Tag Archives: australia

Pride Mardi Gras (Sydney Day 2)

The Blue Mountains

This morning we took a bus out to the Blue Mountains, and explored a few breathtaking locations. The Blue Mountains are located in Western Sydney, New South Wales, and are also well known as the Australian version of the Grand Canyon. After visiting, I can see why, because they really do look similar, just not quite as deep and are covered with trees.

Govetts Leap

After about a two hour drive, we arrived at our first stop, Govetts Leap. Here we saw the vast mountain canyon, and were able to experience one of the most untouched but well known natural attractions in Australia.

Govetts Leap

The Three Sisters

We then drove to the Three Sisters lookout, located at Echo Point Katoomba. This unusual rock formation represents three sisters who where turned into stone in an aboriginal legend.

Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo lived in the Jamison Valley and were part of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, however tribal law restricted them from marrying. As a result, the brothers were said to have kidnapped the sisters, caused a huge tribal battle, and in response a witchdoctor from Katoomba turned the sisters into stone to protect them. However, the witchdoctor was killed in the battle, and therefore unable to turn the sisters back after the fight ended. To this day, the sisters remain in their rock formation. Each sister stands 922, 918, and 906 meters tall, a very unique sight to see.

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters lookout

Wentworth Falls

We stopped for lunch in a nearby town, then headed to Wentworth Falls. This attraction is most recognized for it’s three-tiered waterfall that runs from Jamison Creek, drops over the cliff edge, and falls 297 meters down into a pool, then flows down to the Valley of the Waters. With bush walks throughout the area and various lookout points, this stop was definitely worthwhile! Since we have not gotten much rain lately, unfortunately the waterfall and swimming area was a little too dry to use, however it was still a lovely sight to see!

Wentworth Falls

Pride Mardi Gras

After returning to downtown Sydney, we made a last minute stop at a dollar store for extra glitter and body paint, then headed back to the hostel to get ready for a fantastic evening of pride! After dressing up in rainbows, glitter, and body paint, we followed our tour guides to find a spot to watch the Pride Mardi Gras Parade, which is very well known in Australia. This is one of the busiest days of celebration throughout the year in Sydney, and also one of the biggest pride celebrations in the world! With all viewers and road blocks, it was pretty difficult to find a decent spot to see, so unfortunately we did not see much of the actual parade. It was a lot of fun though to walk around and see everyone dressed up and supporting the celebration. The atmosphere was great, with so many colors, lights, music, and people having a great time. After spending the night exploring nightlife around Sydney, we made our way back to the hostel with a few new and exciting memories.

Friends and I at the Mardi Gras Parade

Lighted float in parade

View of Pride Parade

Somewhere Over the Rainbow segment of parade

Beaches on Beaches (Sydney Day 3)

Manly Beach

On Sunday morning, we walked downtown to Darling Harbour once again, and boarded a ferry to take us to Manly beach. This beach is very well known for surfing, and also has an adorable little downtown area along the edge of the beach. We spent about two hours there, walking down to the Australian Open 2016 surfing competition and watching for a little, checking out a fitness competition that was going on, and of course getting some sun and cooling off in the water. After what seemed like hardly any time at all, we boarded the ferry back to Darling Habour, then took a bus to Bronte beach.

Manly Beach

Australian Open 2016 surfing competition

Hand painted surfboards selling along the beach

Bronte to Bondi Coastal Walk

After arriving, we started on the Bronte to Bondi Coastal Walk, which took about an hour (factoring in stopping for photos), and leads on a path built right along the coast. The views on this walk are beautiful, and you get to see so much of the natural beauty in the area. Bondi beach is known as one of the most popular and beautiful beaches in Sydney, usually a must-see for visitors, and it was definitely worth the trip. Once at Bondi, we spent the afternoon walking around the small downtown area, and simply just enjoying time on the beach. We took fun pictures by a wall of street art at the boardwalk area, and early evening boarded the bus for the way home.

Bronte Beach

Bronte to Bondi Coastal Walk

Distant view of Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach

Taking pictures along the art wall

Despite the busy schedule and back-to-back events, my weekend is Sydney was very enjoyable and extremely worthwhile. There was no place we went that wasn’t worth it, and I was thrilled to check off many major items on my bucket list. My mom and I will also be traveling to Sydney together at the end of the semester, so I am happy to have a little first-hand advice for planning our trip!

Sydney Sites (Sydney Day 1)

This week my friends and I went on a tour through Sydney, with the highlight being the Pride Mardi Gras celebration! It was a wonderful weekend filled with incredible sites and experiences, and definitely worth the trip. We started out by taking an overnight bus to Sydney Thursday evening, taking about 12 hours to get to the city. The bus ride didn’t seem too long, but it was a bit weird arriving early morning and jumping right into the day!

Downtown Walking Tour

After arriving to Sydney early morning, we checked into Maze Backpackers Hostel, which was my first time staying at a hostel! It wasn’t the most glamorous accommodation, but considering we were pretty much only there to sleep, it worked well for the purposes of our trip. We all freshened up and headed out on a walking tour through the downtown area.

Our first stop was at Hyde Park War Memorial, which is an Anzac memorial in Hyde Park South. This building commemorates all Australians who served in the war, and is the principle State War Memorial in New South Wales. Built in 1934, the structure has been preserved very well, and is still in great condition today. Our next stop was the Hyde Park Archibald Fountain. This gift was built in 1932 for the City of Sydney in J.F. Archibald’s will. The fountain was created by Francois Sicard, and commemorates the relationship between Australia and France in World War One. We next visited St. Mary’s Cathedral, which stands just across the road from the Archibald Fountain. This English-style gothic church represents spiritual origins of the Catholic Church in Australia, and was built by William Wilkinson Wardell from local yellow-block sandstone just like the city is built on. The inside of the building is just as picturesque as the outside, and has a very warm and inviting color scheme in addition to the detailed architecture.

Hyde Park War Memorial

Hyde Park Archibald Fountain

St. Mary’s Cathedral of Sydney

Inside of St. Mary’s Cathedral

From there we walked to and through the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney, 30 hectares of gardens in the middle of the city. Started in 1816, this property spans around Farm Cove at the edge of Sydney Harbour, and inhibits plants from Australia and the world.

I think my favorite area of the gardens was when it opened up to the edge of the harbor, giving a view of the water and opera house in the background. Following the pathways out of the gardens, we walked to the iconic Opera House, where I was ecstatic to see this beautiful work of art in person!

The opera house is known as Australia’s most recognizable building, and took 16 years to build (1957-1973). A master of modern architectural design, engineering, and construction technology, it truly is an impressive work of art. We spent about an hour walking around the property, taking in the sites of Darling Harbour, and enjoying lunch on the water at Searock Grill.

The last stop on our sites walking tour was the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where we climbed the first pylon to see a spectacular view of Sydney. After walking out to the center of the bridge, we climbed 200 stairs to the Pylon lookout, 87 meters above sea level. This iconic bridge initiated construction in 1922, and opened in 1932. Even though we were not on the very top pylon of the bridge, it was still a spectacular view of the surrounding area!

Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

View from Sydney Harbour Bridge first pylon lookout

At the conclusion of our walking tour, we headed back to the area near our hostel. We made a brief stop at Patty’s, a market center in Chinatown, to pick up a few last-minute costume additions for our Mardi Gras outfits, then headed back to the hostel to get ready for the evening.

Darling Harbour Sunset Cruise

In the evening we walked back down to the Darling Harbour area, and along the way passed many people and decorations present for the weekend’s celebration. Seeing all the pride colors was heart-warming and very festive! Walking through the harbour area at nighttime was very pretty as well, with all the lights and evening bustle around the waterfront. We soon boarded a dinner cruise boat for the evening, and spent the night on the water. It was a lovely evening with friends, food, and beautiful skyline views of the city at night. After a few hours on the water, we docked and headed on a party bus to Side Bar, a local bar that was included with our tour package. We returned to the hostel after exploring Sydney nightlife for a little while, and got ready for our next day of adventures!

View of Sydney Harbour on the dinner cruise

Mt. Tamborine

This weekend I visited the Tamborine area Northwest of Gold Coast. Our first (stumbled upon) stop was at the very top of Mt. Tamborine, at a lookout point off the side of the road that showed a beautiful view of the land below. You could see far off to the mountains, giving an actual skyline view of the surrounding area.

View off Mt. Tamborine

Tamborine National Park

Our first planned stop was at the Tamborine National Park to spend some time swimming in the natural rock pools. I was expecting them to be enjoyable, but it turned out to be one of my favorite experiences so far! I also went to a rock pool last weekend, and these rock pools were much different but still amazing.

The rock pool I went to last week is an area carved out of rock right up against the ocean, near the border of Queensland and New South Wales. It had walls built up in a square, a flatter bottom, and was built right next to the ocean. Waves would crash on the side of the structure and even periodically spray past into the pool!

To get to these pools, you walk a little ways into the park, then follow a trail down the side of a small mountain canyon to where the rock waterfall starts. As you make your way down to the rocks you can start to see the pools, and a lot of people were there! The pool area starts with a waterfall at the very top, which flows over the rocks down about six or seven tiers, each with their own rock pool. The pools were various sizes and depths, and we spent time at the pool furthest down the canyon. This pool was not so crowded, the water was deeper, and there was even a small cliff jump and rope swing into the pool. It was a bit of rock climbing to get there, but such a great experience to carefully make my way into a pool that is literally natural fed with water, with rocks of various sized covered in algae lining the floor.

According to locals, during heavy rain the area has more water flowing through, so the waterfall is stronger and the pools larger, and when there is little rain the area dries out more. Luckily, when we visited there was just enough rain to have a smaller waterfall running and still nice pools. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the whole canyon, but due to the way it’s carved out, you could only see two or three tiers at a time. An aerial view would be beautiful to see. Unfortunately this must be a hard picture to get, because even Google couldn’t find one for me! However, in real life it looks like a scene that should be featured in National Geographic.

Top of rock pool canyon

Second tier pool, waterfall in the background

One of the rock pools

Mt. Tamborine Glow Worm Caves

For lunch we stopped at a local café, where I had one of the best veggie burgers of my life, and got to see the local lifestyle. Then we headed around the corner of the block where the Mt. Tamborine Glow Worm Caves were conveniently located! This has been an attraction I had wanted to visit since before I arrived in Australia, and since we happened to be so close by, we decided to check it out. Prior to the tour, we stopped by the beautiful pond they have on property and walked through a self guided frog house tour. The most unique part about this was that it was a relatively large pond, and while it was manmade, it was amazing that it stayed in such good condition despite the fact that it was placed directly on the very top of a mountain.

Pond on Glow Worm Cave property

While this property has a man made cave used for educational purposes, glow worms are a unique animal only existing in Australia and New Zealand. They are born, transform from egg to larva, pupa, then to an adult mosquito-like insect. Glow worms are the larvae, and the only stage in the insect’s life when they are able to glow. Adult flies only live for two days (females) or six days (male), and are not able to feed, so glow worms must consume enough nutrients during their larval stage to essentially get them through the rest of their life! In good conditions, larvae live for around one year.

Glow worms make silk threads that capture small insects for food, and get their name because of their special character trait of bioluminescence, or light produced by a living organism. A pigment called luciferin reacts with the enzyme luciferase and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the oxygen in the air to create the blue-green light that the glow worms emit. In nature, the lights can actually be so bright that they light up the cave enough to see where to walk. When standing in the cave, it looks similar to looking up into a night sky full of starts. Theoretically, the glow worms have adapted this way to make it look like a night sky, so potential prey will try to fly upwards and get stuck in the silk threads of the glow worms.

Another fun fact, our eyes are so trained to filter out extremely bright lights that when you look directly at the very tiny glow worms, it “disappears.” In comparison to the dark room, our eyes are unable to detect the light when looking directly at it, however you can still see them in peripheral vision. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside the cave, but look below to see the best photo I could find online that looked like the cave we were in.

Example of a glow worm cave
(Source: Peter Clark, Bioluminescence, Pinterest)

This week is full of midterm exams, so it was nice to enjoy the weekend before lots of studying! Being able to spend time outside at such beautiful natural places has been one of my favorite parts of being in Australia. I am definitely planning on finding and checking out more places like this along the way!

Adventure is Out There

This weekend I was able to explore around the Gold Coast area a little more, and went on some very fun adventures!

Cruising Through Life

On Saturday morning, a friend and I took a Sea World cruise, departing at Southport, with the destination of Marine Sanctuary Cove. Fun fact, Sea World Australia is not associated in any way with the American SeaWorld Company. They have very similar marketing and architecture, but are not the same company.

The cruise was about an hour and a half each way, and we lucked out because it was a pretty empty boat that day, so we got to spend the entire time on the top deck of the 3.5 million dollar cruise yacht! We traveled through the Coomera River passing Wavebreak, Ephraim, Sovereign, and South Stradbroke Islands, with crew announcing information on the surrounding plants and wildlife. While Gold Coast is known for its tourism and vacation destination reputation, Hope Island, and specifically Sovereign Island, is home to the some of the wealthiest individuals in Australia. One house we passed by was the 13th house of the richest man in Australia, and for his daughter’s 14th birthday she received a private yacht fully equipped with crew. Smaller homes lining the edge of the water sold for $600-900,000, while other larger homes were priced in the range of $9-15 million. Ironically, a few homes mentioned were actually bought and then foreclosed, selling at a second time for a much lower cost (for example, somewhere in the range of $12 original to $5 second sale). Would hate to be the first buyer there!

View of Sovereign Islands, featuring the house and yacht mentioned above

View from the top deck of the boat

The boat stopped at Marine Sanctuary Cove for lunch, and we had a great time exploring the little island of cafes, shops, and waterfront views of the beautiful harbor. We ate lunch at The Covenant, a reasonably priced restaurant with gourmet food. If the descriptions don’t sound gourmet, take my word from the pictures!

Boardwalk to get fresh fish straight off the boat

Roasted pumpkin with coconut foam, wasbi ribbon, pea and wasabi puree, and cashews

espresso crème brulee, house-made pistachio and macadamia biscotti, and pistachio pershain fairy floss

Espresso crème brûlée, house-made pistachio and macadamia biscotti, and pistachio Persian fairy floss

View of the boardwalk and Marine Sanctuary Cove harbor

On the return from the harbor, we were able to spot a kangaroo in one of the grass fields, as well as a Dugong just past Wavebreak Island. This animal is a medium-sized marine animal, and is one of four species in the Sirenia order, including three species of Manatees. It’s closest modern relative is the Sea Cow, and looks very similar to a Manatee. The season for sighting is just starting, however our crew speaker informed us that it was only the second time she had ever seen one on that cruise route, so it was lucky! They are relatively non-invasive creatures that tend to stay grazing on the sea floor, and usually only come up to the surface for air. Since they move slowly, staying near the surface would unfortunately increase their risk of getting hit or injured by boat or other marine vessels moving quickly through the waters. After the sighting we headed back to port, and onto our next adventure for the day.

Café Catalina

A local Australian singer was doing an EP launch at Café Catalina, which coincidentally was just a short drive from where we were. The artistic, Jacob Lee, is currently on Spotify after spending time performing on WillIAm’s team on The Voice. We spent some time at the café listening to quality music, then walked around the area, which was just off of the beach. We walked right through a park-like area, and down the pier to see the lovely lookout, then walked left through a patch of mangroves. Then we headed home, and got ready to head out for the evening.

Miami Marketta

That evening we checked out Miami Marketta, a food and music venue. I would definitely say that it surpassed my expectations! The venue is an old warehouse, with murals painted all along the walls and lights hanging from the ceilings. When you enter, there is a stage with live music to the right, and a more permanent restaurant/bar on the left, next to a boutique shop. The first half of the area is seating, and the entire back half has food stands lining each side. There is also a room specifically for just dessert, and a few small seating rooms. Whatever food you are in the mood for, I guarantee you can find something! I got a Mediterranean flatbread sandwich of black beans and feta, as well as coconut gelato later on.

The food was fantastic, the atmosphere lovely and upbeat, and we decided we would definitely be returning with all of our other friends the next weekend! From there we went to explore the Broadbeach nightlife, and returned feeling like it was quite a successful day!

Lights of Miami Marketta

Dinner with friends

SkyPoint Observation Deck

After a morning of catch-up and travel planning on Sunday, I was able to spend another day exploring Gold Coast. I found out that downtown Surfer’s Paradise is very cute during the daytime. Despite the crowds, there are many shops and cafes, and even a street market that is held by the beach. One very fun stop was the Q1 tower, at the SkyPoint Observation Deck. This is Australia’s only beachside observation tower lookout. At 230 meters above the ground, you are able to see a 360 degree view North to Brisbane and South to Byron Bay. There is even a restaurant and live music to enjoy while you check out the view. It takes just 43 seconds to ride elevator up to the 77th floor, and they even have a video screen on the ceiling of the elevator to watch as a live camera films the movement of the elevator car. I would highly recommend a visit to this beautiful lookout point!

View off the SkyPoint Observation deck

Full North side view off the SkyPoint Observation deck

Burleigh Heads Lookout

Later in the day we went to check out the lookouts in Burleigh Heads National Park. While some of my friends were hoping to do a sunrise hike in this area at some point, it ended up being a much shorter hike than I anticipated. We walked by phone flashlight up to the northern lookout, which was a little small but allowed you to see the coastline lit up all the way to Surfer’s. From there we walked to the larger southern lookout, where again you can see all along the coastline lit up during nighttime. With the perfect temperature, peaceful water, and bright moon, it was the perfect way to end a weekend of adventures!

Life is Short, Enjoy Your Coffee

This weekend was scattered with thunderstorms, so sadly our outdoor options were limited. However, I am much more willing to take a little rain than the blizzard we all missed back at home!

Burleigh Markets

Saturday morning we went to Burliegh Heads to check out a few areas recommended by a friend back at home who previously studied here. Our first stop, after quite the complex Uber ride there, was at Burleigh markets, held Saturday mornings in the Burleigh Heads State School. It had a cute market atmosphere, with many stands of locally grown organic fruits and vegetables, arts & crafts, and gourmet foods. Though small, it was an enjoyable artsy and local-inspired atmosphere.

James Street

Our next stop was James Street, an iconic place to visit in Burleigh, lined with shops of fashion, food, drink, health, and beauty. We chose one of the many café’s, and enjoyed quality Australian coffee. After walking around the area, we actually realized that it was approximately the same area that we explored at night. We headed up towards Burleigh Heads National Park, and on our way stumbled upon a small surf competition taking place on the coast. With storms threatening there wasn’t a great turnout, but still a classic Australian event to stop by and experience for a few minutes! We checked out the trails at the park quickly before the rain hit, then headed back to Bond.

Mocha & Almond Croissant on James Street

Center of Cafe area on James Street

Surf Competition

Burleigh Head National Park lookout by the water

Sushi Train

Later that evening we tried a sushi nearby restaurant called Sushi Train that was suggested by a local. It was definitely our favorite sushi restaurant so far! We spent the rest of the evening looking at options for our trip to Bali. It was a fun day of exploring, and we managed to make it between the raindrops!

Australia Day!

Tuesday was Australia Day, which meant that I got to learn about what this country is all about!

While most Australians spend the day with family and friends at festivities, I was in class most. However, in International Marketing, our professor brought in a few classic Australian food items for everyone to sample. Here are a few of the top iconic Australian foods with a little history behind their fame:

Vegemite:
A dark brown paste made with leftover brewers’ yeast extract combined with vegetable and spice additives. It was created in 1922 by the Fred Walker Company, which later became Kraft Food Company. It was an attempt to make a spread out of brewer’s yeast, one of the richest known natural sources in the Vitamin B group. Originally labeled “Pure Vegetable Extract,” Vegemite took to the Australian market shelves, and has never left. Currently Kraft is working on marketing the product in the US, but due to it’s unique and extremely salty taste, it has yet to become popular in the states. However, the product has become so famous that it actually is sold in the majority of countries across the world, even in specialty shops in the US. In my opinion, it’s way too salty, but tastes much better on bread than crackers.
https://www.vegemite.com.au/heritage/vegemite%20story

Lamingtons:
A dessert made of sponge cake coated in a layer of chocolate sauce and coconut. It comes in a few different forms, such as squares, rectangles, or rolls, and sometimes also is made with a layer of fruit jelly. It can be found in South Africa (under the name hedgehogs) and New Zealand. It actually was created by a maid-servant of Lord Lamington (British eight Governor of Queensland) when she accidentally put it together at work.
http://australianlamingtons.blogspot.com.au/p/history-of-world-famous-australian.html

Caramello Koalas:
Pretty straight forward, milk chocolate koalas filled with caramel. Relating back to America, they taste pretty much like Rolo’s. This snack was created by Cadbury, and has remained popular for over three generations.
https://www.cadbury.com.au/Products/Pre-teens-Confectionery/Caramello-Koala.aspx

Twisties:
A flavoured snack, pretty much like cheese curls. They are made made Smith’s Snackfood Company, and have been on the shelves for over 50 years here. While Cheese and Chicken are the iconic flavours, they add to the line from time to time.
http://www.smiths.com.au/index.php/our_brands

Tim Tams:
Two cookie wafer with cream in the middle, coated in chocolate. There are classic types, including original, dark, white, caramel, and double coat, as well as many specialty Tim Tam products. This product also exists in the States, however is not nearly as popular as in Australia. Fun fact, based on a market research study, they found that Americans would not purchase the product because there were not enough in one package.
http://www.arnotts.com.au/products/tim-tam/

The Evening

After a long day of classes, my friends and I went to Broadbeach for the evening. We enjoyed dinner at a nice Sushi restaurant called Oh Sushi. While an average sushi fan at home, here sushi is good, cheap, and very common, so I think I will find myself enjoying it quite often while abroad. Afterwards we went to a bar called Melbas in Surfer’s Paradise, and had a relaxing evening with friends listening to live music.

Evening at Melbas

Aussie Lingo

In addition to a few iconic Australian foods, over my first two weeks here, I have picked up on quite a few terms that are different than the word that would be used at home. Should you find yourself in Australia, expect to hear these terms typically in place of the American equivalent. I’m sure there will be updates to come, but here are a few that have come up so far:

mate – friend (is used fairly frequently)
parcel – package
hire – rent
playsuit – jumper/romper
cupboard – cabinet
prawn – shrimp (Essentially, however techinically prawns have class on three of their five pairs of legs, while shrimp have claws on just two. Their gills and body shapes are different, but for cooking purposes they are basically the same. Generally speaking prawn is used in place of shrimp, as you would see on menus.)
country – Australian outback (central land)
(vs) out back –back behind something else
Uni – University (students attend “College” in the US but “University” in Australia)
bloke – man
que – line
query – question
collect – pick up
joggers – sneakers
thongs – flip flops
bogan – hippy or country person
rocket – arugula (sounds so very similar)
jug – pitcher
sick as – awesome, nice (phrase to compliment something or indicate you like it)
no worries – okay, you’re welcome, filler (phrase often used as a general response)
biscuit – cookie

Adventures in Burleigh & Currumbin

Burleigh Heads

On Saturday of this weekend, I got the chance to join a local friend in visiting the Burleigh Beach area again. We hiked up a short distance to the overlook, which allows you to see all along the coastline, North to Surfer’s Paradise and South to Elephant Rock. It was a little overcast, but still a beautiful view of the Burleigh Beach coastline.

South side view

North side view

Currumbin

A few friends of mine had explored the nearby Currumbin area two days prior, and were heading back on Sunday. They started at rock pools, hiked up a mountain, and stumbled upon a organic fruit stand and farm. With an invitation from the owner to join them again on Sunday for local music and coffee, three friends and I were up for the adventure!

We took an uber straight to Freeman’s Organic Fruit Farm, which was established in the early 1900’s, and is now the only commercial fruit and vegetable farm that remains in the area. With the perfect soils, Freeman’s produces bananas that have won first prize at the RNA show. There production includes bananas (New Guinea Cavendish and Lady Fingers), Custard Apples, Avocados, Tomatoes, Various Root Vegetables, Cabbage, Pineapple, Mandarins, Mangos and others. All fruits and vegetables are grown 100% organically and taste so fresh!

History of Freeman’s Organic Fruit Farm

Map of the surrounding area

View with original sign of the farm

Standing next to a 100-year-old banana tree

The owner of the farm showed us a trail looping through the farm with scenic outlooks, as well as a starter coffee tree he was growing to one day start the process of producing coffee. We saw all different kinds of fruit trees, and spent some time listening to live music.

Farmer Market gathering place

After relaxing a while and eating fresh mangos in the sunshine, we set up to hike down the mountain and find the rock pools and cliff diving in the valley, following directions from the locals. We made it down the mountain following the road in about half an hour, and came across a small park with a river flowing through it. After making conversation with a local couple, we found out that our “5 minute drive down the road” was actually a 30 minute drive. Needless to say, our plans changed. However, we spoke with the friendly couple for quite some time, and they ended up offering us a ride home and inviting us to dinner at their house! We all know the term “stranger danger” so of course were a bit hesitant to take them up on the offer, but ended up accepting. Their house ended up being about 15 minutes from campus (compared to where we were at the park was at least 45 minutes away with unreliable cell service). No worries because we knew how to get to the smaller more tourist-orientated rock pools that was a five minute walk away, where we could call an uber if necessary. While at the couples house, they offered us drinks and we talked about all sorts of Australia and travel-related things. They even ordered us all pizza and were quite generous hosts. After staying for a little while, we called and uber home, and made it back just in time to make the meeting with our friends to talk about planning our trip to Bali!

This may seem like quite the “viewer discretion is advised” sort of story, but everyone needs an experience like this once in their life, right? Adventure is out there, go and find it!

A view from the top of Freeman’s Farm

Wildlife & Scenery Excursion

Most undergraduate students at Bond do not have class on Fridays, and some are lucky enough to only have class three days a week. Of course I am here to learn, as well as stay on track with my GPA and degree requirements. However, I also want to travel and gain many amazing cultural and travel experiences! Today we were able to have our first real excursion in Gold Coast.

Morning

After a morning spent at the school club fair signing up for activities, we visited the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. This has been on my Australian bucket list since way before I arrived, mostly because we get to pet kangaroos and hold koalas! We spent a few hours working our way through the exhibits, petting kangaroos, watching a bird show, taking a safari train ride, and holding a koala. America is definitely different than Australia when it comes to places like this. There was very low-key security (basically friendly sanctuary employees/guides), and you could walk in and out of many different open exhibits. These included animals like kangaroos, emus, lots of birds, and wallabies. We also saw koalas, wombats, echidnas, crocodiles, Tasmanian devils, and dingoes. Here is a video of a turtle pool:

The kangaroos were definitely my favorite, mostly because you could see them up close. They were very mellow and soft to pet, and it was fantastic. Considering kangaroos can be very dangerous in the wild, it was truthfully a little disheartening to see them so mellow in the reserve, but also an incredible experience to be among them so personally. The emus were in the same area, yet not quite as friendly. They tended to stay more away from people, but were still very interesting creatures to see.

Kangaroo exhibit area

Kangaroo with a joey in its pouch

Petting a kangaroo!

At the end of the sanctuary a few of us took pictures with a koala! Of course we had to fall for the tourist trap of paying for a picture, but holding a koala has been on my bucket list since literally forever, and it was something that had to be done (zero regrets). Her name was Rochelle and she was very well behaved, soft, and very photogenic. Definitely an experience I will remember.

Holding a koala!

The process…

Koala feeding

Afternoon

On the way back we decided to take a shuttle since we had about 10 people, and the driver offered to make a stop at Elephant Rock. It also was a breathtaking and well-worthwhile excursion. Essentially there’s this big rock on the beach, you walk up a short, steep set of rock stairs, and come out on a platform on the top overlooking the entire Currumbin Beach coast. It was quite windy, but a fantastic find.

The short climb up to Elephant Rock outlook

A view off the lower-level rock formation, facing the South side

180 view off Elephant Rock

Evening

Later that evening, we all took a bus to the Burleigh Beach area, about a 30-minute bus ride from campus. We had a calm get-together with friends on the beach, ate sushi, and shared our different adventures of the day. It was an incredibly relaxing evening, and our walk along the water at night was so peaceful. It was gorgeous to see the mountains and coastal landscape lighted up in such a picturesque way. We made our way back home after a day of making lifelong memories.

Nighttime view on Burleigh Beach, facing the South side

Week #1

The first week of classes was a bit of a stressful and confused blur, because I’ve had major issues trying to get my schedule finalized. HOWEVER, as of Thursday I officially am enrolled in the proper classes, and hopefully it will be easier here on out. Other than the enrollment situation, everything else has been great! Some highlights of the week:

Monday

Tried out some gym classes, went to Strength and Yoga in the evening, then met some friends for a casual get-together afterwards.

Tuesday

Lots of classes and still lots of confusion getting the proper classes sorted out.. more updates to come when I’m adjusted to my class schedule! The school rented out nightclub Vanity in the evening and hosted a “Illegally Bond Wild West” party. You can definitely tell the Australians apart from others because they are WAY into dressing up for theme parties, love the spirit!

Wednesday

Checked out Blackboard Coffee in the morning for milkshakes and breakfast, definitely a place I would recommend to others. Their eggs benedict looked AMAZING. A friend and I explored Market Square in the evening and ate at the HUB café, and met some friends to discuss potential travel plans afterward. Still getting adjusted to the schedule and when I have free time outside of classes, but each day one or two more things get set in order.

Thursday

Opposite of at home, I actually don’t mind 8am classes here at all. It might be a little early, but I’d rather have the rest of the day to explore. After my Thursday 8am a few friends and I went to travel agents at the mall to get estimates on trips throughout the semester. It was helpful but overwhelming because we all want to do everything (obviously) but have to pick and choose. A bunch of us have booked a weekend trip to Sydney for Mardi Gras (SO EXCITED), and are working on putting together a longer trip to Bali. I’m hoping to take a weekend trip to New Zealand, as well as a bunch of local excursions. Also, I was able to get my class schedule sorted out, a HUGE weight off of my shoulders. For anyone going abroad, pro tip, make sure your schedule is completely done prior to arrival (including the things that need to be taken care of outside of your control, such as administrative tasks). Later that night we went to the White-Out party at Don’s!

White-Out

Later that night I also had a dream (nightmare?) that my mom had come to pick me up from Australia, like she would at the end of a normal school semester. However, it was only two weeks into the semester (around now), and I was nearly crying saying because there were so many things I had left to do for the rest of the semester and I could NOT leave yet. It was so reassuring to wake up and know I have the majority of the semester yet, and I plan on doing some incredible things!