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TIMOR-LESTE 2011
Victor Valley College Tropical Research Initiative Dili, Dili District
As with Phases II and III we based ourselves at the Timor Lodge Hotel near the airport, and planned to use Rentló as our preferred 4x4 hire company. Rentló had even acquired two Toyota Troop Carriers aka "troopies", with roof-racks to match our requirements so it looked like we would be well set up for Phase IV. We even had a series of magnetic door and hood logos for use on the two vehicles.
As during Phase III, we used TLH chalets, three for the seven guys and one for the two girls. Benny and the Jets live at home while we are in Dili. Around TLH we found the Common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) and the Mutilated gecko (Gehyra mutilata), both perianthropic species which travel and live-alongside humans.
Initially it had been our plan to take the country's ferry, called Nakroma, to Ataúro Island for a week. Using the ferry would enable us to transport over one of the "troopies" for more mobility and range on the island. Zito (one of the Jets) informed us that the ferry was due to depart for Surabaya for repairs or a refit and would not return during our stay. This news required a replanning of the Phase IV expedition, Plan B involving only a short visit by local boat to Ataúro at the end of the expedition.
Whilst in Dili we visited the 27m Cristo Rei (Christ the King) statue on the Fatucama Peninsula, the Timorese equivalent of the 38m Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue on the Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The road along the seafront contains a number of smaller figurines, not least, three fighting lafa'ek (Tetum for crocodile), a species closely associated with the ancestral history of the island of Timor, but also an ever-present threat to its inhabitants, as a Tetum sign close to the statue warned us. The path from the car park to Cristu Rei is a slow but steady climb up 595 steps, past 14 Stations of the Cross and a 15th celebrating Christ's Ascension into Heaven, to the figure of Christ standing on a globe of the Earth at the top. Fatucama Peninsula affords excellent views back towards Dili, along the coast to the west, and of Ataúro, but no reptiles were seen despite the rocky coastal woodland being ideal for diurnal snake-eyed skinks (Crytoblepharus) or sun skinks (Eutropis).
One of our first appointments saw Hinrich and Mark, with Benny as interpreter, visiting the Department of the Environment to discuss the possible relocation of several captive Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus), back to the wild. When we began work in Timor-Leste, we established relationships with several departments whose portfolios include environmental issues, and they have asked for our help on several occasions, most recently the removal and release into the wild of three large Reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus) from homes on the outskirts of Dili at the end of Phase III. Robert Sewell of Victor Valley College had organised some extremely smart short-sleeved shirts for the team, each bearing the official project logo as a sewn patch. We proudly wore these shirts when we visited the US Embassy for an audience with Ambassador Judith Fergin, her Deputy Chief of Mission, Jonathan Henick, and the Second Secretary to the Consul, Christopher Crawford, spending over an hour explaining the project, its aims, its successes since 2009, and discussing related matters with these busy diplomats, who were genuinely interested.
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