SAFARI!

Safari. The biggest and bestest trip of the entire exchange, and what I have been looking forward to since my plane first landed in this magnificent land. It finally arrived what seemed like only a couple days ago, but come to think of it, it was already 2 months ago that it started! For those three weeks, I travelled around in a bus over 7000km with 37 other fantastic exchange students who made those many miles some of the best I may ever cover in my life!

It started on a cold windy afternoon, where everyone from my district met up in the capital, Canberra, followed by a bus, carrying the exchange students from two other districts joining us. That night was filled with a lot of socialising and being told the rules, etc for the trip. We also finally got our safari hoodies, complete with everyone's names!

The next day wasn't too exciting as far as the activities we did, but it was still a very fun ride (despite 8hrs on a bus) because everyone was still getting to know each other. We were also introduced to our 'morning song.' Our amazing bus driver had a morning song which he said we would listen to every morning when we got on the bus. This song was Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann and we were told that if we memorised the lyrics we would be able to choose the morning song for the rest of the trip. So myself, and a couple others started working on it, and about halfway through the trip, I managed to get it in my head! However by that time, we all learned to love the song so it remained the same. (Don't forget to wear sunscreen! haha)

Day 3 consisted of roaming Melbourne! In the morning we were given a brief tour and outline of the city, then let loose at the Queen Victoria Markets. The main thing I wanted to do was go up to the Eureka Skydeck, which is the tallest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere! So, I went straight there with a few others, this was followed by exploring the city and a little shopping, with lunch in Chinatown. We went back to camp for dinner, before returning to see the QV Markets since they were closed that day. These markets are the largest 'under cover' markets in the southern hemisphere, and were pretty cool. Although not much there caught my eye, it was still a cool place.

Day 4: GREAT OCEAN ROAD! This day we embarked on the Great Ocean Road on our way to Warrnambool, Victoria after packing up and leaving Melbourne in the rain. Our first stop on the road was the Twelve Apostles, which are are spectacular columns of stone rising out of the cruel Southern Ocean. On our journey along the coast, we weren't lucky enough to have a clear day and it was overcast and foggy, but what we could see was still amazing and our excitement on the bus remained high and it was practically a party bus at times! When we to Warrnambool, we set up camp within two hundred metres of the beach. The night consisted of dinner (of course!) and a sound and light show displaying the history of the local coast, as it is known as the Shipwreck Coast! The show was, honestly, a bit corny, but near the end they had a cool water projection and it was an enjoyable night. :)

This next day was meant to be a morning of driving and an afternoon of relaxing and hiking, but not everything can work out the way its meant to! We had an interesting little, unplanned adventure through the town of Mt Gambier. As we were driving along, we unexpectedly stopped 7 km outside of the town because, guess what; the bus broke down! We then walked 3 km to a roadhouse where we sat for an hour or two before walking another 4 km to McDonald's where we stayed for another 3 or 4 hrs. Finally, we were able to figure out the bus couldn't be fixed quickly and we got a local charter to take us to our next stop in Naracoorte, South Australia. In the late afternoon some of us went on short hikes through the national park before we had a tour of a fossil cave that night!

Day 6 was a trip to gaol (jail)! No, I didn't do anything wrong (as far as the police know ;) haha), but in Gladstone, SA, they have an old haunted gaol, where we had a ghost tour followed by sleeping in the cells. :) I believe in ghosts, but the tour was funny at times as the gaol keepers over played it a couple times, I think. However, the next morning, I got up early for a shower, and I swear I heard sounds that didn't quite belong.

Now, we made our way up into the centre of Australia as the dirt started getting to that red that Australia is o known for. Next stop: Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world! We arrived mid-afternoon following a stop in Woomera, where the Australian government tests long range missiles through a joint operation between the UK and Australia with support from the US. Once in Coober Pedy, we received a tour of the town, the underground Church, and a retired mine. Interestingly, the town's first tree ever was made from scrap metal and welded together! That night, coincidence brought us together with another group of Rotary Exchange students and a high school group, both from Melbourne!

We were all up early the next morning, and our bus pulled out from Coober Pedy at 0455, upon which we all fell asleep immediately, only to be woken up again in an hour, still in the car park for the underground hotel... The bus was having a 'hiccup' again! So we went back to sleep inside for a few hours to wake, and explore the town a bit more. :) Finally we left at 11, to start our long bus ride to Kings Canyon, Northern Territory! However, by now, the lack of sleep at night was starting to catch up to us, and while we had moments of fun and games, moments of silence started to become a bit more common on the bus, even if we weren't sleeping. Arriving to our destination after sunset and a time change because NT doesn't observe DST, we set up camp with our flashlights. The night gave us good fun, though, as we built a fire and danced / sung around it for a couple hours until we got yelled at!

The next morning we arrived to Kings Canyon and begun our walk after our driver and a couple of us had to carry extra water because the park rangers wouldn't let us go without 3 L/person, so, our driver, Martin, carried 40 kg (88 lbs) of water! It was a great walk with beautiful views! While it doesn't compare to the Grand Canyon, it was still very lovely. We even made a stop to the 'Garden of Eden,' which is a little oasis filled with water hidden in the canyon, and despite our leaders advising us not to, most of us went for a quick swim! After descending from the rim of the canyon, back to the car park, though, our bus decided not to start for us... It was fixed by mere luck and a nice bus driver whom we met at the border crossing into the NT. Yet, it caused us to arrive to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) late and miss the sunset....

The day at Uluru consisted of watching the sunrise over the rock from our campsite several kms away, before leaving to go to the rock itself! On the way, we even saw wild camels! At Uluru, we had a talk from the visitor centre about the area and the Anangu, the local Aboriginal tribe. This was followed by a short 1km hike around part of the rock and a description of some of the stories connected to it. We went back to our camp for lunch before going out the Kata Tjuta (Olgas) which is about 40 km away from Uluru. We had a walk and short geography lesson there before heading back to Uluru for the sunset. Sadly, it was overcast, so there wasn't a colour change, but it was still cool. It's just another reason to come back! :) I even met someone from Manhattan while watching the sunset! I didn't realize how nice it was to hear a familiar accent and talk to someone from [almost] home. That night, staying at the same camp as us were the exchange students we met in Coober Pedy!

Day 11 of Safari included driving to Alice Springs, which is a town that, while a prominent spot on the map, has only 20,000 people! On the way, we stopped at a place to ride camels, followed by a lunch of camel burgers! In Alice that night, we were visited at our camp by a reptile man who let us interact with two blue tongue lizards, a frill neck and a python similar to the one seen in this article! He also showed us a taipan, which is the world's most venomous! We were also educated on how to prevent and treat their bites, which differs from snakes in most other parts of the world as all native snakes in Australia don't have fangs long enough to get into the bloodstream. Pretty much, a decent pair of jeans is thick enough to prevent a snake bite from breaking the skin!

The next morning we explored the town for a little bit before heading to the airport for our flight to Cairns! We arrived early evening and went to our resort after ordering pizza for dinner. The next day we were brought out onto the Atherton Tablelands into the rainforest! The day was very adventurous with a stop at a giant fig tree not unlike the one in the film Avatar, a swim at a crater lake, a waterfall, and a natural rock slide! The day was full of fun and games!

Day 2 in Cairns brought us to the Great Barrier Reef! We had both breakfast and lunch on the boat and were allowed to snorkel whenever the boat was parked. I also went SCUBA diving in two sessions making a total of about an hour underwater! :) The Reef was amazing! Upon returning to Cairns, nine of us went to a restaurant where we shared 5 plates of kangaroo, emu, crocodile, buffalo, and barramundi!

Day 15 of Safari was almost entirely driving to Airlie Beach, a town very well named, as there is no natural beach in the area! In the morning, we boarded speed boats and took off into high winds and 2m waves on our way to the Whitsunday Islands. We had an hour to snorkel at a great spot with so many beautiful fish before we headed to Whitehaven Beach! This beach is one of the whitest in the world and we got to have lunch there before heading back to the mainland.

From Airlie, we left the tropics passing through Rockhampton, where, while trying to find a park for lunch, our bus broke down for the fourth and final time! However, it probably looked a bit weird to people passing by as our bus was stuck in the middle of an intersection and we ate lunch on the side of the road. O.o Sadly, this was the last time we saw our bus driver because they replaced bus and he couldn't continue with us... This was a huge disappointment because we almost had the same relationship with him as we did with each other. That night we stayed at an old homestead and had a 'Priscilla' night based on the film, "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." The night consisted of everyone cross dressing and I looked pretty hot, if I do say so myself! haha, a bit slutty looking though... We also had karaoke which led to me embarrassing myself for a good portion of the night!

From here, we continued south to Noosa, and then on to Byron Bay, which is known for its surfing culture and for being the Eastern most point on mainland Australia! That night, a few of us had a moonlit swim in the mighty Pacific before dinner. The next day was a good sleep in before we had surf lessons! The surf wasn't that great this day and it was very crowded but still fun! :) I explored the town with some friends before heading back to camp. The next day was spent on the bus on our way to Sydney!

We arrived into Sydney just before sunset and drove over the bridge! After settling in to our hostel and getting dinner, a few of us took the train to Circular Quay and walked to the first pylon on the Sydney Harbour Bridge which offered a spectacular view of the Opera House and surrounding area. The next day we got a bus tour of the city and got an hour at Bondi Beach! About 5 of us went for a swim, while the others complained it was too 'cold' for a swim, even though the water was a lot warmer than the air. However, I'd have to say it was probably the first time I walked onto a beach with a jumper (sweatshirt) with the intention of swimming. A few of us, later, got Japanese for lunch before visiting the Queen Victoria Building (not to confused with the markets in Melbourne) before exploring a little bit and eventually heading to the harbour. We spent a little while in the Contemporary Art Museum before my friend, Yu (yes, his named was a source of confusion throughout the Safari! haha), and I took a ferry around to Darling Harbour and back from Circular Quay, which definitely became a higlight of the trip. It was just spectacular seeing the city from water, especially as the second half of our journey was after sunset! We walked back to the hostel to spend our last night of Safari with everyone. We all signed each other's flag and made our goodbyes before eventually heading off to bed late. :( The next morning, we all boarded busses and trains to went home...

Safari was some of the best weeks of my life and I loved it! Even with the bus breaking down, it couldn't have been much better than it was! :D We even raised over $100 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service which flies doctors to remote areas of Australia for emergency medical attention. We did this through a system of 'fines' similar to that which some Rotary clubs have. Basically, whenever someone did something embarrassing or funny, we would 'fine' them for it! At first this wasn't received too happy by the group, but after I took control of it for the remainder for the journey, people began to like it and would even tell me themselves when they did something worth a fine!

I loved that time, and I will truly miss the great friendships I've made on those long bus rides. Thank you to everyone who helped make my Safari and my exchange happen! Thank you so much!!! :D

Ya...Actually, I did kinda forget about my blog...

Its probably about time I actually catch up on this blog thing. I believe my pictures are also a bit behind, so after they finish backing up, I'll add them for your viewing pleasure! Now to what my Australian life has included, I think pre-safari, will do best for this post.

Back at the beginning of March, the second of the month actually, I had a totally unplanned but fantastic day! Since I didn't have any plans, I decided I might as well go to church, which was nice, being the second time I've gone while in Australia. Yet, afterward, when I was meeting my host parents to bring me home, I ran into a rotarian who offered to take me along with him for the day, which turned out to be awesome! I helped him move a trailer before we went out for lunch with his family, a very pleasant experience. To take me home, he then offered me a ride on his motorbike! However, as we rode pass the airport, without telling me what he was doing, he just pulled in and brought me inside to his plane. This was followed by a great half hour or so plane ride around the area, where I got to fly (with the exception of takeoff and landing)! It was great to see my home (away from home) from the air and to pilot the plane. I've always wanted to fly, to this was amazing! :D

With the Australian Army Cadets during this time, we had the normal drill nights, but then some extra things. One of the nights was a swim test, so we all met at the town pool. The test consisted of a 50m swim followed by a 2min wade, which was easily done. THe rest of the night was great fun, just hanging out, playing soccer and footy. The following Saturday, we had a one day biv (bivouac), which consisted of some games, and practicing the flags for Anzac Day. THe following week, while continuing practice, we came up with a new drill movement, which we like to call the morf!

The month came to end with Safari, yet the weekend before, I had to get in a couple more great things! My host brother let me know about a UN Youth Conference up in Canberra, where I decided to join him. We left school early to go up to Canberra for the event which started that afternoon. Friday night consisted mainly of ice breakers and fun games. Saturday was an early start to the day before several workshops with discussions on things such as world order, and what that means. We also had a game called Interactive Problem Solving (IPS) based on current affairs and issues throughout the world. For this one, we were divided into several groups, each playing a different party in the affair. My group was the Secular Opposition while the issue was the ousting of the Egyptian dictator. We had to act is if we were this group, trying to represent their opinions based on the information we were given, while trying to forget everything we knew about the event from the news. The day also consisted of a guest speaker from CARE Australia, who spoke to us on what the organisation did and how they accomplished it. The Sunday consisted of another IPS, this time on something even more current. My group was representing the European Union, while the other groups represented the USA, Russia, and Ukraine. In this, as you may have guessed, we were trying to solve the Crimean Crisis. I have to say that for my group, this seemed to go really well and we were great politicians! haha We managed to avoid any major disasters and were beginning to take control of all parties though different negotiations. We had Russia and almost the US under our grasp while at the end we convinced Ukraine to join the EU! However this is how it ended since we only had an hour and a half to complete the activity, which definitely isn't enough time to solve all of Ukraine's problems! ;) Afterward, we also had a MUN, or Model United Nations, in which everyone represented a country; I was assigned to Senegal. This was followed by two resolutions being proposed and debated as these nations. Sadly though, with about 100 different people and countries, it was hard to get a position to speak within the time constraints of an hour per resolution, especially when my country didn't have strong positions on either resolution. But it was still fun!

That Saturday night, I left the conference while a Rotarian picked me up and then he dropped me back the next morning. This was so that I could go to a Brumbies game! The Brumbies are a team in Canberra who compete in Rugby Union, for those who don't know. It was a great game, and by the end of it, I got into the game almost as much as I would had it been a baseball game! THe Brumbies even won! It was great fun and I had a fantastic time. :)

THe rest of the month of March consisted of several parties, some small, some not, all of them fun. :) And of course, SURFING! Whenever I could I would be out on my board getting better and doing my best! Sometime during the beginning of the month, I even managed to stand up while at the top of the wave, as opposed to waiting til I slide to the bottom before standing up! I love surfing! :) Then came Safari, which I will talk about in the next post!