This is my good mate, and long standing customer of JTS, Barry Lyon. Barry invited me up to the Cape last year but with filming conflicts we just couldn’t make the dates work but that is fixed now and 2016 is booked in. I just can’t wait to get up there.
Barry is the head ranger on the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York.
Barry has been there since its declaration in 2007. Spending the entire dry season on the reserve, (which is about 8 months) and then into the beginning of each monsoon season, Barry certainly knows the area better than any man I know.
Barry’s work as a Ranger is a busy one, in charge of such things as wildlife surveys, fire management (and feral animals), maintaining the tracks, camps and vehicles of the area. Also guiding scientists and other visitors about.
Barry also participates personally in research including the annual crocodile research trip, as well as studies into the bauxite springs, spear tooth sharks, bull sharks, sawfish, whiprays and other fish that call the Wenlock River home.
Barry’s wife Shelley is also a Ranger on the reserve and they make a truly amazing team.
During the wet season the Rangers are often involved in rescuing marine turtles from ghost nets (abandoned nets that float around the ocean trapping unsuspecting wildlife) in the Weipa area, and the both often work on some of the other Australia Zoo conservation properties.
Both Barry and Shelley are passionate, down to earth people living the life of the cape and some of the nicest people you will meet.
Keep an ear out for my Cape York adventure later this year. It is going to be a ripper.
