November 2, 2009

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Now I can write a little bit more about my trip since I am back and well rested!

So the first night I got there I just got a quick dinner and went to sleep. When I woke up in the morning I had a day planned for myself, since the rest of the people with the orientation program weren't getting in until the evening. So I went on this historical train ride, called Kurandas, up into the mountains. It was so beautiful. It's rainforest up there and so I got to see so many cool plants and trees. There were waterfalls along the way as well and we went through a bunch of tunnels and learned the history of the railroad. Then when I got to the top there were the markets and such that I mentioned before. They had some neat stuff. Aborigine made things, opals, jewelry crafted out of marble that I really liked, and a lot of neat things made out of glass. I walked around there for a couple of hours and got lunch and then went to ride the sky rail. The skyrail had 2 stops where you could get out and walk around and look at things. The first stop took you to see Barron Falls as well as some of the carts and such they had to use when they were first building the railroad. The second stop took you to this Rainforest place set up by CSIRO - which is a company that does scientific research here in Australia. It told you all about the boundaries of the rainforest, how they form, and how they've changed. Then after that I went to an aborigine place and got to see them put on a couple of plays about their history and beliefs and how they use the earth. Then we practiced throwing boomerangs and spears! It was neat. I got dinner and met up with the people in my group. I went to bed so early every night though because we got up so early. 6 am usually and in bed by 10!

The second day was Great Barrier Reef time! which I've already talked about, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. It was very beautiful and the pictures I took came out looking very nice. So many people got seasick though it was insane. But the coral and the fish were awesome. We were out from about 8 or 9 am until 5:30 pm. Afterwards I got dinner and lunch stuff for the next couple of days, studied for my final, and went to sleep.

The third day we drove up to Port Douglas to have breakfast with the birds. It was kind of neat. There weren't birds zooming all around really. They were just around us on the outskirts. They had fruit and hash browns and eggs and bacon and toast for breakfast. Then we got to go around with a tour guide and learn about some interesting looking birds, as well as some of the other animals they have there - like wallabies, kangaroos, crocodiles, etc. We fed the ducks too with food they gave us! We then went to Mossman and did a jungle tour with the aborigines that live there. They have houses around the forest - like trailers - so they can kind of exist in both the modernized world and their ancestral world (if it makes sense to say it in that way). This was really cool. He took us through the forest and showed us the type of housing they would make from the trees, how they used stones to crack open nuts, nuts they used for candles, how they made paint from clay and rocks, how to get soap from leaves.. all kinds of things. He explained to us about important and dangerous trees and showed us places where they go for some ceremonies (although I'm sure not for the important ones). I liked it a lot. We then went further up north to Cape Tribulation, which is a really important site because the rainforest and the reef both meet there. They are considered World Heritage Sites because of their immense diversity and importance, so it's really unique to have two World Heritage Sites together like that.

On the last day, I went jungle surfing - which is flying from tree to tree on a harness across the jungle. It was really cool. We got to hang upside down and go across one and they took pictures for us on our cameras. I'll put a couple up if I can get them to upload. Then we went to the ocean to get pictures of the two World Heritage Sites side by side. There were tons of signs there that said not to swim because of crocodiles and jelly fish! So I just took pictures. I also saw this giant iguana. It was about 3 feet long and ran right past me when I was sitting on the beach. I could've touched it; it was so close! Finally, we went down the Daintree River on a crocodile tour. We only saw one croc, but there were a lot of cool plants along the banks - such as mangroves, which I learned about in my class! So I was excited to see some things my courses here at UWA taught me about (I'm a big nerd I know! :P)

I finally got back into Perth at about 9:30 last night. All in all it was a great trip. I'm so excited and glad I got to go and experience everything there. I woke up early this morning - about 7 am, ate breakfast, reviewed my materials for my test, walked down to take it only to find she wasn't ready for me! So she asked me to come back at 3. I spent the rest of the day studying and finally got it done from 3-4:45. I think it went well. We had a nice talk afterwards. She's really knowledgeable about plants of Australia and she's also traveled a lot to study vegetation. She works with a bunch of people in California on projects and lived in Florida for four years. Kind of sad in a way that today was the last time I'll see her.

Now I've got tomorrow - just studying all day. Wednesday - a final at 2 pm. Then I'm gone up north from Thursday - Sunday. Sunday evening will be dinner and studying and packing. Monday - a final at 9 am and then my flight out of Perth for good at 11 pm. I'll spend the rest of next week in Sydney and Melbourne before heading home on November 15!

Time here has gone so fast. I've enjoyed it so much. I feel like I've grown a good bit having to be out here on my own and figure things out. Like when I was planning my trips and booking activities I kept wanting to call my parents to ask them if it was okay to book things and such, until finally I realized I should just know if I have the money or not and if I do and want to do it just to book it. It's weird to be completely on your own and make your own decisions without even asking anyone else. Well, at least it was/has been for me. Also traveling a lot on my own has been a good experience. Just knowing I can get myself to/from places and learning how to organize and budget. It will be weird to go back to the states in some ways. Like not being able to order a glass of wine or a beer whenever I want for 6 more months? haha. But I'm totally looking forward to going home. Seeing my parents and family, eating good food, seeing my best friends that have done such a good job of keeping in touch despite the 12,000 miles and 12 hour time difference. I miss a ton of things and am counting down the days to home!

If there are computers where I stay when I travel up north at the end of this week I will write as I go. If not, I will update on Sunday when I get back!

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Comments

[anne kress]

the end of the trail
you know what, Brit, I was in Oz with you, and you wrote so well, that I could actually visualize a lot, and, also, I felt a sense of sadness that it is almost over, at the same time, can't wait to see you....insofar as not seeing that woman again....let me tell you, at 81, I really have learned that never say never....lv, ga