Trip Home

(Sorry this has taken so long.) I know there wont be as many followers, but here is a detailed look at our amazing trip home.

FREMANTLE
Ok, so it has been a bit of time since my last post, but you will have to forgive me, it has been quite busy. We finished up our last academic duties for the semester at different times during the week, although mine was in the final timeslot on the final day – Friday. During the course of the week, people began to leave Port Lodge and head home (the week of June 15-20). It was a very dramatic and emotional scene each time this happened. One of the people commented that it was as if the sins of the last four and a half months were always forgotten as soon as someone said that they were walking out the door for the last time- and I agree with that evaluation. We had the final dinner for the dorm on Wednesday, and it was amazing- with 5 courses and many good memories. It was delicious and nobody really wanted to leave. Following that, I had finals on both Thursday and Friday going out.

After my last final on Friday, the hurry to pack began. I had put some things together during the course of the week, but was not ready to leave. I hurried and scoured the room for any last remnants of living there for 4.5 months, and threw it into two suitcases and a backpack. I got rid of some of the things that I brought over the semester, but I also accumulated things to bring home. That night was one I will never forget. A large group of us decided to crawl around Fremantle hitting up our favourite haunts from the months. We hit about 5 bars, but did not go to the Orient, our home bar and most frequented location, because we had begun there the first night, and it seemed better to let that be the defining moment there and the beginning, rather than the end.

People left the house for good during portions of that night and very early hours of the morning. Before you can leave, you have to go through a checkout process with one of the RSs. The male supervisor, however, became so inebriated the night before drinking with us and wishing people goodbye, that he could barely stand the next morning (I am not sure Ganesh ever really stopped drinking). I heard that he was completely useless for the checkouts at around 5AM. My checkout was 6:15am, and I only really got about 2.5 hours of sleep. When I awoke, he was still barely able to stand, and the checkout process was comical at best- but got done.

The shuttle came to pick us up around 7am. There were nine of us headed to the airport on the same shuttle, but it was very emotional saying goodbye to the remainder of the house, and was very hard to do. This included good friends from other colleges that would not be travelling with us, such as Nicole. It was lucky that we were not the last to leave, and that we still had trips to look forward to.

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time, and said goodbye to a few people who were headed in different directions. We then boarded our Boeing 717 for Ayers Rock.

AYERS ROCK
While there were many friends on the plane to Ayers Rock, some of them had to use this as a stop on the way to further stops, while six of us got off to stay. We had decided ahead of time that the best way to tackle Ayers Rock (Uluru) would be to rent a car. We were not 25, which caused a large surcharge, but with three in a car, it was the best way to transport our giant 2 bags each plus carry-ons. We got the cars and headed straight to the rock. Ayers Rock is instantly recognisable as an icon of Australia once you see it. During the flight in, our pilot went out of the way to fly right over it, as well as the nearby Kata-Junta (Olgas). You will know it as soon as you see it. We drove straight from the airport to the rock. The rock is well over 800 metres tall and is the largest monolith (single rock) in the world, but we decided to climb to the top immediately upon arriving. It is a steep ascent, and there are chains to help you some of the way, but after a few hours we made it over peaks and valleys to the summit. It was a good thing that we were there in the winter, as in summer people regularly pass out or get in trouble while climbing- some leading to death. The climb and the view from the top was amazing. We truly were in the middle of the “red center” of Australia, and there is absolutely nothing but Outback and desert to be seen in all directions. It is a very remote location. The climb was taxing, but totally worth it for the view from the top. Climbing down was also a bit scary and slippery, but we made it without much trouble – albeit taking our time. We made it down just in time to go to the viewing area and watch the sun set over the rock. It truly is a sight, and one that should not be missed on any trip to Australia. It is the view that postcards are made from.

After watching the sun go down, we checked into our hostel. There is a resort at Ayers Rock that is relatively new, and is the only thing at all in the area. The airport is actually owned and operated by the resort. We had burgers and some cold beer to reward ourselves for the tough climb, and called it a relatively early night. It was our first night gone from Port Lodge, and we bonded before falling asleep. Originally we were supposed to see a start show from the desert, but it was cancelled before we could go. No matter, as the bonding was nice, and our room of three people was cozy enough.

The next morning we got up early (around 6am) and began the 45km drive to the Olgas (Kata-Junta). It is the other rock formation in the area, and is amazing to see the sun rise over. We made it just in time to see the colours bounce off of the rock. Following that, we decided to head out on the hiking paths that go through the Olgas. The Valley of the Winds is about 10 miles long, and goes up and down over unsteady rock paths. It was pretty challenging, especially that early in the morning, but was a nice hike and good exercise- plus the views were really good. As we finished that, we headed to the other hiking location- a much easier one- that went through a gorge in the rock. After another 5 miles, we were back and ready for a break. We went to the lookout stand and got great pictures before heading to the airport. We turned the car back in, and caught a flight to Cairns, where a very different landscape awaited us.

CAIRNS
Cairns is essentially a tourist town that sprouted in order to fill the need of a hub for tourists to see the Great Barrier Reef. After visiting one World Heritage Site in Uluru, we would see two more in Cairns (the only place in the world to be host to two of the 13 World Herritage Sites). We landed in the middle of a jungle rain forest next to the Pacific Ocean. The rainforests of Queensland (and really the only jungles in Australia) are world renowned for their diversity of life in fauna and flora. We arrived and met up with a large group of friends that we had left at Port Lodge. The night that we got there 10 of the 30 P.L. students got together and had a nice meal and visited the night markets before calling it a night.

Cairns is a nice place with some really nice parks and public areas, but underneath it is evident by the shops and restaurants, as well as the hostels, that they are catering to the backpacking and tourist crowd. That caused a loud night to sleep through, but we were able before heading to the reef in the morning.

We went straight to the docks after waking up and prepared for the journey that would take almost two hours to get out to the outer edge of the reef. There were rough waves on the way out, and we had booked the fastest tour boat in Cairns, and this combination led to me becoming pretty sick on the way out. I put my head down and closed my eyes, and luckily did not throw up, but watched as others were sick in all directions. Once we stopped, I could not take it any more and took as many sea sickness pills as I was allowed, two of two different varieties. This really helped the rest of my day.

We went to three different dive locations on the reef, with an hour at each location. We saw giant sea turtles, sharks, sting rays, giant clams, lots of huge fish, and many colourful fish of all varieties. Also, of course, the coral was amazing. It is really a very beautiful place, and it is hard to fathom while you are there that you are actually at the Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest living object, and one that can be seen from space. The colours and the different formations were just like you see on the Nature Channel on TV, except you were right there, and could see the fish swim in and out. It was probably my favourite part of the whole trip.

After three one hour snorkels, and a meal and resting time, we headed back to shore. I stood on the outer deck going home, and the wind in my face and the cool water (along with all those pills) allowed me not to feel sick. It was a really great experience.

That night we headed to dinner, and stayed for the drink special afterwards. One of the activities that night was goldfish racing. We decided to bite, and we paid 6 dollars for the rights to a fish (the next cheapest fish curiously was 32 dollars). Marisa had a straw and had to blow bubbles behind the fish to make it race down the tank, as the competitor did the same. Our fish (Nemo) won the first race and made it to the final four, but lost a tough race in the next round, we took third. We finished up at the bar, and enjoyed some greasy and salty food before bed and headed back.

Our principal group while travelling is a three-some, Me, Keaton, and Marisa. People come and people leave along the way, but that is the core group. At this point, six of us went out to the reef, and four of us were staying together in the hostel, Sarina from Sacred Heart being the other. She would join us for our next activities as well.

The next day we checked out of the hostel and put our bags in another hostel across the street that had a luggage room. We then got a pick up for the Cairns Skyrail. It is a cable car gondola that works its way through the jungle and over a mountain to get to the jungle town of Kuranda. The rainforest is such a different place that Ayers Rock was, it cannot be described. Rather than seeing almost no life, we could now barely and rarely see the ground as the thick foliage covered the landscape. It was exactly as you dream a jungle should look like when you are a kid. We could see animals beneath the canopy, and the cable car rose just above the trees. During the ride there were two stops, one that allowed you to walk along the jungle floor and look at how dark and dense a rain forest really is, and another that led to a giant waterfall. The rainforests are amazingly beautiful, but in a very different way than Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef were. I enjoyed seeing the foliage and the emerald green colors very much. The waterfall was also very pretty.

Kuranda can best be described as a hippy liberal jungle town. It does a lot of business through tourism, and is reached only by the cable car or train. Yet, around 4,000 people live there. Markets and stands were set up, as well as shops, restaurants, and everything else a town should have. Everything in the stands was a little out there and colourful to the extreme. It was really my taste, but I enjoyed walking around the streets lined with trees, and seeing the town rising above the river and completely cut out of the jungle.

We got back just in time for the four of us to meet up with two others, and the six of us headed for the airport. After seeing the absolute desert in Ayers Rock, and the jungle and corral in Cairns, we were off to more of an urban jungle – Sydney.

SYDNEY
Whenever an outsider thinks of Australia, they immediately come to Sydney. Native Australians will tell you that they prefer the grittier and more exciting Melbourne to Sydney, but foreigners and outsiders will always head to Sydney. We got in late, and made it to the hostel. It was nice to see Kevin waiting for us, as it had been since Perth since we had seen him. Keaton, Marisa, and I shared a private room, and everyone talked before we called it a night.

In the morning Sarina and Marisa and myself planned to undertake one of the biggest attractions in Sydney- climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is a very expensive activity, thus limiting the amount of participation, but one the three of us did not think that we could miss. I guided us from our hostel (which happened to be in King’s Cross- the red light district of the city) down along the water, through the gardens, and through the famous borough of the Rocks to the bridge. As we walked in, pictures of celebrities who had completed the climb awaited us. After 45 minutes of safety talks and strapping us into our suits we headed outside to begin the climb. It turned out to be a beautiful day. They strap you to the bridge with no way to do much moving, and you are not allowed to bring anything with you (including cameras). On the climb with us was a family from Ann Arbor Michigan, and they were big U of M fans. They got a rise out of us from Notre Dame, and especially me from the East Lansing area and an MSU fan. The climb truly was a great experience. The views in all directions were perfect, and we could see a long way. The city is really beautiful, split in half by the perfect blue of the harbour, and the buildings in the background as well as the Blue Mountains further away lead to quite a backdrop. Of course, the star attraction – the Opera House- is right there and you get the best view possible. It is a long way up, and you get to the very top of the very highest point of the bridge- directly over eight lanes of traffic. You are right next to the flag poles. It really is an amazing bridge, and it is obvious why it is such an icon for the city. The climb was hard work, but not too bad overall and totally worth it. After you get back inside, you can get pictures that they took of you along the way – and of course you do – and they get you there again, but it was worth the experience.

We met the rest of the group following the climb, and went up the tower portion of the bridge for another great view. This time we could take our own pictures, and we got stunning shots of the Sydney Opera House from above. We walked through the Rocks, explored Circular Quay, and ended up at the square where St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral stands. It is enormous, as is the square, and it looms over the landscape. It may sound familiar – World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II was held there shortly before he died. We headed back up to King’s Cross to get a look around before dark. The road that leads up to King’s Cross will make your jaw drop. On both sides of the road are the most expensive car dealerships you will ever see. Bentleys, Maseraties, BMW, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus, and others lined the streets as if it is no big deal – (no Fords or GMs to be found on this strip). We stopped at a grocery store and picked up some food before going back. After cooking some dinner, we called it a night.

We wanted to go to a show or a concert at the Sydney Opera House, but it was the New South Wales State Children’s Music Festival while we were there, and they occupied all of the theatres in the complex – all tickets were predictably sold out. We had to settle for the tour of the complex instead. The exterior of the building is one of the most recognisable in the world, and it is easy to see why. While I was in the city, I could never fully come to grasp with the fact that the amazing building that I have seen pictures of and seen on TV was right before me. I never really could believe it. It is a place/thing that I always wanted to see, and it did not disappoint.

Now I am not much of a theatre person, but I think the exterior gains the praise for the building, not the interior. While it is nice, it does not have the décor or the exclusivity of say Carnegie Hall in NY. The ‘Governator’, Arnold, actually won his last body building title in the main hall of the building – I don’t see that being held in Carnegie. That being said, it was very nice, and is absolutely an architectural wonder that it was ever built. Kevin and I were moved by the opportunity, and ordered champagne in the restaurant within the house. We sipped the drink and felt sophisticated among the “beautiful people” there.

The Opera House is right near the enormous botanical and royal gardens, so we proceeded there next. We looked around Government House, where the Governor of New South Wales lives, and explored the massive gardens (part of which have monuments, and some of which are occupied by thousands of fruit bats). We decided that we had to visit the world famous Bondi Beach before we left, so we caught a beach for the outer reaches of the city and the beach. It was a lengthy bus ride that took us through some of the well known gay suburbs of the city, before arriving at the beach. It was the middle of winter when we arrived, so it was not packed like the pictures you see, but there were still surfers in the water. The whole beach was magnificent, and we walked all the way around the point of rocks to get the full effect. You can easily see why this beached is jammed in the summer, and why it is so famous. The people who own houses along the sides of the hill overlooking the beach are very lucky people.

We headed back to change, before going out for a nicer dinner. There was a big group of us that had finally reunited in the city, 9 of us, and we enjoyed a last meal as that group. Following dinner, we headed over to Sydney University where Kevin had friends from high school studying. We went to the American dorm for a dorm party, and it felt like being back at ND. There were no Aussies there, but plenty of Americans, and it was a lot of fun. We played beer pong, and probably had plenty to drink before catching a cab back to the hostel. It was a night that felt like we were home, and back at school.

The next morning I asked to take a route through the Central Business District of the city and see all the tall buildings. While we were down there, I decided that I wanted to go to the top of the Sydney Tower. It is much like the Space Needle in Seattle. It is the tallest structure in all of Sydney, and because it was a clear day it gave the best views of the city and the surrounding area. I ascended the tower by myself, and despite the incredible overpricing, the views were awesome. After coming down, there was an interactive experience that included a ride showing different parts of the country. It was kinda corny, but alright, and showed a lot of the places that I had been.

We headed to Darling Harbour, one of the more well known in Sydney, and boarded a harbour cruise. This company allowed different hop on and hop off stops, and we took full advantage. Our first stop was Luna Park. Think Coney Island in New York, but right on the water and right under the bridge in prime real estate. It is across from the main city, and is sort of odd in that real estate. There is one in Melbourne as well. Taking advantage of our location across the water, Kevin and I wandered around to see the Prime Minister’s Sydney residence, and the Royal Governor appointed by Britain (remember legally the UK still controls Australia – although it is mostly ceremonial now) home. Neither are much to look at, and you can’t get a great look, but they have the best location ever. They are on a peninsula that sticks into the harbour and looks directly at the bridge, opera house, and city skyline – in an area called Kirribilly. John Howard, the prime minister who left office a couple of years ago made huge waves when he chose to live in the Sydney Prime Minister residence, rather than the Lodge in Canberra. If you see the location (and also the one in Canberra), its hard to blame him.

Following the amusement park and government officials homes, we cruised to the end of the line and got off at a more remote area called Watson’s Bay. It is near the opening of the harbour to the ocean. It is a quiet little town with sailboats in the water, and a great view looking upriver towards the city. We had a nice lunch on the water of fish and chips, and relaxed. We saw a tiny bit of the town, before catching the last boat back to the city. Coming back were great views of the opera house in front of the bridge, the way NBC drew them for the 2000 Olympics logo.

Kevin and Keaton went to see some of her friends that were staying in the area, while I led the group back to the hostel. We decided to route through the state government area of the city. Remember, Sydney is the capitol city of New South Wales. The buildings, however, were less than impressive. I was expecting grand old architecture that was imposing and powerful, but rather they were all rather dumpy. They may have been old, but they were closer to decrepit than grand. We still got to see them, and now we know.

The last night was absolutely perfect. We decided to cook our own dinner and sit on the roof of our hostel, which had a perfect view of the city. We overlooked the skyline, and I grilled up one of our favourite, and most Australian meals that we had made while we were in the country- Kangaroo. It is a delicious red meat that is much better for you than beef- very lean but sweet tasting. I grilled up the Kangaroo, while Kevin prepared everything and made grilled veggies to put on top. Along with Keaton’s rice, it was a grand meal for our last day in Australia. Sitting there eating something so very Australian, overlooking a city that is iconically Australian, and with people that I will forever associate with Australia was the perfect send off. We had to say goodbye after the meal, as we would be leaving very early, and that was tough, but it was the perfect last night in the country after 4.5 great months overall.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND
The design of the New Zealand flag may be very, very similar to that of the Australia flag, but the countries are very different.

We left the hostel at 4am, and dreary eyed, Keaton, Marisa and I landed in Christchurch. Two others were on the flight with us, but they would not be spending any time with us once we arrived. The first day there we were dropped off in Cathedral Square, the main portion of town. After checking into the hostel (again in the red light district of a city), we decided to explore the town. We walked around the square and up and down the main streets and malls (portions where roads are not allowed to be driven on) with shops and cafes. The town overall is not very big, and we got the gist of the city. It is very English inspired, and that shows in the architecture and layout. We went to an office to plan the next days activities, the only location that we had not figured out before we left.

We decided that night to take the Christchurch Gondola up the side of the adjoining mountain, and get great views of the city as well as the bay that was positioned on the other side in the mountains. We got to the top not much before sunset, and had amazing views of the rugged mountains and city below us. On the other side, the harbour that launches many of the Antarctic expeditions lay in a valley. It was very picturesque, and very different from anything that we had seen thus far on our trips. We sat in the lookout station at the top as dusk settled in and sipped piping hot tea. When the woman told me the temperatures for where we were going the next day, in the 20s (Fahrenheit), I also purchased gloves and a winter hat. As the fog rolled in, we could not help but be amazed at what a different landscape we were looking at – but also very pretty. We grabbed some dinner on the way back and ate in our hostel before calling it a night.

Christchurch is known as the Garden City, for its enormous public botanical gardens that are almost the size of the city center. We did not get to see them while walking around the day before, so at dawn Keaton and I headed over to them. There was frost on the ground, so it was not great, but we saw why they are so well known. As we walked back to the hostel, we saw Victoria Square, the other side of the city. Soon we were picked up early for the Lord of the Rings Tour. Now before you laugh, I am not a huge fan of the movies, nor was anyone on the tour. The three of us joined three European girls in a 4x4 vehicle and began the long 3 hour journey to the Southern Alps. We took the tour of the location it took us at a price that was cheaper than other similar trips. We stopped along rivers and small country towns during the trip for food and sights, before getting over the foothills and into the alpine. The Southern Alps are really majestic mountains, and snow covered at the top. We wound around past Mount Hood, where skiing was taking place, and eventually we got to a valley that was surrounded by mountains on all sides. This was where the Lord of the Rings shot all the scenes for the kingdom of Rohan. Sitting in the middle is Mt Sunday, where in the movie, the fortress of Edoras sat. We were shown stills from the movie, and it was cool to see where we were standing in the film. We drove down and eventually climbed to the summit of Mt Sunday. The guide brought some replica stuff from the movies, but we were much more interested in the incredible views that we were looking at. Just as Australia is known as Oz, New Zealand is known as Middle Earth. This is partly because the films for LOTR were entirely shot there, and also because it is exactly the landscape that Tolken envisioned when penning his masterpiece. It really came alive for us as we sat there. Part of the tour was a champagne lunch, and we enjoyed sipping some bubbly and eating sandwiches as we looked over the view. It was a little cold, but completely enjoyable. The tour was well worth it. The South Island of New Zealand is remarkably beautiful and sparsely populated. People come for the beauty of the landscape and extreme activities that you can participate in. I wish that we would have had more time

We did not miss the fact that Christchurch presented another incredibly different landscape than any other seen on our journey to that point. Beginning in Fremantle with the artsy little blue –collar town, then Ayers Rock and the middle of the desert, then Cairns and the rain forest and corral gardens, then the metropolis Sydney, and finally the alpine and snow covered mountains of Christchurch.

AUCKLAND
The 10th day of travel began with an early wakeup call to head to the airport. I was worried as for the first time in the trip home, we were not flying Qantas, but rather low cost domestic carrier Jet Star. It turned out not to be a problem, and we even sat in row 1 with nothing in front of us but the stewards – something I have never done before. We arrived in decent weather, and took the long ride from the airport to the hostel on the outskirts of the city, where Kevin was waiting for us; he had gone straight to Auckland from Sydney. The hostel was an old home, and it was nice, but it was weird when we had to take our shoes off at the front door and not wear them inside. We walked downtown and saw the CBD, as well as the main shopping streets. Auckland is not a particularly exciting or must-see city. I am glad that we made it there, but for the largest city in the nation, it was rather unimpressive or distinguished in any prominent way. We grabbed a bite to eat, and then Marisa and I headed to our scheduled appointment at the Sky Tower. The Sky Tower in Auckland is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and they have an activity that they call “modified base jumping.” Instead of jumping off of a building and using a parachute, a rope instead tugs you up right before you hit the ground as a parachute should. It was odd, because we were a little nervous about this activity, but while suiting up a girl who will be a senior at Notre Dame in South Bend in the fall just like us helped us. She said that she recognised me, and it was weird to have a friendly face helping us so far away. She did not get an internship this summer, so she decided to spend the summer in Auckland, where she had studied abroad the semester before.

The Sky Jump from the tower was amazing. It was weird to get to the edge of the platform on the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and then almost in a suicidal manner look down and just jump. When you jump it stops you for a second just to make sure you are alright, and then lets go with full slack and you are just falling down, down, down, in a spread eagle shape with your back to the sky. It is an awesome feeling, and the adrenaline definitely kicked in hard. When I landed, I could barely walk because my heart was pumping so hard, but I wanted to go again. It was a great experience. Following this, we went up the tower and actually looked out the observation deck portion. Auckland has a harbour and a bridge much like Sydney, but is nothing of the grandeur. It is somewhat dirty, and really ordinary at heart. It does not utilise the water like Sydney does, but it still had a great view, and was somewhat pretty looking over the vast horizon.

The Notre Dame student told us about the great nightlife, but since we were not looking to go out that evening, we explored a really large mall area. There was a great cineplex inside, and we decided to grab tickets for The Hangover. I had already seen the movie, but it was so good I was willing to go again. Tensions had risen a little that night (a product of being together at close proximity for so long), so we grabbed a bite and went to the comedy. It was a good thing to lower the edge and everyone enjoyed it. We walked around the city at night to get a feel for it, and then went back to our room to sleep.

The next morning we were supposed to wake up at 8 AM to make a phone call regarding the weather, as to see if we could skydive that morning. Unfortunately, the cell phone that I was using as an alarm (it was good for nothing else because my service did not work in New Zealand) turned off in the middle of the night, and therefore did not ring to wake us up. We missed the call, and therefore the morning skydive. We called when we finally woke up around 10, and they said that they could slot us in that afternoon, but we would have to call later about the afternoon weather.

Because it was only going to be Marisa and I jumping, Kevin and Keaton headed out to explore one of the volcanic islands out in the harbour. Marisa and I, on the other hand, headed up to the Museum of Auckland and war memorial. It is right next door to the famous One Tree Hill. It is a great museum, and one that you could spend almost all day in. They have a great section about the native Maori people, as well as a spectacular war section that had a lot of artefacts from both of the World Wars. I enjoyed visiting immensely. It occurred to me while we were there, what a better relationship NZ has with its native people, the Maori (who have an appearance of deep Pacific Islander) than Australia has with the Aborigines, despite the fact that the Maori have only been there for 1,000 years, and some estimates show the Aborigines at 60,000 years. New Zealand has officially adopted Maori as a co-national language, and many signs appear in both.

After the museum and walk around, Marisa and I headed back to the hostel to call the skydiving office. It turns out that it was too cloudy and windy to jump that day, and alas we missed our chance to jump in New Zealand – regarded by many as the adrenaline location of the world. With the other two gone for the day, we decided to walk into the city and down by the water to see if we could tour somewhere on or across the water. We decided upon a ferry to Devonport, an old upper class suburb area on the other side of the harbour. The strait which we crossed was home to the America’s Cup when NZ hosted, and we got excellent views of Devonport, the city skyline, and the Harbour Bridge.

The city of Auckland is essentially built directly over a chain of volcanoes. Some of them are ‘extinct’ and others are still shown to be active. Theoretically, one of the active volcanoes could erupt at any time and destroy the city. It seems odd to me that the nation would take a chance like that while building their largest city- and scientists seem to agree that it is inevitable that eventually this will happen – though most think it will occur in around 1,000 years. Devonport is home to two extinct volcanoes, including Mt. Victoria and NorthHead. We made our way to the top of both of these for excellent views of the surroundings. Devonport was nice, and the tour was very complete on the area. There were many old cottages and homes with amazing views that were constructed around the time of the founding of the city. It also interested me that despite the fact that the temperature was in the 50s, and that it is not uncommon for their winters to be in the 40s, palm trees grew all around us. They must be a different type than found in the US. The town centre of Devonport is very artsy, and we wandered around after the tour, before finally catching the ferry back and walking back to the hostel. Keaton and Kevin joined us shortly, and Luke arrived from the South Island. That night we went to an Irish Pub (felt like the right thing to do as four ND students) and had a good meal. That night was trivia night at the pub, so we stayed and tried our hand as a table. We came in a respectable 4th out of 8, considering that much of the questions were New Zealand based. We had a couple of miracle correct answers, with Kevin and I each getting at least one amazing one. On our team were two Canadians. They put all the North Americans together. That didn’t help our performance, but they were nice and fun, and we had a great time.

The next morning was one of our most important early wake ups. We had to pack up, check out, and catch the city link bus by 8am. We took the bus to Victoria Park, and then walked towards the Auckland Harbour Bridge. We had trouble making our way, and we had to be there by 8:55. We were supposed to be at the bridge by that time to check in for our bungee jumping. We had paid for a double jump each, and Keaton, Marisa and I did not want to miss it. We made it just in time (the bridge is a long way from Victoria Park), and got strapped up. We walked out on catwalks just under the road to the peak of the bridge. There in a special pod built for bungee, we completed two bungee jumps each. I was a little nervous, but excited to jump – as I had heard that it was a lot of fun. If you look at a picture of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, you can see that it is no small structure. The first jump was a forward dive, and I was randomly chosen to go first. Without hesitation, and ignoring the voice in my head that said I was an idiot, I lept into the air and began to fall. It is an incredible feeling to just fall head first down towards the water. Finally, the cord caught and I rebounded and bobbed a couple of more times, before pulling the cord to release my feat. Hanging out over the water, I was slowly pulled back up into the pod. Keaton and Marisa got their chance, and then it was time for me to have my second jump. This time it was a backwards dive. I was supposed to turn my back to the water with my feet out over the edge. I then lean as far back out over the water as I can with my arms out, while an employee holds me to keep me from falling. He then lets go and your lean that you have produces the perfect backwards fall. I was much more nervous for this jump, and grabbed his arm a couple of times before finally relaxing. There was loud pump up music in the pod, and that really helped. Finally, I just relaxed, and knowing he would release me early, began to fall backwards. This method is by far more exciting and cool, but much scarier and harder to get yourself to do. I am really glad that I did the method though. There is great video of Marisa getting scared and trying to make herself do this, before finally the employee just pushed her off backward.

We headed back to the hostel where we met up with Kevin, and prepared to head to the airport. Keaton would not be going with us, as the next day she would fly back home. We hung out and shared last moments with her, before finally boarding the shuttle, and heading to the airport. The goodbyes were tough, especially since we had spent so much time together, but it helped knowing that ND is only 6 weeks away.

NADI (pronounced Nandy), FIJI
Everything about getting to Fiji was a nightmare for me. The shuttle to the airport was incredibly out of the way to get other passengers in the city, and took forever. Then when we arrived, the check in line also took forever, as Air Pacific is not the most efficient or competent at the process. After we got through, the flight was delayed 2 hours for a broken part on the plane that engineers had to fix and replace. When we finally arrived in Fiji, I discovered as I took my first bag off of the belt that a bottle of red wine had shattered in my luggage. Despite being wrapped, it destroyed a handful of clothing and goods in my bag- and caused a big scene on the floor of the airport. Following this, my second bag never arrived. Apparently, all the bags were placed on the plane, but worried about the part, and already overloaded, the airline took 70 bags off of the plane just before departing.

I had to go through a chaotic process of trying to inform the authorities of the problem, as an ill-equipped Fijian staff got bombarded by over 70 people. The worst story was that of the two gentlemen in front of me. They had just flown from Auckland, and were on their way to the equator for an expedition. They were dressed in turtlenecks and jeans, as NZ was cold. Neither of their bags arrived, and there was no way they could go on the expedition to the equator without their supplies, equipment, and clothing. Their flight was to leave the next morning at 5am, as they had no intention of spending time in Fiji, The first flight from Auckland was due to arrive at 4 PM. To make matters worse, the next flight to the equator was not for two weeks. They were screwed, and they tried to tell a confused staff that they wanted to go back to Auckland, since they had no other options, and that getting their bags to Fiji was of no help. I felt bad for them. My own problem was made worse by a mistake made at the check-in back in Auckland that had put my missing bag under the ticket of Marisa. I tried to explain that the sticker on the bag was that of Marisa Lopez, but the ID tag of Thomas Staudt. They couldn’t grasp this. We headed to the hostel, and I tried to inform them that technically Marisa had lost a bag (mine) but that she was not on the hostel reservation anywhere because it was under my name. They needed to accept the bag anyways and that I would pick it up. Further, the lodging was not what we had expected, a large room with 40 people, and us not next to each other, rather than a small four person room. Luckily, Luke was waiting for us at there, and the hostel is otherwise nice- right on the beach. We went out to ocean and had some Fiji Bitter – which I really like – and calmed down. I went to bed angry, however, and a little frustrated, just hoping my bag would come the next day.

The next day could not have been more different than the problems from the night before. We woke up and headed to a local store. You may find this hard to believe, but that Fiji Water that is popular in the US is very cheap in Fiji. We got some supplies and went back to the hostel. Kevin, Luke and I decided to take advantage of the free golf, the hostel/resort offered, so we walked down the beach towards the course. On the way a coconut man stopped us, and we ended up drinking a coconut, and eating the inside. Afterwards, we continued and got to the course. Locally, this course was advertised as the original home to Vijay Singh. If this is true, I can understand why he is such a bad putter relative to the PGA Tour. The greens were atrocious. Other than that, it wasn’t great, but it was awesome to play in Fiji. The clubs we got looked like they were made in the 1960s, and I decided only to hit the irons. I actually hit the irons really well, and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of the game upon arriving home. Playing in metres, rather than yards, and with poor clubs was challenging, but I had a good backside only playing irons, and shot a 43- not bad for my first round in 7 or 8 months. With better greens that could have been lower also. While on the course we met a couple who was getting a quick round in, who had just moved there from Detroit – no matter where we went we always somehow found a link to home.

That night we decided to take a cab to the swankier area of the town in the resort portion. There is a central area there, and it includes a Hard Rock Café. It was not the greatest Hard Rock, but I have now gone to the only Hard Rocks in Australia and Fiji. We grabbed some dinner and looked through some shops. Finally we headed back to the resort. We enjoyed ourselves down by the water, and then went to bed- overall a great day.

By now you have read that I modified base jumped, and bungee jumped twice, including backwards. You must be thinking- wow, that was exciting. It couldn’t end there. We had to complete the trifecta, so the next morning we were picked up early and taken to the SkyDive Fiji location. We filled out the paperwork, and selected 14,000 ft, the tallest dive we can do. Marisa and I got in the small plane, and for 30 minutes ascended higher and higher. It really gave a great view of Fiji, and the surrounding islands as well. Finally we reached our altitude, and the door was opened. Marisa jumped first, disappearing before my very eyes. Next I put my legs out the door, and just like that was freefalling back towards Earth. Freefall lasted 60 seconds, before the parachute opened and we drifted slowly back to the ground, landing gently on our butts at the resort. Following the jump, we released some of our adrenaline by walking up and down the beach. For the rest of the day we relaxed in the sun, listened to music, and read books. It was really nice, and it had been a long time since I had done that. That night after dinner, there was a traditional fire dancing display. That was very cool. After such a long day, I called it a relatively early night.

Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, and Gold Coast

Yes, it isn't much longer until we get on a plane and head on our journey home that will cover six locations and a little over two weeks. But last weekend I had one trip to make first to a location that I really wanted to see- the Brisbane area.

Friday night after my final I packed and headed to the airport for the redeye flight across the continent to Brisbane. The flight left around 11pm and took about five hours. I sat in the middle, and this old guy next to me wanted to talk the entire flight. He did not understand that when my eyes were closed and head to the side asleep meant that I wanted to rest, so don't nudge me awake and talk. I did not get much rest on that flight. I landed around 5:40 in the morning and headed to the train station at the airport. It took some layovers and a couple of changes, but I got the train up to the Sunshine Coast. There I briefly saw the city, as well as the Glass House Mountain National Park, before heading to the Australia Zoo. The Australia Zoo is the place that the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin started and built up. His family still owns and runs it. Steve's image is on everything and they continue to play to that strongly. It is sorta amusement parky, but with the animals as the focus. It was very good, but not quite as good as I expected with the exception of the crocodiles and alligators. Most of them were caught by Steve Irwin himself from around the country, and there are tons of them, most with their own enclosures. These areas dominate the area of the zoo. The big Croc Show in the stadium that is on the grounds is pretty good, and there were a lot of foriegners there - including many Americans.

Following the zoo, I headed back to the train station and headed into Brisbane. After checking into my hostel at around 5pm, I figured that despite how tired I was, it was way too early to call it a night. I walked around a little bit including South Bank, where there are tons of parks and open community areas, even a man made beach with salt water where people come and swim. It was a Saturday night so a lot of people were out and having a great time. I decided to go on the touristy ferris wheel similar to the London Eye, and saw some great views of the city at night. After hanging out for awhile and observing the noise and excitement of Brissie on a Saturday night, I headed back to the hostel.

The next day was a blitz-krieg of Brisbane. I walked and saw pretty much that entire city and everything of note to see. I wore my Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sweatshirt in the morning because it was a little cooler early on and at least four different times someone asked me why the French "Notre Dame" was above the IRISH? I had to explain to them the situation, although most still didn't understand why those two names would be chosen for the same institution. Brisbane has great parks and gardens throughout. There are boats lazily on the river that runs around the city. On that Sunday there were many open air markets and craft booths set up all over the city. I really liked Brisbane. It didn't have the grit to it that Melbourne did. It certainly is a little smaller than Melbs (although Brissie is the 3rd largest city in the country and capitol of Queensland) but I liked it better - doesn't hurt that the weather is a lot better being so much farther north.

Late that afternoon I headed to the train station and caught the train to the Gold Coast. I arrived in time to check into my hostel and walk around as the sun set. The Gold Coast, like the Sunshine Coast, is both a region and a technical government area like a city. I stayed in the Surfer's Paradise portion of the city. The best way to describe Gold Coast is a slightly smaller Orlando combined with a hint of Vegas right on the ocean. This is where Australians go to vacation and where celebrities come to rest if they are in the country. It is that same delightful mix of the highest end shops in every category, to tacky tourist shops selling junk. There are lean to places to stay, and the highest quality five star resorts - the Mariott is really nice and they have a really deep swimming pool that actually has fish in it that guests can scuba in. Many celebrities own homes in the area as well -- I saw Jackie Chan's house. They also stay up much later than most of Australia. Even on Sunday night, shops and eateries were open well past midnight.

The area is called BrisVegas and the lights are always on at night and different things to do. There is a Hard Rock Cafe, and casinos. I relate it to Orlando for the reasons I mentioned earlier, as well as the fact that there are many theme parks here as well. It truly is a unique place- and a long stay there could be a lot of fun with all of those plus world class beaches. There are many high rises -- most of which are condos or hotels and they are right on the water. This is unlike many of the other places in the country where the beach side property is not allowed to be built like that. On Monday I went up to the observation deck of the Q1, the tallest residential building in the world. I also took a Duck tour to go in the river that runs on the other side of the city and see the theme parks, the ocean, the multi million dollar homes, and much more. I explored for the rest of the day before catching a two hour train ride back to Brisbane and the airport. I flew home that night, about a 5.5 hour flight, and got back to Port Lodge around 2AM.

I really enjoyed the trip and liked everything I saw. I really had wanted to see the famous Australia Zoo and the surrounding Sunshine Coast. I had heard good things about Brisbane, and to date I think that it is my favourite city I have been to in Australia. Gold Coast is insane. I think if we studied at a university there we would never get anything done. I loved each place and I am so glad that I got to see them. It is ironic that Queensland has the nickname the Sunshine State on their liscence plates. In so many ways it was like being back in Florida that I couldn't help but laugh. It was a great time. My legs are tired from the incredible amount of walking done during the trip, and I am a little sick of airports. but those will both soon recover.

In case your wondering, that final the day I got back went well, so no negative side effects of taking a trip between finals. Two finals remain. We had a giant five course feast of a dinner to say goodbye last night, and it was amazing. I have not eaten that much food in a very long time. It was delicious with chicken, steak, fish, shrimp salad, multiple deserts, etc. It was a nice way to go out in terms of meals.

I have begun to pack, and I am about half way there. It does not seem like over four months since the last time that I packed this suitcase. It will be very hard to say goodbye to the many friends that I have made during this trip. I look forward to the trip that we will take for 2.5 weeks coming home, but am sad that this experience is winding to a close. As I write this, I will be home in about 20 days. That number may seem small to you, but is a lot smaller than the 21 weeks that we started with. Finally, I was asked to calculate the total amount of miles traveled from the time I left Okemos until the time that I get back to Okemos. After doing all the calculations of all the trips, it comes to just under 54,000 miles and 26 plane rides. Now a lot of those miles are chewed up with the long journeys to Asia for spring break and back, as well as the journey from LA and back to LA. However, thats about how far my body has traveled which I find funny, because the 1990 truck that I drive only has like 60,000 miles on it!

Travel Map

I have had some requests for a more visual representation of where exactly I have been/ am going to be traveling over the next three and a half weeks. This map is color coated with a key on the right side, and is in chronological order of when they were taken. [Click on the map for a better view]

My second final is friday, International Business, at 9am. As soon as that is done we are getting together to plan and book things for our trip on the way home. That night around 9:30 I will head to the airport for a three day trip to Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, and Gold Coast. They are a cluster of cities comprising three of the top 10 largest cities in the country, with Brisbane being the largest. I will study on the trip, and then return Monday night, in time to take my final Tuesday afternoon. It should be a fun trip, and I really wanted to see Brisbane, so I am glad that I will have a chance to go.

As you can see from the map, I am pretty much covering all of Australia, and really didn't waste my time spent in the country. There are three or four trips that others have made when they spent the semester here, but for the most part I really feel I did about as much as I could. I would have liked to get to Darwin, the capitol of the Northern Territory, but it did not work out cost wise or time wise. You will notice, however, that I hit every other capital in the country, and will have visited every single state and territory in the country. Not a bad run.

It has been colder and raining here, which one would think would create a good atmosphere for studying- with no distractions. For the dorm as a whole it doesn't seem to be working out that way, but its early yet- with over a week left of tests. I feel that I got my hardest test out of the way first and I hope I did well on that. Tomorrow should be my easiest test, and in case you are worried, the test on Tuesday after I get back is the class that I am dominating and don't need much to get a great grade. I'll probably post one more time before I leave tomorrow, but in the mean time enjoy the visual of my travels.

City photos and finals update

Hobart with Mt Wellington in the Background and the city built up into the side of the mountain and the water leading up to the docks (capitol of tasmania)

Twelve Apostles -- Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Melbourne -- capitol of Victoria

Canberra -- Capital of Australia (capital building is the one in the background with the old parliament building in front of it)

Adelaide -- Capitol of South Australia

We went to the Maritime Museum of Western Australia the day after we got back from our trip. It was pretty cool and interactive with a lot of examples and boats in it. One of them was the Australia II which won the America's Cup and brought the defence to Fremantle basically saving the city during the 80s.

Today was the first final for me. It is run a lot like the SAT. It is independent of your professor. You have pre-assigned seats. You have to have your ID on your desk at all times. Some old lady reads from a giant book word for word the directions. Lots of info to fill out on the sheets. They count down the time, and have a pencils down. Definently weird and not run like finals at home. I will keep you updated on how this goes. My next final is on friday.

Southern Cities Expedition

We just got back from our "Southern Cities Expedition" which covered the large cities to the south of the country. We were gone for a week, and now it is time to rest up and recover as well as get ready for finals, which for me begin on Tuesday. Here is a recap of the trip.

Day 1: Perth to Adelaide
We left at 2am heading out from Perth to Adelaide on Tiger Airways. Luckily we got a ride to the airport, though so that we didnt have to shuttle in at that hour. Adelaide is an hour and a half time change ahead of Perth (I found that the 90 minute change was weird). Phones work there, but the clocks do not automatically reset so we had to make sure that we had the time right. We arrived at the airport at around 6:30am local time and headed to our hostel. We could not check in until 12, so we left our bags and wandered around town to see the sights. We saw the markets, and churches and almost all of the big sites over the course of the next six hours. Finally around 1 we checked into our hostel and went to bed. We were so tired from getting very little sleep on the red eye and wandering around for six hours that we slept the rest of the day. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and is known as the City of Churches. It also has a decent China Town area which we ate dinner at. We met up with one of Nicole's friends at some bars in a nice part of town, and finally called it a night.

Day 2: Adelaide
We saw most of the highlights of Adelaide during our 6 hour trek the first day, so we slept in a little bit later. We walked through the mall and shop area of the city before heading to Government House. It is the home of the governor of South Australia and is only open a few times of the year. We took a tour through the house and actually met the governor. We also saw the University of South Australia and University of Adelaide, before heading to the Botanical Gardens. We ended the day by visiting the National Wine Centre of Australia. South Australia produces some of the finest wine in the country, and the center was pretty cool. We grabbed some dinner and played some games and called it a night.

Day 3: Adelaide to Canberra
The next day we checked out of the hostel and visted a few sites before heading to the airport. We tried to visit an underground opal mine (South Australia is the leader in the world in opals), but it turned out to be really a tourist trap. We wandered through some shops and the big Victoria Square, before heading to the airport.

Analysis: I liked Adelaide. It is not a really big or bustling city, but it is laid back and has lots of nice open parks and gardens to enjoy. The city of churches does have a lot, and some are very nice inside and out. The bar area we went to was small, but enjoyable. I think it would be a nice place to live, although if you are going looking for a wild good time it is not the city for that. I am glad that I saw it though, and I actually really enjoyed the feel of the city despite its lack of wild atmosphere or tons of things to do.

Once we got to the airport we found out that our flight was delayed- and evenutally it led to a four hour delay and an over five hour stay in the airport. This was bad news because we had only booked ourselves about 24 hours in Canberra and were counting on looking around that day. We finally got to Canberra at night and went to the hostel. We decided to wander around the mall containing the war memorial to see it at night. It was about a 15-20 minute walk to the memorial, which is a mile long street with memorials to each of the wars and branches on each side of the road with a museum on a hill at one end and an open view to the capital building across the lake to the other. It was nice at night and empty as we saw all the monuments lit up. We decided to come back and see it at night and started to head back. At the museum are great open grassy areas leading up to the building. We were surprised to see a huge heard of wild kangaroos wandering around it; some of the biggest kangaroos I have ever seen. We walked back and explored the city part of Canberra with the government buildings for the territory and city, as well as the shopping district. We made pasta in the hostel and called it a night.

Day 4: Canberra
We got up early to begin, due to our lost time the day before. We started at the War Memorial, where we saw all of the monuments to different branches and wars. By far the oddest monument was the monument to the Turkish leaders and soldiers who defeated the Australian troops badly at Galipoli during World War II. I found it odd that a monument would be built to the side that defeated and killed so many Australians. As we walked down the hill and the strip visiting each monument, I was a little desturbed by one major fact -- the spaces along the road that they had built into areas, but put no monument. They were spaces in the master plan to eventually build monuments to future wars that have not yet been fought (that in itself is a sad commentary on humanity when something like that has to be done in a master plan because of inevitability). There were also some spaces for monuments that had not yet been completed.

After the memorial we headed over toward their version of the CIA building and their Defence Department's version of the Pentagon. They are not really secured from the exterior and you can walk right up to them. Rather than a pentagon they have four defence buildings that are arranged in a square. In the middle of that square is an enormously tall American Monument. It is one of the tallest structures in the city, and looks like the Washington Monument with a giant eagle on top. I find it humorous (and perhaps very fitting) that in the middle of their defence department square is a giant monument to the United States. Can you imagine a giant Great Britain Monument rising out of the Pentagon? It was built in 1953 to thank and honor America for coming to its rescue after getting bombed by the Japanese to start WWII.

We then walked towards capital hill, by heading down towards the lake that lies in front of the hill. There was the island with the national carollin, and other monuments on the way. Across the lake, I went into the Supreme High Court of Australia. The court was not in session, but I got to go on the floor and right up to the bench of the highest court of the land which was very cool. Following that I saw the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Walking up the mall towards the Old Parliament Building is the Tent Embassy. It is a bunch of tents in a community camp occupied by Aboriginees protesting their lack of rights and desire for their "country" to be represented in the capitol. The Old Parliament Building has been turned into a museum and we got to see the former senate and house of representative chambers as well as the former prime minister's office and working space. There also were many exhibits set up about the history of the Australian Governemnt. Heading up the hill farther, was the extremely modern looking new Capital Building for Parliament. The House of Representatvies was in session and we got to listen for awhile from the viewing gallery, although most members of the House were not present. We also could look around and take pictures of the Senate chambers. The chambers are large and modern, very functional, but lack a historic type of charm. We visited the roof of the building and got a great view of the city, especially looking towards the War Memorial strip. It was tough to get to, but we ran across the highway to get a look at The Lodge. It is the home of the Prime Minister, and is not open to the public. It did not seem to be guarded very visably other than the high fence and cameras, but we were sure they were there somewhere. It is not very big, and looks alright, but is certainly no White House. Heading back, we saw the American Embassy which has the best location on a hill just off of the capitol building. It is early American Colonial architecture, and is very large. We got back to Parliament, and got a cab to the airport.

Analysis: I was the only one of the four who liked Canberra. As the capital city of the nation, you expect a lot- and Canberra is no Washington DC. It is very small, and other than the government buildings and historical monuments, there isnt a lot there. It felt to me almost like a very spread out university campus. We rushed around and covered a lot of ground by foot (which only I liked), but I enjoyed the sites. Although the country is not very old, and the capital city even younger (Melbourne and Sydney battled it out for the capitol before Canberra was decided as a comprimise half way between the two), it still has a historical feel. As one of the top twenty most powerful nations on Earth, you still have to feel the presence of power that occupies the city. Governement stuff interests me, as well as war history so the city was enjoyable. It is certainly not prefferable to DC, nor could it really be considered a city (although it is the 8th largest city in the country), but I liked it.

We headed to the airport and flew into Melbourne. We checked into our hostel and headed out to the Italian district. They have a very large and well known Italian section with great food. We grabbed dinner and desert there, meeting up with four other friends. We headed around Federation Square and then walked along the river before going into an Irish Pub. We had some fun catching up and sharing our traveling stories up to that point before heading back to bed.

Day 5: Melbourne
We started the day by heading to the athletic complex of the city. We saw Rod Laver Arena and the grounds for the Australian Open (Tennis Grand Slam event), as well as the 1956 Olympic Park. Close by is the Melbourne Cricket Grounds where Aussie Rules Football is played and Cricket. It seats over 110,000 people and is a massive stadium. We took a tour of the structure, which ran a little long but was very in depth. We headed back to the CBD and walked around exploring before heading up the Rialto Building to the 360 Degree Skydeck. It has indoor and outdoor portions and a great view of the city. We walked back and saw the orignial old gaol (jail in Australian) and headed back to Federation Square. It started to rain, so we checked out some art museums featuring mostly Australian artists, and peeked in the Australian racing museum as well. After wandering around the city some more, we headed to a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some fun with large sombreros and drinks. We headed to the suburbs where a bar had trivia night (although it was mostly Australian setup and we didnt do to well), before heading back for the night.

Day 6: Great Ocean Road
Just as the ocean heads up the coast in California, Great Ocean Road is world reknowned for heading along the southern coast of Australia west of Melbourne. Four of us decided that we would rent a car and drive the loop that leads to the Twelve Apostles, a series of picturesque rocks jutting out of the ocean that are well known and oft-photographed around the world. The only car that could be rented, however, was a covertible. We started the journey with the top down driving around (remember we look foolish because it is winter) before it got too cold. We got a little lost leaving the city, but finally hit the road. We routed through Geelong, a larger city outside of Melbourne, and finally got to Great Ocean Road. The views along the entire route were amazing, and we stopped often for pictures. The road was very turning and hilly, so it took a long time to get there. We finally got to the Twelve Apostles and nearby sights just before the sun set. The view of the sun setting over the rocks was amazing. Some of the other sites were the Loch and Gorge, Razor Back, Blowhole, and Thunder Cave. We took a quicker route home, and had to hurry back. We had a reservation to meet the rest of our party at the Ice Bar in Melbourne. We were given coats, gloves, and some boots to go to the bar. Everything there was ice- including the walls, bar, furniture, and cups. It was definently a touristy thing to do, but also unique and fun. By the time we left I was pretty cold, however, and ready to warm up. We also went to a Saki Bar, where a few of our members of the group (not me) enjoyed some karaoke. We saw a different part of the city as we headed to a different hostel across town.

Analysis: Melbourne is pretty cool, and much bigger than any city we have seen here yet. It has powerlines blocking your view up for most of the city, however, as it has an extensive tram service down almost every street. It was very easy to get around because of that, but it took away from the city aesthetically. The river with the big buildings is a great view, especially at night. As the capital city of Victoria, it also had an official aire to it. It had a lot more action then any place we have been since entering the country. I would have like a little more time in the city to see individual things, but I felt like I really saw the city. Kevin described it well as a city like Chicago-- not a lot of individual things you must go see, but a lot areas you just need to wander around to experience being there.

Day 7: Hobart
While the rest of my group stayed in Melbourne for the day, I headed to the airport at 5am to catch a plane for Tasmania. The hostel we stayed in that night was in the St. Kildas suburb of the city and my ride to the airport got a pretty good look around it. I got on the plane at 7:20am and landed in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania around 9. I headed into the city via the large Tasman Bridge and headed to the docks. It was cloudy to start, so I decided to take a city tour on a double decker bus brought over from London. Following that, I walked around the CBD for a little while before heading back to the water. I took a 2.5 hour harbour and river lunch cruise with very good sea food. It gave a great view of the city and Mt Wellington towering over it through the clouds. I followed a walking tour up throught the different bouroughs and burbs of the city that was recomended in the book and it highlighted most of the notable sights in teh city including all of the government buildings, museums, gallerys, and historical buidlings of interest. Finally I strolled along the waterside outdoor market area and docks. They have great parks with memorials looking over the water and city, so I ended my day there as it got dark and began to rain. Finally I took a shuttle back to the airport.

Analysis: Hobart is not very big. But the homes and buildings are built into mountain sides of the enourmous Mt Wellington that looms over the water and the city. It is very cool if you take it for what it is- a small state's relatively small capital city in a valley. The docks are interesting and cool to hang out around, and it was neat to see the ships that head for the Antarctic based there. It is not a roudy city, and I probably didnt need much more time there. I wish it would have been clear in the morning so I could have gone up Mt Wellington to see the great views, but other than that I covered everything I wanted to see in my time there. I am glad that I went there to see Tasmania, which apparently looks a lot more like New Zealand than the rest of Australia.

As I got to the airport panic started. I was delayed heading back to Melbourne, which was bad because I had to meet up with the flight heading back to Perth. I flew Jet Star airlines out of Hobart, which landed in Melbourne at the opposite side of the airport grounds in the terminal as far away from the Tiger Terminal as possible. I dead sprinted for a long way to get to Tiger in time, and I was the only person in line in the terminal when I arrived. It turned out to be somewhat unnecessary as the flight was a half hour delayed and I made it with extra time. We headed back to Perth and were picked up at the airport and dropped off at a train stop. We then caught the train back to Perth and finally Fremantle.

The Southern Cities Trip was great. We saw so much over the week that we were gone, and the time flew. I really feel like each of the stops was different than all of the others, and it really gave a great flavor of the variety of Australia. Finals begin this week, and I must begin studying as my first one is in Moral Philosophy on Tuesday. I then have an Internationl Business final on Friday before heading to the airport on Friday night. Next weekend I will be in Brisbane and Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for three days and two nights. With so little time left in Australia, we have to make each day count.

Last week of classes

Today marks the last day of lectures for the semester. In each of the last classes
we really have gone over what our marks are thus far, what we need on the final
examinations, and what material will be covered-- except for one class where we
have not gotten a single grade back yet (very very frusterating). People have been
celebrating the end of classes this week, and after a paper that was due tuesday, I
have been taking it easier. I felt a little bit under the weather towards the end of the
week, but feel much better now following a lot of sleep.

Today we are going to a very popular beach north of Perth- Scarborough- for the day following class, as we wait to head out tonight. We have a week off to recharge our batteries before
finals start, and we are going to travel during it. It will be a group of four, consisiting
of myself, kevin from ND, Keaton from ND, and Nicole from Sacred Heart. We leave tonight around 11pm, and our traveling is as follows:

Saturday- middle of Monday--> Adelaide, South Australia

Mid Monday through late afternoon tuesday--> Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Tuesday through early friday morning --> Melbourne, Victoria

Friday--> Hobart, Tasmania

Early saturday morning--> back in Perth

Etc.

Last week was a rough one for sleep. I had to finish my economics essay, which took me a long time. It seems like sometimes in this blog there is this impression that it is all fun and games down here, and we certainly do have a good time, but we are still in school and have work accordingly.

I have never written a paper as long as the one that took over my life last week. It was 26 pages, 6,402 words and had 72 different sources. I am not sure what the longest paper I have ever written up that point was, but I believe it was at least a third shorter. It was an analysis of how the Austrian School of Economics Business Cycle Theory was the underpinnings of the macroeconomic theory of the Skyscraper Index. It probably took me about 40 hours over the course of last week-- which was accounted for with many hours up until 4 or 5 am. I am glad to get that out of the way. I have one big essay left for this week that will be cranked out over the next two days on the evironmental sustainability policies of the Vatican City state and their whole systems outlook towards climate change. Later in the week I will finish my final asignment, which is a short paper.

Friday night we went to a bar in Perth called Mustangs. It is an American themed bar, and serves a handful of American beers (sam adams, bud, and a couple others). It brought a tear to my eye when we went in though, because they have ESPN on the tvs, and I watched Sportscenter for awhile as the band was playing. Later in the evening, a baseball game was starting and I got to watch that as well. It is the first time that I have seen ESPN or baseball action since I have been here -- the longest such stretch in my life most likely.

Saturday a friend from O'Neill Hall back at ND came to visit. He just graduated, so he was able to tell me more about the conflict revolving around NDs recent graduation preceedings. He is spending a year in Australia to play minor league Aussie Rules Football for a team down south (by Albany where we visited a month ago). It was good to hang out with him and catch up on all things ND over the last semester.

It is also Peppy's 21st b-day today, so we went out to celebrate last night, and will do something cool today for the holiday.

My morning ritual is always to wake up and lay in bed while pulling up the internet and checking on any new news from ESPN. Lately this has been nice because the Tigers are winning and it is always a good way to start my day by watching their highlights. Rick Porcello, Detroits rookie pitcher, is 20 years old and the guy who lives next to me went to high school with him and knows him from there. It is weird for him when I start talking about how pumped I am for Porcello to grab another win, and he was a year older than him and saw him in the halls at school.

It started to get colder here for the first time this week. It rained three of the days, and coming off the ocean, the rain was rather intense. Lets hope that it gets a little warmer this week and stays dry, before we head out east for our next trip.

Staying Busy

The last week was a very busy week academically for me. I had to turn in two projects and gave three presentations. In terms of school work, I still have two major essays and one paper, but that is it until finals. This week will be tough also because of those two major essays that I need to turn in.

One of the presentations that I had to give involved participating in the Model United Nations. I have never anything like that before, so it was a new experience. Kevin and I worked together as a nation, and we chose to represent the Vatican City. This was a good choice. As it turns out, the research for the Vatican was very easy, and it was not very hard to make sure to take their stance on issues when debating in the General Assembly. The Vatican does not get a lot of power in the UN, and therefore we didn't speak or debate very often. The topic was on sustainable engery sources, and a resolution was put forth. As the Vatican, we did put an aditional proposition to the resolution that was actually passed (almost nothing was passed) and did so with 0 No votes (although 3 abstentions). I can now say that I have participated in a Model UN.

Wednesday night, I went with a large group from our dorm through a tour of the Fremantle Prison. It was built during the 1800s and open until 1991. It was supposed to be a scary tour and is supposedly the third most haunted building in the country. I didn't think it was scary, but it was a nice tour of the prison- not a place you want to end up.

Saturday I actually had a weekend here for the first time in a long time, and I decided to go to the Perth Zoo. It is a very nice zoo and really well done, although not huge. They are very much like Disney with fake rocks and amazing landscaping really hiding the zoo part. Unlike the Potter Park Zoo, which is kinda random in its organistion, this was sepearted into different continent themed areas. The Australian Outback was cool because the kangaroos and wallabees just wander around the paths and can go anywhere and right up to you. I enjoyed the zoo. I also wandered around Perth for awhile and saw most of the things I had not seen. It was a nice day off.

There are many birthdays this weekend, so we went out to celebrate them. Some are turning 21, others 22. A lot of them are packed together, but we have had fun celebrating them.

Surf Camp

This past weekend myself and three girls from our dorm went to an overnight surf camp. We got up at 5 am and took the train into Perth to catch the shuttle to Lancelin, which is a beach community about 1.5 hours north of the city, and well known for its waves.

When we met the shuttle we were suprised to be picked up by the quintessential hippy. Hydrogen peroxide dreadlocks, hemp shoulder bag, no shoes, etc.

As soon as we got up to Lancelin, we got wetsuits on and immidiately headed to the beach. There were 13 total students. The beach waas Edward Island Point Beach. This part had relatively low waves and was a good place to start. There were two instructos, and we got onland and in the water instruction. We surfed from about 9 - 11:30 when we had a break for some snacks, and then continued again from 12- 1:30. I could get up on the first day and take waves a little bit, and was the only one of the four of us that could do that.

At 1:30 we headed back to the camp site for some lunch, and relax after a tiring session. We grabbed some food and then took a little nap. Following we sent up our tents, and we decided that all four of us could sleep in a tent designed for two people.

We went to the nearby and popular Lancelin sand dunes. They are off of the water, and they are very large. They are the begining of a desert that stretches to the east. At the dunes we watched large 4x4s trying to get over the hills, and we sandboarded down the dunes (much like snowboarding but with sand). It wasnt too bad and was a lot of fun. There was a full moon and a sunset simultaneously while we were up there and it was very picturesque.

We headed back to camp and had a good dinner and played cards with the other people in camp. Following we went to bed, and realised that four people in that tent may have been a stretch. I had a good nights sleep, but noone else seemed to.

The next daywe got up early and had a light breakfast. It was cool in the morning and took some motivation to get up and into it. We headed to a different beach with much larger waves. We worked with the instructors with much the same schedule as the day before. The waves and the rips were much stronger and you took a pounding, but you could also get a better ride with more force behind you. There were a lot of really good surfers out also farther out and we could watch them getting thrown around as well.

It was a lot of fun, and I am really glad that I did it. I might be able to rent a board and work on some beaches around here for some more surfing. It was one of the things that I really wanted to do while I was down here, and really thought it was a good time.

Cinco de Mayo

I thought St. Patrick's Day was bad. I really did - I mean the Australian's barely knew what that was, or celebrated it. I mean there was green beer at some places and some people partying, but as a whole, not many locals - most were visitors.

Well if that was bad, Cinco de Mayo is completely nonexistant. We went to the bar to say "Happy Cinco de Mayo" to people and they had never heard the phrase or the name of the holiday before.

Not that many study abroad students went out, as we have a ton of school work due this week and next, but being that I am friends with three people of Mexican herritage, and one actual Mexican citizen (remember he is the one that didn't initially make it through customs when we entered the country with his Mexican passport), I agreed to go out for one drink.

It was very low -key, hardly anyone out, and was nice. They have Corona here, which is a familiar taste, but they drink it with lemon instead of lime. I have mentioned before how they LOVE lemons here. They do not have limes hardly anywhere, and it takes an upscale bar to even have limes on the premises. My Mexican friends agreed that Corona is not as good with a lemon rather than a lime, but it still was good. I also had some of a Margarita to complete the Mexican theme. We couldn't stay long because I had to get back to work, but it was nice to celebrate the Mexican holiday with some Mexicans.

I put more photo albums up. I know that these are not in chronological order. I know that these are not really edited or screened. I also know these aren't all that I have- and not all of them have me in them because I haven't swapped to get other people's cameras. Finally, I know that these aren't the main ones people want to see (Bangkok, Broome, and Albany). They are, however, a start. And they should take awhile to look at and keep all of you off my back for a little while - just kidding.

Phuket Part 1:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020506&id=1260810014&l=9ce0d3135e

Phuket Part 2 + Kuala Lumpur Malaysia:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020509&id=1260810014&l=f0cdef73f8

Archaeological Dig:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020510&id=1260810014&l=fbc46b2e8c

AQWA, King's Park, Professional Football (Aussie Rules Footy) (AFL), and Cottesloe Beach:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020524&id=1260810014&l=11408d5320

Random Perth Photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020525&id=1260810014&l=74230ba12b

Margaret's River

This past weekend we decided to take a trip to the south to one of the finest wine producing regions in Australia - Margaret's River. They produce about 45% of the premium wines for the country.

We took the bus down after class on Friday, and it took about five hours to get there. Along the way there was a terrible movie, but at least we got to lay back and stretch out our legs. By then it was night and we found our hostel and hung out before heading to bed.

Saturday we got up early and our rental car was delivered to the hostel. We had to drive to drop the guy off, and when we reached his house he asked us if we liked kangaroos. He had about 40 wild kangaroos in his yard-- he said they just came there because they would eat food around his property. The car was a 91 Mazda that was barely big enough for the four of us. All decisions were quickly made about who was going to drive when because we found out that it was a stick shift and I was the only one who could drive a stick (thanks Grandpa for teaching me that one). We could have been in real trouble.

We started our trip by heading north about an hour to Bussleton. It is the home of the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere at over 2km long. We grabbed some brekky (breakfast) and went west to Cape Naturaliste. There is a lighthouse on a bluff overlooking the ocean, and the hill had a wildfire relatively recently. The cape is pretty bare with the exception of the lighthouse, but it has great views of the ocean.

Our next stop was the nearby Ngili Cave. We decided just to see the information centre and museum and keep going because there are many caves in the area. As we continued to head south, we stopped at a couple of wineries. The two notable names were Clairault and Moss Brothers. Clairault was a giant estate and very very nice. They had a nice tasting area and some quality wines. Moss Brothers was much smaller and not as nice, but the wine was great and they were very friendly. They had nicer white wines than Clairault did.

We continued south to Mamouth Cave. We decided to go through it on a tour. It is very large and the formations and colours inside are very impressive. It was a great tour to go on. Not much farther down the road was Cave Works which was a museum about caves with interactive displays, as well as another cave -- Lake Cave. We went up and explored the mouth of the cave and the entrance, but decided not to take the tour in order to allow ourselves enough time to make it to our next destination.

At the southernmost portion of that part of the continent is Cape Leeuwin, just past Augusta. It is home to the tallest lighthouse on the mainland of Australia. We took a tour of it, and the views around the coast and the point were some of the best of my entire time here. The lighthouse is the dividing point between the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean (which apparently is now one of the oceans of the world, although I do not remember learning of this one when I was in elementary school). There were other lookouts and sites around the area.

We went to Hamelin Bay Beach to watch the sunset, and the colours were very nice and relaxing. As we headed back towards Margaret's River, we were taking a road through some of the impressive and large forests, when one of the most scary moments of my life took place. Standing in the middle of the road as I came around a corner was the biggest kangaroo I have seen yet. This is very common, much like deer back at home, but this roo was enourmous. It would have totaled our little car at best. Luckily, and with a little help from above, I was able to pick up what I was seeing in the dark quick enough to make a quick evasive move and miss it. As we went along it, it jumped toward the car in panic, but we just made it away with no contact. I feel very lucky that I was driving, as someone who has driven with the idea that deer could be in the road since I got my liscence, and that I was paying attention and picked up the depth in the dusk that quickly. It adds adventure to the story but it took me a little while to calm back down after it happened.

I found driving to be fun after it has been so long since I have been behind the wheel. I didnt find it hard at all to adjust to the other side of the road or the car (with the exception that the turning signal is on the wrong side and the wipers as well - they are flipped). I am glad that I can say that I drove on the left side of the road.

We got back to MR and had a nice dinner before getting a treat and heading back to the room. We had a little bit of a party and bonding time before calling it a night.

The next day we turned the car in and wandered around MR for the day. We went in all of the shops and went to a nice cafe for awhile. We spent some time in the Visitors Centre/ Vineyard Museum, and relaxed enjoying a weekend market. We chilled in the park before catching our bus back to Perth. It was a great weekend and I am glad that we did it the way we did because it was at our own pace and we got to see what we wanted to see.

See photos by clicking on the two albums below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020498&id=1260810014&l=1316723e7c

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020499&id=1260810014&l=9eb97644f1

Trip to Albany Region

This past weekend was a holiday weekend for Australia. In the same way that Labor Day unofficially ends summer for the US, ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day does the same for Australia. It is essentially the same as our Memorial Day. While the holiday is actually on the Saturday, Monday is a public holiday and there is no school (although it didnt help me because I already have Mondays off).

We decided to use to the long weekend to head down to the Albany region. Albany is the oldest settlement in Western Australia, beating Perth and Fremantle by three years. It was founded so that the British could claim this half of the continent, as well as become a lucritive whaling station.

Bianca, Kevin's Australian girlfriend, lives in the region and drove us the six hours down south. We arrived in Albany that night after classes on Friday, and we walked around the town at night and ate a delicious dinner. We got to see an old ship The Amity, and walk around it. We explored for a little while, including heading to the top of the mountain to see the war memorial. We stayed in this little hostel by the beach, and the five of us were in our own room.

The next day we got up early and saw a lot of the sights in Albany. We saw Emu Point, where Albany's Bay connects to the ocean, we saw the great beach Middleton Beach, and the landmark Dog Rock. After a breakfast, we headed 2 hours west to see the Tree Top Walk. It is through the tops of the Red Tingle Trees in a national park. It is very similiar to the redwood forests in California, and is one of the oldest forests in the world. We also went through a walk around the forest.

As we drove back towards Albany, we stopped in Denmark (where the forests meet the sea) and also home to the Guiness Book of World Records Largest Barometer (three stories tall).

Back in Albany, we went through the Residency Museum, and headed out to two of the most known geographic landmarks of Western Australia- The Gap, and the Natural Bridge. They are very beautiful. We also went to Whale World. We grabbed some lunch and then drove another 2.5 hours east to Jerramungup where Bianca lives.

"Jerry" has only 600 people. We spent the Saturday night at the Jerry Athletic club where we watched the footy games on TV and had a bar. It was real small town Australia.

Bianca's family is awesome and they made us a ton of great food. That next day we headed south to Bremmer Bay and saw the Main Beach and Fisheries Beach. They were really nice and had pure white sand much like Siesta Key Florida. It was a really nice side trip. When we came back we watched Aussie Rules Football on Sunday with the family and had a boys time. That night we made s'mores and watched the stars at night. It was so clear there out in the middle of nowhere and it was great.

On Monday, we went back to the club and played the sport of Lawn Bowls. It is somewhat like Bocce Ball on a large field, but the balls are curved and weighted and the field long. Its a different game, but very popular in Australia. Following that, we stopped at a park in Jerramungup, and then hit the road. In Wagin we stopped at a park and saw the Giant Ram, a sculpture 9 times the size of a real ram. We then finished the long trip home.

It was a great trip, and a very different tone than the last set of trips. The smaller group was enjoyable and made certain things easier. I am working on posting photos from all of these, so you will have to hold on.