Field Trips

Start time: 0900
Finish time: 1700
Meeting point: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: A$115.00 per person - covers bus travel, pack lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments, and field guide
Dress: As July is winter in Australia, it is recommended that participants wear warm clothing and bring a waterproof coat.
Type of transport: Bus
Minimum Number: 30
Maximum Number: 50

Field Trip Overview:
Covers the geology and geomorphology of inner Melbourne and the eastern coast of Port Phillip Bay. Learn how rock type, structure, tectonics and volcanism, as well as sea level change, determined the landscape of today. The latest digital terrain models provide an excellent base for geomorphological mapping, and when we add original vegetation from old maps, and rock outcrops and soil, we can suggest where hunting and fishing areas, and likely aboriginal campsites, were located, and so more accurately visualise the old landscape, at the time of first contact in 1834. At the end of the field trip, we will better understand why the inner city of Melbourne was established on a particular section of the Yarra River, and how its subsequent 19th and 20th century suburban growth, particularly south along the Bay, and east and southeast onto the hills, was closely controlled by local drainage and landscape.

Localities to be visited:
Maribyrnong River Tea Gardens
Royal Park railway cuttings
Eastern freeway cuttings in Newer Volcanic lava flows and Silurian marine sediments
Dights Falls on the Yarra and other associated sites
Yarra Boulevard cuttings, Kew
Older Volcanic flows of the western city
Sandringham and Black Rock harbours
Red Bluff, Sandringham
Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Beaumaris Cliffs
Albert Park Lake

References:
Mitchell, M. M., Cochrane, R. M. & King, R. L. 2000, Sites of geological significance in the MELBOURNE 1:250 000 mapsheet area, Geological Survey of Victoria Technical Record 2000/1.
Joyce, E. B. 2000. Geomorphology: relationships to geological heritage, section 6.3 in Mitchell, M. M., Cochrane, R. M. & King, R. L. 2000, Sites of geological significance in the MELBOURNE 1:250 000 mapsheet area, Geological Survey of Victoria Technical Record 2000/1, pp.9-10.

To read more on the field trip, go to:
http://web.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/Joyce/IAG2009UrbanGGfieldtrip.htm

Start time: 0800
Finish time: 1800
Meeting point: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: A$145.00 per person
Dress: Warm clothing and sturdy footwear required
Type of transport: Bus and walking
Minimum Number: 30
Maximum Number: 42

Field Trip Overview:
The Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp (“Great Swamp”) separated Melbourne from districts to the east. It was drained in the late nineteenth century for agricultural development, resulting in stream erosion and increased sediment export to Western Port Bay. Extensive remedial works have been undertaken over the past 3 decades. This trip will visit a remnant natural stream course and a remnant erosion site as well as examples of remedial works. The evolution of management priorities, from swamp drainage to stream stabilization to ecosystem restoration, will be discussed.

Start time: 0730
Finish time: 1900
Meeting point: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: A$155.00 per person
Dress: Warm clothing and sturdy footwear required
Type of transport: Bus
Minimum Number: 30
Maximum Number: 50

Field Trip overview:
This trip will be run by members of the IAG Working Group Rock Coast Geomorphology.  Sites of interest include the iconic Twelve Apostles and the Great Ocean Road.  The trip will traverse Tertiary sedimentary rock coast landscapes, Cretaceous sandstones of the Otway Coasts and limestone cliffs of the Port Campbell Coast.  Sites of interest include the world famous surf break at Bells Beach, the dramatic steep cliffed coast of the Otway Ranges with a variety of shore platforms and the stacks and arches of the Port Campbell coast including the Twelve Apostles.  In addition to these visually spectacular examples of rock coast morphology, these sites are those used by early rock coast scientists, including E.D. Gill, E.S. Hills, A. B. Edwards and J.T. Jutson, so are historically interesting to modern rock coast scientists.

Start time: 0800
Finish time: 1800
Meeting point: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: A$130.00 per person
Dress: Warm clothing
Type of transport: Bus
Minimum Number: 30
Maximum Number: 55

Field Trip Overview:
The Yarra River flows through the centre of Melbourne and the venue for this conference stands on its banks.  At the conference site the river is a tidal salt wedge estuary and its upstream catchment is the main source of the water supply for the City of Melbourne. A large part of the catchment is a closed area to protect the water supply. One of the world's largest forest hydrology experiments has been conducted in these catchments to investigate the likely impact of forest harvesting on water supply and quality.

Historically, the Yarra has been the site for gold mining and now urban land uses are spreading ever further up into the catchment. The Yarra Valley is also the location of one of Australia’s premier wine producing regions, attracting major French wine makers like Domain Chandon to establish wineries there.  We will stop at one of the vineyard restaurants for lunch and some wine tasting.

The river's course is strongly influenced by tectonics and in the downstream reaches within the city it has been subjected to repeated basalt flows displacing the channel.  In the glacial maxima of the Pleistocene the climate in the valley has been colder and drier than at present and landform relics of these periods remain.

On this trip we will see and discuss all these issues in the context of modern management of water supply and the river system.

Start time: 0730
Finish time: 1730
Meeting point: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: $143.00 per person
Dress: Warm clothing, bathing suit, sturdy footwear
Type of transport: Bus, kayaking/ canoeing and bikes
Minimum Number: 15
Maximum Number: 35

Field Trip Overview:
Come and see the iconic Yarra River in an active way, from the upper catchment to the estuary. This field trip will start with breakfast at a local winery in Yarra Valley, accompanied by a short presentation from guest speakers who will introduce the catchment. You will also have the opportunity to purchase some of the local wines for safe keeping on the bus. The rest of the morning will be spent kayaking / canoeing (beginner friendly) along some interesting sections of the upper Yarra River, taken at a relaxed pace. Lunch will be on the banks of the lower Yarra at the Fairfield Boathouse. The afternoon will involve a leisurely bike tour along the Yarra River trail, with optional sections of mountain bike trails. The tour will include stops to discuss local features of interest such as Dights Falls, with guest speakers to provide background on the geomorphology and water management of the lower Yarra River.

Start date: Sunday 28 June 2009
Finish date: Saturday 4 July 2009
Cost: A$1574.00 per person
Minimum number: 10
Maximum number: 15

Field Trip Overview:
This is a 6-day excursion in rough safari-type field conditions in remote areas of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. A moderate amount of walking and climbing will be necessary, and stout boots are essential. Tents and sleeping bags will be provided. Maximum daytime temperatures are expected to be in the range of 25° to 35°C and nights can be cold, with minimum temperatures perhaps as low as 5°C. Rain is unlikely. Most people will prefer to wear sleeveless shirts and long trousers during the day, and a hat and sunburn cream are essential. Warm clothes are desirable at night.

The purpose of the excursion is to visit the type area for tropical semi-arid karst landforms, in limestones of Devonian reef complexes, originally described by Jennings & Sweeting (1963) and Playford & Lowry (1966). New evidence now shows that the landscape owes much to palaeokarst inherited from the Early Permian glaciation. This will be examined in the field.

The excursion starts at Broome and visits the following:  Mimbi, a karst spring, at Bugle Gap; Mimbi Caves, a series of rectilinear passages and karst corridors that are thought to have formed by subglacial karstification during the Early Permian; Deeadeea Cliff, composed of Early Permian glacigene sediments that overlie strongly karstified Devonian limestone; Menyous Gap, interpreted to be an Early Permian subglacial Nye-channel; Tunnel Creek Cave, also interpreted to be an Early Permian karst feature; Peara Cave, part of a cave system connected with a major Early Permian solution doline; and Morown Cliff, an exhumed late Famennian reef scarp, modified by palaeokarst and modern karst. The excursion ends in Broome, for a flight to Perth.

If participants prefer to bring their own sleeping bags, they should advise the excursion leader, Dr Phil Playford, beforehand.  Persons with special dietary requirements should also make them known to him in advance. His address is: phil.playford@doir.wa.gov.au.

Participants are responsible for making their own reservations for overnight accommodation in Perth and for airline bookings to and from Broome.

Flights:  Participants should make reservations for the following Qantas flights: Sunday 28 June: QF1928 dep. Perth 9.55 am, arr. Broome 12.20 pm. Overnight accommodation will be arranged in Broome. Saturday 4 July: All participants are to stay overnight in Broome on 4 July. Reservations have been made at the Mangrove hotel,(two persons to a room); payment for that stay will be your responsibility. You can find the schedule of flights for 5 July on the Qantas home page at www.qantas.com.au . You will have a choice of flying to Perth on 5 July on Qf1925 or Qf1927 or Qf1929, or to Melbourne on flight Qf1051.

The principal recent reference on the geology and geomorphology of the Devonian limestone ranges is:

PLAYFORD, P. E., 2002a, Paleokarst, pseudokarst, and sequence stratigraphy in Devonian reef complexes of the Canning Basin, Western Australia, in The sedimentary basins of Western Australia 3, edited by M. Keep and S. J. Moss, Proceedings of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia Symposium, Perth, Western Australia, p. 763-793.

It can be accessed through this link: http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/downloads/PlayfordCanningBasin.pdf

Start date: Monday 29 June 2009
Finish date: Sunday 4 July 2009
Cost: A$1118.00 per person
Minimum number: 13
Maximum number: 15

Field Trip Overview:
This field trip aims to provide participants with an in depth exploration of the tectonically active landscape of New Zealand. Sitting across the plate boundary of the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates and extending across 13deg of latitude from the roaring 40s to the subtropics the New Zealand landscape is one of rapid uplift and equally high erosion rates. The field trip aims to show participants the spectacular alpine and coastal South Island landscapes, from the most studied shore platforms in the world to the alpine glaciers, sites of key evidence for climatic fluctuations in the recent and geomorphological past.

Itinerary
Participants are advised to overnight in Wellington on Sunday 28 June, prior to departure on the following day. The assembly point on Monday 29 June will be the departure lounge at the Interislander ferry terminal at 7:45am.

Day 1- Wellington – Blenheim. (29th June 2009)
Participants will fly into Wellington, from where the trip will travel by ferry to the South Island town of Picton, through the spectacular Marlborough Sounds. While Wellington is uplifting, and rose over 1m in 1855 as a result of an 8+ magnitude earthquake, the Marlborough Sounds are in fact subsiding. The field trip will overnight in Blenheim, in the centre of the premiere wine growing region in New Zealand.

Day 2: Blenheim – Kaikoura (30th June 2009)
From Blenheim the trip will travel via the Wither Hills and down the rugged Kaikoura coastline. Tunnel gullying and the fluvial terraces of the Awatere Valley will feature as stops in the morning and the trip will the travel along the rapidly uplifting rugged coastline that extends along the NE edge of the South Island.

Day 3: Kaikoura – Christchurch. (1st July 2009)
In the morning we will investigate the shore platforms and marine terraces of the Kaikoura Peninsula, the former being the most studied shore platforms in the world. We will then travel across the northern Canterbury Plains and overnight in the lee of Banks Peninsula, a Tertiary volcano, in the coastal suburb of Sumner in Christchurch.

Day 4: Christchurch – Mt Cook (2nd July 2009)
The trip will leave the coast and head into the alpine environments of the central South Island. Travelling via Lake Tekapo to Mt Cook we will travel through moraines and outwash terraces dating to Oxygen Isotope Stage 11, and through the valleys carved during the LGM to Mt Cook. We will also visit the Holocene terminal moraines of the Mueller Glacier a key site of climate change research in the Southern Hemisphere.

Day 5: Mt Cook – Queenstown. (3rd July 2009)
From Mt Cook we will travel through the outwash terraces of the Pukaki and Hawea glacier systems, and stopping along the Ostler Fault system. Overnighting in the resort ski town of Queenstown, we will fly out the next day to Melbourne.

Day 6: Queenstown – Melbourne. (4th July 2009)
Fly out to conference.

What to bring:
Transport: Transport will be provided in 12-seater vans.
Accommodation will be twin share in hotels (all linen & bedding provided).
Wet and cold weather clothing is essential. We will be walking for up to an hour each day. The trip will also be held in high alpine areas during winter. Snow is therefore highly likely as well as temperatures several degrees centigrade below zero.

Flights
Fly into Wellington and out of Queenstown - both are international airports.
We strongly recommend that flights from Queenstown to Melbourne are booked with maximum flexibility, and/or travel insurance purchased for flight cancellation. The trip will be travelling via mountain passes which can be closed due to snow at this time of year. While these are cleared quickly, the trip may be delayed a day or two en route to Queenstown.

Catering
Food is not provided as part of the costing for this trip. Several restaurant options will be available at each overnight location as well lunch and breakfast times.

Start date: Tuesday 30 June 2009
Finish date: Sunday 5 July 2009
Cost: A$1123.10 per person (price updated)
Minimum Number: 20
Maximum Number: 24

Summary
Over 6 days, this fieldtrip will travel from Sydney to Melbourne along the beautiful eastern seaboard of Australia.  We will examine the evolution of rivers and floodplains spanning timeframes from the Late Quaternary through to the  post-European settlement period.  In particular we will visit escarpment-dominated streams, bedrock-controlled rivers, cut-and-fill rivers and meandering sand bed rivers that drain to the Tasman sea along the coastline of NSW and Victoria.  We will discuss the role of landscape antiquity on a passive continental margin, which when coupled with extreme hydrological variability, produces rivers and floodplains that differ to many other parts of the world. The trip will investigate the transformation of these rivers associated with the arrival of Europeans to the Australian continent since the early 19th century. We then look at how this geomorphic history has influenced river management practices in southeastern Australia, focussing on notions of river recovery enhancement, the use of woody debris in rehabilitation and the river rehabilitation experience. This trip will be of interest to fluvial geomorphologists, those interested in the Late Quaternary, river managers and anyone that likes beautiful landscapes

Costs
Cost includes: All food, share accommodation, travel from Macquarie University to conference venue in Melbourne
Quota: minimum of 20 delegates, maximum of 24 delegates

Itinerary & Daily Themes

Important Notes
Participants need to arrange their own flights to Sydney and transport to Macquarie University by 8.00 am Tuesday 30th June 2009.
We recommend that you stay near Macquarie University (North Ryde) on the evening of Monday 29th June in preparation for our early departure on the 30th.  Accommodation on Monday 30th June is at the participant’s own expense.  One option at Macquarie University is the Travelodge (http://www.travelodge.com.au/locations/features.aspx?hid=767)

Things to bring on this trip: Sleeping bag or linen (including pillow slip or small travel pillow), sunscreen, hat, covered shoes, swimmers. We will be taking an enclosed trailer with limited space so delegates are limited to 1 luggage item per person.

Further Information
For further information please contact:
Dr Tim Cohen (tcohen@ics.mq.edu.au)
Dr Kirstie Fryirs (kfryirs@els.mq.edu.au)

Start date: Monday 29 June 2009
Finish date: Sunday 5 July 2009
Cost: A$921.00 per person
Minimum Number: 8
Maximum Number: 22

Field Trip Overview:
The central North Island of New Zealand hosts some of the world’s most frequently active and productive andesite and rhyolite volcanoes in an incredibly dynamic landscape. Intra-arc volcanism and rifting above the subducting Pacific Plate is expressed in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), a 300 x 60 km area of intense Quaternary volcanism and extensional normal faulting. In the central TVZ, frequent explosive volcanic eruptions repeatedly modify or create new landscapes through draping by fall deposits, the emplacement of vast ignimbrite sheets, and the collapse of volcano-tectonic subsidence calderas. In post-eruptive periods of vigorous re-sedimentation, the eruptive products are eroded and reworked by fluvial and lacustrine processes, infilling the new accommodation space created by rifting and associated subsidence. Drainage networks reform and large lakes develop and drain, often catastrophically, resetting regional river patterns. At the southern end of the TVZ, andesitic volcanism over 300 kyr has built up the highest peaks in the North Island. These form the active volcanic cones of Tongariro National Park. There is a complex interplay at these cones between growth through eruptions, and gravity and erosion which conspire to tear them down. This field trip explores the interplay between the creation of new landscape elements through volcanic and volcano-tectonic activity, and the background forces that seek to obscure them. Summaries of research studies over the last 15 years will be used to illustrate the rates of landscape growth and destruction in an active arc setting.

Itinerary:

Day 0: arrive Auckland – assemble at an airport hotel for introduction and briefing (stay Auckland)

Day 1: Auckland to Rotorua via the Hauraki Plains and Mamaku Plateau: examining volcaniclastic sedimentation, regional scale drainage diversions, and welded ignimbrite plateau (stay Rotorua)

Day 2: Rotorua, Okataina and the western Bay of Plenty: examining evidence for intracaldera highstand shorelines, dissection of non-welded ignimbrite plateau, and the interplay between tectonic rifting and subsidence and volcaniclastic sedimentation (stay Rotorua)

Day 3: Rotorua to Taupo via Whakamaru, the Ongaroto Gorge and the Reporoa Basin: examining rhyolite dome centres, interactions between volcanism, tectonics and river courses, supra-ignimbrite lakes, and regional downwarping (stay Taupo)

Day 4: Taupo to Ruapehu: examining the landscape-forming and landscape-modifying products of the 26.5 ka and 1.8 ka eruptions of Taupo volcano, and the history of intracaldera lake highstands and catastrophic break-out floods (stay National Park)

Day 5: Ruapehu and Tongariro: examining the geomorphology of the andesite stratovolcanoes of the Tongariro National Park, including lava flows, debris avalanches, and lahar deposits (stay National Park)

Day 6: Ruapehu to Auckland via the King Country and Hamilton Basin; examining regional-scale uplift above the TVZ mantle thermal anomaly, deeply dissected welded ignimbrite sheets of the older TVZ, and fluvial volcaniclastic deposits and drainage diversions (stay Auckland – trip ends).

Start time: 2.00 pm Friday 3rd July
Finish time: 5.30 pm Sunday 5th July
Meeting point: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: A$250.00 per person
Dress: Warm clothing, wet weather gear, hats, sturdy walking shoes
Type of transport: Minibus
Minimum Number: 10
Maximum Number: 30

Field Trip Overview:
Fire is a critical component of the SE Australian forested landscape, leading to changed hydrologic and geomorphic conditions at a range of spatial and temporal scales.  Fire has been shown to alter soil properties, resulting in changed hillslope hydrology.  However, scaling up these effects from plot to hillslope to catchment has proved difficult due to issues of spatial variability and hydrologic connectivity.  Fire can also provide the conditions for runoff generated debris flows. The magnitude and frequency of these landscape modifying events is poorly understood, as is their contribution to landform evolution over geomorphic timescales. Changes in catchment water yields last for decades, showing temporal patterns that contrast with forests from other parts of the world. All of these processes and properties are of interest to catchment and water resource managers, particularly in the context of modified future fire regimes resulting from climate change.
This field trip will travel to the mountainous Eucalyptus forests NE Victoria, where mega-fires in 2003 and 2007 resulted in over 1M ha of forest being burnt in each case. Stops will include a range of forest types at different levels of recovery to explore relationships between forest type, soils, aspect, fire frequency, vegetation recovery, and hydrologic and geomorphic responses.  We will visit a number of instrumented research catchments, applied fire intensity study sites, and a post fire debris flow.  Management implications for water security and salvage logging will be discussed.

Note that detailed inspection of the debris flow site will require strenuous walking over steep terrain.  Good walking shoes and a reasonable level of fitness are essential for inspecting the upper part of the debris flow (optional).

Itinerary

Start date: Friday 3 July 2009
Finish date: Monday 6 July 2009
Cost: A$645.00 per person covers bus travel, daily pack lunches, morning and afternoon refreshments, field guide, and accommodation each night in shared rooms with twin beds (not including costs of breakfast or evening meals).
Minimum Number: 30
Maximum Number: 46

Over four days and three nights we will study a major part of the monogenetic basaltic areal lava field of the Newer Volcanic Province of Southeastern Australia, with its hundreds of eruption points, extensive lava flows, and some 40 maar volcanoes and related ash deposits.

Leave from and return to Melbourne,

Day 1 – Friday 3rd July 2009:
Werribee Volcanic Plains to Geelong. Across the Otway Range and the former shorelines of the Hansen Plains Sand, to Port Campbell National Park & the Twelve Apostles limestone coast, recently voted Victoria's No. 1 Tourism site. Allansford and Warrnambool karst plain. The famous Tower Hill nested maar volcano, dated at 35,000 BP.
Overnight: Port Fairy.

Day 2 – Saturday 4th July 2009:
Coastal exposures of the 65 km long lava flow of Mt Rouse. Follow the young Tyrendarra flow inland to its sources at Mt Eccles volcano, with Lake Surprise crater, spatter cones, lava caves and lava channels. Lava-dammed Lake Condah, with the remains of aboriginal houses, fish and eel traps constructed from basalt. Youthful Mt Napier Harman Valley flow, showing lava tumuli and the Byaduk lava caves of International Significance.
Overnight: Hamilton.

Day 3 – Sunday 5th July 2009:
Use of Regolith Landscape Units and geomorphological mapping to date flows and estimate volcanic risks and hazards (Z. Geomorph. N.F. - Joyce 2005). Grampians Range views. To Penshurst and the the UNESCO Kanawinka Global Geopark Museum and headquarters. The Sisters volcano and flows, and the major Mt Rouse volcano and its long lava flows. Famous gemstone olivine megacrysts of Mt Shadwell, Mt Noorat maar and scoria eruption complex, Terang maar, Staughtons Hill volcano and evidence of associated neotectonics. The newly discovered and recently dated megafauna trackway site on volcanic ash and lake deposits near Lake Colongulac.
Overnight: Camperdown.

Day 4 – Monday 6th July 2009:
Lake Bullenmerri and Lake Gnotuk maar crater lakes with lake sediment evidence of late Quaternary climate changes. Mt Leura and historic views across the Volcanic Plains to Mt Elephant. Lake Purrumbete maar and phreatic base surge deposits. Mt Porndon and the internationally significant Stony Rises, Lake Corangamite (RAMSAR site and former Quaternary megalake) and dated lunette sequences, the spectacular Red Rock volcanic complex, and return to Melbourne for start of the IAG conference.

To read more on the field trip, go to:
http://web.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/Joyce/IAG2009WVfieldtrip.htm

Start date: Sunday 12 July 2009
Finish date: Sunday 19 July 2009
Cost: A$980.00 per person
Minimum Number: 15
Maximum Number: 20

Objective
During this eight day trip we will travel in a small coach through semi-arid western New South Wales visiting and examining key field sites which are important to our understanding of late Pleistocene and Holocene landscape evolution, occupation and use of the landscape by Aboriginal people since 40,000 BP; and post-European landscape change. There will be time to visit other attractions including historic mining centres and towns, and homestead complexes in national parks.

Key sites
Mungo National Park (Willandra World Heritage Area)
Broken Hill (century-old major mining centre for silver, lead and zinc)
Mutawintji National Park (Aboriginal cultural heritage and park management)
White Cliffs (century-old opal mining area)
Paroo Darling National Park
Wilcannia (Darling River)

Itinerary

IMPORTANT NOTE: the itinerary may be varied before or during the trip if
unsealed roads are closed by rain.

Sunday 12 July 2009
Melbourne to Mungo National Park via Bendigo and Euston (596 km)

Features: gradient from high to lower rainfall; mixed farming to semi-arid grazing; Murray River.
Overnight: Mungo National Park in shearers’ quarters (provide own bedding)
Meals: breakfast at Melbourne hotel (own cost), lunch on the road (own cost), dinner: group communal cooking (shared cost).

Monday 13 July 2009
All day at Mungo National Park
Features: one of the most important archaeological sites in Australia; geomorphological history in late Pleistocene and Holocene; management of cultural resources; involvement of Traditional Owners. The area was recognised internationally when it was inscribed as Willandra World Heritage Area.
Overnight: Mungo National Park in shearers’ quarters (provide own bedding)
Meals: participants make their own (shared cost).

Tuesday 14 July 2009
Mungo National Park to Broken Hill via Pooncarie, Menindee and Barrier Highway (321 km)
Features: recent mining exploration and expansion for beach sand minerals; ephemeral lakes; Darling River; Menindee Lakes; Kinchega National Park.
Overnight: Broken Hill in motel.
Meals: make own breakfast (shared cost), lunch on the road (own cost), dinner at motel in Broken Hill (own cost).

Wednesday 15 July 2009
Broken Hill to Silverton and Umberumberka.
Features: historic mining centres, Mundi Mundi Plain and fault scarp, Umberumberka Dam. Ample time for visiting art galleries, Desert Sculpture Park, etc.
Overnight: Broken Hill in motel.
Meals: breakfast at motel, lunch on the road (own cost), dinner in Broken Hill (own cost).

Thursday 16 July 2009
Broken Hill to White Cliffs via Mutawintji National Park (285 km)
Features: Mutawintji National Park landscape, archaeology, cave paintings and rock engravings, joint management with Traditional Owners; post-European geomorphic change and land management issues.
Overnight: White Cliffs in the Underground Motel.
Meals: breakfast at motel, lunch on the road (own cost), dinner at motel.

Friday 17 July 2009
All day at Paroo Darling National Park (Peery Lake)
Features: landscape evolution, archaeology of open sites, artesian mound springs, ephemeral lakes, heritage of European pastoralism.
Overnight: White Cliffs in underground motel.
Meals: breakfast at motel, lunch on the road, dinner at motel.

Saturday 18 July 2009
White Cliffs to Wilcannia via Polpah Station.
Features: opal mining at White Cliffs, post-European landscape changes, Darling River, historic town and buildings.
Overnight: Wilcannia in motel.
Meals: breakfast at motel, lunch on the road, dinner in Wilcannia (own cost).

Sunday 19 July 2009
Wilcannia to Melbourne via Ivanhoe and Echuca (710 km)
Features: transition from semi-arid rangelands to high rainfall areas, changes in enterprises, historic villages.
Overnight: hotel or motel in Melbourne (participants are responsible for organising their own accommodation). Please note that arrival back in Melbourne will be late; onward travel should not be booked for this date.
Meals: breakfast at motel, lunch on the road (own cost), dinner in Melbourne (responsibility of participants)

Southeast Australia showing the proposed route of the field trip. (Basemap copyright © Hema Maps).

Please note the deadline for booking your participation on this field trip is Monday 1st June. No bookings can be accepted after this date.

Start date: Sunday 12 July 2009
Finish date: Monday 20 July 2009
Cost: A$1550.00 per person with one night camping.
A$1120.00 with seven nights camping.
Minimum number: 18
Maximum number: 30

Trip Summary: The low gradient anabranching rivers, extensive floodplains of pelleted mud and salt playas of the Lake Eyre basin are interspersed with extensive, sandy, linear dunefields. Contemporary arid conditions differ greatly from those during the mid to late Quaternary when fluctuating wet and dry episodes characterised much of Australia. The region provides a repository of depositional signatures from hydro-climatic changes now preserved in juxtaposed fluvial, lacustrine, pedogenic and aeolian sequences. Extensive luminescence dating of stratigraphic sections spans more than 200,000 years. Participants will have the opportunity to examine this evidence in detail and to evaluate the spectacular flow regime changes that have characterized this now-arid continent. The trip will depart from Mildura at 2.00 pm on the 12th and examine the stratigraphic history of Lake Mungo, Australia’s premier World Heritage archaeological site where climate and flow-regime changes in the Late Quaternary coincided with abundant evidence of Australian human activity ~45,000 years ago. On the second day we overnight in shearers’ accommodation on Erudina Station, an opportunity to experience remote farm life and to meet the owners of a large sheep property in South Australia. On day three the trip will pass through the spectacularly ancient Flinders Ranges to Brachina Gorge where we will inspect dated Quaternary swampy-meadow sequences in this now arid location. Excavated trenches will expose the detailed stratigraphy of dated beach ridges on the late Quaternary shorelines of Lake Mega-Frome. That night is spent outdoors and is a chance to interact with the owners of Moolawatana, a large cattle station. On day four, an optional scenic flight is to be arranged over the salt playa of Lake Callabonna (part of Mega-Frome) (an extra cost AUD~$140) before we pass through the linear dunes of Strzelecki Desert to Innamincka. All of day five is spent here examining aeolian and fluvial stratigraphic sections as well as Tertiary silcrete outcrops and evidence of Australia’s neotectonism as reflected in the Innamincka Dome. Road cuts, river banks and large excavated pits will allow hands-on assessments of fluvial and aeolian stratigraphies and associated soil development. On day six we cross the extensive mud-aggregate floodplains, source-bordering dunes and enigmatic waterholes of Cooper Creek where fluvial and aeolian interaction is examined. A second optional scenic flight over the floodplain is to be arranged (AUD~$140) before resting that night in the iconic outback Noccundra Pub adjacent to the Wilson River (campers will camp adjacent to the hotel). Heading south on day seven into the Bulloo-Bancannia Basin, participants will visit a smaller mud-aggregate river, Fowlers Creek, that drains the rugged and ancient Barrier Range, to examine arroyo-floodout sequences, alluvial mud aggregates, desert soils, and terminal floodout. On day eight the trip ends in Broken Hill at 8pm Sunday 19th and participants will have pre-arranged their flights out the next day.

What to bring and what is provided: A warm sleeping bag, and good walking shoes or boots are essential although long-distance walking is not required. For the full fare, accommodation includes beds in comfortable country hotels and motels but in shared rooms (same-gender, 2-3 per room), a student dormitory at the Fowlers Gap Research Station, and one night camping. At the camping rate there 7 nights camping. All meals are provided but campers will prepare their own breakfasts from food provided. Twin share tents will be provided.

Your own travel arrangements: Participants will need to independently arrange their flights to Mildura to arrive Saturday or on Sunday 12th before 2.00pm and to depart from Broken Hill any time on Monday 20th. Flight details are on the websites of airlines Qantas (www.qantas.com.au), Rex (www.regionalexpress.com) and Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com.au); prices are cheaper with early bookings.

Field trip route	Aerial view of the floodplain, waterholes and anastomosing channels of Cooper Creek
	Aerial view of linear dunes in the Strzelcki Desert
	Aeolian dunes and channels on the floodplain of Cooper Creek

Satellite image of Cooper Creek emerging into the Strzelecki Desert from the Innamincka Dome	Satellite image of the Gidgeapla dune complex near Innamincka	Cutbank alluvial exposure on Cooper Creek	Excavating the overflow channel from Lake Gregory to Lake Eyre

Linear dunes and a beach-barrier, Lake Eyre	Structures of a linear dune, Strzelecki Desert near Innamincka
Meandering terminal floodout, Fowlers Creek	Quaternary record, Fowlers Creek

There are still a small number of places available on this field trip.

Cape York Coast to Coast: Tropical Rivers and Coasts
Dr Andrew Brooks (andrew.brooks@griffith.edu.au)

Start date: Monday 13 July 2009
End date: Sunday 19 July 2009
Cost:  A$2124.00 per person. Return via a Chartered Flight (1.5 hours).
          A$2024.00 per person. Return via a Commercial Flight (1.5 hours) next day (includes           additional 1 night's accommodation).*
          A$1724.00 per person. Return via Car (9.5 hours)*
Minimum number: 12
Maximum number: 20
*New reduced price option