Byron Bay and Nimbin

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."

                   -Chinese Proverb

This past weekend I ventured to Byron Bay to de-stress from the many papers and presentations I had. Accompanied by two of my friends, Miles and Maarit, we hopped on a Greyhound bus and were ready for a relaxing weekend.

We arrived in Byron Bay in the late afternoon and decided to walk around town and check out the beach. The town consisted of basically two main streets where there was an array of shops, food, and Australian culture. People walked around barefoot with surfboards and were really chill. We ended the day by relaxing on our hostel porch with two awesome Phillip and Oscar (from Germany and the other from Sweden).

The next day we woke up to a rainy gloomy day. Since we couldn't hang glide like we had plan, due to the weather, we roamed the town and did a bit of shopping. We spent some time just walking down the beach, and even though the rain cleared up towards the afternoon, we were informed that we would not be able to hang glide because conditions were still not okay. Nevertheless, we played some games in the hostel lobby and had a great time relaxing.

Our final day in Byron we decided to venture to Nimbin. Famously known as a hippie community,  Nimbin is home to some amazing Australian culture! We hopped onto The Happy Coach, accompanied by John, our driver. He was so down to earth and a genuine individual. As we listened to Jack Johnson on our ride there, John stopped at a few places along the way to Nimbin to enrich us in Australian culture. Our first stop was at a lookout of Byron Bay...it was breathtaking!

Next we ventured up the hills to a hidden waterfall. Since the group was so large, we were not able to go to the bottom, however, it was still a neat thing to see. Our next stop was a local pub and it just so happened that it was located next to a Christmas shop...for those of you who know my love for Christmas, I had to give my wallet to Maarit so I wouldn't buy anything. We went back to the pub, grabbed a drink, and were on our way again. About 45 minutes later, we arrived in Nimbin. Since the town was extremely small, we walked the colourful main street in search of souvenirs.

In addition to shopping, we went to the Nimbin Museum. It was incredible to see all of the artifacts collected throughout time in such a small space. John had told us some history of how Nimbin came to be...Nimbin started out as a successful thriving farming community. Eventually, due to cooperations and factories, the farmers moved out of the area. As farmers moved out, individuals could purchase the land for cheap. It was discovered that the land was suitable to grow grasses and thus Nimbin came to be. After about an hour roaming the town, we headed down to the local bowling club where John treated us to an amazing barbecue (I think this was the best burger I have tasted since I've been in Australia!).

Once we arrived back in Byron Bay, with only a few hours of daylight left, we hiked to the Byron Bay lighthouse. We were told that it would take us about twenty minutes to reach the lighthouse, instead it took us about two hours. We eventually realised that we took the longer way, around the coast to get to the lighthouse. On our way, we stopped at the most easterly point of Australia.

As we reached the lighthouse, the sun was setting...it was breathtaking! With just a hint of sunlight left, we decided that we needed to head back to town. We walked down a winding road in pitch black with only a light from Miles' phone and to our surprise, it started to rain...and I mean POUR! We walked a few meters and a car had pulled up next to us. A lady had asked us if we needed a ride into town...without hesitation we said YES! It was so kind of her to stop and offer us a ride...in America I would probably be scared and wouldn't accept the ride, but here in Australia it's different.

People here are genuine and kind...we definitely saw this while we were in Byron. I'm so glad I made the decision to go to Byron Bay; it finally felt like I was in Australia. I don't think I've been as relaxed as I was for quite some time and it was nice to sit back and not worry about life. Despite the bad weather and not being able to go hang gliding, I think I had the most fun I've had while in Australia.

Here are a few more pictures from my trip:

Cheers,

:-: Katie :-:

      

Adventure to Sydney

"If Paris is a city if lights, Sydney is the city of fireworks."

                                                          Baz Luhrmann

This past weekend I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Sydney! It's one of the most beautiful cities I have seen thus far through all of my traveling. From different festivals to sight seeing to a beautiful fireworks display, Sydney had it all! 

After about a two hour flight, we arrived to our hostel in the evening. Accompanied by two others from Bond, Miles and Jayme, we set out and explored the city at night. We had dinner at a pizza place and then found a playground near Darling Harbour. Of course we splashed in the fountains and played on the playground equipment. We then walked around Darling Harbour and ended the night as we had a long day ahead of us. 

The next day our first stop of sight seeing in Sydney Harbour was the Opera House. 

We took an hour tour of the Opera House and learned about the almost 40 years of history behind the magnificent building. The Opera house consisted of some 200 rooms and held about 2,500 performances a year. Even though we were not allowed to take pictures inside the theaters, our guide let us in the largest theater hall at the Opera House. 

The stage was set up for a symphony and we missed the rehearsal by a couple hours...bummer! However, it was such an incredible thing to have seen. After our wonderful tour of the Opera House, we followed our adventurous side and went on a jet boat ride. Being such the adventurous group we were, we sat in the front of the boat next to the driver. I know I was in Sydney, but I think this was the most fun I had on the entire trip. The driver took us out of the Sydney Harbour and did a few tricks with the boat. He swerved side to side, quickly turned the boat so we would whip around and he also stopped the boat quickly so that I would get a mouthful of salt water. Even though I was completely soaked with salt water, it was one of the best things I have ever done! 

After the boat ride, we took the Sydney Ferry to the Taronga Zoo. This famous zoo is home to many animals from across the world, my favorite was the giraffes because they were so beautiful, however, I really enjoyed  one of the rams. 

As I was messing with the functions on my camera, he held this wonderful pose until I had the right shot...he was such a trooper! 

After the zoo we hung around the Sydney Harbour so that Miles and I could get some nice twilight shots of the Opera House for our photography assignment. We ended the day with dinner and headed back to the hostel to sleep for the next day.

The second day we decided to stay near Darling Harbour as we visited the aquarium, wildlife center, and had lunch at the Sydney Hard Rock Cafe. Visiting the aquarium was amazing, as it had been the first aquarium that I have ever been to. To see the different sea creatures which are around Australia was incredible. Of course I saw plenty of the Dory fish (from Finding Nemo)! We came upon a festival in Darling Harbour with had plenty of Spanish dancing, music, and food. It was neat to see that the city is home to a diverse culture! We then headed to the Sydney Eye Tower, which is similar to the Rockefeller Center, however, not as tall. It was incredible to see the city at about sunset with its golden glow. 

After the Eye, we walked through another festival...this time, a food one. Vendors from across the city set up in tents; there was food from Asian to American. The day ended with a fantastic fireworks display in Darling Harbour! It has always been a dream of mine to see fireworks in Sydney, and now it came true!! 

The final day we decided to relax a bit. So we slept in until we needed to checkout of our hostel, grabbed some breakfast from Starbucks (this was the first Starbucks I had encountered since we got the Australia, and boy was I in heaven!!), and then headed on the Sydney Ferry to the famous Manly Beach. It was incredible to finally see this beach as it was in one my favorite movies to watch with my sisters when we were younger (Our Lips are Sealed).We relaxed, well attempted to relax on the beach. The wind was so strong that sand kept blowing on us...this was a bit annoying, but the sun felt great! After about an hour on the beach we headed back on the ferry and hitched a ride to the airport. 

I had an amazing time going to Sydney...but my next adventure will be hang gliding in Byron Bay...stay tuned!

Here are a few more pictures from Sydney....

Cheers!
:-: Katie :-:

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better"

                                     -Albert Einstein

Last weekend I ventured to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. This day trip was exciting as I saw my first Australian animals, as well as some aboriginal culture. Different animals that I saw included koalas, kangaroos, dingos, and wallabies. As I walked around the sanctuary, lizards jumped out into the path and wild birds flew in the sky. I think I about died when I saw all of the koalas sleeping in trees and eating eucalyptus leaves...they were so cute! In addition to seeing koalas, we were able to go into a large fenced off area and pet kangaroos. Most of them just laid around and others waited for people to feed them.

                          (Picture I submitted for class)                               (Joey)

The first show we attended was the crocodile behaviour show where in addition to showing the feeding of two crocodiles, we learned about the Australian crocodile and its habits in the wildlife. 

(At first I thought it was fake, but it sure does move)

Next we walked back by the animal hospital where they rescue and rehabilitate injured animals from the wild. There were viewing rooms for surgery, unfortunately, there was no surgery going on, so we were not able to see that. The second show we attended was a bird flight show. Here different birds, which were not able to be rehabilitated, were shown to the public. I almost was nailed in the head by the wedge-tailed eagle as it flew onto the stage. In addition, there was a large pelican, black cockatoo, and even a wild kookaburra who wanted some lunch. 

                 (Wedge-Tailed Eagle)             (The wild kookaburra that wanted some lunch)

Finally, the day ended with an aboriginal dance show. This was fascinating to see as true aboriginals danced their tribal dances for various meanings. There was a welcome dance, spearing the fish dance, and a see you later dance. The instrument used in addition to singing was the didgeridoo-which was really neat to see. 

(Aboriginals; the didgeridoo is on the right)

This week also included my first experience of Australian Football League. This sport is not at all like American football or soccer; instead it is similar to rugby and is played on a circular field. It was quite an intense game as there were people compassionately cheering for both teams (similar to Packer/Bear rivalry).  

I cannot believe it is week four of fourteen here...the days are going by so quickly. I'm starting to get bogged down with assignments, thus not being able to travel as much, but hopefully things will clear up soon. There are numerous differences between classes here and back at home. The professors vaguely inform you of the assignments and what they want from you, so basically you have to keep sending them emails to get your questions answered. I have also found out that the writing style is a little different than what I would use back at Marian. Something that I find interesting is that you have to pay to print out papers...now I love Marian that much more for the fact that we don't have to pay to print. In addition, when it is time to turn in a paper, we must submit it to our blackboard and take a hard copy to the respective school our class is under. American students have found out how much they take the plagiarism policy here at Bond as teachers scan all papers through a system. Nevertheless, it is helping me to become a well-rounded student and preparing me for higher education.  

Below are some more photos that I took at the wildlife sanctuary...

                              (Koala)                               (Dingo)                     (Mama and Joey)

                           (Kangy...what one little Australian girl called a Kangaroo...it was so cute)

(My favourite picture of the day...why water a tree when you can water an emu!)

Next weekend I will be flying to another part of Australia, so stay tuned for that adventure. Please post any comments or questions below!

Cheers,

:-: Katie :-: