Rock Tour Day 3: Uluru Base Walk (May 15th, 2014)

For our last day camping out in Central Australia, we went to Uluru to do the base walk. But first, we woke up pretty early again, but this time to go and see the sunrise at Uluru. We had breakfast at the sunrise viewing location, and when it finally began, it was a pretty amazing sight. With the moon behind us, and the place we were watching at, we had a good sighting of the sunrise. We caught a small glimpse of the rock changing color because of the sunlight and the direction the sun was heading, but it was still great to watch happen.

After sunrise hit, we headed out to the Cultural Center for a bathroom break, and then drove to the base of Uluru. When up close, you get to see just how massive the rock really is. It took around two hours for us to complete most of the walk, as we started a little past where we were for the Mala Walk the day before. Throughout the walk, you could see many different formations on the rock itself. Apparently, in recent years, the walk was altered so that it went around the smaller rock by Uluru. The Aboriginals have obtained more control over the walk, which is why this occurred. They were upset that so many people were climbing this rock, as it is a culturally sensitive area for them. So this was done to keep people away from it. It does hurt the walk a little, as you don't get to see as much from a distance. It really gets interesting when you get to the other side though. You get to see much more detail and can try to interpret the meanings of some of these formations after some time. Along the way, I got to look at some cave paintings, but I did not really understand what was happening.

When we made it back to the start of the Mala Walk, we noticed that there were several people trying to climb up Uluru. There were also others that arrived on a bus, and immediately started to climb it. The lack of hesitation from these people really surprised me. And after everything I learned throughout the tour, I feel like they were being disrespectful and only treating Uluru as a challenge instead of a cultural site. I do hope one day that nobody tries to climb Uluru, but it seems like that will only happen after a long time.

So after the walk, we had another bathroom break at the Cultural Center, and started heading back to Alice Springs. Along the way, we dropped someone off at the airport, and then had lunch at the roadhouse we went to the first day heading toward King's Canyon. After a few hours, we returned, and for dinner, we went to the Rock Bar near the Todd Mall. It was a great meal to have after the time we spent out for the past few days.

And this marked the second to last fully planned day of our trip in Alice Springs. It's near the end of our trip at this point, so I hope the rest of the time here is a fun conclusion to this month-long trip.

Free day in Cairns

Saturday 10 May 2014 we were in the beautiful city of Cairns, and it was our free day. For our free day we decided to have a leisurely walk along the Esplanade looking out into the ocean. It was a great day to interact with other tourist as well as with other Australians. While relaxing along the water I witnessed a couple of pick up rugby games. While in Cairns I noticed that like the rest of Australia everything is very expensive. However, there are bargains to be had if you look carefully.

In Cairns I noticed that the mountains across the water looked very similar to the famous Blue Mountains that we saw outside of Sydney. My favorite part of Cairns was most certainly having the opportunity to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. While scuba diving I was able to spot out a sea turtle. This, along with seeing "Nemo", a clown fish, were two spectacular sites I'm extremely grateful I was able to see. It was one of my most memorable parts of this trip. One new term I learned on my free day was "Big Smoke", this mean city and I heard our tour guide mention it.  

I have thoroughly enjoyed tho trip and am sad that it's coming to an end.

Cheers,

Mark

Sunday, May 18th, 2014 Alice to Sydney

Sunday, May 18th, 2014
Travel Day/Return to Sydney

The weather today was bright and sunny while in Alice Springs, as it should be because it is a desert, but cloudy when we landed in Sydney sadly. Now that the course is coming to a close I am looking over all the gifts I have collected over these 4 weeks, many boomerangs will be calling America their new home. I decided in Cairns that I wanted to get my family boomerangs because that is one of the first things that people from America think of when you say Australia.

Looking back in my journal I noticed that the question regarding "what did you notice today that no one else did" was the hardest to answer; because I don't know if someone noticed the same thing that I did, and you can't ask because then you have away what you were going to write.
I think a better question would be "what did you enjoy most today?" That is much easier to answer and you can then see what the students actually like and to make sure that part of the course is done again in future years. Now to answer the question " what I noticed today that no one else did". Before getting on the bus to the Alice Springs airport I saw 3 birds chasing each other around some trees, they were all dashing in and out trying to catch each other it seemed to me.

My Australian word of the day is Ace! I heard someone at the front desk say it to someone and when I turned around they had a smile on their face. From that smile I'm assuming that Ace! Is something that is good, excellent or okay.

This is my last blog for my first, and maybe only, third term trip while I am at Elmira, and I am so happy I picked Australia as my destination.
Hello America, I'm coming home.

Sounds of Starlight. Saturday May 17th, 2014

The weather on Saturday May 17th, 2014 was warm but cloudy. This was prefect for a nice day of just hanging out by the pool catching up on some work and reading.

After being in Australia for almost a month I have heard many Australians talk about First Australians or Aboriginals a lot. Most people I have talked to did not have anything nice to say about them. They called them uneducated, dumb, lazy, and useless.  But after after spending 3 days in the Outback and learning about they're way of life I tend to disagree with what most of those people say. I've learned that they just have a different way of life compared to ours and just because it is different doesn't mean that it is wrong.

I think the most difficult  part of life in Central Australia would be the amount of flys that they have in the summer. Being here in the down season, fall and winter, when it isn't that bad makes me wonder how people do it in the summer when it's really bad. I also don't think I could get used to how unfriendly and private everyone not in the tourist industry are.

The Sounds of Starlight show we went to see that night was absolutely amazing. I loved the way he took the traditional instrument of the didgeridoo and made it more contemporary. I also like how he pulled people on stage and got them involved in the show. It was great seeing Maegan and Justin up there playing the didgeridoo. Then I even got to go up there with Maegan, Abbey, and Mark and play on the bongo. It was great fun. The lights during the show were also amazing as well as the power points, they were both a nice touch.

I noticed in Alice Springs that they put interesting things on their burgers. At first I thought it was just the restaurant that we went to, but then after the second and third restaurants did that same thing I realized that it must have been Alice Springs. They have the normal cheese, tomato, and lettuces, but they also put ham, egg, pineapple, and beet root. Very interesting.

A new Australian word I learned today was "big smoke". It means city. I heard it when we were walking around the Todd Mall.

West MacDonnells Range

Howdy again everyone,

Today was our last big scheduled event, and it certainly was an awesome tour.  We took a tour of the West MacDonnells Range.  This range was also created by the Alice Springs Orogeny, which I talked a lot about in my previous post.  This range contained a number of awesome geological formations and hosts some older plants in different areas of the range.

However, before getting to that, let's start off with our first stop on the range.  We arrived at the Stanley Chasm first.  This chasm was used back in 1925 by Ida Stanley to hide Aboriginal children from two warring Aboriginal nations.  The chasm has two different walls of rock.  One side of the rock is smoother than the other, and this is due to the type of rock that exists in the chasm.  In this particular area of the range, quartz and red quartzite are present in the walls.  One side of the chasm is more eroded than the other, which is actually similar to the erosion that occurred at King's Canyon.  The chasm is colored different shades of red, white, and yellow.  The color is determined by the amount of oxidation of iron that is also present with the rock.

Within the chasm, a prehistoric plant thrives within the range.  This plant is called a cycad.   This plant actually thrives better in rainforests like the Daintree, however, because of the cover in the chasm, the plant can survive in the conditions of the outback.  The presence of this plant also gives evidence that a rainforest existed in the Macdonnell Range millions of years ago.  The cycad is not a flowering plant.  In order for it to reproduce, the cycad reproduces by releasing seeds.  These seeds, however, are poisonous, and are avoided by animals.  Therefore, the plant needs to grow near potential water sources or rivers in order to reproduce.  The seeds travel down river and grow in other areas of the land.  Aboriginals use this plant's seeds as a food source, by clearing the seed of their poison and then eating them.

We also stopped at the Ochre Pit.  Ochre is a rock that is similar to chalk.  Aboriginals use ochre for a variety of things.  The different color ochre had different uses.  For example, red ochre is used as a medicine to cure stomach aches and it can be used for painting.

We then moved to the Ormiston Gorge and then the Mount Sonder lookout.  The lookout provided an excellent view of a large portion of the range.  The best part of this lookout was that we could see the Finke River.  This river runs throughout the Western Macdonnell range and is thought to be the oldest, uninterrupted river in the world.  Aboriginals in this area believe that the range was created by large processional caterpillars, which moved through the range to create the various gorges and land formations.

To finish the day, we stopped at Glen Hellen Gorge, Ellery Big Hole, and finally Simpson's Gorge.  My favorite stop had to be Ellery Big Hole, which is a giant watering hole connected to the Finke River.  The water had to be at least 12 degrees Celsius, however, it felt pretty good since it was a pretty warm day today.

Thanks guys, 4 more days in Aussieland, and I am pretty sad to leave.  Back to Sydney in a few days!

Later,

Justin

Kata Tjuta and second night of camping

Howdy, everyone!

Hope you have been enjoying the final days in Australia.  I know I do not want to ever leave.  On May 14, 2014 we visited Kata Tjuta in the Australian outback.  Kata Tjuta in the Anangu language literally means "many heads," and just by taking one look at the geological formations, you can understand why it is called this.  Unfortunately, I have yet to upload the photos that I took with my camera, as we only just returned from our three day camping trip in the Outback.  However, I will try to add some photos to this post once I have had the chance to download the photos as you really need to see these formations in order to understand what I am talking about.  Kata Tjuta is a sacred ceremonial place to the Anangu people.  However, not much information about these ceremonies is know by those who are not part of the Anangu people, because they are considered to be part of the male tjukapa.  You are probably wondering what tjukapa is.  Tjukapa is the way of life that the Aboriginals live by.  It is their law, religion, and way of life.  To compare it, what our faith in religion is, this is what their belief in Tjukapa is.  Anyway, the reason that people who are not part of the Anangu tribe cannot know the male ceremonies is because it is consider to be man business.  Those who are not part of the tribe and are not male are considered to be children because they have not gone through the tradition of becoming a man. 

What is interesting, however, is that Kata Tjuta is geologically related to Uluru.  They are related by a great geological event called the Alice Springs Orogeny.  What happened was that two tectonic plates collided beneath the Australian outback millions of years ago.  This collision caused the formation of a giant mountain range called the Peterman Range.  This range was 14 kilometers high and spanned across the majority of central Australia.  However, this event occurred too quickly in terms of geological events.  It only took a couple millions of years for the range to form as opposed to hundreds of millions of years.  The result of this was soft rock making up the range.  This combined with a lack of foliage forming on the mountain to hold the rock together meant that the entire mountain would erode eventually.  The land surrounding the range contained a number of depressions in the land that were formed from inland oceans and uneven land as a result of plate movement.  As the range eroded, these depressions would collect the rock and eventually when the depressions were filled with rock, only things like sand and silt could fill the openings in the depressions.  Australia also faced a series of rising and falling ocean waters, which then turned the weak rock and sand in the depression into sand stone.  Once the oceans had completely receded, the lands of Australia faced erosion from heavy winds, rain, etc.  This led to the uncovering of the geological sites of Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and the Macdonnell Range.  I will discuss the Macdonnell Range more in my next blog entry. 

Aside from visiting Kata Tjuta today, we also camped out at the Yulara Campground.  This campground is located just outside the national park.  While there, we slept in swags.  Swags are basically a tent in sleeping bag form.  They are thermal, so they can hold heat.  Therefore, when sleeping in this, it is smart to wear as little clothing as possible, as clothing can act as an insulator of heat and prevent heat from entering the swag.  Therefore, it will be colder the more clothes that you wear.  While camping we camped with a number of people from around the world (mostly from Europe).  It was interesting to learn about the different cultures that they came from, as well as learn a couple of foreign words in the process.  One of the most memorable parts of this camping trip was waking up at 4 in the morning because of a pack of dingos that were howling at the moon.  It was certainly a memorable event as well as just great to listen to.

Thanks guys, it has been a fun month.

Palya!

Justin

Watarrka, Curtain Springs Campground. Tuesday, 13 May, 2014

The weather on Tuesday May 13th, 2014 was very warm with a dry heat.  It was actually cold in the morning when we started our day, but the more the day went on the warmer it got. The worst was when we did the hike at Watarrka up "heart attack hill".

The geological relationship linking many of the geological features of Central Australia was formed from the Alice Springs Orogeny. It started 550 million years ago when two tectonic plates pushed together and formed the Peterman Range. Then from erosion the Peterman Range began to degrade. The Alice Springs Orogeny then happened 250 million years ago when formations like Uluru and Kata Tjuta were exposed. Uluru was rotated 88 degrees.

One of the unusual plants that I saw was the Finish Tree. It was unusual because of how many uses the Aboriginal people used it for. They would use it to treat warts, melanomas, and much more. They would stick the pin from the tree into the warts and continue to do it for about a week or until the wart would fall off. This happens because the pin bad a small amount of poison in it.

Our stops at the roadhouses were very much appreciated, especially with all the traveling that we've been doing. They were just like rest stops that we have in America. Although these roadhouses had extra things that we don't have in the States. They would have places to park campers, picnic tables, a place to cook food, showers, and even a place to fix your car.

I noticed that the desert was much greener than I expected. I pictured the Outback as a flat red sand desert with nothing else around. To the contrary there was a lot of grass and trees around with mountain ranges.

A new Australian word I learned was Eski. It means cooler. Our tour guide Pip told us that our lunch was in the blue Eski or cooler.

Desert Park, RFDS, Reptile Center, School of the Air, Telegraph Station, ANZAC Memorial Hill, & Rock Wallabies

We began our day at Desert Park which sits right next to the MacDonnell Range. First we watched a short film about the creation of the mountain range and how the Desert Park came to be. It began as a waterfall and large body of water. Many animals struggled to survive and after several millions of years, the land reclaimed the sea; green planes began to grow by the mountains. Then a comet hit the earth and made it dark. When there was light again there were large freshwater lakes, flowers, trees, bees, wasps, birds, and mammals. This is when central Australia entered a dryer, hotter phase. Despite the harsh weather, the Aboriginal people took advantage of the climate in order to survive. They hunted animals and gathered plants and berries that grow in the heat.

While at the Desert Park, we also went to a presentation about how Aboriginal people survive in the desert. A few interesting facts that I learned while at this presentation was that there were over 270 Aboriginal languages; however only half of them have survived until today. She told us how Aboriginal people did, and still do, rely on hunting and gathering techniques in order to sustain themselves. She also touched on the roles of men, women, and elders in Aboriginal tribes. For example, men had the duty of setting up the campsite, make fire, punish criminals, and hunt. Women were responsible for gathering food, raising children, and maintaining the fire. Elders, on the other hand, were tasked with teaching their knowledge to the children, caring for the entire tribe, and making decisions.

The next presentation we attended at Desert Park was the Bird Show. This was pretty short, but we were able to see some unique birds. We saw the Brown Falcon which was a great hunter, the Barn Owl which has a silent flight in order to catch prey, and a Frogmouth who is able to easily blend in with his surroundings in order to avoid his predators.

After Desert Park, we went to the Royal Flying Doctor's Service. We had a nice lunch here then did a short tour of the museum. We then watched a short film about what the RFDS actually does and how much they help so many Australians. A few of the major duties of this company includes: 1) air ambulance service, 2) transfer between hospitals, and 3) an outback clinic. This service is 24/7/365 and provides life saving medical attention to individuals that would otherwise not have survived their accident.

The next stop on our tour today was The Reptile Center. Here we had the opportunity to hold a Blue-Tongued Lizard, a Bearded Dragon, and an Olive Python. Then we toured the rest of the exhibits. We were only here for a short time, but we were able to see many different types of lizards and snakes. We were even able to see the most dangerous a snake on the planet, the Inland Taipan.

After we finished our tour at The Reptile Center, we went to the Telegraph Center. A few interesting facts about this facility was that it was not only the first settlement in Central Australia, but also the first building ever built in Central Australia. We were also see the site for which the city of Alice Springs is named. It is a small watering hole that the first settlers believed to be a spring. In reality, water seeps up from the upside down river that is underground. We also learned that the buildings on the grounds were used as a bungalow for children taken during the Stolen Generation. These children were schooled in European customs and traditions. These buildings were also used to house soldiers during World War II.

Then we went to School of the Air to learn about the services they offer children across the country. This is a type of online school offered to children that are too far away from any other school to attend them. We watched a short film about the history of this operation. A few fascinating facts that I learned during the film was that School of the Air covers 1.3 million square kilometers of land, there are 16 different School of the Air facilities, and the students only come to class in their designated areas four times a year. This is a unique business because the students are able to have real-time conversations with their teachers and communicate with each other as though they are in the same room.

We finished our day at ANZAC Memorial Hill and the Rock Wallabies Natural Environment. The ANZAC Memorial Hill gave a nice view of the entire city of Alice Springs and contained a monument commemorating all war events that Australia has been involved in. At the Rock Wallabies Natural Environment we had the opportunity to feed wallabies. This was really cool to get so close these cute creatures.

Finally, something I noticed today was the gift shop in Desert Park. This was seemed to be set up a little different than more traditional gift shops. It had more high-ticket items than most gift shops. A new word that I learned today was heads. Our driver mentioned this word when he was referring to cattle.

May 11, 2014 - Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day here is Australia, also know as "Mum's Day".  Our journey took us from Cairns to the outback city of Alice Springs. While leaving the beautiful city of Cairns there was on and off rainfall. We arrived at the airport to take off around 9:30am.  After the short two hour plane ride we made it to our destination, Alice Springs.
My first impression was that it was very unique compared to the other cities we've been to. For example, I noticed in particular that there were dirt roads around the city.  This was not something I have seen yet thus far. I was surprised to see a lot of green grass and bushes here in the desert. Along with this, there was not a lot of buildings and I noticed the skyline was very low.
As we were driving to Toddys Backpackers I saw a lot of solar panels which reminded me how environmently cautious Australians are.  When Dr. Jacobson gave us a tour to the local mall I spotted many fences surrounding buildings, houses, parking lots and so on.  It was explained to us that these fences provide a sense of direction. They show you were you do and don't belong. To mind your own business is a key part to the community here in Alice Springs.
The atmosphere is much different than that of Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, or Cairns. Unlike these very active cities, that seem to never sleep, Alice Springs is much more quiet and reserved. Along with this it's the most humid spot we've been to.
I learned the word "dag", this means a person who is very funny and a goof. I heard this in the  bar area as I was playing pool after dinner. A young man called his friend this.
Alice Springs is a very interesting place and I'm excited to learn more about the area. Also, Uluru, formally known as Ayers Rock, is something I've been looking forward to seeing from the start and cant wait to get there and see its beauty.

Daintree River Cruise:

Today's weather was perfect for a boat ride along the river, sunny with a slight breeze. I saw a crocodile for the first time. Crocodiles are very lazy creatures and are mainly active at night when they hunt for food.

After the cruise we went for a short walk through the rainforest. I noticed while on the walk that when we saw the rainforest from the sky rail people can not get a good idea of what the rainforest is actually like. Walking through the rainforest I got to see many different plants and trees that I've never seen before.

While on the safari I learned a bit more about how troublesome the wild pigs are to Australians. The pigs have created lots of erosions in the Daintree rainforest. The pigs also eat the eggs of the endangered species the cassowary. This creates a problem for Australians because they are working to save this endangered species. Australians are continuing to work on lessening the pig population.

While on the drive I noticed that Queensland is very deserted. It mainly is populated with crops like sugar cane and other farms.

Word of the day: Stiggy- roam around; I learned this from the tour guide.

May 8th: Passions of Paradise Reef Cruise

Today, we went on the Passions of Paradise reef cruise. We were able to snorkel and/or scuba five at two different locations on the reef. These two locations were very different. One location had smaller fish and some smaller coral, while the second location had larger fish and also some larger coral. Both locations had many different types of coral and wildlife, and full of many different colors. Both spots that we were able to explore were amazing and able to show us a good majority of life that lives in the reef.

While on this adventure, I was able to go scuba diving at the first location with Christine and Shannon. While on the dive we got to see not only the coral up close but also the wildlife. We saw a blue spotted stingray laying on the sea floor and moving the sand. We were also able to see a family of anemone fish, nemo, brushing themselves in an anemone so that they are coated an will not get stung by the anemone. Along with seeing giant clams that were larger than myself.  Being able to experience scuba diving and snorkeling made my one on the reef more fun and interesting because I was able to see different perspectives of the reef. Other students that are on the trip even had the chance to see a sea turtle while snorkeling on the reef.

Although being able to see the reef for yourself and experience all the amazing things it has to offer, humans are the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Due to some many people going to see it there are a lot of harm occurring. Also, people that go and touch the reef not only can harm themselves but they harm the reef. Another large threat to the reef is events that happen in nature such as cyclones. These events harm the reef and even kill part of the reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is an absolutely astonishing place in nature that needs to be protected. The more people are educated properly about the reef the better we will be able to protect it, and the longer it will be around for more people to see it's amazing features.

Kuranda Tour; May 7th

Originally I was suppose to blog about the Kuranda Tour yesterday. We had to reschedule our plans to today because of a miscommunication between the Cairns YHA and the coach service.

Today was a beautiful day. It was sunny and a little cooler when we woke up, but as the day progressed it became much hotter. Luckily, we were not in the sun much today because the Butterfly Garden was inside, at the Sky Rail we rode in a enclosed cart, and while we walked around the rain forest the trees blocked out the sun.

While at the Butterfly Garden I noticed the butterflies were cared for very well. There was a few different ways I could tell. The first way was the workers found a way to make the same type of nectar that the butterflies would eat in the wild. Another way was they had a breeding laboratory where they monitored the growth and health of the caterpillars. The last way is once the caterpillar turned into a butterfly they would wait until there wings were fully dried before releasing them into the exhibit. They waited for the wings to be completely dried so both males and females had the best chance at finding a mate and reproducing.

While on the Sky Rail I realized there was some advantages and disadvantages of being on it. One advantage is it was a great way to see how large the rain forest was. Another is you could see the top of the trees, the bottom of the forest, and the environment around the rainforest. One disadvantage is there is no way to see all the wild life that is at the bottom of the rain forest. Another is you can not experience walking through the rain forest.

After the Sky Rail we made our way to Tjapukai. I learned a lot about the way First Americans lived. I believe the food and medicine was the most important to them. They used nuts from the trees to get food, and without food they would have no nutrient and would not survive. They also used leaves from trees as medicines, and without these medicines they could contract a disease or illness. The food and medicine was the most important because it kept the First Americans alive.

One thing I noticed while I was walking around in Kuranda was it reminded me of a craft show. It had many different vendors that were selling items and food that were mostly handmade which is similar to a craft show.

Even though we were suppose to do these activities yesterday it turned out to be a good day. I really enjoyed seeing all the different types of butterflies and different vendors in Kuranda.

Arrival in Cairns, Aussie

This morning was a struggle to wake up and get moving to breakfast. The usual for breakfast, some toast, cerial and juice. Then we had some time to pack up last minute things, say goodbye to people until we got wifi again, get our sheets off the bed and into the trolleys, and make it to the doors at 10:15 to give Charlie our room cards.

 The morning at Brisbane was hot, hot enough that if I stood in the sun for to long I could feel my skin start to burn. We all made our way down that horrible hill and to the train station without loosing anyone in the process. After the train we all had to get on the correct flight out of Brisbane to Cairns. I've been on so many planes this trip that plane rides are nothing to me now. While on the flight justin fell so deeply asleep that Carl and I took some pictures to show him afterward; then after he woke up he and Carl proceeded to dance to music 😄 it was the highlight of the plane ride for me.

We all made it safely to our new YHA, and it was totally different from the others I think. It feels more like a spring break resort to me then a YHA. We lugged our luggage up the two flights and my whole room was amazed that we got our own bathroom!

Charlie took us out to explore and showed us all the different parts of Cairns, it seems to me more young people friendly. This city doesn't feel like a city, more like a town. This night we all had dinner together at P.J.'s for the first time in a long time, it was a great time. After half the group went one way and myself, Kaela and Maegen went to Coles and got our normal sandwich making supplies.

Now we are all back in the room, doing journals and getting ready for bed.

-Shannon Englerth

Today was a free day, which I think we are all very grateful for. We didn't meet for breakfast today so Kaela and I made some toast at the YHA. The morning was very chilly and windy but as the day progressed it warmed up.

Brisbane is a nice city to enjoy a day off. I spent most of my day catching up on my journals from Moreton Island and also writing in my own personal journal. I also did some shopping at Coles and got some laundry done at the hostel. I tried to spend some time out by the pool but the wind was just too cold up on the roof so I stayed inside most of the day.

Most of the time I buy my own food from the grocery store and cook my own meals at the YHA. However, I have had a few meals and I would say that's the most unusual was the lemon juice pancakes that we had at camp. I would consider them unusual just due to the fact that I have never heard of anyone eating this before. I can't say that these were my favorite things to eat.

One thing that I've noticed about the hostels is that a wide variety of people stay here. I have met many different people from all over the world here to visit Australia for so many different reasons. Some are students and some are just backpackers traveling the country, or even just people here on business. I have noticed though that they are all very polite to everyone and respectful of everything at the hostels. This is something that is hard to come by in the states.

One thing that I have noticed not only specifically about Brisbane but about Australia in General is that the try very hard to protect their environment. They use less water and always advertise to be green and save the environment.

One word that I learned was "jumper". This means a shirt or a jersey. I learned this from a little boy that I sat next to me at the footie game.

May 3, 2014

In the morning it was very windy with the sun peaking through the clouds.  We woke up around seven at Moreton Island and began eating pancakes.  Our tour guide, Driver, was an extraordinary cheif. He even encouraged us to try lemon juice and sugar on our pancakes, which I thought was really good.
After breakfast we started packing up camp and putting our bath suites on for the day.  The day before, Friday, we had the opportunity to go snorkeling. During this experience we could see parts of a ship wreck along with many fish and even one shark! As we were snorkeling we were given left over pancakes to give the fish. They'd come right up to you and take a bite. This is an experience I'll never forget.
We had the opportunity to do some stargazing while on Moreton Island and learned about the Milkyway, the Celestial Equator and the Zodiac.There all split the the sky from the North and South.
One thing I noticed about Moreton Island was that there were no rocks on the beach. Unlike other beaches I have been on, this one did not have rocks located in the water or sand. There were a few rocks (sandstone)  near the light house that stopped the sand from drifting to the Great Barrier Reef.
We also had the opportunity to go to the Blue Lagoon to hang out and go for a swim.  Driver explain to us that many people say swimming in this body of water makes them feel younger and the oils in it are great for your hair.  He said there was one way to get in; that was to run in and dont stop-so of course a few of us did that!
When arriving back to Brisbane we were able to catch an Australia Footie match; Brisbanevs . Sydney. This was a first for all off us and an amazing experience. Unfortunately,  Brisbane didn't win, but they put up a good fight.
One Australian word that I learned was the word "sunnies", this means sunglasses. Driver said this to us when we were about to head out for the day.  He explained that these would be a great thing to bring!
Moreton Island was a great experience and I'd love to go back.

Thursday May 1st: Beach Sheilahs and Blokes

Today we made our way to the beautiful sand island, Moreton Island, to start our first camping experience of the trip. We took a ferry from the Brisbane port and went right up onto the beach of the island. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, and warm. As we went to our camp and picked our tents we all got ready to and hang out and relax on the beach.

After a short drive we stopped at a spot on the beach and all explored the beach and the water. The first thing we did at the beach was save a baby sea turtle that was stuck in the sand by bringing him to the water. After saving this one turtle, we saved four more baby sea turtles. Some of us then explored down the edge of the water and found a sand bar that we walked out on in the ocean. Shannon, while walking back to shore, saw a small stingray. After about a half hour we started making our way back to Tina, our 4WD bus, for lunch Christine and myself got dragged and thrown into the ocean by the boys. Needless to say we now have a vendetta against them. Our your guides Nathan "driver" and Eddie had a whole lunch set up for us. While we all relaxed and digested our good before our next part of the adventure we all were amazed by the fact that we were on a beach on a sand island in Australia!

The next part of our adventure for the day was to go sand boarding at "the desert" on the island. We all climbed our way up to the top of the sand dunes, slowly but we did it, to see what sand boarding was all about. We all took turns, some of us multiple times, sand boarding down the dunes. We laid down on a piece of waxed wood and slid down the dune, most of us getting covered in more sand than we've ever seen in our life. There were a few brave souls that even tried going down standing up, all taking some wipeouts, but they tried. Even with the multiple people falling off the board we all had an amazing time trying something new.

After a very long and exhausting day we treated ourselves with ice cream from the general store on the island and a very full filling dinner. Followed by a campfire, roasting marshmallows, star gazing and even looking at the glowing plankton in the ocean. Throughout the night we all made our way to our tents and sleeping bags for a very deserved and needed sleep after an amazing first day at the island that none of us will forget.

Second day on Moreton Island:

Today was a bit colder than yesterday. The wind was blowing very rapidly and it rained on and off throughout the day. Eddy and Driver took us out to the shipwreck today to do some snorkeling, despite the wind. I've never been snorkeling before so I was hesitant on going. Soon after getting into the water it was amazing! All of the aquatic animals and sea life was a breath taking view. Even seeing a shark was an experience of a lifetime.

After snorkeling we headed back to camp to have a "Sausage Sizzle" for lunch. While on the way back Driver told us a story about the Aboriginal people. One story in particular really stood out to me. That was the story about the dolphins. The Aboriginals would send the dolphins out to catch the fish and lure them back to shore. After that, the fish would be divided, half the fish went to the Aboriginal people and the other half went to the dolphins. This story showed how the Aboriginal people worked together with the sea life and not against it like how people do in modern society now. This gives us a sense of how friendly and loving the Aboriginal people are.

Also while visiting Moreton Island the group learned what impact the European colonization had when they came to Moreton Island. The Europeans caused massive amounts of erosion on the island due to the excessive mining industry. There was so much mining that eventually there was not anything left to mine and the island was falling quick to erosion. This had a huge impact on the ecosystem on the island. Still even to this day Moreton Island is a huge advocate for keeping erosion at a low on the island.

The last event of the day was driving down to the Big Sand Hills and going sand boarding down them. The big sand hill stood at 180 meters high. Sliding down that with Abbey was probably one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I've ever had. It was one of the best experiences on this trip so far!

Something I noticed today on the island was that Eddy, one of the tour guides, has tattoos on both of the top of his feet. In the States tattoos on that place in the body are normally a more feminine thing.

The word of the day is "sunnies" which means sunglasses. I learned this from Driver today.

Despite my opinions and fears going into this camping trip I really enjoyed it and look forward to Alice Springs.