NW Trip Day 1 - Travel to Lynton Station - April 4, 2007

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I woke up bright and early on Wednesday to make my way to campus. On the bus ride there I saw another girl with luggage and a pillow and sure enough, she was on my trip.

Our 'buck' (half bus, half truck) showed up just after 8 (we were told they'd be leaving at 8 sharp - which in Australian time means 8:30) and we all hopped on board. The first thing we all noticed - the chairs don't recline. That's great news when we'll be travelling 4500km!!

I tried to sleep, and was somewhat successful. We made a bunch of "comfort stops" and stopped for lunch at a nice little spot on the water. We arrived at our final destination of Lynton-on-sea, a sheep shearing station, in the mid-afternoon. We had to pair up for tents, and I ended up with a hilarious American named Athena (yes, her family is Greek).

Since we still had lots of time until dinner, we decided to head to the ocean, which was on the other side of some sand dunes. So we all set off on a trek to the ocean. It was absolutely SPECTACULAR, as you will see in the pictures. I was the first one in the water, and only one other person joined me.

We then walked around the sand dunes. Some people decided it would be fun to roll down the sand dunes. And while it seems like a good idea at first, I think with some careful consideration you can figure out why they soon regretted that decision.

We headed back to the sheep station for our first dinner which was DELICIOUS!! Meat from the barbie and a couple of different types of salad! Our two guides, Kim and Greg, were our delightful chefs and let me tell you, the food only got better from here.

Our guides were shocked that not one of us had brought or purchased alcohol (they always let us know when a bottle shop was nearby - how Australian). Apparently this was a first for a Murdoch trip. It only lasted for night 1...

We were a tight-knit group of only 14. There were two other trips that had left earlier and had about 35-40 people on them! So we were definitely smaller than the norm. We were a good group - 12/14 were American, and then there was me and a Finn. We all got along really well from Day 1 and there were no problems throughout the trip. I only knew one person, Tim, who's in my Nature-Based Tourism class and who had been looking for housing with me. But I made friends with everyone else fast.

And with that we settled in for our first night, eagerly awaiting the excitement that lay ahead...

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Photos

Australia's sense of time...
That's why they're always late - they're on a 25 hour clock!

A pause by the river
From front to back: Heather, Kristen, Athena (my tiger-like tentmate), and Jason.

A stylish Dafne by the sea
They told us everything we brought would get covered in red dirt so I am outfitted in the cheapest clothing K-mart makes. My t-shirt is a boys XL which cost $3!!