Orpheus Island, or, "This is why I'm cynical."

4am, up well before the sun, throwing stuff in bags and scarfing down some breakfast, doing just enough to make it to the bus where we can all fall asleep for another two glorious hours. This was my Friday morning as I and my classmates prepared for a weekend at James Cook University's field station on Orpheus Island. The field trip was for the Marine Chemistry and Chemical Ecology class I am taking in Australia and consisted of long hours in the lab, snorkeling trips and hikes around the island among various other events and incidents. 

After a rough start to Friday (because really how else can a 4am start be described?), we piled on a boat in the pouring rain only to arrive on the island drenched, cold and exhausted. But the rain soon let up and we went snorkeling for a bit before beginging an 8, yes 8, hour lab that had us in the outdoor wet lab until 10pm that night. After a good night's sleep we awoke the next morning to finally enjoy the island. Although we had another lab that afternoon, the bugs had been worked out and it was only to take 3 hours that afternoon. With this, our morning was free and we were able to hike up the mountain and around the bay. The trails had been torn apart by Yasi the year before but with a little bushwaking and sure footing, we made our way up to the top of the mountain and back without incident. That afternoon's lab did, in fact, only take 3 hours and we were free to enjoy our evening which consisted of playing cricket and card games during which I and the other Americans became the butt of most of the jokes, but all in good fun. The next day we went for one last snorkel in a nearby bay that had some of the largest giant clams I have ever seen before packing up and heading home.

The station at Orpheus was by far the most up-scale station I have been to. Researchers and JCU classes alike frequent the island, doing lab work and research on the corals and fish and inverts that live in the waters surrounding the island. With a tv, really fast wi-fi, warm showers and constant electricity, we were far from roughing it and it made for an overall great weekend.

Groovin' the Moo

Groovin the Moo 2012 took Townsville, QLD by storm on Sunday May 6.  The cricket field was jam packed with music enthusiasts from all over the region and the stages were host to a range of well-known artists from across the globe.

Canadian band City and Colour

Australia's San Cisco

GTM started out as a small music festival in 2005 by Cattleyard Productions when they had the idea to start a music festival and bring it to not so major cities across Oz.  It started out with one venue and only a few Australian acts.  Now in 2012 it has spread to five venues and includes acts from Australia, the UK, Canada, Germany and the U.S.  The event is now a regular sell-out and it is easy to see why, with big names, good music and a great atmosphere, it is one of the biggest events held all year in Townsville, and the people from T-ville and surrounding regions love it.

Australia's Kimbra performing at night

Australian band Gold Fields

Lest We Forget - Anzac Day

April 25th is a much celebrated day all across Australia.  This day, Anzac Day, is the anniversary of Australia's first involvement in war and has become a patriotic day to celebrate and remember Australian troops, both past and present.

Troops march in an Anzac Day parade in Townsville, QLD.

On April 25, 1915, Australia entered WWI as a member of the British Empire.  Enthusiastic troops were sent to Gallipoli, Turkey with the mission of breaking a stalemate, however, the mission became a stalemate itself and the troops were pulled out in December of that same year.  And thus ended Australia's first involvement in war with the outside world.

Mounted troops pose for pictures during an afternoon service.

Regarded as a complete military failure, the troops' efforts in Gallipoli still marked a turning point in Australian history.  Noted as an instance of national strength, Australians found great pride in knowing that their people had willingly stepped up to assist their mother empire and thought it gave them an identity as a more mature and significant nation.  Not long after the troops landed in Gallipoli, people began idealising the Australian soldier and their efforts in the war.  So even though they didn't win any battles, the country did win a new sense of national identity and pride.

School children march past a military memorial.

Today Anzac Day is a national holiday celebrated by dawn services and parades all over the country, resembling something of a combination of Memorial Day and Veterans Day in the U.S.

From Coast to Coast Like Buttered Toast Part 3: The End of the Road

Perth, the final stop.  We had successfully gotten from the East to West coast of Australia.  We both stayed with friends at Murdoch University, located just outside of the city.  My first impression was that I rather liked the city of Perth, it is relatively small and surrounded by suburbs, kind of like my home town of Pittsburgh but a bit smaller and next to the ocean.  We spent little time in the city, only navigating it by bus to get around as our main purpose in going to Perth was to dive.  And dive we did.  This was the first time I have gone on an un-guided dive, since my dive partner was a dive master we decided to go alone.  We dove off of a boat that took us and a few other groups to Rottnest Island.  The diving was not so great as the visibility was very poor, not even a meter at the first site and only one or two meters at the second.  But it was a good workout as the surge was constantly pulling us back and pressing us forward.  Despite the conditions, we still had fun and the boat had some great food. 

On my final day in Perth I went cliff jumping with some old friends I had met during our program's orientation in Cains and some new friends I met while staying in Perth.  The sky was clear and blue, the water cool and crisp, and jumping from the cliffs and exploring the caves was a great way to end my trip.  Once we tired of the adrenaline rush, I packed my bags and headed to the airport to fly back to Townsville and all my friends...and my school work...  :D

From Coast to Coast Like Buttered Toast Part 2: The Big Red Rock

Ayers Rock was awesome.  The whole experience was a bit different than I had expected.  I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but showers and crowded campgrounds weren't it.  I was quite surprised (pleasantly?...maybe) to find that the camps we stayed at had showers and heaps of fresh water.  I was also quite surprised (not so pleasantly) to find that our group was made up of quite a few people who were not accustomed to roughing it, not that I would really call what we were doing "roughing it."  Despite that, we had a decent group, one American in addition to us, heaps of Germans, none of whom had actually come together, a trio from Denmark, an Italian, an Englishman, our Aussie tourguide and a Korean couple who came to be affectionately known as the honeymooners as they were on one of the last legs of their year-long honeymoon that had covered pretty much every country one can think of.  After being in the cool, crisp air of Sydney and the Blue Mountains, the hot, dry air of Uluru was intense.  But so were the colours of the red earth, yellow grass, green shrubs and blue sky. 

Uluru

Uluru

We walked around Uluru (which according to the natives you really shouldn't climb because of its spiritual meaning), through Kata Tjuta (where we temporarily lost the honeymooners), and through King's Canyon over the three days we were there.  We climbed up and down, learned about the geology and native history of the places, swam in a watering hole and watched the sun rise and set.  We saw camels and emus and heaps of other critters before setting off on a long drive on our final day to the small town of Alice Springs.  We spent just one night in Alice Springs, long enough to have dinner with our group and hear stories of Australia and the Outback from our tourguide, before heading to Perth, the final stop in my epic.

Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta

Kings Canyon

From Coast to Coast Like Buttered Toast Part 1: Driving On the Left Side of the Road

I've wanted to come to Australia since I can remember and now that we had been given a week off for Fall break, I was ready to explore the country.  So I gathered my bags and left Townsville with a few friends for a crazy adventure.  We left for Sydney, only getting the evening to take in the city, walking down Sydney Harbour and seeing the Opera House and enjoying the civilisation that Townsville lacks, before picking up our rental car in the morning and heading to the Blue Mountains.

Our plan was for me to drive, on the opposite side of the road, in the other side of the car, with gears and blinkers on reverse sides, from the heart of Sydney up to the tiny town of Katoomba, about an hour and a half drive.  It took us a bit longer, it turned out we weren't as good at following maps as we thought, but we got there in one piece, the 5 of us and our little car Ruby, with me driving and the other 4 making sure I stayed in the correct lane and that I wasn't going to get us killed.
The Blue Mountains are beautiful.  Katoomba is home to the Three Sisters and Echo Point as well as Scenic World, which despite its somewhat tacky name, is actually a really gorgeous, only semi-touristy part of the mountains.  So we hiked, we ate Thai food, we slept, we watched the sun rise over the fog filled valleys and mountains, we hiked some more until it was time to bid one of our party farewell and continue on to the next adventure.  With one body and two bags on their way to New Zealand, our little car had a bit more power behind her and we drove another hour and a half to the Jenolan Caves.

The Three Sisters

View From the Mountains



With another drive successfully under my belt, one including steep climbs, wicked turns, narrow mountain roads and heaps of potholes, we began exploring the Jenolan Caves.  We went on a tour which had us winding our way thorugh narrow passages and high vaulted chambers filled iwth stalagtites, stalagmites, columns and all sorts of other formations.  Afterwards we set out on a self-guided tour around the outskirts of the cave.  Between the two hikes we probably went up and down more stairs than we had ever seen in a single day in our lives.  Luckily we had bought some cupcakes before leaving Katoomba which we had waiting for us in the car at the end of our exhausting expedition. 

We piled back into the car and drove the traffic-clogged 3.5 hours back to Sydney.  After another incidentless drive, we dragged our somewhate cranky and short-tempered, and very hungry, selves to have dinner in Darling, wher we were treated to a fireworks display immediately upon our arrival.  After some much needed food, time out of the car and Starbucks, we took some time to enjoy the fresh air at the harbour before navigating our way back to our hostel.  In the morning our little group split up further, leaving 2 in Sydney while the other 2 of us headed to the Outback.  I drove us to the airport, dropped off Ruby, no worse for the wear and a 3 hour flight later we landed in Ayers Rock.

By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect for my first Easter outside the U.S.  But it turned out to be not so different.  Unlike most uni's in the States, we got Good Friday and Easter Monday off so two of us packed our bags and headed to the Whitsundays for an Easter by the sea. 

Airlie Beach

Whitsunday Islands

Long Beach

We stayed one night in Airlie Beach, which not much can be said for except it does have a pretty beach.  It has a very strong "American spring break" kind of vibe.  Luckily we didn't spend much time in Airlie, the next day we went out on a day-long sailing tour of the Whitsundays, stopping to snorkel off Whitsunday Island and swim and relax on Whitehaven Beach, which has the most stunningly blinding white sand I've ever seen.  We spent the next night and day on Long Beach which is home to a resort and backpackers hostel.  Gorgeous beaches and lush forests surrounded our accomodations and we spent Easter Sunday hiking, sunning and playing with the critters in the intertidal.  Easter Monday had us back at Airlie where we went for a pretty spectacular sea kayak tour.  We stopped for lunch at an "island" (technically a rock) made up of dead coral pieces before heading back to shore, packing up and heading back to uni. 

Whitehaven Beach

Sunset Over Daydream Island