Education Abroad Student Blog

A lot has happened since my last post. Needless to say, it's been an amazing journey so far and I'm looking forward to what is coming up next.

Since the last time I wrote I've made some Australian friends. This also means not only did I make Australian friends, but I've also been exposed to Australian culture at its finest. I can't begin to explain how much fun Australians are and I don't understand why Americans aren't this much fun. Anyway, without getting into too many details, I've had many nights past 1am if you know what I mean!

Another big event that happened was the trips down The Great Ocean Road and to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade. The Great Ocean Road was amazing. I can't even begin to explain everything I saw there; Bell's Beach, the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge.

Oh and by the way, if I had my way, I would totally live in the middle of Loch Ard Gorge. The beach there was beautiful and the water was so peaceful. I've never felt like I wanted to stay and just sit at a beach as much as that one. The only downside is that since we were on the tour we couldn't stay too long, but for a good 45 minutes I just lay on the beach and climbed the rocks. It was an amazing time.

Phillip Island the next day proved to be just as exciting. First we stopped for some wine tasting at Gurdie's Winery. They have some very good wine including a brown honey wine that I?ve never experienced before. All of the wine was good.

We stopped at another wildlife sanctuary to get a look at koalas and of course the kangaroos and wallabies. The kangaroos at this place loved getting fed and they loved making friends with the people who have the food. One of the best moments was when I turned around to have a giant kangaroo jumping right at me. He gets to me and grabs the food and starts gorging on the food. It was hilarious - I just saw the big kangaroo and froze. Not to mention the other animals, this place was great.

We also went to a lookout where there was supposed to be a bunch of seals, unfortunately there were no seals so we just went to see the penguins. After about an hour of waiting on the beach the penguins came in and with full force. They were making their mating call which was an incredibly weird noise. I came within two feet of a penguin which was exciting but the only downside was that you can't take any pictures because the flash blinds them. So of course people take pictures anyway just with the flash off. The workers get annoyed if they catch you with a camera. I can't tell you how many times they were yelling at people.

That was just the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island. I was also exposed to the many different sides of Melbourne including the Eureka Skydeck. We went 'Over the Edge' which pretty much means they hang you on the outside of the building in a tiny little glass box. It was pretty intense I'm not gonna lie. I was happy to have my feet on the ground after that one.

I also got to enjoy the Melbourne Food and Wine festival. I tasted so many foods (most of which I can't remember because there was so many) and they were all so good. Federation Square is officially my favorite hangout spot. It's so cultural but at the same time not too crowded. I really like the free concerts that go on there.

One thing I haven't been able to do yet is watch a game of Footy. The good news is I have some friends coming up from Toowoomba and Brisbane who also want to go see a footy game on the weekend.

Then there was the trip that I just got back from. Tassie! I can?t believe everything I did down there. We flew down to Launceston where I checked out Cataract Gorge and walked across the Alexandra Suspension Bridge, which is pretty neat. I definitely like the ground better than a suspension bridge though.

The tour took us to this war memorial for Tasmania that was made by a chainsaw and trees. Let me tell you it was a spectacular war memorial. I couldn't believe someone actually made it from a chainsaw?the wood carvings were just too perfect.

After that we took a trip to St. Columba Falls and Cosy Corner on the Bay of Fires. The Bay of Fires definitely has one of the best beaches I've ever seen. The water was so blue and the sand was so white. It really was an experience of a lifetime. I climbed up the rocks there to get the best view I could and I swear I could see New Zealand that's how beautiful it was. (New Zealand is way too far away for me to see it, I just felt like I could because it was so clear that day).

We then went to Bicheno for the Bicheno Blowhole. We stayed the night in Bicheno before heading to Mt. Amos and Wineglass Bay the next morning. Mt. Amos is incredibly high and I can't believe I climbed the mountain, then over the mountain then back across the mountain.

The reason I did all this hiking is because Mt Amos surrounds Wineglass Bay, which is one of the top 5 beaches in Australia. The best part about it is that because it's so secluded, no one is really there. I loved the fact that I could walk down the beach and not run into anyone. It was an incredible feeling.

It's sad that the reason it's called Wineglass Bay was because it was originally used for whaling. Since the whales needed to be gutted on the beach, the blood from the whale would fill up the bay and cause it to look like a wineglass. It's sad, but today it's beautiful and I like to go with it looks like a wineglass.

Moving on from there we went down to see the Hazard Mountains and Teselated Pavement which essentially is like a Cadbury's chocolate bar except made by nature in the rocks near the ocean. I have no idea if I spelled Teselated correctly, but we'll go with it.

That night we went on the Port Arthur Ghost Tour, which quite honestly scared the living soul right out of me. It's more than just a tour and ghost stories. It's the history of what happened in the building. They take you in the building. While you're in the building they tell you about horrible things that have happened to tourists and other people and their experiences with the paranormal. Then it's dark and you think you hear things, you can't see a damn thing. The whole experience was creepy as hell. As much as I don't think any of the stories were real, it definitely scared me to death, the setup of the tour. Especially since they make someone go into the houses by themselves. I'm so happy I wasn't that person.

The next day was much nicer because we visited Port Arthur during the day. We took a cruise around the Port to see the prison from the water and it was a pretty stunning view. After learning about the dark history the night before, seeing everything in the light was quite awesome. After Port Arthur we stopped by a Tassie Devil park to see some Tassie Devils in action. Essentially it was feeding time so the devils were up and running around.

To finish up the tour we saw Devil's Kitchen and finally ended up in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania and the second capital city to be built in Australia. That's an interesting little tidbit.

That was Tasmania. I have so much more coming up in the next couple weeks. I met a bunch of cool people on the trip from all over the world, Denmark, Germany, Japan, England, Greece and of course Australia.

I'm laying low in Melbourne for the next couple weeks but after that is a trip to Merimbula, a little resort town between Sydney and Melbourne and after that I?m looking at Cairns and The Great Barrier Reef. Did I mention that while I?m there I'll be Bungee Jumping and Sky Diving? It?s going to be incredible. I can't wait.