Australia: Yungaburra

Right now we are in Yungaburra staying in a hostel for backpackers. This is the first hostel I've ever been to and I must say it is truly amazing. The sense of community here is incredible. There are only four toilets and four showers for the whole place (eeek!) but no one is really complaining. This place is all about serenity and happiness and you can see it radiating throughout the whole place. Our group has basically taken over the whole upstairs with 6 people to each teeny tiny room. But again, no one is upset. Our group has become so close and we always have a good time no matter what we are doing which is something I've only experienced on mission trips. There is also a huge group of backpackers camping outside in the backyard and we all get to hang out in our down time. During lunch I met a girl from Denmark who is actually studying biomedical engineering! Go figure.

Last night (6/25/12) we went night canoeing which was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. The only sounds you could hear other than the voices of nature were the sounds of your paddle with the water. It was very eerie and I kinda felt like we were on our way to Howarts. We went on this venture for about 3 hours and we are were given "tourches"(flashlights/headlamps)to spot wild animals. Our group, in multiple canoes, was paddling along when our guide gave a quick whistle. This signaled to us that he found something worth viewing. We all frantically paddled to see what is was and it turned out to be a Amethystine Python! It was insane. It was just chillin in a tree and then he "docks" his canoe and goes up and grabs the thing. I felt like I was on the discovery channel or something. Long story short, I touched and got a picture with this beautiful creature. We also saw tree kangaroos, possums, and cane toads.

June 26, 2012

On this day we did a lot of educational hiking and sight seeing. There was so much green everywhere! I loved it. The tree pictured below reminded me of the tree that Totoro lives in. No one else had seen the movie which was a bit of a let down when I started rambling about it. The tree was awe-inspiring and so mysterious. It actually consists of 4 different trees that grew together.

After all the hikes, we did a service project where we weeded a corridor that would later be planted with trees. This helps decrease the rainforest fragmentation. We are just saving the world, no big deal. It was the most fun I've ever had weeding. We made a ton of progress in the whole process and the leader thanked us profusely. It was an incredible experience.

Us walking to the weeding site.

June 27, 2012

Today was our "free"day which we could either spend reading and doing work or going to see waterfalls. I think you know which option we all chose. We went to three different places, but they all had one thing in common. Scratch that, two things in common - beautiful and freezing cold water. Despite the low water temperature, everyone jumped in without hesitation. YOLO. I have included the pictures below. Tomorrow we head to our farmstays. I'm pretty pumped about this upcoming experience.

Oh, and I found a leech on my foot after swimming in one of the lagoons today. I see it as just a Australian version of a tick which I've had plenty of experience with in Maryland. They must love my American blood. Awww yeah!

Ready to go! We are dorks.

Right behind where that water is falling lies a cave. That's why we formed a line. I felt like I was waiting in line at theme park or something. It was tricky getting in there. Someone went in and reached out their hand through the water and you had to jump and hope you grabbed hold of their hand. It was quite scary and I couldn't breathe very well, but it was totally worth it!

Everyone got pictures of their own Herbal Essence hair flick. It was our bus driver, Paul's, idea. I'll take my commercial offer now.

Dinner time. Food = yummmmm

Australia: Magnetic Island

WE SAW SO MANY WILD KOALAS! We saw them up close and personal unlike before. Our bus driver was kind enough to make an impromptu side trip to see them. The hike to Balding Bay was awesome and the bay itself was absolutely stunning! It was the kind of thing you see on TV or the landscapes you can only dream about. The water was crystal clear and the sense of seclusion was incredible! The only way you can get to this place is to hike there or to ride a boat around the island. A few nudes were spotted and some of us may or may not have gone daylight skinny dipping...It was an incredible day full of nature in all senses. We hiked back to the bus and on the way home we stopped and fed a slew of wallabies! They were ridiculously adorable.



















The next day we traveled into Townsville and went to the Great Barrier Reef Headquarters which helps maintain the stability of the reef as much as possible. It contained species that were eventually going to be placed into the GBR itself. It was really neat and I basically saw the whole cast of Finding Nemo. Actually, the research for that movie was conducted at this very place. We also listened to a few lectures, one of which was given by an Aborignal women. I found this presentation especially rewarding because it helped me really understand what it was like for their people when Australia was being colonized. The treatment of the Aborigines was quite unjust and brutal. I can't even imagine how they dealt with it.

Hopefully these post are readable. My time on the internet is super limited and prolly will be even more limited when we leave Maggie Island. Plus, I need to start on my 2 essays and debate topic that are all due in two days (for real this time). Cheers!

Australia: Day 1 and 2

After arrival in the airport, we all exchanged our US dollars for Australian money, which is much more colorful and feels like plastic! I kinda didn’t want to spend it because it was so pretty and some of the coins had kangaroos on them.Yesterday we arrived in Townsville and took a ferry to Magnetic (Maggie) Island. We also had orientation and saw our first wallaby in our front yard! I can't upload many photos because the internet is extremely slow here, but I'll try and put up the best ones.








Today, we had mostly a free day to get settled and do what we wanted with our time. Most of us decided to go to the grocery store and then go on a hike to possibly see some koalas in their natural habitat. It was raining the entire day and we all decided to meet at noon to catch the bus to the trail head. It turned out that we missed the bus by 5 min so we had two options: wait an hour for the next one or hike 3 miles to the trail head. Half of us decided to do the 3 mile hike. Most strenuous and steepest hike I've ever encountered. Oh. my. lordy. Once we got to the trail head, it was easy hiking from there. Near the top, with no spottings of koala,  we decided to keep trekking and see the fort that was built during WWII. The view at the top was absolutely breathtaking. Once we had our fill at the top, we headed back down the trail and kept our eyes peeled for koalas. Then something amazing happened. Jared stopped us all and pointed to a tree in the distance. From afar it just looked like a enormous lump in a tree. Some Aussies were near us and we asked if that was a koala and they didn't think it was since it was so large. We used Charlie's binoculars and it was in fact a koala! It was a big boy koala. AND, it started moving and stroking the tree trunk when we were watching it. One of the coolest things ever, by far. Pictures below:

















Tomorrow we are hiking to Balding Bay (which is a clothing-optional beach). Should be interesting!

I'm Down Under!

I've successfully made it here!! Hopefully this post turns out just as well. We arrived here about 4hours ago (6:45am my time) and we are waiting for our flight to Townsville where our course will begin!

The sunrise upon arrival was extraordinary! It looked like a unarched rainbow. It contained all the ROYGBIV colors and I simply could not capture it on camera. My body clock is pretty screwed right now to say the least. Hopefully we can all adapt quickly. Everyone on the trip is super fun and bubbly and so enthusiastic to be a part of this grand adventure! (though I can't say that applies now as everyone is zonked out on the couches)

When we arrived, we got our passports stamped which is something we all were looking forward to. And may I add, Australian accents out the wazoo! I'm in heaven. We also had our bags sniffed by some very adorable dogs. So I was adoring the cute dogs while waiting in line and a woman yells at me, "Come on, wake up! move along!" Get yelled at by an Aussie: check. Generally I would have been slightly displeased by this, but not this time because, you guessed it, of the beautiful Australian accent. I think I found my weakness. I just want them all to never stop talking.

I can't believe I'm actually here! It's been a longg journey so far, but I'm loving every minute of it! :) Random occurrence of the day - first song I heard in the airport: Love Story. Australians love them some Tay-Tay.

TOMORROW!!

Tomorrow is the big day and I can hardly contain myself! I can't believe this is finally, and actually, happening! Four weeks of fun, adventure, limited Internet and unlimited nature. What could be better??

I'm almost all packed and I pretty much destroyed Walmart when buying snacks for the plane rides. No one will be going hungry in my presence. My main point of contact will be email (crazsportygirl@gmail.com) and I would love to hear from YOU!

Here is a map highlighting where I will be during the program. We start in Townsville and end in Cairns. http://auip.com/maps/NQLD.html

STAY CLASSY AMERICA

Prepare for take off

In exactly one week (!) I will board a plane, another plane, another plane, and another plane to arrive in Australia. I have outlined my complete flight itinerary below:

June19                Norfolk >> JFK
                            JFK >> LAX
June19- June21   LAX >> Brisbane
June21                Brisbane >> Townsville
July14                 Cairns >> SYD
July16                 SYD >> Christchurch
July21                 Christchurch >> SYD
                           SYD >> LAX (13 hour layover in LA :/)
July22                 LAX >> Dallas
                           Dallas >> Norfolk

I’m pretty sure by the end of this I’ll have flown more than a lethargic bird. Since I am crossing the International Date Line, I will leave LA on June 19 and arrive in Australia fourteen hours later on June 21. For me, there will be no June 20. It’s kinda cool though because for one twenty-four-hour period on earth, it will appear that Julie Trumpoldt does not exist. Spooky! Airlines should put a statement on the ticket like “Passengers are advised that loss of existence may occur.” That would be neat. What is even crazier is that somehow, on my return trip, I will arrive back in LA before I leave Australia! Now that’s what I call time management.


Also, this past weekend my sand soccer team won the Women's College DIV II championship!! Sorry I've posted this a lot on Facebook already but I'm just so proud of my team! :)

Getting close!

Fighting off wild animals in AUSSIE LAND in less than two weeks!!

 

Courtesy of TripAdvisor

Also, I successfully completed my first sprint triathlon on Sunday so I'm officially a triathlete! I definitely want to do another one!

Doovalacky

I realized I never actually said what class I'm taking. Here's the official name:

VT- AUIP Study Abroad Program in Northeast Queensland, Australia
BIOL 3954: Sustaining Human Societies and the Environment, June 21 – July 14 (6 credits)

An initial stay in Townsville, with lectures from faculty at James Cook University will be followed by an exploration of the network of national parks, reserves, offshore islands, and coastal areas of northern Queensland. In the field, we will snorkel (scuba diving is optional) and explore the marine diversity of the Great Barrier Reef; learn about Aboriginal culture and history through interactions with indigenous communities; investigate natural resource management, ecotourism and farming practices in the Outback; and hike through the tropical rainforest of the Daintree World Heritage Area to study the diverse wildlife and flora of Australia.

These credits are going to count toward my Green Engineering minor. For this course, I have to do a bunch of field research and write a ton of essays....without a computer! I hope this doesn't hinder my ability to write. I find that I rely on Spell-check quite heavily, so we shall see how this goes! I am excited about not having my laptop around though. This way, I can fully appreciate the experience and focus more on human interaction *gasp*


After the program is over, a few other students and I are going to Sydney, Australia and then traveling to New Zealand!