Author Archives: ajc5449

Shoveling the bus out of…sand?

G’day Mates

 

The next two days were spent at my favorite destination: Coral Bay and Ningaloo Reef. This area is home to one of the largest and most diverse reefs on the western coast of Australia. Coral bay offers a variety of activities such as riding ATV’s along the coast and through the desert, snorkeling with diverse wildlife on a glass bottom boat, and even swimming with whale sharks. While some of our group chose the latter, I decided to take the glass bottom boat tour. Funny thing about choosing this tour is that I almost didn’t get a chance to go on it.

 

Since our tour started at noon, our fearless leader Craig decided he wanted to take the bus out for an adventure on some ATV trails. He had never been out there so he wanted to take a look. Having plenty of time, a group of us went along for the ride. About 10 miles out we enter the course and it is pretty rough. The bus had to climb some large boulders and bounce along a bumpy, rocky road. The path took us to a deserted coastal access road. We round a corner and find ourselves sliding down a very steep sand dune toward the water. We are well short of the coast but we find ourselves stuck in about 2 feet of sand. For about two hours we try desperately to push the bus free but without any luck. In this situation we found out a very true Australian cultural value. When Australians are stuck in a situation where they need help, they would rather die than call someone to come and get them. And that’s pretty much what we did. It was a searing 105 degree day and the flies were hungry. Eventually Craig did call but since it was Easter weekend, no one answered. After about a half hour, we finally got the bus out by ripping out bushes and placing them under the tires (sorry Mother Nature). With minutes to spare we made it to the boat for our afternoon trip. As Nick always says “It’s not the times you are lounging around on the beach or eating a fancy meal that you remember, it’s always the times that things go wrong which make which make the best stories.”

 

Exhausted from pushing a bus all day, we finally got to relax, feel the cool breeze, and see some amazing things on our glass boat tour. Almost like watching TV, the glass bottom boat provided a clear image of the ocean below as turtles, sea cucumbers, and even a shark appeared beneath the glass. The boat had an upper deck which was perfect for getting a good view of the wild life. At one point we got to go snorkeling in an area known for sharks, and yes, I did swim with a shark! I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling of swimming near something you know has the power to kill you and yet is so hard to take your eyes off of. It was an incredible experience that words cannot describe. This is the kind of thing I’ve always dreamed of doing and it was why I wanted to come to Australia. This day was one of the most action-packed days of my life, experiencing up and downs and sharks along the way. 

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Nurse Shark

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Sea Turtle

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Captain Andrew at the helm


Location: Coral Bay, Australia

Why’s everybody always sittin’ on me?

G’day Mates

 

Day Three on my adventure was spent at Monkey Mia (I don’t know where the name came from, there were no monkeys). Still weary from the previous day, I arrived at Monkey Mia, a local vacation destination with various activities. At Monkey Mia an amazing natural occurrence takes place every morning. Wild dolphins come to shore on their own free will and accept fish from the local zoologists. It was quite a site to see half a dozen or so dolphins glide up to shore and slowly swim back and forth, obviously showing off to gain everyone’s attention. The zoologists made it clear that they could only feed the dolphins one fish a day and have minimal contact with them in order for the dolphins to remain self reliant in the wild.

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Dolphins at Monkey Mia

 

After the dolphin feeding there were many activities to choose from. I chose to take a boat cruise on the ARISTOCRAT 2 to view the aquatic life. After Nick and I helped raise the sail (kind of), we were able to see dugongs, sea turtles, and the crowd favorite dolphins. The Dolphins came right up to the front of the boat and swam in front of the bow like something out of a movie. There was also a net behind the boat which I road in. It had a tendency to knock off various items of swimwear and I’ll have you know that I was a victim as well. After a freeing ride in the net, we docked back at Monkey Mia.

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Nick and I hard at work

 

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Titanic starring Jeff and Andrew

Later that afternoon we visited various landmarks such as Eagles Bluff and Shell beach. Eagles bluff provided an amazing view of the cliffs lining the Indian Ocean. Shell beach, as the name conveys, is a beach made completely of tiny shells. Our scare of the day is when we were greeted by a friendly water snake, which from what I’ve heard is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. The funny thing is its teeth are so far down its throat, a bite would have no effect unless it swallowed your whole hand.

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A sand bar made entirely out of shells. It extended about 500 yards into the middle of the ocean.

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View from Eagle’s Bluff

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The Men

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Our evening was finished off with cards, some delicious stir fry and an evening of star gazing out on the Jetty. 


Location: Monkey Mia, Australia, Western Australia

Tent Wars!

G’day Mates!

After a two week period of exams, I was off to the outback. Our group was made of 12 Americans, a German, and an Alaskan (a joke made on our trip). Craige, our fearless leader, was the tour guide for Australian Adventure Travel and knew just about anything about Australia and the outback.

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Our Ride

The trip lasted 10 days where for the first 5 days we stopped at various landmarks along the coast and the second 5 days we traveled inland to visit the true outback and national parks. Each day we made delicious sandwiches for lunch with the traditional Australian ingredients of corn, beans, and beets. Every night we would set up camp and start in on dinner. It was really a cool experience because everyone would jump in to help every night, so it was almost like a family dinner. 

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Meal Preparation

At night we would set up our tents.  Dave, Nick, and I were the best at making tents so it was only natural for us to shack up together. Each morning we woke up at 6:30 and began our day over again.

 

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A Perfect Tent

On our first day we drove through Geraldton en route to our campsite at Northampton. Our first stop was at a World War II memorial for the HMAS Sydney II that was sunk off the coast of Australia by a German cruiser.

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 We set up camp at Northbrook Farmstay where we threw some steaks and sausages on the bar-b for dinner. Day two we headed for Shark Bay Heritage area and on the way we stopped at a few beautiful cliffs and gorges including the natural arch rock formation in Kalbarri National Park and Murchison River Gorge. 

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Natural Arch, Kalbarri National Park


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Murchison River Gorge

The flies here were almost unbearable as they ate our lunch as fast as we could prepare it. We ended the day at Hamlin Pool where we saw our first wild kangaroos after an evening stroll. Also near this camp were the Hamlin Pool stromatolites.

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The stromatolites didn’t look like anything more than rocks to me but apparently they are the oldest living things on earth.


Location: Northampton, Australia, Hamelin Pool, Australia

Bali Adventure Part 4

My final two days in Bali were planned around the Balinese New Year or the Day of Silence. On their New Years Eve, there is a large festival with a parade to celebrate the Hindu Gods. Each village creates a hand carried float of a certain god. Each float is very unique and most of them tell a story with vibrant colors and figures. At dusk, each village marches toward the capital of Denpasar and a huge parade line is started. After the parade, everyone parties until 6 a.m.  On the actual Day of Silence, people are not allowed to have lights or fires, all types of work are banned, and there is no travel. The day is to be a day of meditation; reflecting on the past year, forgiving others, and planning for the future. I was told the reason everyone stays inside is because the Hindu equivalent to the devil goes out during this day and walks the streets looking for people. If he doesn’t find anyone, he goes away and doesn’t return until next year. From this explanation, I can definitely see why people stay inside. As outsiders, we were forced to stay in the hotel. This made for a very quiet ending to an amazing trip.

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Location: Bali, Indonesia

Bali Adventure Part 3

G’day Mates,

After an exciting experience with elephants and rapids, my next few days in Bali were more of a cultural experience. Our group signed up for a guided tour which lasted the entire day. Our first stop was at a small village community of silver workers. Each village in Bali specialized in a certain craft or service and these family communities lived and worked together for generations. This particular village created fine jewelry out of silver and jewels. Our next stop was to the Royal Family Temple which was located near the town of Ubud. Like other temples, it is common to see a sign that says “no menstruating women” outside.

 

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Royal Family Temple

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 Afterwards we tromped through some rice patties on our way to try some Balinese foods. I’m not exactly sure what each treat was but the first was a sort of deep fried sweet potato fries and the second was breaded honey balls which tasted uncannily like honey comb.

 

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Next stop was to the Sacred Monkey Forest. This was a sanctuary for the wild monkeys live in and it consists of a small village and a temple. Here we could feed monkeys and even though we weren’t allowed to touch the monkeys, they had no problem climbing all over us, searching our pockets, and in Nick’s case, slapping us across the face.

 

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Our final stop of the day was a marvelous one. The temple of Tanah Lot is built on a volcanic rock formation just off the coast. During high tide, the island is cut off from land but at low tide a land bridge is revealed and people can walk back and forth. Just my luck, just as I started walking out the tide came in but it was still an amazing seeing it from a distance.

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Tanah Lot


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Location: Bali, Indonesia

Bali Adventure! Part 2

Next on my list of things to do in Bali was the white water rafting trip and visit to an elephant park. We arrived at the launch site on the Ayung River where we geared up and set of down the river. This package trip is one of the most popular things to do in Bali, seeing pictures of celebrities such as Johnny Knoxville and Jean-Claude Van Dam have participated in this trip before. After a long hike down the gorge we watched our guides have a quick prayer before we were informed of certain paddling techniques and commands. ‘Boom Boom’ meant pull in your paddle and hold on while ‘Big Boom Boom’ meant get in the fetal position and hold on for dear life. The rafting trip took approximately two hours but seemed to fly by as we saw some of the most unique and awesome cliffs in the world. The canyon that the Ayung had carved created a valley that looked like something out of Jurassic Park with vines over a hundred feet long hanging from cliffs and birds of all size and color flying about. This made things sort of dangerous because I was caught gawking at the sights instead of paying attention the rapids at some times. It seemed like every turn held a new amazing waterfall or cliff formation. One area had carvings which depicted a Balinese Romeo and Juliet-type story. At the end of the jaw-dropping raft ride we got out and climbed about a half hour to a Balinese buffet lunch, which I hit pretty hard, of course.


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Ready to raft with Rachel!

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Rock Wall Carvings with Liat and Soua

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The Gang

After a fantastic lunch we were driven to the elephant park where we got to ride an elephant, feed and take pictures with elephants, and watch an elephant talent show (This park is where Johnny Knoxville was painted by an elephant). Riding an elephant was something I would have never thought I would do in my life, but here I was riding a 5 ton animal. This day was one of the most memorable days of the trip.


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Ridin’ and Elephant

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Big animals, big appitite


Location: Bali, Indonesia

Bali Adventure! Part 1

G’day Mates,

The thought of leaving Australia so soon was a bit difficult, but knowing that we would be visiting a new and exciting place simply occupied my mind. The first study break had arrived and 10 other American’s and I were headed to the Indonesian island of Bali. I really had no Idea to think of Bali before leaving because I had never been to any foreign country other Australia where cultural differences weren’t so shocking anymore. Right before landing, we fill out our customs cards which included a little disclaimer that read “WARNING death penalty for drug traffickers under Indonesian Law”. I thought this was a little harsh, but I hadn’t slept at all the night before and just took it as a cultural difference. Our group was received by our driver and we were taken in a van to the hotel. I quickly found out that Balinese drivers are crazy. Our van barely stayed on the correct side of the road and everyone was weaving in and out of traffic on their mopeds. As we caroused through the streets of Bali, I got a brief look at the architecture and people. People were carrying huge baskets on their heads, kids were playing in doorways and stray dogs lazily watched the traffic go by. Almost every building we passed contained a shrine that was adorned with flowers and garments.


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A community with statues of Hindu Gods

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Stone carving shop with Hindu God statues

Our hotel, the Mentari Senur, was a little tropical paradise with a pool and a small restaurant. We were greeted with orange juice as we checked in and were asked to walk around and swim if we wished while the rooms were being prepared. The last place I would have thought to get air conditioning was on a vacation to a third world country but I wasn’t complaining. After some quick breakfast, a few of us went down to the beach and checked out some local shops. Exchange rates were fun because for the shortest time in my life, I became a millionaire. Each American Dollar was roughly worth 8,800 RP (Rupiah). I realized we stuck out like a sore thumb right after we stepped out of the hotel because we were instantly hounded to enter shops and buy things. I had to say no to most people but I bought some knockoff Oakly’s for $4 dollars and got to see the fabled black sand beaches. After a nap and dinner, it was time to call it a day.

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5 minute walk to the beach

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Statue in hotel lobby

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Hotel Courtyard


Location: Bali, Indonesia

Work Hard, Play Hard

G’day Mates!

 

Last week we finished up with class and caught the bus down to Freo to experience the Fremantle Prison night tour (as you can see, prisons are a reoccurring theme). This place is supposedly the third most haunted establishment in WA, but I’m not too sure how you crunch the numbers on something like that. Though scary with all its horror stories, the tour did offer a lot of insight on how prisoners were treated back in the 1800s. It was built in 1850 by labor convicts sent over from Great Britain. The prison was open all the way up until 1991 and it housed both men and women prisoners. Toward the end of its life as a prison, living conditions were still so primitive that prisoners used buckets for toilets. One of my favorite things that I took away from this experience was the fact that there were over 100 escapes from Fremantle prison. I thought this was odd until the guide told us that the prison was built out of limestone, which is so soft that the prisoners could literally scratch the walls away with their fingernails.

 

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Prison Grounds

The rest of the weekend I spent checking out Freo on my own time. I would just catch the bus, get off, and start walking somewhere I hadn’t been. I found a picturesque beach right outside of town that was meant for dogs so I threw down my towel, pulled out a book, and watched owners and their dogs run around the beach. The rest of the day I checked out the local market and stumbled upon some great food. Of course I had to try some street vender food but eventually I was ready for a meal. This is when I got a mullet burger.

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This thing had cheddar cheese, Australian bacon, a fried egg, and a sliced beet. It sounds weird but the combination of all those different flavors was something I could appreciate. I could definitely understand why it was called a mullet burger because mullets are a combination of a few weird things but to the right person, it can be something special. Either way, the market might be my favorite place in town because of the all the different smells, foods, cultures and people. It was a breath of fresh air seeing so many people who specialized in a skill or an art thriving.

 

Though it sounds like I am mostly going to the beach and eating, studies are filling up most of my spare time. After finishing week three I have almost gotten into a grove with balancing studies and my spare time. You know what they say; work hard, play hard. This upcoming week it may be harder than usual to stick to this motto because our first semester break is coming up and with that, Bali! There are 10 of our CIEE group members going and it will be for 5 days and 6 nights. From what we’ve researched, our trip could include zip lines, white water rafting, massages, temples, beaches, a monkey jungle…and did I mention an elephant ride?!?! Stay tuned for my next entry from Bali. Here are some visuals to tide you over.

 

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Town Hall

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Cheers,

Andrew


Location: Perth, Australia, Fremantle

Surfs Up!

G’day Everyone,

The last week or so has been a blur! We took a trip to Freo to be culturally introduced to some indigenous history and we were blessed into the country by Ingrid, an aboriginal Australian, and we were taught some of the cultural history of the aboriginals. We then took a quick look at the first jail in Western Australia called the Round House. It was originally used to process aboriginal prisoners and then the prisoners were taken to Rottnest Island (where we stayed last week).
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The outside of the Round House

After our tour we spent the day shopping and wandering around. Here K-mart is a big thing. It actually is very similar to Wal-mart in that it has pretty much anything you could need as in necessities but it isn’t as dauntingly big. I’ve been going to K-mart and Coles, a chain of grocery stores, for the majority of my shopping. One of the things that still fascinates me is that here they do not refrigerate eggs or milk. Apparently in the US things aren’t as fresh so it is necessary but here there is no need. Fast food is very similar to that back in the States. They call McDonalds “Mackers” and Burger King is pretty much the same but it is officially named Hungry Jacks. One thing I could get used to is Jesters which is a shop that sells pies. I’m not talking blueberry or apple, this place sells pies with meats and cheeses.
The next day we took a trip to Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth. This trip was amazing because we were able to get in the enclosures with the animals and actually feed them. Here we got to pet a Koala, get right up close to some Kangaroos and I was even pooped on by a Wambat (not my greatest moment).
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Me and my pal Soua with a Koala

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Kangaroo Hi-Five

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To finish the week of, we went for surfing lessons on Sunday. From what I’ve heard, surfing is supposed to be really hard but I think just about everyone in our group stood up by the end of the one hour lesson and most of us were catching our own waves.
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Surfing at Scarborough

Last Monday classes began and I figured out fast that Australians expect a lot more out of you than most schools in the U.S. While most areas of study don’t require many exposure hours and lectures, the sciences do. I am taking Plant Diversity, Animal Diversity, and Indigenous Sustainability as well as a 2 credit course on living in Australia with Paul (our CIEE contact/”Cool Younger Uncle”) which is keeping me busy. While studies are important, I am going to try and still enjoy my time here as much as possible. Until next time!
Cheers,
Andrew



Location: Perth, Australia

Arrival in Perth, Australia!

G’day mates! 

Unbelievably I have arrived at Murdoch University in Perth. My luggage showed up four days late, but aside from that hiccup everything went smoothly. I still feel in a daze because the time zones worked out in such a way that I technically never had a February 11th. So far there are so many differences that I jumped out at me and it was shocking for someone who is a little disoriented. The first was getting into a car and seeing the steering wheel was in the wrong place. Also, on campus there are quite a few varieties of species of birds I’ve never seen, the coolest by far being the Australian Raven. Native Aussies just call them crows but they are a more intimidating than crows in the States. Also there are these big rats called Quendas and mini kangaroos called Quokkas which are as common as squirrels in the U.S. (I think they are kinda cute)

Some other small cultural differences I found were that everything is super expensive. I bought a stick of deodorant that cost $7.98 and a pint of beer at a restaurant is around $9.00 and that is in Aussie Dollars which are worth 1.10 US dollars. There are also no dryers for clothes. Most everyone puts their clothes on a line.

As far as trips go, we have been all over the local city of Fremantle or Freo as the locals call it. The architecture reminds me of that in New Orleans but the weather is like that in San Diego. Another destination was a two day stay at Rottnest Island which was about 20 km away from the coast of Perth. It is a government owned island meant to be for the people to enjoy. The island was about 12 km in diameter so it was easiest to bike to the camps and beaches. Here we were treated to a bike tour of the island and we were able to snorkel and see an astounding amount of tropical fish and coral.

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Quakka begging for food

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One of the many pristine beaches on Rottnest Island

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Sunrise at Rottnest

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So far this trip has been more than I could have imagined and there is still more to come!

Cheers for now,

Andrew Clark


Location: Perth, Australia