Lisa Marvin
Lisa Marvin Joined: January 24th 2007
Logged in: January 7th 2008
Logged in: January 7th 2008
Travel Blog Posts
Massive sea clams
After I returned from the Outback, I had exactly 36 hours to wash all my clothes that had turned red during the week, repack my bags for a more water-friendly environment , and, of course, write a paper I'd done zero research for. But it was all worth it. My Marine Environment class was going on a Field Research Trip to Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Originally, we were supposed to take an 8 hour bus ride up to Heron Island where there was an actual research center at our disposal, to make the trip more scientific. Unfortunately for them, and luckily for me, it burned down the week before we were supposed to go. So, my professor pulled some strings and got us into the more resort-style but ... read more
Mini naps
10 days and 9 nights traveling in the back of a 4WD and sleeping in tents with Dingos howling in the distance. Not how most college seniors spend their final Spring Break. But I'm not most college seniors. I arrived in Alice Springs without any sleep the night before - too busy finishing up papers and working until 1am at the Cricketer's Club. The things I do for travel! So I was not in the best shape to start one of the most demanding trips of my life. Our trip included swims in gorges, hiking everyday, visiting spiritual sites of the local Aboriginal communities and of course dealing with the flies! My favorite part of the trip was seeing the stars every night. I have never seen so many constellations, shooting stars, or satellites. My ... read more
Cradle Mountain
Headed even further down under to Tasmania for a weekend of more walking than I ever imagined. On our first full day we walked around Dove Lake which is at the bottom of Cradle Mountain. It rained off and on all day but when it stopped gorgeous rainbows stretched out across the water, making the downpours worth it. Around lunch time the rain had let up so our guide suggested we stray from the path to go check out a perched glacier lake. The way to get there consisted of a make-shift staircase made out of tree roots and slippery rocks. After about 20 minutes of whinging, we finally found the lake, and it was amazing. We had all nestled into the gravel to enjoy our lunches when an ominous green-gray cloud rolled in over ... read more
Harbour Bridge
We spent St. Patrick's weekend camping in Jervis Bay, New South Wales, a national park along the Eastern Australia coast. After celebrating our favorite holiday early at Scruffy Murphy's in Sydney and then waking up early enough to run 10 blocs to see the Bridge and Opera House, we drove 3 hours to the Park. This was my first camping experience and I was excited to meet the Aboriginal community that lived in the area and were organizing our camping trip. Much to my dismay, it ended up raining for the majority of the weekend and was much colder than I ever expected. While on a walk with one of our guides, Unlce Barry, we got caught in a downpour and even though I was wearing a raincoat I was eventually soaked through. Needless to ... read more
Ferry to Straddy
Ok, so I realize I'm really behind in my entries and I sincerely apologize. The internet in our apartment is on and off and I have a small quote of bandwidth I can use on campus. So, I'm going to do my best to catch up on all the traveling I've done so far. Straddie is an island off the coast of Brisbane and we got to go there as part of our study abroad program with Arcadia. We had a blast! The first day we went sea kayaking in the ocean and actually got to see a dugong as we were paddling through some mangroves along the coast. It was amazing because it swam right near out boats and our guides said they've only seen them there once in the past 10 years, so ... read more
UQ
After two and a half months of sweet nothingness, I have finally started to attend classes again for (possibly) my last semester. Since I've completed all of my required courses at PSU, I have decided to take courses that are really of interest to me and will also give me a better understanding of the country I am living in. So, my schedule consists of Contemporary Australia, Indigenous Art, Anthropology of Indigenous Australia, and Marine Environment. Read: My schedule consists of watching Australian television, frequenting art museums, visiting a few Australian historic sights, and, of course, snorkeling. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm sure I'll learn something besides which strength of sunscreen works best for me. The atmosphere of the school is pretty laid back. Not only do we have a bar on campus, but I've ... read more
Brisbane from the back of the City Cat
After four days of non-stop activities and seemingly endless flights and bus trips, we finally made it to our new home for the next five months, Brisbane. Also affectionately referred to as Brisvegas and Brisneyland because of the high rate of gambling as well as tourists making their way to the Gold Coast. Sounds like the perfect place to do a study abroad if you ask me! Above everything, I was most excited to finally be able to settle in and stop living out of my luggage. However, I grew even more excited when I learned that we would be living in pretty luxurious apartments by Australian standards, and VERY luxurious apartments by student standards. Our apartment is pretty awesome because it is right across the street from the river, only a block from the City ... read more
Melbourne Skyline
On our last day of orientation we piled back onto the buses and headed to Melbourne where we would be staying the night before flying to Brisbane in the morning. Everyone was really excited to be back in civilization after being on the coast and to finally experience Australian nightlife. Luckily, our hotel, The Oaks on Market (which is a 5 star hotel!! The rooms were massive and very modern with a great view overlooking the city) was in a great location downtown so we could easily wander in the city. In the afternoon we took a walking tour with one of our program directors so we could get our bearings to make stumbling around later that evening much more bearable. We stopped at the Yarra River and took pictures of the skyline and scenery along ... read more
The Oceanic
I finally arrived in Melbourne, Australia after 15.5 hours on an airplane as well as an additional two hour emergency landing in Brisbane to refuel because of weather conditions. It was so painful to be in Brisbane, to be in Australia, and still be stuck on that airplane. All the students were restlessly walking up and down the aisles and trying to catch glimpses out the window since the majority of us would be studying in that very city. What a tease! We eventually made it to the Melbourne airport only to be ushered onto buses to drive two hours to the coast where we would be spending our first four days of orientation. We stayed in a small town called Sorrento, what I was told is considered the "Hamptons" of Melbourne, in an old seaside ... read more
Hollywood sign
Before heading for Australia, my parents and I spent two days in LA where we met up with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Norm. I've never been to LA despite traveling through the airport on numerous occasions so we tried to see and do as much as we could in the short time I had there. After settling into the hotel we jumped into our rental car to take in some sights. From my backseat window I saw the La Brea Tar Pits, Rodeo Drive, and street after street lined with Royal Palms. We stopped by the Santa Monica pier to check it off the list then strolled down 3rd Street to do some window shopping and have tea at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Co. which we were told is California's "Starbucks." Next, we ... read more
