Australia is a massive country. It is bigger than all of the United States but has the population of Texas. Although Australia is an extremely vast country, it is possible to travel a good portion of it in under three weeks and I can prove it to you. Why stay in one place for three weeks when you can go to ten? Exactly.
So in the very beginning of January I embarked on my three week "academic course" excursion of adventure based learning and ecotourism Down Under in the land of no worries, good ole Aussie.
We began our activities in the city of Melbourne, Australia which has been deemed the most livable city in the entire world. From Melbourne, we ventured to beaches and beach towns nearby to exhibit our newly learned surfing skills and explored the Great Ocean Road in all of its beautiful glory.
We enjoyed walking a lot the livable and friendly streets of Melbourne, toured the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, and went to an actual live cricket match at the grounds. A sport slightly like baseball but slightly like tennis had us all in awe, confused yet incredibly intrigued. We kayaked along the Yarra River and through the city of Melbourne, taking in all of the bustling sidewalks and different buildings.
With a snap of the fingers, we were on the road again, or should I say water, on our way to Tasmania. We took an overnight thirteen hour boat ride to Tassie, hopping off in order to prepare for days filled with cheer and outdoors. We explored the Mole Creek Caves, saw wombats and wallaby's galore around our campsite, and shared hand crafted pizzas and homemade pasta around the picnic tables.
We then swung our packs over our shoulders and braced ourselves to climb Cradle Mountain, a full day journey that was both strenuous and tiring. The views were incredible and just when we thought we would be able to breathe, we were up and adam the next morning to go canyoning, a rendition of cliff jumping and sliding down natural waterfalls and rivers.
After exploring different little towns and shops, we were on our way to Cairns, Queensland. Cairns was sweltering hot and we all lathered on sunscreen to enjoy some time by the local watering hole. In Cairns, we had the privilege of being able to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven great natural wonders of the world. Full of coral, brightly colored fish, turtles, reef sharks, and sea cucumbers, it was definitely worth the three hour boat ride out there.
We explored Kuranda, a treetop village reached by skyrail. Many of us played with the kangaroos and took pictures with loving koalas. Soon we were off to Brisbane, where we took busses to enjoy a weekend in the rainforest full of hiking, birds, and waterfalls.
Something extremely unique that we got to participate in was the Aboriginal activities. We worked with Aboriginal people who taught us about their culture, fed us emu and kangaroo, and lathered us with okra paste so that we could perform their dances with respect and dignity. Our group was part of only a few hundred people in the entire world who aren't Aboriginal who have had the opportunity to participate hands on in their culture.
On the road again and we were off to our final destination, Sydney. In Sydney we went canyoning again, took a tour of the harbour on a sailboat, had pancakes on the rocks and climbed the Sydney Bridge, a bridge that many celebrities, including Steve Irwin and Harry Potter have summited. Some of us then decided to close our trip with an adventure to Manly Beach and a viewing of a performance at the famous Sydney Opera House.
Seven plane flights and two cruise ship boat rides later, we had seen a great portion of some of the most beautiful parts of Australia and some of the most amazing cities. Adventure based learning was a hands on, exciting way to take a course that I will forever remember for the rest of my life.
