The group at Orpheus Island!

 

Snorkeling on the Great Barrier

 

Aboriginal Sacred Place

 

Crawling through the caves!

 

Sleeping in the Outback

 

Feeding the wallabies at Granite Gorge

 

The Outback

We left Magnetic Island on Wednesday afternoon and drove five hours to Yungaburra where we spent the night at On the Wallaby, a cozy backpackers lodge. The owner, Paul, grilled steaks for us and provided quality entertainment. He made us laugh through the entire meal, and we can't wait to return on our way back through Yungaburra.
Thursday morning, we woke up around 7 AM and packed our bags once again to head to Tyrconnell (a.k.a. the Outback!). It was a 2 1/2 hour drive, but with Paul driving and controlling the intercom and music, the time flew by. We stopped midway at Granite Gorge and fed the colony of rock wallabies that lived inhabited the area. They were incredibly tame and would even grab your hand while they ate the food out of it. There were even a few mama wallabies carrying around babies in their pouches! We left Granite Gorge and traveled through seemingly baren land, containing only gigantic termite mounds an occasional tree or bush. We drove down a long, bumby, winding road that led us to what felt like the middle of nowhere. We arrived around 3 o'clock at a house and met the family that owned the campgrounds where we were staying. They had three yound adorable boys who told us everything we needed to know while staying there. The parents, Andy and Kate, showed us to our tents at the bottom of the mountain. The tents were much nicer than we expected, tall enough to stand up sraing in and big enough to hold a double and twin mattress. Each tent held two people and had windows that could be unzipped and opened on each side to allow a little bit of airflow during the day in the hot and dry weather. The family was very friendly and had an open door policy for their house, which had an amazing back porch with a beautiful lookout. They had a giant tin barrel that contained rain water collected during the rainy season for us to drink and a nearby dam that supplied the water for our sinks and showers. Water was so precious there that there were locks on the water tanks to insure that it wouldn't be stolen during the night. Althought the dam water smelled sort of funny, the shower was warm and the bathroom was a lot cleaner than any of us expected it to be. Unfortunately, after walking back to my tent after showering, my feet were already covered in a ridiculous amount of dust. A few of us went hiking to the top of the nearby mountain late afternoon and reached the top just as the sun was setting. We had an amazing view of the surrounding mountains, our campground, and it felt like we were on top of the world. We hiked back and andy and Kate made a delicious beef stew for dinner and cobbler for dessert. It got much cooler at night and everyone soon fell asleep in our sleeping bags.
THe next morning, we woke up early due to countless, noisy bird calls and enjoyed a bacon and egg breakfast that the hosts cooked for us. Three friends and I spent the morning swimming at the dam while others hiked or panned for gold with Andy. It gets incredibly hot during the day and it's so hard to believe it is almost winter here. Kate told us that it gets close to 120 degrees F here during the summer!! Later on, Andy gave us a tour of the gold mine that they lived on and explained to us how they owned the only working gold mine in Queensland. THe day ended with a couple lectures frow different speakers and steak for dinner. The last night there, Brittany and I moved our sleeping bags outside our tent and slept under the stars. It was so amazingly peaceful and beautiful and the weather was perfect. Looking up at the sky, it's hard to imagine anyone ever denying a sovereign and almighty God that has perfectly created this amazing world! Sleeping under the stars in the Australian outback is something I will remember forever.
We left Tyrconnell yesterday morning and traveled back down the spiraling road to Chillagoe. It was a small town with not much history but nearby there were a few aboriginal caves with native paintings and amazing photo opportunities. We walked far into a cave and even had to crawl on our hands and knees while holding our camera and flashlight at some point during the hike. Later, we visited the Aboriginal male sacred place at a cave overlooking the most amazing view I have seen since arriving in Australia...I could have stayed up there forever! Steak is definitely a favorite here, and we once again had great ones for dinner that night...I'm not complaining! We then walked to a nearby air strip and layed on the ground and stargazed while a local explained some astronomy to us and showed us a few constellations seen in Australia. We camped out again last night at a nearby camp ground and woke this morning at 6:30 to head to Malanda.
Today in Malanda, we took a tour of the nearby rainforest and then waited at the office there for our farmstay family to pick us up. We were split into groups of four and sent home with a family until Tuesday. Many of the farms are different, being either fish, cattle, or buffalo farms and everyone was a little bit nervous because we had no idea what to expect...everyone was picturing a boot camp/ drill sergeant type experience. Luckily, I ended up with two of my closest friends with a very friendly family who live on 120 acre cattle farm. Its heaven. Because we have slept on the ground for the last three nights, we came here today to what seems like a dream come true. Although its not a mansion, its a very friendly family, good food, a hot shower, free laundry, internet, a comfy bed, and instead of doing work or labor, they simply want us to relax and enjoy our stay...so awesome! They have all kinds of animals- dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds, pigs, horses, cows, chickens, etc. (I love animals), and they made us pot roast for dinner. They live on a beautiful property and the woman here is going to show us all around tomorrow. This time away from the group is just what we needed and we are so blessed to have a family like this that is so willing to make us feel at home. I'm sure when the group meets back together, everyone will have all kinds of stories about their experience on their farm. After leaving here, we will head to Port Douglas, the rainforest, and learn a lot more about that aspect of the country. Until then, we are enjoying ourselves in a welcoming and cozy home!

Great Barrier Reef

We just returned from the three days on the Great Barrier Reef. We were about 45 miles off shore and visited over 5 islands while there. We boarded the Kalinda Cruise on Sunday night, and left port around 9 PM after a safety brief. The boat was 72 feet long and barely held our 32 person group. It was pretty old and unfortunately didn’t cushion rough water very well. The girls were housed in the upper deck in four rooms of three girls each, while the guys slept in one big room under the boat scattered with small mattresses. After about 30 min into the ride, many of us began to migrate to the bottom back deck because we were told that it was the smoothest ride. Although I insisted on not taking motion sickness pills, after watching the beginning of a movie in the lounge area, I began to feel pretty sick and it was intensifying by the second. For the next hour, I took Dramamine, used an oil behind my ear that was supposed to help with motion sickness, drank a cup of hot tea that I was told would settle my stomach, and stayed near the railing along with most of the other students in case we needed to make a mad dash to the side of the boat. We were told by the crew that the first night was the worst, and after that we would be fine. Brittany and I both forced ourselves to eat a small spaghetti dinner and tried to go to sleep. Surprisingly, lying down in our beds with our eyes closed seemed to help a great deal, and by 9 o’clock, we were sound asleep. Sometime during the night, it started raining which was actually pretty relaxing as we slept. We woke up the next morning at 6:45 and had toast and cereal for breakfast. We soon anchored near a small island called Paloris Island, slipped into wet suits, and snorkeled for a majority of the day. Sadly, it was pretty cloudy and rained part of the time, creating a pretty cold environment. Later that day, we moved to Orpheus Island, snorkeled there, boated to shore to visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and returned to the ship for a steak dinner!
Yesterday, we conducted a study for class off the coast of Phantom Island, an island used in the 1800’s as a hospital for lepers. We learned about the Great Barrier Reef’s zoning system and visited a couple “green zones” that were designated as no take zones, creating a much more abundant and colorful reef. Last night, we turned on huge spotlights on the side of the boat into the water and watched the vast array of sea life that came to investigate. We saw about 20 squid that stayed feeding by the boat all night, a sea snake that circled the boat for over an hour, and the biggest sea turtle I’ve ever seen visit us throughout the night. Although it was the experience of a lifetime, a ship of that size with over 30 people got rather frustrating at times. We reached Magnetic Island this morning at 7 AM and everyone was happy to finally reach land. Today is our last day here, and we leave for the Outback in about two hours. Along the way, we will stop at a few breathtaking sceneries to break up the 5 hour trip. Because the sky finally cleared up yesterday on the reef, I caught a glimpse of the stars last night when I woke up in the middle of the night. There are really no words to describe how amazing it looked and no amount of pictured could ever capture its beauty. It felt like they were right in front of me and definitely one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen (and I’m not one to go stargazing…). I can’t wait to get to the outback, far away from any lights, and look up at the sky each night because I have heard this is the highlight of the trip. I’m having such an amazing time and the beauty of this country is simply beyond words.

 

 

 

 

Headed off shore!

We head to the great barrier reef tonight and we will be there for the next 3 nights! While there, we will be able to snorkel, fish, and dive! However, 30 people on a small ship seems like it could get old after a while. Regardless, I can't wait to be offshore enjoying the water!

Magnetic Island

My second full day in Australia is coming to an end. With so many differences, it’s hard to believe that I’m still on the same planet! There’s a fourteen hour time difference and because of daylight savings time here, we continue to go to sleep early and wake up even earlier. I have already had a couple close calls while crossing the road because I continue to look the wrong way before stepping out (they drive on the left side of the road). Between Celsius, kilometers, and military time, it’s going to take quite a while to get acclimated to the “Aussie way”. After our ferry ride to Magnetic Island on the first day, we had a short walk to the Island Leisure Resort where we are staying. We were told by a local right when we stepped off the ferry that a tiger shark had been seen in the harbor the day before…always great to hear :/. Because of our jet lag, Brittany Fennell and I went for a run on the beach the first morning around 5:30 and ended up watching the sun come up on Magnetic Island. It’s without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and is everything and more that I expected. We came back to an amazing breakfast complete with fresh fruit, yogurt, juice, and toast (tasted different than American food, but just as good!) We had a short class in a classroom at our resort and then caught a bus to the other side of the island to Horseshoe Bay. From there, we took around a 45 minute hike to Balding Bay, a smaller, more remote bay that was well worth the hike! Although it’s almost winter time here in Australia and despite all of the shady areas, it was really hot hiking and we were thankful to be able to jump in the water when we finally got there. We stayed there for a little over two hours, swimming, relaxing, and exploring, and then headed back to our resort. On the way back, we passed about 10 kangaroos in a field on the side of the road, but unfortunately, I couldn’t grab my camera in time. Until then did it really start to sink in that I was in Australia! We ate at a local pizza place that night and ended up going to sleep early once again because of our long day. We woke up this morning and caught the ferry back into Townsville to take a few classes at the Great Barrier Reef Headquarters and visit the aquarium there. Although the classes weren’t too much fun, they were interesting, and we now have them out of the way to allow for a free day tomorrow! We talked to some of the locals, and a few of us plan on waking up early in the morning to take a hike on Fort Walk, a hike notorious for spotting koala bears; Magnetic Island has one of the biggest populations of koalas in Australia. We then hope to visit Geoffrey Bay, which is a popular place to feed the many wallabies, who are friendly enough to come right up to you. While many of the boys plan on going deep sea fishing tomorrow, about 10 of the girls are going on a cruise at 2 o’clock tomorrow that takes us around the island to many different bays, snorkeling, boomnetting (a platform that we sit in while it is drug behind the boat about 2 feet deep in the water), fishing, and fish feeding! It’s the last free day we will have for a while so we are doing our best to make the most of it! On Sunday, we will head to the great Barrier for two nights, and I expect it to be one of the highlights of my trip. It’s hard to believe that I have only been here for 3 days, and I know that by the end of this trip, I will have some unforgettable and priceless memories!
*Lindsay

Longest day of my life!

So 30 hours after leaving Atlanta, I'm still not in Townsville yet. We left from LAX this morning at 2:30 eastern time, planning on reaching Brisbane, Australia 14 hours later and finally catching a flight to Townsville two hours after that. However, our plane nearly ran out of fuel over the Pacific Ocean, forcing us to land on a small island called Noumea, putting us two hours behind schedule. Right now I'm sitting at the Brisbane airport because we have missed our final flight...it feels like we will never get there. If all goes as planned, we will leave in two hours, land in Townsville, catch a bus to the Magnetic Island ferry, take the ferry to the island, and walk the rest of the way to our hotel. I can't wait to take a long shower, brush my teeth, and find a bed!

Two months...two weeks...two days!!

Two more days left! On Monday, I will be traveling nearly 10,000 miles to reach Townsville, Australia, where my studying abroad experience will begin. I will be spending three and a half weeks traveling throughout Queensland, Australia with sixteen other Clemson students as we study and learn about Australia’s ecosystems, tourism, human societies, and the natural environment. Fortunately, a majority of our time abroad will be spent outdoors rather than in the classroom. Our group, along with a group from East Carolina University, will be visiting the Great Barrier Reef, the outback, the Tablelands, and the Daintree Rainforest (aka: vacation). Needless to say, we will be doing A LOT of traveling, and we will be staying at hostels, camping, and even sleeping for two nights on a small ship we will be taking to the Great Barrier. I have been certified in scuba diving since I was ten years old and cannot wait to scuba dive on the reef. I’m hoping the reef will be so breathtaking that I will forget about the abundance of sharks on that side of the worldJ! This time in Queensland will account for six hours of college credit. Who knew school could be this easy?! After I have finished this course, I will spend a weekend in Sydney and eight days in Fiji for an additional three hour course. These hours will count towards my major, health science, as three hours of health and six hours of guided requirements. While in Fiji, we will visit the coral reefs of the Mamanuca Islands, stay along with one other student with a homestay family in Votua Village, and also spend a few nights on Bounty Island, which by the way is the picture at the top of the blog (yep, be jealous)! So…I can hardly wait to set foot on Aussie ground on Wednesday morning and make the most of my time there, I’m sure it will fly by! This blog will be a way to journal everything I have seen and experienced, what I have enjoyed, and perhaps reasons why I’m glad I live in the USA! I will update it with entries and pictures as often as possible, but no promises as to how easy it will be to find internet service. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers and enjoy reading about my summer!

~Lindsay~