More Animals!

As if I did not get enough animals on Tuesday, a few days later was our field trip to the Australia Zoo! This was a field trip I had been looking forward to since the first day of classes, so I was extremely excited to go. This zoo used to be a smaller reptile park but Steve Irwin and his wife took over management of the zoo in 1992 and now it is much bigger and much better. Now, the zoo does an amazing job at celebrating Steve Irwin’s life and building on his dream. The zoo is filled with pictures of Steve, his family, and all of his animal ‘friends’, it is impossible not to feel his presence and appreciate his passion while being there. I wasn’t a avid Crocodile Hunter fan growing up or anything, but seeing all of his accomplishments in person still had a strong impact on me. The zoo is about 2 hours away from Brisbane, so my classmates and I packed the coach buses at 7am for that last field trip of the semester. At the zoo we first took a walk around the many crocodile habitats.

We then visited a kangaroo reserve, similar to the one I had played in at Lone Pine early that week. We did not have as much time here since we had a strict field trip schedule, but it was amazing because I finally got to see a baby kangaroo! There were so many kangaroos with Joeys in their pouches it was so cool! They were so little and cute, and they just hung out in their mom’s pouch the whole time. I was so surprised that the moms were not more protective over the Joey, they would still just come right up to us and let us feed and pet them. I was extremely excited and happy that I finally got to see a Joey!

We then visited the echidnas, and watched the zookeeper feed them. Echidnas are such weird looking animals, like nothing I have ever seen before. They let us touch the echidna which was a weird feeling, almost felt like plastic. We also saw a HUGE python, bigger than any snake I have ever seen before and even though it was behind glass it still scared me a bit. We also saw some wombats, which are also weird looking animals, and it was funny because they were climbing all over each other. We all got a turn to pet a koala, they are really soft and just calmly sat in the tree the whole time.

Echindnas

Wombats

Then we went to the Crocoseum and watched a show. In the show there were a few demonstrations with birds flying around and they also fed a huge, scary crocodile and we watched the croc swim through the water. They are such big and strong animals, I would be very afraid to be that close to one.

After the show at the Crocoseum we were taken into a classroom where the zookeepers/’stars of the show’ gave us a special behind-the-scenes educational session about crocs, birds, Tasmanian devils, reptiles, and koalas. The coolest part was that for each of these demonstrations they were holding the specific animal the entire time, and afterword we were all able to pet most of them (the friendly ones).

We were then given free time to explore whatever we wanted in the zoo. My friends and I went back to the kangaroos and spent some more time marveling over the Joeys. We also had another good look at the crocs, saw some more cool birds, and found a really old-looking tortoise.

I acted like a little kid when I got the chance to feed an elephant (I actually acted like a little kid when I simply saw the elephants, they are such cool animals!). All I had to do was grab a piece of fruit out of a bucket and hold my hand out, and the elephant would suck it up with his trunk. It was such a cool feeling except the slobber on my hand smelled terrible!

This was one of the best experiences I have had in Australia. This country as such unique and cool animals and I am so glad that I got a chance to see them all! I took some videos of the animals while I was there (mostly the kangaroos) so hopefully it will work and you all can see some of the cool stuff that I did!

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Last week I finally got to visit the koala sanctuary that I have been trying to go to since the first week in Australia. Lone Pine is the world’s first (and largest) koala sanctuary and is a 40 minute bus ride away from my apartment. I went with my roommate, one of our friends from out apartment building, and his girlfriend who was visiting from the states (they both go to U of I too). We were able to cuddle koalas, feed kangaroos, and see other really cool Australian wildlife. Needless to say, it was a really fun day!

We saw many beautiful birds like lorikeets, parrots, kookaburra, emu, cockatoo, cassowary, and a crested hawk.

We made sure that we went to see the lorikeets during 'feeding time' which was insane! The birds were so loud and flying all around you it was unlike anything I have ever seen. They would land on your head and fly right by your face. It was actually really overwhelming but a very cool experience.

We also saw a platypus, dingoes, lizard, a possum and a wombat.

The coolest part about the day was getting to play with the kangaroos. There is a 5-acre Kangaroo reserve with more than 100 kangaroos and wallabies hopping around. We were able to feed them with some kangaroo food we bought at the gift shop, once they noticed you had food they would hot right up to you. They would also just let you sit or lay with them and pet them and just hang out. It was so cool! We did not see any Joeys, which I was disappointed about. Some of the kangaroos were really big which kind of scared me a little when I felt like they were bigger than me. They were not aggressive at all though and seemed to not even really care that we were there besides getting to eat our food.

Then, of course, we saw the koalas. It was so cool to see them up close and being able to hold one was amazing! Koalas are much more fragile than kangaroos, so you can only touch them with the help of an expert. You have to just stand still and can only really hold them long enough to get your picture taken. They are very calm animals, they really don't do much besides eat and sleep and they spend almost all of their time in trees but it was very cool to be so close to one.

After the koalas we went back to the kangaroo reserve because we had so much fun the first time. I would have hung out with the kangaroos all day if I could. It was a great day and I was so happy to finally make it to Lone Pine. Australia has such amazing and different animals and it was so cool to se them up close.

Whitsunday Islands

After two straight days of essay writing (with a small break in there to listen on the internet to the Blackhawks sadly lose the final game to the Canucks) my roommate and I finally left for the Whitsunday Islands!

The Whitsundays are only an hour and half flight from Brisbane and are known throughout Australia as the perfect vacation spot. The Whitsunday Islands are made up of 74 islands but only 7 of these are developed tourist spots while the rest are mostly uninhabited. They are also located close to the Great Barrier Reef, so technically in the ‘outer reef’, but the snorkeling was still wonderful.

We spent most of our nights on the mainland at Airlie Beach and took a sailboat from there to the islands (that is what most people do, since staying on the islands is more limiting and expensive for the most part). We stayed at a great hostel in Airlie, probably the best I have stayed at since being in Australia. It was very open and there was an outdoor restaurant and bar area with a bunch of pool tables and live music every night. We stayed in a room with 10 beds, but it had a giant window that looked outside into the trees, we felt like we were in the rainforest.

The people we met at the hostel were also great. We met people from all over the world and everyone was extremely sociable. We began the nights having a few beers together outside of our room where we talked and laughed about our different cultures and what we have been doing in Australia and then we would all go out to the bars together. It was actually the first time I was truly sad to say goodbye to people I have met on these small trips. Everyone has always been very friendly, but we have never spent a large amount of time with other backpackers until this trip. There were also a few other UQ study abroad students who were there at the same time, so we spent some time with them as well.

The nightlife in Airlie was also great. I have found that when a place is extremely touristy the bars are sometimes filled with really crazy people who are trying way too hard to have fun. These bars were much more low-key, all with live music and friendly people, and for once the prices for drinks were not insane.

The There is also a lagoon right across the street from our hostel where many people hang out from sunup to sundown. We had really beautiful weather the entire trip so during the two days that we were not sailing we spent the day lying out by the water. This area was gorgeous, I spent one day sitting in the shade on a bench just listening to my music and staring at the ocean. I could barely even read my book because I didn’t want to take my eyes off of the beautiful landscape.

By far my favorite part of the weekend was the sailing trip we took. We were on a boat for 2 days and 1 night with 12 other people and it was amazing. On the boat be stopped at Dombell Island, Esk Island, Tongue Bay, and Whitehaven Beach. In the afternoon of the first day on the boat we did some snorkeling, which was unbelievable. The water was really shallow so you could just float on top of the water and stare down at the fish and corals. The fish were unlike anything I have ever seen.

They were so colorful and there were so many of them swimming all around me. When I went scuba diving in Cairns we saw the reef but we did not really see many fish so I am so happy I was able to see some this time. I just cannot get over the colors- turquoise, green, hot pink, zebra striped.

Whitehaven Beach was also great. This is the beach on Whitsunday Island (the largest island of the group), which is made of pure-white silicon sand (you can whiten your teeth and polish your jewelry with it!) It is known as one of the best beaches in Australia. I really enjoyed every second of this trip.

All of these places were stunning and I also loved just being on the boat. There is something so peaceful and relaxing about sailing that I have never really experienced before. Every single direction I looked was unbelievably beautiful.I am so glad I was able to travel to the Whitsundays because it is a place that many people who visit Australia don’t seem to make it to. It was such a welcoming and relaxing place that I would love to go back to someday.Also, I am happy that I got the relaxing ‘spring break’ trip after our field trip. It was especially nice since Airlie Beach did not feel too much like a tourist hotspot, and there were teenagers, kids, and adults all enjoying the area together. The beauty I saw here is definitely something I will never forget.