennia and it’s create that they’ve survived so long. I’ve been looking around for a decent recurve or compound bow to purchase. Target shooting archery is great fun and a real challenge. It also allows the opportunity for some high speed photography experiments. Capturing the arrow leaving the bow, capturing the arrow in flight and the fun part, capturing the arrow impacting the target.

Back tracking again, I injured my foot about a month back. I suffered a case of plantar fasciitis in my right foot. Seriously painful I can tell you! I was off duty for 5 or so days, constantly icing and stretching my foot. As a result I’ve had to stop running. This sucks badly, however it’s only a short term thing. I’m right to start running again in a few weeks. In the meantime, it’s the bike only for me. I have some special boots on order and work, in the interim I still have my standard issue boots but with implants inside them to support my arches and to reduce heel strike impact when I’m walking.

Geez, rambling on a bit here. Sorry about that folks. Just blogging what comes into my head. Better be careful because that’s potentially a dangerous thing! So probably best end it here. Until next time! Stay safe.

PS: I have a Zoom H1 mini recorder. I recorded a thunderstorm that passed over recently. Have a listen. Sounds of Summer in Sydney.

I’ve managed to test drive two cars on my list since my last post. I test drove the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Peugeot 3008.

First up the VW Tiguan. I drove a auto version as they didn’t have an manual transmissions in stock let only as a test vehicle. Unfortunately manuals don’t sell in huge numbers here in Australia. We’ve gotten lazy and just want to drive autos. It was however the turbo diesel engine. The Tiguan is compact SUV (I hate that acronym, but all the motoring journos tend to use it) and is the little sibling of the Toureag (pronounced Tour Egg). Being German designed and manufactured it is solid, practical, well designed and well built.  The dash layout out was simple yet precise. It tells you what you need to know and goes about it without fuss. The turbo diesel engine is awesome! It is quiet and powerful. Please don’t think of diesels as noisy, exhaust belching engines, because they’re far from it. Diesels have been constantly improved and refined over the recent years and VW’s turbo diesel is a quality engine. Boy does it have some get up and go! The torque is plentiful and delivered in bucket loads at low revs. The ride and handling were excellent, the Tiguan holding the road nicely on high speed bends. Cabin noise was excellent. The engine noise doesn’t intrude too much nor does wind and road noise. Seating was comfortable and easy to get into the right position to drive. Reasonably spacious on the inside too, with good sized rear seating. The cargo space isn’t massive, but can be increased with the rear seats lowered. I was impressed with this offering from VW and it remains on my list. It’s a contender.

Across the border there is the French offering of a Peugeot 3008. This car looked the goods and had loads of good features, but frankly failed in some key areas. Firstly, four stalks on the steering column. Yes four! Two are you usual indicator stalk and windscreen wiper stalk, but it also has a cruise control stalk and car stereo system stalk. Now, most other car manufacturers have cruise control and stereo controls on the steering wheel within easy reach of your thumbs. Why or why did Peugeot decide to stick them on seperate stalks! They’re fiddly and frankly you have to take your eyes of the road and a hand off the steering wheel to use the bloody things. So strike one. Whilst the cabin was spacious, reasonably quiet and the seats themselves comfortable, the fit and finish was not as a high standard as the VW. The centre console. That bloody centre console. Not only is huge and sits up high, it took up far too much room! I drove an auto, again no manual available, and my left leg was so uncomfortable! No matter what I did and how I moved my leg, I could not get it comfortable. The console was rubbing against my left leg no matter what. Imagine if I was driving a manual and having to use the clutch all the time. I’d rub my left left raw against that stupid oversized Gaulic console! Over on the passenger side, there was a metal covered grab bar built into the console. The car had been out in the sun, the metal grab bar was hot and hey presto! Your front seat passenger can burn their hand or leg on the metal grab bar. Oh and the compartment between the front seat. The lid opens to the right. Yep, perfectly functional for a left hand drive car, but not for a right hand drive car. So strike two. The adjustable steering wheel is appalling. I couldn’t get it right at all. It was like wrestling with a Wii controller whilst playing MarioKart! As for the steering wheel itself, well it felt cheap and nasty. Steering was too light and handling wasn’t brilliant. The ride was nowhere near as good as the Tiguan, you felt the bumps when you hit them. So strike three. You’re out 3007! Gone! Off the list. you failed and you failed badly. A nice looking car, but not a enjoyable or comfortable drive.

Two cars remain on the list, both from the Land of the Rising Sun, the Japanese offerings from that World Rally Championship winning stable, Subaru. The Subaru Outback Diesel and Subaru Forester Diesel are still to be tested. I’m looking forward to driving these vehicles which are not only powered by Subaru’s first diesel boxer engine, but they’re also only available in manual transmission. So when my roster allows it, I’ll be booking in for two test drives. Stay tuned.

The guys totally redeemed themselves with the final 2 days of the course. The knowledge and expertise really shone through during these two nights. This is the part of the course everyone had been looking forward too. Some in the class were already familiar with handling venomous snakes, others such as myself, were not familiar. We started of with a quick re-run on snake bite first aid and practiced wrapping our limbs up in a compression bandage. After that John and Brett ran us through step by step how to handle a venomous snake. Using the hook and bag and bin and tailing a snake. Tailing a snake is simply holding it by the tail. Not the tip of the tail but just down from the cloacae (basically the snake’s back passage), hold the snake not firmly but just enough pressure to grip the snake. Then using the hook you pick the snake up and place it in a bin or bag. You can also “drive” a snake when tailing it. You allow the snake to have about a third of it’s body on the ground and you just let it move around. This is a great way to calm the snake down. You can sometimes even “drive” the snake into a bag.

Me handling my first RBBS - Photo by Yvonne Kirk

We started of with black snakes. In this case two wild Red Bellied Black Snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus) which had been removed from people’s yards and houses. One was a large male and the other a small juvenile. Red-bellied black snakes are mostly active during the day, and are not particularly aggressive. When they’re threatened, they will flatten their bodies and hiss loudly, but will usually attempt to escape if possible. Their venom is dangerous but there is plenty of anti-venom available and fatalities are unlikely. However that still didn’t stop my heart rate increasing and my palm sweat up when it was my turn to handle it. I won’t say it was easy but it certainly wasn’t hard. Once you’ve been taught by those who know what they’re talking about, then you’ve got the skills to do the job. Is more practice required? Absolutely! Am I confident in my newly acquired skills? Yes I am, but I also know my limits. I’m not going to be handling an Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis), any time soon, at least not without a more skilled and knowledgeable person standing near me. This snake is highly venomous, aggressive and unpredictable. It has incredible strength and agility and can quite easily turn around and bite you whilst you’re tailing it. Snakes of the Pseudonaja genus are responsible for more deaths in Australia in the last 30 years than those of any other genus.

Eastern Brown Snake

Red Bellied Black Snake

A wide range of venomous snakes were available for us to handle. They were:

Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) – Along with the Brown Snake, this snake accounts for the most snake bite injuries in Australia. Found all along the south eastern coast of Australia, often in heavily populated areas, the Tiger Snake are active on warm summer evenings, and are attracted to farms and outer suburban houses, where they hunt mice and rats. They also hunt frongs around creeks, rivers or dams. Tiger Snakes solidly built, with broad, flattened heads. When disturbed, they flatten their necks in a threat display and hiss loudly. The hiss is like a bark, it is that loud. They usually strike low to the ground.  Adults are usually banded, hence their common name of Tiger Snake, and colour may vary from pale yellow to almost black. Sometimes, the bands may be absent, leading to difficulties with identification.

Mainland Tiger Snake

Collett’s Snake (Pseudechis colletti) – A member of the black snake family these snake are found in the wild only in central Queensland. A solidly built snake with a wide range of brown to orange colours and a speckled patterns. The snake hunts by day and feeds mainly on lizards, snakes and other small animals.

Collett's Snake

Inland Taipan aka Fierce Snake (Oxyranus microlepidotus) – This snake produces the most toxic venom of any snake worldwide. Not much is known about this snake in the wild, supposedly only limited in range to a small area of western Queensland, however there have been reports of this snake being found in New South Wales and South Australia. It feeds on rats and native hopper mice and other small mammals and possibly lives in burrows. Despite it’s other common name of Fierce Snake, it is not known to be any more aggressive than other snakes.

Me "driving" an Inland Taipan - Photo by Yvonne Kirk

Mulga Snake aka King Brown (Pseudechis australis) – This snake has the largest recorded venom output of any snake. It is found throughout most parts of Australia. It feeds on rats, mice birds, lizards and other snakes. It is frequently active at night, especially in hot weather. A heavily built snake, it is Australia’s heaviest venomous snake. It is uniform in colour, usually a light to tan brown, which probably results in it being called a King Brown. It is in fact part of the Black Snake family. This is important to know and remember as black snake anti-venom is required if bitten, not brown snake anti-venom. When threatened they may become very aggressive and strike repeatedly.

Mulga Snake

Common Copperhead (Austrelaps superbus) – One of three species of Copperhead in Australia. Unlike like the American Copperhead which is a viper, the Australian Copperhead is an elapid. It is the only venomous snake found above the snow line in Australia and is often active in weather deemed too cold for snakes. They feed on frogs, reptiles and small mammals. They also eat other snakes, including their own young.

Video - I meet a Copperhead

Common Death Adder (Acanthophis antarticus) – One of three species on Death Adders found in Australia. Not true Adders, which are vipers, Australian adders are elapids. It varies in colour from orange reddish to shades of grey. They are a short, heavily built snake with a broad arrow like head. It is an ambush predator, lying in wait in leaf litter, sand or gravel, waving & twitching their worm like tip of their tail to lure prey. They are fastest striking snake in a Australia. They react faster than a blink of an eye. Prey consists of frogs, birds, lizards, mice and rats. Most human interaction occurs when they are almost trodden on by unwary bushwalkers, farmers and the like. They tend not to retreat are said to be less likely to strike unless actually touched than other venomous snakes, but great caution is still advised. You cannot tail a Death Adder. As soon as you touch that tail… BAM! It’s struck at you and bitten you with the longest fangs of any Australian snake.

I meet a Common Death Adder - Photo by Yvonne Kirk

We were very fortunate to have such a wide range on venomous snake to handle. There was a good mix of wild and “domestic” snakes to handle. John provided a large number of snakes and often said that most of his snakes were “placid as”, although at times they prove John completely wrong and play up. Tiger Snakes are very intelligent snakes. They are great observers and learn from what they observe. Very quick snake too. One actually made it out of the back completely before the back was tied up. Luckily Brett was near by and managed to get a hold of it quickly and bag him properly. The Death Adder was probably the hardest to handle since you couldn’t tail it and it is quite short and stocky, making it a balancing act when using the hook. I do love the Death Adder. There is just something about it I just love. Awesome snake.

John showed us pinning. It’s easier if you watch the video. Personally he doesn’t like pinning, nor do I, as it just pisses the snake right off.

Video – John pinning a RBBS

We were also shown how to tube a snake. This is basically getting the snake to go into a perspex tube, once about a third of it’s body is in the tube, you grab the tube and the snake, thus allowing you to safely inspect the snake without the risk of being bitten. We tubed a few Red Bellied Black Snakes, Tiger Snake and a Death Adder. Well the Death Adder was the hardest. He didn’t want a bar of it initially. Not one bit.  Stubborn little bugger. Eventually he went in. After a while he also got quite pissed off. Mind you so would I being stuck in a perspex tube.

It was a truly wonderful experience. The skills I have gained will be put to get use with herpetology field trips and hopefully in the future, animal rescue. I also have an even greater respect for these venomous snakes of ours. They do have a place here, despite what many may think, and they’re essential for the sustainability of Australia’s ecology. These elapids have, over thousands of years, evolved into amazing predators using toxins, camouflage, lures, adaptability, strength, manoeuvrability and speed. We as humans should not fear them, rather marvel at their evolutionary mastery and respect them. Venomous snakes are part of Australia. Some live in populated areas. We can live together. Snakes in your local bushland is a good thing. It means your local ecosystem is thriving. Snake are predators. If they can’t find food, they’ll move on. Remember snakes are part of the food chain too. So instead of trying to kill a snake you find in your house, most snakes bites occur when people try to kill snakes, call your local WIRES or Sydney Wildlife Rescue and have the snake captured by a professional who will relocate it. Let’s not be responsible for the extinction of our native snakes through our, somewhat, unfounded fears.

Common Death Adder

Fast forward to Friday. Graduation day. We arrived to work in business attire and carrying our uniforms in suit bags.  In, what became our little tradition for a group of us, we were in the vestibule of the 8th car from Redfern to Petersham. Since the timetable changes in late October, our regular train to Petersham was an M set Millennium. We made good use of the grab bars in the vestibule and hung our suit bags up. We’d come along way in 12 weeks and have another interesting 12 weeks ahead of us. We arrived for the last time at Petersham, can’t say it will be missed, and headed for the auditorium. We dumped our bags then went off to another room to get changed into our uniform. As we were getting changed more people arrived and came in to the room to get changed. Of course there was plenty of banter going on as we all got changed.  We looked good. Clean, sharp uniforms and clean shiny boots. Look professional, act professional. Most people will treat you well, if you present well. Dress like a shit bag, then you’ll get treated like a shit bag. Take pride in the uniform. Everyone looked bloody good! There were plenty of stares from others at Petersham as we made our way to the auditorium.

The graduation wasn’t a huge affair.  A few managers came, as did the Training Team. A few short speeches and then we were presented with a few certificates, our badge and warrant card. It went off with out a hitch. Well almost. You see 30 of us were to graduate, although there was only 29 there. 1 person had slept in and was not going to make it in time. To say there that there were some very unamused people is a slight understatement. He swore he set 2 alarms, both apparently failed to go off, but still that’s not on. It’s your graduation for crying out loud. Not a good way to endear yourself to the training team either. That aside, there wasn’t much time for photos. In fact there was almost none. I didn’t get to have a photo of me with my instructors or with some of my mates. Really disappointed. It’s not like we’ll be doing this again. There may be a big “official” graduation next year, being a state election et al, but still it’s not the same. A large group photo was hurriedly taken by the Ops Inspector, so hopefully that’ll turn up in my work inbox sometime soon.

Spent sometime introducing ourselves to our respective training team members. The trainers appear to be all good people who have good experience. We got changed back into business attire, whilst the training team we given hand overs on us all by our now former instructors. Again there was plenty of banter flying around as we got changed and lots of smiling faces. After that we said our “goodbyes” to our former instructors and headed off to Central with our training teams. We spread ourselves out through the 6 cars and chatted away on the short trip to Central.

Arriving at Central we made our way to up to one of the meeting rooms. Underwent our site safety briefings and then started having yet more stuff issued to us. RevivaMask, mobile phone, keys, baton, cuffs, torch, more paper work and so on. Alas there were no lockers available for us yet. Hopefully they’ll become available during the week. Went through a few more intros and then crib break. After crib break we separated into our training teams, Alpha, Bravo or Charlie. I’m in Bravo. Our trainers come from all 3 regions, North, South and West. We’ll be getting to know all 3 regions reasonably well during our probation. Checked if we had computer access, which we did, but needed further clearance to access some other areas. My inbox was full of the usual stuff. Took a quick squizz at some intel briefings and then the afternoon came to a close.

Journey continues on Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Monday. I hate Monday. Dunno why really, just do. This Monday was the day of my final assessment. Trip to Petersham uneventful with a few nerves and thoughts going through my head. Originally I was scheduled to be the last assessment for the day, which was about 1400. Arrive and find that I’ll be having my assessment at 1030. OK, fine, let’s get it out of the way. Well didn’t pan out that way, as the time was amended to 1130, then 1230, then 1245, then eventually 1315. It’s the waiting that kills you. On and on it goes, dragging on. Anyway time arrived and of we went up to the train. Usual briefing, usual papers to be signed, radio check and off we go. I went first and had a ticketing matter to deal with. It felt like an age, when in fact it wasn’t that long at all. Dealt with that and issued an infringement, then had a customer service question, dealt with that and my partner dealt with the guy swearing loudly. OK, down to vestibule, swap roles and onto the lower deck. My partner had a guy drinking “alcohol” on the train. This went a bit longer, as they tend to do, but he eventually got it all sorted and I got the bottle of “alcohol” off him. Also dealt with an unattended bag, whilst my partner dealt with a customer service question. Then back up into the vestibule. Handed back the radios and moved into the next car to write up notebook entries. Instructors came up later for a debrief. Had a chat about how everything went and how the instructors saw it. Then it was congratulations you’ve passed your final assessment. Instant relief! So back down to the auditorium with huge beaming grins on our faces. A few people had 2nd and 3rd attempts (maximum of 3 attempts in any written assessment or role play assessment) and I played the cover officer for a mate of mine doing his third attempt. Thankfully he passed his final attempt! It was a difficult week for him due to a seriously illness in the family.

It started to cloud over late in the afternoon and then the rain sent in later in the evening. Headed out to Richmond TAFE College for the Venomous Snake and Crocodile care and handling course. Many of the same people who have been in the previous classes were again in this class. Our teachers were very experienced herps and croc handlers. As knowledgeable as both this guys were, their ability to pass on the information to us as students, was left lacking. PowerPoint is a great tool, but seriously, you can overdo it big time and bore the shit outta people. As for Word and PDF files, they should never, ever, be used as teaching aids on a projector screen! BORING! Talk about about putting your students to sleep! The courses are not cheap and you know, I think we deserve to be educated rather than put to sleep. Oh and starting a completely new topic on crocodiles, 15 mins from scheduled finishing time at 2100 is not professional nor is it fair. Hopefully the guys will redeem themselves when we handle venomous snakes.

It was belting down in rain on the way home. Torrential rain. It was a slow trip home simple due to the conditions which were made worse being night time. Lots of water across the road and it still astounds me that people refuse to drive to the conditions. Not only are they putting themselves at risk, they’re putting others at risk too. You can’t blame it all on the physical condition of the road or the rain, drivers need to realise they’re responsible for the way they drive the car.

Oh geez, went on a mini rant there. Sorry about that. LOL! I’ll wrap it up here and get 0n wit the next post.

Monday saw the last day of the Advanced Reptile Care for pythons, lizards and turtles. Not really sure why it’s called advanced, but hey. Took my inland bearded dragon, 2 black soils dragons and my python along. Yvonne bought 2 of her pythons along too. Michelle the vet had brought in a whole range of pythons, carpet, water, woma, scrub and a blue tongue lizard. Brad bought along a beautiful Western blue tongue lizard. We did some more handling and probing. Most of the class was not experienced in handling, only about 5 of us had any real experience in handling pythons. The water python urinated and defecated on me, its a python’s other defence mechanism along with biting and other course stunk big time. Anyway I calmed it down and it was quite happy moving between my hands and around my arms. Now, helping hold down a 9 yr old carpet python was an experience to say the least, especially when you’re securing the “bitey end”.

Securing the "bitey end"

As you can see from  Yvonne’s photo, he’s not a small snake. Like all pythons, he was strong, very strong. For the most part he was a good boy, but after a short time of resting up, he’d have another crack at wriggling free. He’d give off these huge “sighs” and I could feel a rush of air from his nostrils on my hands. It may look like I’m rough handling the snake, but I’m not. My hand is firmly, not tightly, behind his head, thus I can “control” him. He can’t bite me or anyone else, whilst he is secured in this position. You can also see plenty of other hands involved. You really do need other people around when handling snakes this size.

My Inland Bearded Dragon hanging around

My inland bearded dragon in the meantime was happily making his way around the class. Sitting on shoulders, chests, tummys, being held in nice warm hands. He showed his appreciation by turning on his colours. These are the largest of the bearded dragons and have a wonderful array of colours. Beardies can change their colours to suit their mood or to assist with absorption of  heat and UV rays. They’re a very easy pet to keep, love being handled and are great lizards for shows and for introducing people to reptiles. At the opposite end of the spectrum, are the Black Soils Dragons, these are tiny little beardies which have stubble more so than a beard. These little ones enjoy the attention, but aren’t as tolerant had being handled over long periods. They’re big on the cute factor though.

Handing the “little” scrub python, who won’t be little for long, was fun. As adults, these pythons are massive and you know what, I wouldn’t be handling one on my own! They’re a slightly aggressive python, but that doesn’t bother me. As little ones their bit hurts for a short time, as adults… well I’m told it hurts like hell for a quite a period of time. Yvonne copped a bite from him. But she’s used to that. LOL!

Michelle did some autopsies on a Red Bellied Black Snake, one of my favourite elapids, 2 water dragons and a blue tongue. Snake insides are amazing, everything packed into such a long, narrow space. The way it is laid out makes perfect sense, since snakes swallow their prey whole. Now the dragons were interesting, especially since their heart sits literally between the front legs. Quite big lungs and stomach when you look at them. Oh and blue tongues are bloody hard to slice open! Talk about tough skin. It is a deceptively tough “armour”. No wonder these guys are able to survive such things as fox and dog attacks. They have to really, their legs are stupidly small and well top speed is hardly rapid. In fact I think they only have one speed. Slow.

Anyway next week is the Venomous Snake and Crocodile Handling course. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. It should be great fun. Yes, I will be handling venomous snakes, but it will be done so use the appropriate tools of the trade. Venomous snakes deserve and command respect. Don’t fear them, they’re more fearful of you, just respect them and we can all live together in this country. As for the crocodiles, we’ll be handling little ones, as you can’t legally keep (thank goodness) full grown crocodiles privately. You can only keep them up to a certain age before you pass them onto a registered reptile park or crocodile farm. It should be great fun.