The anticipation is finally over- spring break is here! I had been looking forward to this trip since the day that I was accepted into the Australian study abroad program. 10 days of sun, travel and life changing experiences awaited and I could not wait any longer to finally get started. Our flight was out at 9 am Thursday morning. We were headed to Brisbane to begin our guided tour up the east coast of northern Australia. Although I was very excited for all activities to start, I was even more pumped for the good weather. The second we walked off the airplane I was rewarded. Sunshine, sunshine and more sunshine! We spent the first day relaxing enjoying our free time before the real tour started the next morning. A little shopping, a little napping and of course eating was enough to fill us for our first day. It was probably a good thing that we decided to take it easy considering the absolute craziness that was soon to come...
Monday, 2 May 2011
Spring Break Begins!
The anticipation is finally over- spring break is here! I had been looking forward to this trip since the day that I was accepted into the Australian study abroad program. 10 days of sun, travel and life changing experiences awaited and I could not wait any longer to finally get started. Our flight was out at 9 am Thursday morning. We were headed to Brisbane to begin our guided tour up the east coast of northern Australia. Although I was very excited for all activities to start, I was even more pumped for the good weather. The second we walked off the airplane I was rewarded. Sunshine, sunshine and more sunshine! We spent the first day relaxing enjoying our free time before the real tour started the next morning. A little shopping, a little napping and of course eating was enough to fill us for our first day. It was probably a good thing that we decided to take it easy considering the absolute craziness that was soon to come...
Australia Rules Footy
I finally went to my first footy game! Footy is a sport completely native to Australia. The rules were first officially recorded during the year of 1859 but the game itself had started a few years before then. Although the game was first recorded quite some time ago, it took a little while to become popular. However using the word "popular" now to describe it would be a huge understatement. Australians are obsessed with it. Being that there are only a total of seventeen teams throughout the entire country (much, much less than the American baseball or football leagues) everyone gets pretty competitive over their team of choice. When I first arrived in Australia and started to learn about this sport I decided that I wanted to pick one team and support them throughout the time that I was here (and maybe even after if I really liked it!) I talked with a few different people about who they liked (everyone had very strong opinions) and decided on the Essendon Bombers! It sounded like they had a fairly good reputation and their colors were black and red which I really like (haha.)
We left pretty early in the afternoon Saturday and hopped on the train headed towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG.) This is the largest stadium in Melbourne holding enough seats for 90,000 people (40,000 more people than the new Yankee Stadium can hold!) Needless to say it was freaking huge. Even more exciting than that was how full the stadium was the day that we decided to go to! Around 70,000 people filled the stadium- an extraordinary amount for just a regular season again. The stadium was so full because the two teams playing, the Carlton Blues and Essendon Bombers, are both Melbourne teams and they both have similar records.
I wish that I could explain the rules of the game but I think I would just end up leaving most people very confused (especially because I still do not know all of the rules myself.) The game is a cross between soccer, rugby and even a little bit of basketball. There are 4 posts at the end of each field. If you get the ball through the middle two posts, you have scored a “goal” which is worth 6 points. Kicking the ball through either one of the end posts gives you one point for what is called a “behind.” As for the rest of the game the details are a little blurry. Although I personally really enjoyed watching the game itself seemed a lot messier and more confusing than any American or European sport. Whoever has the ball runs with it in their hand but has to bounce it every 15 meters. When they want to pass the ball they can either “hand pass” it (punch the ball with one hand while holding it in the other one) or kick it in the air. Unlike soccer the ball is never kicked along the ground. There is also a lot of tackling involved. A proper tackle must take place between the player’s knees and shoulders. It’s similar to soccer with the kicking, American football with the goal posts, rugby with the tackling and basketball with the bouncing- quite the sport.
The outcome of the game we went to was actually incredibly exciting. The bombers had been up for the entire game. Eventually however, Carlton began to inch their way back and before we all even realized they had tied it up. The stadium filled with screams and cheers from both sets of fans for the next fifteen minutes while the bomber and blues battled back and forth. The bombers were ahead, the blues scored, the bombers came back and scored, the blues scored again! It was constant. Everyone was at the edge of their seats as the game ended in a tie. All the Americans looked around in excitement for overtime and were confused by the disappointed looks on all of the Australians faces. Apparently there is no such thing as over time in Australian footy. The two teams simply had to accept a tie.
We left pretty early in the afternoon Saturday and hopped on the train headed towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG.) This is the largest stadium in Melbourne holding enough seats for 90,000 people (40,000 more people than the new Yankee Stadium can hold!) Needless to say it was freaking huge. Even more exciting than that was how full the stadium was the day that we decided to go to! Around 70,000 people filled the stadium- an extraordinary amount for just a regular season again. The stadium was so full because the two teams playing, the Carlton Blues and Essendon Bombers, are both Melbourne teams and they both have similar records.
I wish that I could explain the rules of the game but I think I would just end up leaving most people very confused (especially because I still do not know all of the rules myself.) The game is a cross between soccer, rugby and even a little bit of basketball. There are 4 posts at the end of each field. If you get the ball through the middle two posts, you have scored a “goal” which is worth 6 points. Kicking the ball through either one of the end posts gives you one point for what is called a “behind.” As for the rest of the game the details are a little blurry. Although I personally really enjoyed watching the game itself seemed a lot messier and more confusing than any American or European sport. Whoever has the ball runs with it in their hand but has to bounce it every 15 meters. When they want to pass the ball they can either “hand pass” it (punch the ball with one hand while holding it in the other one) or kick it in the air. Unlike soccer the ball is never kicked along the ground. There is also a lot of tackling involved. A proper tackle must take place between the player’s knees and shoulders. It’s similar to soccer with the kicking, American football with the goal posts, rugby with the tackling and basketball with the bouncing- quite the sport.
The outcome of the game we went to was actually incredibly exciting. The bombers had been up for the entire game. Eventually however, Carlton began to inch their way back and before we all even realized they had tied it up. The stadium filled with screams and cheers from both sets of fans for the next fifteen minutes while the bomber and blues battled back and forth. The bombers were ahead, the blues scored, the bombers came back and scored, the blues scored again! It was constant. Everyone was at the edge of their seats as the game ended in a tie. All the Americans looked around in excitement for overtime and were confused by the disappointed looks on all of the Australians faces. Apparently there is no such thing as over time in Australian footy. The two teams simply had to accept a tie.
Sunday, 10 April 2011
The Outback
I think it is fair to say that not many of us were looking very forward to this trip. Although we did want to see the outback, 5 days in the desert and two fourteen hour bus trips did not exactly sound very appealing. Surprisingly however, the trip turned out to be pretty fun and seeing the outback was well worth it!
The first day consisted mostly of traveling. We left Monash at 8am in the morning and arrived to our hostel at around 10pm that night. Obviously, we had a few stops along the way but most of us just spent time sleeping away the bus ride. We arrived at the Darling Hotel and split up into different rooms. We all immediately suspected that the hotel was haunted and our group leader, Rob soon confirmed our fears. The hotel was over 120 years old and he said that there had been some reports of ghosts sitings. Although we all begged for details Rob refused to tell us any specifics until our stay there had ended. A little freaked out, we all climbed into bed and tried to get some more sleep before the next early morning.
We spent the entire first day and night in the town of Broken Hill, where we were staying. When silver was first discovered in Broken Hill, the city expanded rapidly. It was full of people and booming with money and industry. Now, however, it is a quiet, run down city that resembles something out of an old western film. First we had a "driving tour" which really was not very exciting because there was not much to see. After this we went and saw the royal flying doctors service station. This is an airplane service of doctors and medics that fly all over parts of Australian helping those who are too far away from hospitals. They are able to arrive much quicker than anyone would in a car and have save many lives as a result. Many people do not realize how large Australia because neatly all of the population reside along the coast. The center however still does have some people and they need services like this to ensure their safety. After this we regrouped and went to view the Miners Memorial. From the time that the first mine was built until the present there have been approximately 816 deaths within the mines. This does not account for those who died outside of the mine because of complications from working in them. It solely includes those who died during the work day. If someone was hit by the rock during the day and died from complications at home that night, they were not included in the count. So you can image how dangerous working in this industry is. The mining memorial is a beautiful dedication to those who have passed. After the memorial we had some lunch (all the Americans managed to find a pizza hut) and then we were required to attend a lecture. This trip was actually considered a field trip through one of our required classes, so I supposed they had to include an academic aspect. After the lecture we went on one more long walk up through the Outback Sculpture Park. Although the park was in the desert it did not seem like it because there was green everywhere. Australia has been experiencing more rain recently than ever before causing all of the deserts to actually look much more green than normal. Pretty wiped out from the traveling and hiking we all headed back to the creepy hotel and got ready for the night- karaoke! Once we got to the karaoke bar everyone signed up for different songs and some of us even won prizes for our performance : )
The second day was definitely my favorite. We started off with an underground tour of an actual mine. Everyone strapped on battery packs, helmets and head lights and headed underground. Without our lights on it was completely dark; it was impossible to even see your own hand if you held it up directly in front of your face. Although the mine was really, really cool I was a little freaked out by it. The tunnels were pretty low and narrow. I think I found it to be more uncomfortable than everyone else because of my height. It was impossible to stand straight up and the ground was pretty uneven. I give all miners so much credit for having to stay underground all day. I am glad that I did it but honestly, twenty minutes of it was enough to last a lifetime. It wasn't too bad if you weren't thinking about it but as soon as I focused on the fact that we were over 100 feet underground it was definitely a little bit hard to breathe. I think that I was also a little freaked out by the thought of past miners who were stuck underground for weeks or months. I cannot image being trapped down there with nothing around, especially if there was no available light source. After we emerged back into the sunlight, we did an above ground walking tour of the mine and learned a little bit more about the past culture. If silver was discovered, everyone in Australia would immediately go to that town in hopes of making some quick cash. The miners would work all throughout the day not receiving a single ray of sunshine. The pay was incredibly high for those who worked underground however, the risks were also very high. Personally, no amount of money could ever force me into such a career.
After the mine we carried on towards a much more light hearted part of the trip- camel rides! (In a town called Silverton) There really isn't too much to say about this part of the trip; it is pretty self explanatory. We just hopped up onto their backs, walked around on them for about ten minutes and then climbed back down. The camels were pretty gross; they just ate grass the entire time that we walked. It was still a pretty cool experience though! I'm glad I can now say that I rode a camel haha.
After the camels we took off to a place called Eldee Station where we stayed for the rest of the day and night. First at Eldee we watched a sheep shearing demonstration. It was unlike anything I have ever seen (or hope to see again.) Sheep shearers actually spend their time traveling from farm to farm working on different sheep. They do not stay in one place. A sheep shearer, shears about 160 sheep per day and they get paid based on how many sheep they shear. Our demonstration included the shearing of three different sheep. Two were sheared specifically for their wool, while one was sheared for slaughter : ( The shearer and other farm hands ensured everyone over and over again that shearing causes absolutely no pain to the sheep, but the process looked pretty painful. It was pretty entertaining to see the difference between a sheep with hair and a sheep without.
After the sheep our group leaders told us that we would be going on a casual bush walk throughout the outback. Little did we know at this time that the walk would turn into a five mile hike. The hike turned out to be pretty intense. We started off walking on sand (which is a work out within itself), continued walking through bushes, burrows and other prickly tree objects and finished with a huge hike up 3 mountains. None of us were prepared for it but I actually ended up really enjoying. Hiking through the outback was a really experience and the views at the top of the mountains were unbelievable. Never did I think that I would spend my afternoon hiking six miles through the outback but it was worth every second. We stayed on the top of the mountain for awhile and were able to enjoy the sunset on our walk back to the farm house. The sunset was amazing. Everything about the outback is so calm and desolate. Even being from the country, I have never seen so much nothingness before. After quite the hike home, we all settled down and got ready for a delicious barbecue dinner, followed by a very appropriate camp fire. Some of us took a break from the fire and walked a little bit to star gaze. This part was definitely one of my favorites of the trip. I love the stars and they were absolutely incredible in the outback. We were able to see the entire Milky Way, Jupiter, Mars, Ryans Belt etc and some of us were even lucky enough to spot a shooting star! You could see everything while you were out there; it was incredible.
Our third day of site seeing started off in the Mungo National Park located in the town of Wentworth. This park is dedicated entirely to the aboriginal people of Australia because it is where they used to live. At one point the park was composed of five different river beds but now it is solely endless miles of sand and desert. This park appeared to be more like a desert than the one we were in the previous day. We spent the majority of the day walking around the park and observing the different landmarks. Eventually we hopped back onto the bus and sped off to our new accommodation for the night in the town of Mildura. We were all pretty excited considering this hotel and town were much nicer than the last one. As soon as we arrived at the new hotel I reminded our group leader Rob that he had to tell us about the ghosts in the first hotel. He said that there were two. One was a miner who had a sudden heart attack in the middle of the night. The other also involved a miner. After working all day he decided to spend his night at the local pub and brought back a "woman" to the hotel. The "woman" was actually a transvestite and once the miner realized this, he murdered him on the spot. Since then there has been a transvestite who haunts room number 20. Rob kindly avoided assigning any of us to that room. After our arrival to the hotel we had some down time before attending a delicious dinner. After eating, we all headed down to the local brewery for some home made beer and ended up going to sleep pretty early.
Our last day was meant to be spent mostly traveling home, but Rob had a surprise activity planned for us first- a winery. We all got a tour of the winery and were allowed to sample various different wines. Just like the winery in Phillip Island, this one also had delicious, fresh wine. This particular one actually had actually been awarded first and second prize in a taste testing competition! Finally we started our departure back to Monash andddd on the way back I saw a wild kangaroo hopping! It made my trip complete and it also made the 10 hour bus ride home much more satisfying.
The first day consisted mostly of traveling. We left Monash at 8am in the morning and arrived to our hostel at around 10pm that night. Obviously, we had a few stops along the way but most of us just spent time sleeping away the bus ride. We arrived at the Darling Hotel and split up into different rooms. We all immediately suspected that the hotel was haunted and our group leader, Rob soon confirmed our fears. The hotel was over 120 years old and he said that there had been some reports of ghosts sitings. Although we all begged for details Rob refused to tell us any specifics until our stay there had ended. A little freaked out, we all climbed into bed and tried to get some more sleep before the next early morning.
We spent the entire first day and night in the town of Broken Hill, where we were staying. When silver was first discovered in Broken Hill, the city expanded rapidly. It was full of people and booming with money and industry. Now, however, it is a quiet, run down city that resembles something out of an old western film. First we had a "driving tour" which really was not very exciting because there was not much to see. After this we went and saw the royal flying doctors service station. This is an airplane service of doctors and medics that fly all over parts of Australian helping those who are too far away from hospitals. They are able to arrive much quicker than anyone would in a car and have save many lives as a result. Many people do not realize how large Australia because neatly all of the population reside along the coast. The center however still does have some people and they need services like this to ensure their safety. After this we regrouped and went to view the Miners Memorial. From the time that the first mine was built until the present there have been approximately 816 deaths within the mines. This does not account for those who died outside of the mine because of complications from working in them. It solely includes those who died during the work day. If someone was hit by the rock during the day and died from complications at home that night, they were not included in the count. So you can image how dangerous working in this industry is. The mining memorial is a beautiful dedication to those who have passed. After the memorial we had some lunch (all the Americans managed to find a pizza hut) and then we were required to attend a lecture. This trip was actually considered a field trip through one of our required classes, so I supposed they had to include an academic aspect. After the lecture we went on one more long walk up through the Outback Sculpture Park. Although the park was in the desert it did not seem like it because there was green everywhere. Australia has been experiencing more rain recently than ever before causing all of the deserts to actually look much more green than normal. Pretty wiped out from the traveling and hiking we all headed back to the creepy hotel and got ready for the night- karaoke! Once we got to the karaoke bar everyone signed up for different songs and some of us even won prizes for our performance : )
The second day was definitely my favorite. We started off with an underground tour of an actual mine. Everyone strapped on battery packs, helmets and head lights and headed underground. Without our lights on it was completely dark; it was impossible to even see your own hand if you held it up directly in front of your face. Although the mine was really, really cool I was a little freaked out by it. The tunnels were pretty low and narrow. I think I found it to be more uncomfortable than everyone else because of my height. It was impossible to stand straight up and the ground was pretty uneven. I give all miners so much credit for having to stay underground all day. I am glad that I did it but honestly, twenty minutes of it was enough to last a lifetime. It wasn't too bad if you weren't thinking about it but as soon as I focused on the fact that we were over 100 feet underground it was definitely a little bit hard to breathe. I think that I was also a little freaked out by the thought of past miners who were stuck underground for weeks or months. I cannot image being trapped down there with nothing around, especially if there was no available light source. After we emerged back into the sunlight, we did an above ground walking tour of the mine and learned a little bit more about the past culture. If silver was discovered, everyone in Australia would immediately go to that town in hopes of making some quick cash. The miners would work all throughout the day not receiving a single ray of sunshine. The pay was incredibly high for those who worked underground however, the risks were also very high. Personally, no amount of money could ever force me into such a career.After the mine we carried on towards a much more light hearted part of the trip- camel rides! (In a town called Silverton) There really isn't too much to say about this part of the trip; it is pretty self explanatory. We just hopped up onto their backs, walked around on them for about ten minutes and then climbed back down. The camels were pretty gross; they just ate grass the entire time that we walked. It was still a pretty cool experience though! I'm glad I can now say that I rode a camel haha.
After the camels we took off to a place called Eldee Station where we stayed for the rest of the day and night. First at Eldee we watched a sheep shearing demonstration. It was unlike anything I have ever seen (or hope to see again.) Sheep shearers actually spend their time traveling from farm to farm working on different sheep. They do not stay in one place. A sheep shearer, shears about 160 sheep per day and they get paid based on how many sheep they shear. Our demonstration included the shearing of three different sheep. Two were sheared specifically for their wool, while one was sheared for slaughter : ( The shearer and other farm hands ensured everyone over and over again that shearing causes absolutely no pain to the sheep, but the process looked pretty painful. It was pretty entertaining to see the difference between a sheep with hair and a sheep without.
After the sheep our group leaders told us that we would be going on a casual bush walk throughout the outback. Little did we know at this time that the walk would turn into a five mile hike. The hike turned out to be pretty intense. We started off walking on sand (which is a work out within itself), continued walking through bushes, burrows and other prickly tree objects and finished with a huge hike up 3 mountains. None of us were prepared for it but I actually ended up really enjoying. Hiking through the outback was a really experience and the views at the top of the mountains were unbelievable. Never did I think that I would spend my afternoon hiking six miles through the outback but it was worth every second. We stayed on the top of the mountain for awhile and were able to enjoy the sunset on our walk back to the farm house. The sunset was amazing. Everything about the outback is so calm and desolate. Even being from the country, I have never seen so much nothingness before. After quite the hike home, we all settled down and got ready for a delicious barbecue dinner, followed by a very appropriate camp fire. Some of us took a break from the fire and walked a little bit to star gaze. This part was definitely one of my favorites of the trip. I love the stars and they were absolutely incredible in the outback. We were able to see the entire Milky Way, Jupiter, Mars, Ryans Belt etc and some of us were even lucky enough to spot a shooting star! You could see everything while you were out there; it was incredible.
Our third day of site seeing started off in the Mungo National Park located in the town of Wentworth. This park is dedicated entirely to the aboriginal people of Australia because it is where they used to live. At one point the park was composed of five different river beds but now it is solely endless miles of sand and desert. This park appeared to be more like a desert than the one we were in the previous day. We spent the majority of the day walking around the park and observing the different landmarks. Eventually we hopped back onto the bus and sped off to our new accommodation for the night in the town of Mildura. We were all pretty excited considering this hotel and town were much nicer than the last one. As soon as we arrived at the new hotel I reminded our group leader Rob that he had to tell us about the ghosts in the first hotel. He said that there were two. One was a miner who had a sudden heart attack in the middle of the night. The other also involved a miner. After working all day he decided to spend his night at the local pub and brought back a "woman" to the hotel. The "woman" was actually a transvestite and once the miner realized this, he murdered him on the spot. Since then there has been a transvestite who haunts room number 20. Rob kindly avoided assigning any of us to that room. After our arrival to the hotel we had some down time before attending a delicious dinner. After eating, we all headed down to the local brewery for some home made beer and ended up going to sleep pretty early.
Our last day was meant to be spent mostly traveling home, but Rob had a surprise activity planned for us first- a winery. We all got a tour of the winery and were allowed to sample various different wines. Just like the winery in Phillip Island, this one also had delicious, fresh wine. This particular one actually had actually been awarded first and second prize in a taste testing competition! Finally we started our departure back to Monash andddd on the way back I saw a wild kangaroo hopping! It made my trip complete and it also made the 10 hour bus ride home much more satisfying.
Phillip Island!
Some of the Loyola girls got together and planned a day trip down to Phillip Island. Phillip Island is located off the shore of Australia and is well known for their penguin and seal inhabitants. Our trip including stops at a winery, a chocolate factory, a koala conservation and finally (the big event) the PENGUIN PARADE!
We had to catch the bus from the city so we woke up early enough to leave time for a stop at starbucks : ) I was so happy to see that they had bagels and cream cheese. Australians really don't have much of either here, many of them don't understand what the difference is between a bagel and a doughnut. They are missing out. After our delicious breakfast we headed off to wait for the bus to come pick us up.
Our first stop was at the Bass River Winery. We drove out into the country and quickly encountered a bunch of hills and valleys. Our destination was a tiny little house surrounded by tons of grape trees. However, because the grapes were ripe all of the trees were covered in nets to protect them against birds and bugs. An Italian-Australian family owned the winery, and they prided themselves greatly in their heritage. Personally, I really enjoy wine and have always wanted to learn more about it. I was really excited to see the place and process of how wine is made. We were allowed to sample about six different wines accompanied by some cheese, grapes and olives. It is always so hard for me to decide which wine I enjoy the best because they all have such a different taste. I used to always favor red wine, but lately I seem to enjoy white wine a little more. Homemade wine from the winery really does taste better than store brought bottles. Each taste we had was very fresh and crisp, We also learned a little bit about wine tasting in regards to the legs of the wine and how it needs to breathe. Overall the experience was very enlightening however I would still like to learn more about wine tasting, especially since I cannot seem to decided which one I like best!
After the winery we hopped back into the tour van and made way to the chocolate factory! American coffee and bagels, Italian wine and Belgium chocolate. Such a great start to the day : ) Chocolate is actually not produced in Australia. They ship it in from Belgium, melt it, and add some of their own ingredients. However, it was still incredibly delicious. We took a tour of the factory which was really more like a mini museum. They showed the process of each step including how all the chocolate is crushed and mixed. The factory also had a giant chocolate waterfall that went off every three minutes! After many, many free samples and some purchases we climbed back onto the bus and headed on to our next stop.
Next stop was the koala conservation! Even though I have seen koalas a few different times now I still get really excited. Watching animals that are completely indigenous to Australia is really cool. They literally do not exist anywhere else in the world (at least in their natural habitat.) Koalas are also amazing to watch because they stay so still while they sleep making them look like they are not even real. They literally look exactly like stuffed animals attached to trees. We also go to see a baby koala! It was so cute and tiny! After drooling over the baby we traveled on further and were lucky enough to find some wallabies. Wallabies look just like kangaroos except that they are much smaller. While wallabies weigh anymore from four to fifty pounds and are about twelve to twenty four inches in height, kangaroos can weigh up to two hundred pounds with a height of up to eight feet! The wallabies were still really cool to watch though and other than the difference in size they look exactly a kangaroo. I'm also intrigued by how they hope. Everyone here doesn't seem to think that it is a very big deal but I've never seen an animal travel like that before! My goal is to see a wild kangaroo hop around in the wild before I leave. All of the Australians say that kangaroos are "EVERYWHERE" but I have yet to see one hopping around, hopefully soon!
Finally we made it to our last stop- the penguins! This part of the island is marked as a well known tourist trap called the penguin parade. The penguins stay in the water all day and climb out onto the land at night to sleep. All of the tourists line up on a large set of bleachers right near the waters edge to watch the penguins waddle up together to their homes. The penguins travel into the water before sunrise and after sunset because they prefer the dark for protection against predators. The babies stay on land in hiding all day because their feathers aren't developed enough yet to be water proof. The people who work for the penguin parade are able to time exactly when the penguins will begin to climb out of the water (it changes every night.) At 7:48 we were able to see the beginning of the parade! The penguins prefer to travel together in big groups, so if one comes out of the water alone he will jump back in to wait for the others to join. We couldn't see too clearly from the bleachers so we traveled down towards the boardwalk. Here we could see tons of a tiny little penguins! I realize that everything in this blog sounds pretty cliche (the "beautiful sites" and adorable "baby koalas") but the way that these little penguins waddled was the cutest thing I have seen here so far. The communication and team work that they had amongst each other was incredible as well. If one penguin out of the whole group stopped for a little, the entire pack would also stop until the first was ready. We weren't allowed to take any photos so as not to disturb the penguins natural habitat. I was pretty bummed about that but it is probably for the better of the penguins. You will just have to take my word for it that they were adorable : )
We had to catch the bus from the city so we woke up early enough to leave time for a stop at starbucks : ) I was so happy to see that they had bagels and cream cheese. Australians really don't have much of either here, many of them don't understand what the difference is between a bagel and a doughnut. They are missing out. After our delicious breakfast we headed off to wait for the bus to come pick us up.
After the winery we hopped back into the tour van and made way to the chocolate factory! American coffee and bagels, Italian wine and Belgium chocolate. Such a great start to the day : ) Chocolate is actually not produced in Australia. They ship it in from Belgium, melt it, and add some of their own ingredients. However, it was still incredibly delicious. We took a tour of the factory which was really more like a mini museum. They showed the process of each step including how all the chocolate is crushed and mixed. The factory also had a giant chocolate waterfall that went off every three minutes! After many, many free samples and some purchases we climbed back onto the bus and headed on to our next stop.
Next stop was the koala conservation! Even though I have seen koalas a few different times now I still get really excited. Watching animals that are completely indigenous to Australia is really cool. They literally do not exist anywhere else in the world (at least in their natural habitat.) Koalas are also amazing to watch because they stay so still while they sleep making them look like they are not even real. They literally look exactly like stuffed animals attached to trees. We also go to see a baby koala! It was so cute and tiny! After drooling over the baby we traveled on further and were lucky enough to find some wallabies. Wallabies look just like kangaroos except that they are much smaller. While wallabies weigh anymore from four to fifty pounds and are about twelve to twenty four inches in height, kangaroos can weigh up to two hundred pounds with a height of up to eight feet! The wallabies were still really cool to watch though and other than the difference in size they look exactly a kangaroo. I'm also intrigued by how they hope. Everyone here doesn't seem to think that it is a very big deal but I've never seen an animal travel like that before! My goal is to see a wild kangaroo hop around in the wild before I leave. All of the Australians say that kangaroos are "EVERYWHERE" but I have yet to see one hopping around, hopefully soon!
Finally we made it to our last stop- the penguins! This part of the island is marked as a well known tourist trap called the penguin parade. The penguins stay in the water all day and climb out onto the land at night to sleep. All of the tourists line up on a large set of bleachers right near the waters edge to watch the penguins waddle up together to their homes. The penguins travel into the water before sunrise and after sunset because they prefer the dark for protection against predators. The babies stay on land in hiding all day because their feathers aren't developed enough yet to be water proof. The people who work for the penguin parade are able to time exactly when the penguins will begin to climb out of the water (it changes every night.) At 7:48 we were able to see the beginning of the parade! The penguins prefer to travel together in big groups, so if one comes out of the water alone he will jump back in to wait for the others to join. We couldn't see too clearly from the bleachers so we traveled down towards the boardwalk. Here we could see tons of a tiny little penguins! I realize that everything in this blog sounds pretty cliche (the "beautiful sites" and adorable "baby koalas") but the way that these little penguins waddled was the cutest thing I have seen here so far. The communication and team work that they had amongst each other was incredible as well. If one penguin out of the whole group stopped for a little, the entire pack would also stop until the first was ready. We weren't allowed to take any photos so as not to disturb the penguins natural habitat. I was pretty bummed about that but it is probably for the better of the penguins. You will just have to take my word for it that they were adorable : )
Friday, 8 April 2011
Great Ocean Road!
Great Ocean Road is a one hundred and fifty mile stretch of road along the coast of south eastern Australia. Beautiful is an understatement. The road winds back and forth along a cliff over looking the entire coast. The cliffs have eroded over time and their unique structure, surrounded by crystal clear water makes for some amazing views.
Twenty four of us woke up early, threw our luggage in a small uhaul and climbed onto a large van to begin our journey into the Great Ocean Road. Our first stop was in Torquay where we all took a tour of the Australian surf museum. Although it was really cool to see the evolution of surfing over time, many of us were anxious to get into the water and try surfing for ourselves! 
After much anticipation we finally arrived in Point Addis for our surf lessons! We changed into our wetsuits grabbed a surf board and headed down to the beach. Our instructor had us all practice the basic motions on the sand before hopping into the water. Being a swimmer my entire life, I knew that I would love surfing and was determined to stand up on my feet. The entire process was pretty difficult; you had to have perfect timing. You have to wait on your board until you can feel the wave come up behind you. Once the wave tugs your feet a little you begin to immediately paddle your arms. As your board and body lunge forward you wait a little bit and then hop up onto your knees. Getting to this point was pretty easy and almost everyone was able to ride the wave while standing on their knees. Surfing on your knees was actually really fun too; it is amazing how fast you go! The hardest part however, was transferring from your knees to feet. After multiple failed attempts (and many face plants into the water) I finally did stand up! Although it wasn't for too long, I think it is fair to say that I successfully surfed. : ) I actually really want to try and do it again at some point before I leave; I loved it!
After our surf lesson we warmed up with some hot drinks and cookies (the water was freezing!) and then we continued on to do a little more site seeing. The entire road is on a cliff so every second of the drive is absolutely breathtaking. It is crazy that the simple erosion of water on the rocks can produce such beautiful sites. After some more driving we stopped at a local park and got to see some wild koalas! They were a little difficult to see because they were so high up in the trees, but it was still very cool to see them in their natural habitat rather than a sanctuary. Eventually we began the journey to our hostel and spent the rest of the night bonding with each other over a delicious barbecue dinner.
The next morning was completely devoted to site seeing. One hundred and fifty miles is a lot to cover but we managed to make the most of our time. Our journey included stops at the 12 Apostles, the Loch Ard Gorge, Port Cambell, the London Arch and the Grotto. Each site was absolutely breath taking. It honestly felt like we were all looking at something fake. It is crazy that sites so beautiful exist in real life.The 12 Apostles are these huge limestone rocks in the water that reach higher up than the surrounding cliffs. They originally started off as caves that eventually eroded into arches and have now eroded into rock stacks. Also, during this erosion period four of them have been completely washed away leaving only eight standing. It is expected that there erosion will continue at a rate of about 2cm every year.
The Loch Ard Gorge was probably my favorite stop. It is a bay of water enclosed by two cliffs that have a tiny opening in the middle where they meet. It actually looked really similar to some scenes that appear in the film Pirates of the Caribbean. Although the water was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING I braved it, and was the only girl from our group who went in. : )
The London Arch was also an amazing site. Originally it was called the London bridge because it was completely connected to the land and people were allowed to walk out to the edge. In 1990 the middle of the bridge collapsed leaving two tourists on the outer part. The two had to wait for a helicopter to come rescue them and since then the name has changed from the London bridge to the London Arch. Again the water surrounding each rock was crystal blue and absolutely flawless.
Finally, the Grotto, which was also one of my favorite stops. It is this cave archway that opens up into the endless ocean. Only a few of us were brave enough to climb over the rocks and through the archway but it was worth every second!
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Amazing Sydney!
Ahhh we are back home from our trip to Sydney and I cannot begin to explain how much fun it was! Sydney was absolutely beautiful. Cliche I know, but there really is no other way to describe it. It feels so surreal that I was actually standing right in front of the opera house. Seeing it on television over and over again during the Sydney 2000 Olympics is one thing but actually seeing it in person is a completely different experience. My mind is still having trouble processing the idea that I was in Sydney, Australia standing next to the opera house and climbing part of the Sydney bridge. Traveling abroad really does feel almost like an out of body experience. The sites are just so beautiful and so different from everything that you are used to back home. It really opens up your mind!
Although I absolutely loved being in Sydney, the same cannot be said about the THIRTEEN HOUR BUS RIDE that we took to get there (and home). Many of us thought that we could handle anything after our twenty four hour trip from the United States to Australia, but we were very wrong. I definitely recommend flying. However, the grueling bus ride was immediately forgotten the moment that we arrived in the city. We dropped off our suitcases at the hostel we were staying at, freshened up and then immediately began our walking tour of downtown Sydney. We had only walked for about five minutes when some of the Loyola/American girls spotted a Starbucks and literally ran ahead to it. Australian coffee is much different then American and Starbucks are far and few between. After amping up on some coffee we continued walking towards some of Sydney's historical sites. First we saw the Anzac war memorial and then the St. Mary's Cathedral. The church was absolutely breath taking. It was just so beautiful; I did not want to leave. After the church we walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens which were also very, very pretty. Oddly, these gardens had tons of huge bats flying everywhere! Pretty gross. I was really surprised that they were even out during the day time but I guess these bats are much different then the ones I am used to.
The end of the gardens opened up right into the water and a beautiful view of the opera house. As if this site would not have been beautiful enough on its own, the weather made it even more breathtaking. We really could not have asked for a more perfectly sunny day. We all hung out down on the waters edge for awhile taking hundreds (literally) of pictures. Then we walked up closer to the opera house and relaxed there before breaking for a quick lunch.
After filling up on some delicious food, we walked on further to the Sydney bridge. I have to say that climbing the bridge was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. Although we were not able to climb the entire bridge we did still get up pretty high. The views were amazing, I have never seen anything like it. Much of downtown Sydney is based around the water, making it even more enjoyable. From the bridge you could see everything in the city including the opera house. The water itself was just so blue and pretty! Again I know cliche and corny haha but it was all just so unreal.
We finished up with the bridge (they literally had to pull me down, I did not want to stop looking haha) and took a fairy ride back towards our hostel. Once we got back to our room everyone had to quickly get ready for the night- a boat cruise! We all got dressed up and ready to go and walked over to find our private ship. The cruise went right down the harbor past the entire city, opera house and bridge. I thought seeing the
city during the day was one thing but seeing it lit up at night was even better (if that is possible.) After taking more photos on the boats roof top we all went back downstairs and danced the night away.
We had a pretty early wake up call the next morning and quickly began the days adventures. First we went and saw the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are essentially the Grand Canyon of Australia but with many, many more trees. The site was very beautiful but unfortunately the weather was not. Unlike the cloudless, sunny day before, the Mountain day was much colder.
Although the site was very pretty I think many of us were more excited for what the night had to bring- Mardi Gras! Sydney's Mardi Gras is much different than the United States one. Theirs is actually a Gay/Lesbian parade and celebration. There was no bead throwing but everyone still got very dressed up and into the Mardi Gras spirit. Many of us found really cool masks to wear and tried our best to look as festive as possible! Many other tourists thought that we were actually marching in the parade because we were so dressed up. Being abroad is a lot of fun because you can look ridiculous and it doesn't matter. Especially considering you probably won't see most people again.
After enjoy Mardi Gras festivities we all made it home and tried to catch a few hours of sleep before our last day in Sydney. Although I was really sad for it all to be over I was excited for our last day because we were going to three different beaches! I love beaches, and Sydney beaches were even more beautiful than the ones I am used to. The first beach we went to was Manly Beach and the water was unbelievable. It was so clear you could see your entire body underwater through the surface. I was obsessed. After playing around in the waves for awhile we left and took another ferry ride to Bondi Beach. Before sun tanning we did a cliff walk. The entire beach is surrounded by these huge cliffs that you can walk along to get a better view of the water. The water was clear and the waves were huge. It was astonishing. I have never seen anything like it before in my life; you just feel so small compared to the sites that you are seeing and everything is so beautiful. We finished up our last day and piled onto the bus for the long trip home. This ride wasn't quite as bad as the first one because many of us were pretty exhausted from our long but exciting weekend. I miss Sydney already!
Although I absolutely loved being in Sydney, the same cannot be said about the THIRTEEN HOUR BUS RIDE that we took to get there (and home). Many of us thought that we could handle anything after our twenty four hour trip from the United States to Australia, but we were very wrong. I definitely recommend flying. However, the grueling bus ride was immediately forgotten the moment that we arrived in the city. We dropped off our suitcases at the hostel we were staying at, freshened up and then immediately began our walking tour of downtown Sydney. We had only walked for about five minutes when some of the Loyola/American girls spotted a Starbucks and literally ran ahead to it. Australian coffee is much different then American and Starbucks are far and few between. After amping up on some coffee we continued walking towards some of Sydney's historical sites. First we saw the Anzac war memorial and then the St. Mary's Cathedral. The church was absolutely breath taking. It was just so beautiful; I did not want to leave. After the church we walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens which were also very, very pretty. Oddly, these gardens had tons of huge bats flying everywhere! Pretty gross. I was really surprised that they were even out during the day time but I guess these bats are much different then the ones I am used to.
 |
| bats! |
The end of the gardens opened up right into the water and a beautiful view of the opera house. As if this site would not have been beautiful enough on its own, the weather made it even more breathtaking. We really could not have asked for a more perfectly sunny day. We all hung out down on the waters edge for awhile taking hundreds (literally) of pictures. Then we walked up closer to the opera house and relaxed there before breaking for a quick lunch.
After filling up on some delicious food, we walked on further to the Sydney bridge. I have to say that climbing the bridge was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. Although we were not able to climb the entire bridge we did still get up pretty high. The views were amazing, I have never seen anything like it. Much of downtown Sydney is based around the water, making it even more enjoyable. From the bridge you could see everything in the city including the opera house. The water itself was just so blue and pretty! Again I know cliche and corny haha but it was all just so unreal.
We finished up with the bridge (they literally had to pull me down, I did not want to stop looking haha) and took a fairy ride back towards our hostel. Once we got back to our room everyone had to quickly get ready for the night- a boat cruise! We all got dressed up and ready to go and walked over to find our private ship. The cruise went right down the harbor past the entire city, opera house and bridge. I thought seeing the
city during the day was one thing but seeing it lit up at night was even better (if that is possible.) After taking more photos on the boats roof top we all went back downstairs and danced the night away.
We had a pretty early wake up call the next morning and quickly began the days adventures. First we went and saw the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are essentially the Grand Canyon of Australia but with many, many more trees. The site was very beautiful but unfortunately the weather was not. Unlike the cloudless, sunny day before, the Mountain day was much colder.
Although the site was very pretty I think many of us were more excited for what the night had to bring- Mardi Gras! Sydney's Mardi Gras is much different than the United States one. Theirs is actually a Gay/Lesbian parade and celebration. There was no bead throwing but everyone still got very dressed up and into the Mardi Gras spirit. Many of us found really cool masks to wear and tried our best to look as festive as possible! Many other tourists thought that we were actually marching in the parade because we were so dressed up. Being abroad is a lot of fun because you can look ridiculous and it doesn't matter. Especially considering you probably won't see most people again.
After enjoy Mardi Gras festivities we all made it home and tried to catch a few hours of sleep before our last day in Sydney. Although I was really sad for it all to be over I was excited for our last day because we were going to three different beaches! I love beaches, and Sydney beaches were even more beautiful than the ones I am used to. The first beach we went to was Manly Beach and the water was unbelievable. It was so clear you could see your entire body underwater through the surface. I was obsessed. After playing around in the waves for awhile we left and took another ferry ride to Bondi Beach. Before sun tanning we did a cliff walk. The entire beach is surrounded by these huge cliffs that you can walk along to get a better view of the water. The water was clear and the waves were huge. It was astonishing. I have never seen anything like it before in my life; you just feel so small compared to the sites that you are seeing and everything is so beautiful. We finished up our last day and piled onto the bus for the long trip home. This ride wasn't quite as bad as the first one because many of us were pretty exhausted from our long but exciting weekend. I miss Sydney already!
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