Camping with kookaburras

Kookaburra sitting in the old gum tree

Eating all the…pancakes?

Yes, on my camping trip to Cathedral ranges I saw Kookaburra, and he saw the rocky-road pancakes we were eating. One of the clubs I joined is the bush walking and orienteering club which does a ton of awesome outdoor activities including camping, rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and orienteering.

 

The clubs first trip was called Bumbly day out. At the time I thought it was because we were going to a place called Bumbly Lake or Bumbly national park, but no-Bumbly is the name for the new members of the club. I guess I just proved myself to fit the name. Anyways- the adventure was a day trip that gave a sample of several of the clubs activities. The first activity I did when I got there was mountain biking. It was muddy and gross, so by the end of the trail I was covered in mud. The ride was definitely worth it though because I saw my first wild Aussie animal- the wallaby! There were about 5 of them just chilling. Of course I had to get a ton of pictures.

 

Following a classic lunch of sausages on bread was kayaking. We had to practice wet exits on the kayak in case we flipped because they were closed topped kayaks. Once all of us had proven our ability we started a game of keep away with teams. The first team to get 10 consecutive passes of a polo ball got a point. I thankfully didn’t flip.

The last activity of the day was regaining which is running to find clues on a map worth different points. Well- we were supposed to run. By the end of the day my group decided to leisurely find the points and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. We saw more wallaby’s tooJ.

The next adventure was a Friday- Sunday trip aptly named Carnage. We drove down to the Cathedral Ranges on Friday evening and set up camp. My friends and I toasted marshmallows on the campfire. We got up bright and early the next morning for a full day hike. And by hike I do not mean a walk in a park- it was an intense 8 hour journey up Sugarloaf Mountain, along Jawbone Ridge to the summit of Cathedral Mountain. This trip included scaling up rock faces, climbing through narrow caverns, and several instances where I was scared for my life. However, we all made it to the top, and the view was amazing.

 

We had tacos that night for dinner. The next morning shared pancakes with our feathered friend before setting off to kayaking. There was no polo ball this time, but there were rapids and a strong current. The experience kayakers taught us how to paddle into eddies what to do on rapids. As to my success on this… let’s just say I became very good by the end on getting out of the overturned kayak. Still, it was a good experience.

My most recent camping trip was to the Arapiles for outdoor rock climbing. I’ve done indoor before, but never outdoor climbing, so this was a different experience. When I went to the gym to practice I’d been doing around a level 8 (this is Australian levels, I’m not sure how others are graded around the world, but here it’s from 1-32. All of our climbs were top rope. I tried an 8 first and was so happy at getting to the top. By the end of the trip I’d successfully completed a 16! I was so proud of myself. I like outdoor climbing better than indoor because there is more freedom to pick your own path rather than having to follow what was given.

 

The Sunday of the trip was Easter, so the leaders of the trip hid chocolate eggs along the paths we climbed up. It was such a treat to make it half way and find a little chocolate egg sitting there. The climbs were really fun that day. One of them included a cave. After taking a second to explore the cave, the way to end the climb was to do a flying fox jump which meant swinging out and turning around to catch yourself with your feet against the wall before being belayed down. Another activity I got to try was abseiling which is essentially belaying yourself down the cliff. At the top looking down I was terrified! I didn’t want to step over the cliff- it just goes against human nature to walk off a rock ledge! The first few steps were the worst, but then it was pretty interesting.

I’m really glad I found this club to do trips with. The people I’ve meet through it are so nice, and I’ve gotten to try so many fun things I wouldn’t have done otherwise. I hope I can continue to do these types of adventures when I get back to the US too.

Food, sports, and ferrets

   So I've now been in Melbourne for a while and yes I know the last entry was talking about scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, so this is a bit out of chronology. Anyways, so far I'm loving Monash. In Australia most students live off campus usually with their families. Of the 20,000 students at Clayton campus on around 3,000 or so live on campus in Halls. I'm in Farrer (the coolest hall). I know I've already said this, but the people here are so friendly. When I first checked into MRS (Monash Residential Services) they directed me to my room. One of the RAs went out of her way to show me where to go. Then when I was walking past the kitchen I was immediately welcomed and invited to join a group cooking for burgers.

  We have to cook mostly for ourselves here. There are a bunch of brands that I have never seen before at the supermarket, but would love to have back home. One of these is Shapes which are crackers with different flavorings. And of course the Tim Tam cookies that I tried and loved in Sydney. To solve the cooking situation I joined a cooking group with 3 of my friends. I make a meal for the 4 of us each Tuesday night then don't have to worry about making dinner the rest of the week. At first everyone was a little nervous with cooking skills, but now each week we feast on delicious stews, burritos, stir-fry, pizzas and more. Before this I'd never had to cook for myself, so its been a great learning experience.

   My floor is awesome. It is a combination of Australian students (usually ones who don't live near Melbourne) and Internationals. I have friends from England, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, and more. There are constant debates about the correct word for something. One example of this is flip-flops which are called thongs in Australia and jandals New Zealand. I've had several lost in translation moments...Me: "I'm making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!" My friend: "What- who puts jelly on a sandwich?" Me: (very confused) "everybody in the US does". I take out the jar. My friend: "that’s jam!- jelly is the wiggly sweet stuff". Me: "that’s jello!" And to this day there is still and argument about what the sweet fruity substance that goes on toast is.

   Food is great for sharing culture with. I have to say I really enjoyed the ANZAC biscuits (since they are Australian they are biscuits instead of cookies). They are in commemoration of the troops in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC day remembers the soldiers who fought in WWI. In return for the biscuits, I introduced my friends to s'mores- my favorite camping treat! Another food I've tried while in Australia is vegemite. I tried it on my own earlier by spreading it on toast in a similar fashion as one spreads nutella, to great disgust. However, when one of my Aussie friends made it for me it was delicious! The trick is to put a lot of butter and a little vegemite. I now have my own tub of it.

   Another great sharing of culture is through sports. Early in the semester Halls had a Quidditch match (yes Quidditch!)muggle style of course. Farrer supporters came out proudly wearing our green (does that make us Slytherin?) with banners that included our mascot the ferret. The game is played on a turf basketball/soccer court with the basketball hoop as a 30 point goal and two vertical hula hoops hanging off the soccer posts as the 10 point goals. There are 7 players all of whom run with pool noodles between their legs. The chasers throw a net ball into the goals, the keeper protects the goal, the beaters throw dodge balls at the other players to make them drop the ball and run a lap, and the seeker catches the snitch. The snitch is a cross country runner provided by one of the other halls who runs around the whole campus while the seekers chases him. The seeker who catches the snitch scores 150 points for their team. I played chaser and had such a blast. It was really intense and physical, but after much blood sweat, tears, and jinxes Farrer came away Halls Quidditch champions! Much of the credit goes to our awesome seeker who really ends up scoring most of the points in this game.

   Our next inter-hall sport was footy or Australian Rules Football. Its played on a field with 18 players using a combination of kicks and specialized passes (known as handballing) to advance the ball down the field and kick it through goal posts to score either 1 or 6 points. This sport is only played in Australia and is most popular in Victoria where 10 of the 18 AFL (Australian Football League) teams come from. I watched and cheered our boys team as they played several exciting matches. One of the matches later in the day was an all girls match combining multiple halls to make up the teams. With some coaching beforehand one of my Canadian friends and I started the game. Since I was the tallest player on the court I got to do the 'ball-up' which is the footy equivalent of a tip-off in basketball. I really enjoyed playing footy. It was disappointing girls only had one match.

   The next sport to be played was netball. This was a league instead of a one time event. Unlike Quidditch most people playing netball had actaully played before on our team and I had never even seen a match. Its not a popular sport in the US. People told me it was like basketball, but it had some key differences. First off, you can't run move with the ball, you must stay 3 feet away from the person with the ball, players have certain zones they are allowed in depending on their position, and there is no backboard to the basket. I constantly got called for breaking pretty much every rule there was. I promise I really did try to be 3 feet away, but I just never moved backwards fast enough. My teammates were always very helpful and supportive (I'm glad they even let me play). By the last game I began to get a handle on what I could and couldn't do.

  Still, it was a relief to go back to familiar basketball. All the halls we usually compete against teamed up to play a basketball game against a rival hall, Mannix. I played center for the team and it was so much fun. A bunch of my friends came to cheer us on- I'm so lucky to have such supportive friends :) Thanks to the hard work of the whole team, we beat Mannix!

Surrounded by Sharks (and turtles and coral and fish)

I’m not sure what it is with me and transitioning to new places, but it never seems to work out. I arrived in Cairns at 11:00 pm and take a shuttle to the hostel I already booked (for a bargain of $13 a night I might add). I lug my bags to the door only to find it locked with a sign saying reception closed- check in at bar. I go to the bar only to find it closed as well. So I find myself alone in a strange town with no place to stay.

A few guys who were staying at the hostel heard me knocking on the door and let me in. They helped me carry my bags up and let me stay in an empty bed in their room. There was no sheets for the bed, and I had to borrow one of their keys to get to the bathroom, but it definitely beat roaming the streets alone at night finding another hostel. I’m so grateful for all the kind people I’ve meet on my travels.

The bus picked me up early the next morning for diving. I was so excited. We got on a boat that was packed full of people and I was wondering how were we supposed to all stay on here. The live-aboard diving was supposed to be 3 days and 2 nights. We stopped at a spot about an hour and a half off shore and prepared for the first dive.

And oh my gosh it was AMAZING!!! I saw so many spectacular fish and corals. The best part of the first dive was Wally. Wally is a very friendly Humphead Maori Wrasse which is a blue-green fish over a meter big. He let me pet the top of his head and scratch his chin. I never knew how friendly a fish could be!

Next dive I saw a white fin reef shark. They’re harmless to people. I also saw a giant clam which closes its shell whenever someone gets too close to it. And drum roll please… I found Nemo! Yes, a sweet little clown fish sitting by his anemone.

We switched to a larger boat with more space and more experienced divers. The afternoon continued with more dives. On the third one of the day I came face to face with a sea turtle! And all this in addition to seeing some truly phenomenal coral structures.

The final dive of the day took place after the sun set. We put on our gear and grabbed torches (flashlights) and followed the dive masters into the water. Since I only have a PADI Open Water certification I’m not qualified to dive alone at night. We followed the guide down to see the Giant Trevally hunting. As I swam up towards the surface and did a safety stop everywhere I shined a light there were… SHARKS!!! Yes 4-6 foot long beasts swimming gracefully through the water. I didn’t want to leave- it was so cool to see!

The next morning dawned very early with a 6 am dive. Although it was a terrible hour to be awake at, the dive was spectacular. All of the big fish and sharks are just going to sleep and the little fish are waking up. I saw not one, not two, but 3 lion fish! And a ton of other fish as well.  Throughout the day we did 5 dives.

The following day we began at 6 am again and completed 3 dives before heading back to shore. It was sad to leave the boat- I’d have loved to stay on a dive more. For dinner I joined some of the other divers who’d also just finished their cruise, for dinner at a thai restaurant. And then for dessert we had the most amazing freshly made gelato at Dolci + Gelati. It was some of the best gelato I’ve had! I can’t believe I had such an amazing opportunity- I got to do 12 dives in 3 days and see some amazing Australian reef critters!

Shore, Seagulls, and missed trains

Monday turned out to be a nice day as well, so I joined some other backpackers for a day at Double Bay Beach. This isn’t one of the more visited ones, but it is a beautiful (albeit small) beach. There was a wooden platform part way out that was perfect for a game of king/queen of the raft. We spent the day swimming, relaxing, and eating Tim Tams. Tim Tams are a delicious treat which is crème covered sandwhiched between 2 cookies then dipped in chocolate. They come in tons of flavors including honeycomb, white chocolate, and mint which I tried.

After the beach day I went to the Super bowl party with the friends I meet at the pub. On the way I stopped for a famous Harry’s meat pie since I’d been told that was a mandatory experience to have while in Sydney. I have to say people in Australia are some of the most helpful I’ve meet. When I got lost trying to find the address, I asked a stranger if he knew where it was and even though he didn’t he looked it up for me on his phone.

The Super bowl party was fun. It was nice to have that at-home feeling. There were even nachos and wings. And they had an adorable dog. I headed back to the hostel that night thinking it had been a pretty good day- except when I realized I’d gotten burned on my back! That was not fun to sleep on.

The following day I went to see the Sydney Opera house. Amazingly it was not the bright white it always apprears. It’s a slightly off white color with many tiles. Standing next to it was spectacular and then going inside was even better. I took the tour, but I wish I could have seen a show there. The theatres were very impressive.

That afternoon I joined some people from my hostel in walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge. No, not the top where you have the climbing ropes and pay $200; the bottom footpath. But still, it was a great view of the harbor.

That night I joined my friend from the tour for dinner at Darling Harbor. We wandered around and saw  the pretty harbor complete with a memorial to the Olympics, whale skeletons hanging in the stairwell, and many trendy restaurants. We settled on a place that overlooked the harbor. I got prawns and my friend tried crocodile. I sample his sandwich, and I have to say crocodile tastes a lot like chicken.

On my last day in Sydney I went to Manly beach which is just a short ferry ride from Sydney. It wasn’t exactly beach weather, but it was still a necessary experience to have while being in Sydney. The ferry ride made me appreciate just how big the harbor really is, and how many small islands and pennisulas there are around it. For lunch I grabbed a sushi roll and headed to the beach. The water was very rough and full of rip tides today, so instead of going in, I watched the surfers. I was innocently enjoying my sushi when a seagull swooped down and stole it. Mine! Mine! Mine! I guess Finding Nemo was pretty accurate. Resigning to a small lunch, I took the bus to Spitz Bridge and Reserve- an upper class district near Manly. I hiked around the boat docks and past some of the houses. There was a nature trail that was supposed to be very nice, but it would have taken too long and I needed to get back to Sydney to leave for Cairns soon.

After taking the bus, then ferry, then hike back to my hostel I packed up and headed to the train station. I had plenty of time and unworriedly took my seat with my massive bags of luggage on the train that had just pulled up to platform 6. The train ride seemed to take a lot longer than it had when I went from the airport to the hostel. And there were so many unfamiliar names. Eventually I asked somebody “Is this train going to the airport?” To my horror the answer was no. In a panic I got off the train at the next stop and asked the conductor what to do. They told me what train to take to get back to where I started from then to transfer on one to the airport. I was terrified that I would miss my flight. When I got off the train finally at the airport counter I sprinted (luggage and all) to the bag check in which thankfully had no line. My plane left in just over half an hour. I got my tickets and made it to the plane just before they called my section to board. I sank down in my window seat (yes I got another window seat with nobody sitting next to me) and relaxed. I’d made it. Cairns here I come!

Markets and mountains

The following day dawned still cloudy without the rain. The nice thing about hostels is that it is easy to meet people to travel around the city with. I went out to a café for breakfast (or brekkie as it is sometimes called) with two European girls traveling on holiday. Afterwards I joined them for Paddington and Glebes markets. Glebes was really cool- there were tons of little shops selling everything from picture frames to tea to lockets that open into watches and ipod covers that look like cassette tapes. All the vendors had little tents with all their various wares. I bought a skirt for $2. After Glebes we headed to Paddington which was a nice market and a cool vibe, but more of an art show than a farmers market. The wares were fancier such as knitting, paintings, leather purses, and a delicious chocolate chai that gave out free samples, but most everything was out of my price range. Still, it was fun to see.

I figured that I would be able to see more of the city with a guide, so I took a walking tour of Sydney. The guide was a native to the city who gave the ironic history of the different sights in the town. For example, Governor Macquaries (one of the most influential governors from when Sydney was full of convicts) wanted to build a hospital, but lacked the funding. To afford it he gave three business men the rights to all the rum being sold to the convicts if they in return built him a hospital. This worked successfully, and a large hospital was soon built. Part of it still stands today and has been used as a governmental house. So ironically the government lived in a house paid for by selling rum to criminals.

The tour was great, and afterwards I went on another tour of the Rocks- a historical section of Sydney near the harbor. Then I had beer and chips with one of the other people on the tour. I found it interesting that chips (fries) are served with sour crème and sweet chili. It’s pretty good.

The next day dawned sunny and gorgeous so I went with a tour group to the Blue Mountains. The drive took about an hour in a large van. Our first hike took us to a spectacular lookout that was in sight of several waterfalls.

But wait, it gets better- we walked over to see the falls and on the way passed through rainforest! Most of the Blue Mountains are eucalyptus, but there were some patches left over of ancient rainforest. Sadly there are no kolas in this eucalyptus forest since the trees are in soil with too little nutrients to sustain the critters. The waterfalls were beautiful- clean fresh and cascading down.

Afterwards we drove to a new destination and hiked to peak with another lovely view. A lunch of meat pies followed, with a trip to the famous Three Sisters Peaks after that. The Three Sisters was nice, but it was over flowing with tourists. I wasn’t sad to leave it and drive to the next location.

The final spot was the exact opposite of touristy. The van parked on the side of the road and we took a small path half hidden in the bush. A short hike took us to a secluded rock overlooking a valley composed entirely of trees and mountains. Nothing man-made was anywhere in sight. The only thing disturbing the silence was the calls of bell birds.

Rainy Days in Sydney

Cloudy skies greeted me as I walked from the train station to my hostel. Since it was only 9:00 in Sydney I couldn’t check into my room yet, so I had to put my bags in the storage room. I packed what I needed for the day and set out to see the city. Without really having a plan or direction, I headed to what I soon discovered was China town. There is a very high percentage of Asians in Australia, so there is a pretty thriving China town.

Finally I could check in. The hostel I stayed at is called Base Sydney. I wasn’t sure what to expect of a hostel, but it was nicer than some hotels I’ve stayed at. I shared a room with 7 other girls. There were bunk beds reminiscent of summer camp and a bathroom shared with all the girls on the floor.

From here everything went downhill. When I got back to Base I moved my stuff up to my room. There was no elevator from the storage room one floor underground, so I assumed that I would need to carry my 100 or so pounds worth of luggage upstairs. To make this even more of a challenge I was on floor 4 which is the 5^th floor by American standards (they count our 1^st floor as the ground floor). I managed to carry my bags up the 5 flights only to be told when I got up that there was an elevator. I heard there was a tour at 2:30, so I headed town to the main desk. Unfortunately I realized after leaving the room that I’d locked my key inside. I was already late for the tour, so I figured I’d just get let in later. When I got to the desk they told me the tour did not leave from the hostel, but from a point a few blocks away. Being completely unfamiliar with the city I could not find the tour. I decided to just wander on my own for a bit. Shortly after beginning my wanderings the rain began to fall.

Why must everything go wrong at once? I ended up in Hyde park with the realization that I was alone half way across the world in a country where I didn’t know a soul. I felt very alone at that moment and it was nearly midnight in US. I called my boyfriend and he comforted me. He even offered to make me an itinary of things to do and to book tours for me. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but the thought was nice. I headed over to St. Andrews Cathedral and said a quick prayer.

I honestly believe that it helped because after that my day looked up. I got out my map and made a plan of what to do. My goal was to see Mrs. Marquaires chair- a lookout spot over the harbor. The path would take me through the Botanical Gardens which was another sight on my must see list. Although it was still raining, the gardens were spectacular. There were so many beautiful flowers, trees, and other plants. And then the animals- there were bats, ibis (these white birds with scaly black heads and long noses that are so ugly they are cute) and even cockatoos which are wild in Oz.

I took a detour to stop at the Art Museum which contained a mixture of aboriginal works and other pieces from around the world including Monet. After my adventure in the museum and park, my feet were killing me, so I decided to wander around and find dinner. I had my mind set on somewhere authentically Australian, so I headed to Bells Hotel which looked like a promising pub full of people socializing on a Friday night. I ordered schnitzel with chips. The chips which turn out to really be French fries were consumed with tomato sauce which is what we call ketchup in the US.

Australians really are some of the nicest people. By the end of the night I’d made my first friends in Oz. I played a game of pool, and was recommended to try a VB shanty (beer with lemonade). I also meet a sweet couple, the husband who was from America, who invited me to their super bowl party later that week. Even being on the other side of the world wasn’t so scary. I took a taxi back to my hostel. I think I will like Australia.

P.S. These entries are very backlogged because I did not have internet access for the weeks that I traveled around.

The journey to the other side of the world

After a long series of hugs and goodbyes exchanged with my family I waited in the busy security line at the Philly airport. I’ll miss them, as well as my friends and boyfriend. I wanted to make my last meal in the States as American as possible, so I got a Philly Cheesesteak. It was good, but still not the classic ones you can get in the city. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:55 pm.

To my delight I get a window seat with nobody in the seat directly next to me. For the next 5.5 hours I attempt to stay awake and read or play minesweeper and solitaire on my ipod. I figure this is small potatoes of a flight compared to the next one. I stared out my window as we approached LA. I’ve never been there before. The view from the sky is spectacular. It looks like the night sky sparkled with stars but with flowing rivers of white lights.

There is around a 2 hour layover before I board the Qantas plane. Its 11:40 local time, but felt like 1:40 to me. The airplane is the biggest one I’ve ever flown on or even seen. It has 2 levels!!! There are 3 seats by each window, and aisle, then four in the center. By some lucky coincidence I got yet another window seat AND no body sitting in the seat next to me. I took full advantage of both blessings during my nap. The food was good for airplane food, and dinner included an Australian wine.

I watched ‘Just go with it’ (an American rom-com) then passed out. I’m not sure how long I slept, but when I woke up I decided to watch another movie. I plugged in my headphones to the TV in the seat ahead of me, and low and behold country music filled my ears! Some American country, but mostly new Australian artists. I’m a big country fan and was unaware of this awesome new source of good tunes.

After a breakfast of omelet, yogurt, and fruit salad, the plane flew over Sydney. Just seeing the city was spectacular with its many terracotta rooftops and trees. We touched down and I went through customs. My first thought was WOW- this is the other side of the world. I quickly found a Vodafone booth and purchased a pay as you go phone then got cash out of the ATM. I have to say Australian currency is prettier than American. I took the train to my hostel. I am here!