Aug 01
Since we were going on the horseback riding trip in various groups, we were given a plant scavenger hunt activity to do during our free time in order to cement the identification skills that we had gained a couple nights ago. We were given a list of plants: Rhaphidophora (Rhaphidophora hayi), Zamia (Bowenia spectabilis), Beach …
Aug 01
The day before Friday was not the best, to say the least. After some of the group were sick due to a stomach virus, food poisoning, or water contaminant (to be determined), including myself, the entire group on Thursday looked and felt dead. Luckily we all had Friday to look forward to and what better …
Aug 01
While definitely not a high profile activity like snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef or viewing the Aboriginal rock art in Kakadu National Park, canoeing on a quiet lake in Yungaburra, late at night, was just as incredible an experience. It was a cool night, you only needed a light sweater and your favorite pair …
Aug 01
After a quick nap, which became commonplace for me during any car ride between sites, I woke up to our tour guide, Sid, discussing Lake Eacham. Just like Lake Barrine, Eachum is a volcanic lake, also known as a maar. Both formed by magma boiling underground water into steam until an explosion eventually freed the …
Aug 01
Today was our first day of activities in Yungaburra. We visited several locations. We were guided by Sid, a man whose humor manifested itself in jokes about how long it might take a dead body to decompose in the rainforest (16 to 20 weeks in case you were wondering) or throwing sticks into the brush …
Aug 01
Today on our journey throughout Australia, and on our last day in the Sydney area, we ventured out to Botany Bay, where James Cook first landed in 1770. He spent 8 days here surveying the land and taking plant and animal samples to return home with. We started here at the visitor’s center, where we …
Aug 01
The day starts pretty early, with a hostel breakfast and a forty-minute bus ride to Bondi Beach. We get a thirty minute break for coffee and proceed to meet on the beach for our tour of the Northern tide pools at about 9am. Before we depart, Alex talks about the Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), mentioning …
Aug 01
My alarm rang at 8:00am, commanding me to wake up for 8:15am breakfast. I stayed awake long enough to convince myself that I should go back to bed until our departure time (9:15am) because, 1) I deserved it (the 2.5hrs walking tour of Sydney we did the previous day was quite a walk), and, 2) …
Jul 31
The Duke in Australia gang was sad to leave the beautiful Blue Mountains and charming city of Katoomba, but we were also thoroughly excited for the chance to finally explore Sydney. A nap on the bus brought us to the Featherdale Wildlife Park on the Fourth of July — I think I can confidently say …
Jul 31
Jeff, it seemed, “believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (The Great Gatsby) Damp ground underfoot and bleak gray skies overhead, we set out for the track. “Bush-walking” our guide …
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