Ethabuka – a hot summer

It is that time of the afternoon when no matter where you stand the sun gets under the brim of your hat and burns into your face. While fueling up the driptorches, filling the slipon fire unit and packing our 19 month old son’s dinner into the esky you start to think, I’d rather be inside cracking a cold beer and putting my feet up. We are going burning and that can only be done at the end of the day. In the last hour before the sun sets and the temperature drops we light up and extend the break a bit further.

In 2002 a huge wildfire came through Ethabuka. The spring is notorious for starting fires from lightning strike and this is what is thought to have happened. The dominant southerly winds pushed the fire through the Simpson Desert National Park, Ethabuka and our neighbours to the north. The path of the fire is still highly visible in 2006 as the burnt dunes look almost nude in comparison to the unburnt ones.

The previous Reserve Managers Al Dermer and Karen Harrland produced the Fire Plan we are working to as we have just taken up the reins here at Ethabuka. The idea is that firebreaks are put in place to stop the possibility of such a large wildfire traversing the reserve again. Once the firebreaks are in place then we will burn in patches to breakup the landscape and increase its biodiversity and complexity.

But that is all way down the track as we take up our driptorches and head out. We take it in turns, one person lighting up while the other ‘persons’ the slipon and feeds Thor, our son, his dinner. Before we left the Territory, to come to Ethabuka, Thor had a fantastic time watching the numerous fireworks displays for Territory Day and equates our small fires with those fireworks by clashing his hands together and making crackling sounds while nodding wildly. He enjoys the burning and why not, sitting in his comfortable car seat while being fed tasty morsels and watching the firelight as the sun sets over the dunes.

This is very labour intensive burning as each hummock of spinifex must be lit individually. We have been making a 50-100m break along the Alnagatta track and when it’s just the 3 of us we can only burn about 300m before we run out of light, heat and time. The fires have not been self-propagating which is a good thing as the fire is not running away but it does mean that we have to light it all up ourselves. Whew!

When people have been around Ethabuka and available, we have invited them to help us with our burning, so thanks are due to firebugs Tim Parratt (PhD student with Sydney University) and his volunteers Faye, Franny and Hagar; Nick Webb and Tony (PhD students with University of Queensland).

Now that the sun has set and the thermometer is dropping the fires start to slow down and we mop up and head for home. Thor drops off to sleep as we pull in at the homestead and we heave happy but tired sighs.

Your generous donations and support from the Australian Government under the Natural Heritage Trust’s National Reserve System program have protected this property. We now have the privilege of guiding its future as a conservation reserve of international significance. This is an exciting prospect. Perhaps you will be able to visit us before too long and see for yourself how you are helping to save one of the most remarkable areas of Australia.  

PHOTO: Katrina Blake