My colleague Raoul and I have a tradition of buying Kinder eggs while on the road. Given that our field trips have sometimes lasted two months at a time that leads to a lot of cool toys on the dashboard. One of particular note was a scientist Papa Smurf, complete with test tube and thoughtful expression. Papa Smurf travelled all over Australia with us even into the Simspon Desert. At one point we wanted to get a photo of him at the famous Birdsville Hotel (in the middle of the country). He was too small to show up in the photo and I thought we were doomed until right outside I found a scale model of the building strapped to the top of someone's car. I love Australia. See the photos below of his adventures. All images © John F. McEvoy 2016

#Ecology #Science #Australia