penguins!

So sorry for my lack of updates recently, I’ve just been very busy! Last weekend I went home with one of my friends, along with two other friends.  Friday evening we went to her church for a family trivia night.  It was a blast! Every table was meant to have a theme and our theme was the Godfather.  We all dressed in black and got ready to go.  It was such a great time, even though we didn’t win.  The next day we went to Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island.  From Mornington Peninsula we had an amazing few of the ocean but could also see the skyline of Melbourne across the bay.  It was really foggy but we were quite surprised we ended up that far away from the city.  After taking a few pictures we headed to Phillip Island.  Once there we went to the information center to see what all the island had to offer (it’s a very small island) before going to the other side of the island for some fish and chips.  Then we went to some lookouts at the island before it was time to see what brought us to Phillip Island...the penguin parade.  The penguin parade happens every evening around sunset when the world’s smallest penguins, the little penguin) comes ashore to their burrows.  They were absolutely adorable! The penguins come in from the ocean in little groups of three to very large groups.  When they are coming to shore they are very cautious because it is when they are most susceptible to prey. They were so scared to get out of the ocean and would often go back into the water to wait for more penguins to cross or just until they felt safer.  After awhile we stopped watching them come out of the ocean and went to the boardwalk to watch them go into their burrows.  Once they were in the safety of the dunes they were much more playful with one another and were waddling around and making tons of noise.  We had so much fun watching them and stayed for quite awhile.  Finally we made our way back to the car and left (after looking under our car for stray penguins).  Sunday morning we woke up and headed into the city to go to the Queen Victoria Market.  It was quite the experience.  Take any farmers market you’ve ever been to and multiply it by a very large number.  To put it into perspective the place where they sell all of the meat smelt so bad and was filled with so many different things and in mass quantities that it made me consider be a vegetarian for about ten minutes, which is a long time for me. Other than that, and in all truth it was pretty cool, the market was wonderful.  I got tons of souvenirs and just had fun shopping and looking around. Once we were all shopped out we went back to school.

This past week started the beginning of finals.  There is a whole month of finals but all of mine are in the last week and I still have class this next week.  This weekend I spent studying with another trip to Queen Victoria’s Market today, this time we skipped out on the meat and fish section. 

I only have about a month left which is ridiculous, but my lovely family comes in two and a half weeks and I can’t wait. I don’t have too much going on until they get here except for studying and two trips home with friends.  I’ll give an update when I have something good.  Love you all and see you in about a month!

country weekend

This weekend was another fantastic weekend!  After class on Friday afternoon I went home with a friend from my floor.  She lives near Bendigo, which is Northeast of Melbourne; her family owns a dairy farm there and invited me over for the weekend.  It was so much fun!  Friday evening we had dinner with her family (my first home cooked meal in four months!) followed by an Australian movie, The Man from Snowy River.  Saturday morning we got up and watched my friend’s brother play football (meaning AFL, not our football) and her sister play net ball.  After that we went on a local hike up to the top of a rock hill in which you could see the farms and fields for miles.  Once we got back down the hill we headed back to her house to milk the cows on their dairy farm.  We got on the four wheeler and started rounding up the cows.  Her dog failed to come with us to help us out so it was a little more difficult but we eventually got them in (only to find out later we left four in the field...but we’re blaming it on the dog).  My friend taught me how to test and milk the cows before putting the machines on to milk the cows. It took a long time and was quite the smelly job but I had fun learning how everything was done and can now say I milked a cow, or about 100 if you’re counting.  After we finally finished milking the cows, we headed back to the house to clean up and have dinner.  Two home cooked meals in 24 hours was quite the treat! We went to a movie after dinner and by the time that was over we were exhausted! Sunday morning we hung out around the house but then we decided I should have a go at driving in Australia.  Don’t worry mom, there were no cars on the road, except for one.  Once we were back I was taken for a ride on the tractor around one of their fields followed by a barbeque.  After lunch and a quick came of Scattegories my friend and I headed to Bendigo for a tour of one of the local mines, the Central Deborah gold mine.  Gold mining was a major industry years ago and is still done but now it is mainly a tourist attraction.  We went back to Melbourne after the tour, I was sad to leave after such a great weekend.

This week I just have classes and assignments to do but this weekend will be another good one. There’s only a little over a month until my family gets here and I can’t wait!

Love you and miss you all, and I’ll be seeing you soon.  I can’t believe it.

island of kangaroos

This past weekend I went to Adelaide with one of my international friends.  We stayed at the apartment of some friends I met in Brisbane our first week here.  They weren’t there because they were traveling with family.  Saturday morning at five we woke up and headed out to meet a bus down the road to take us to a ferry to tour Kangaroo Island.  We got on the bus, instantly fell asleep, and woke up when the bus stopped in front of the ferry.  After grabbing a coffee at the cafe, we boarded the ferry for the island.  After almost an hour we got to Kangaroo Island.  Once we were got off the boat we boarded another bus for our day tour.  Our first stop was Seal Bay.  Seal Bay is the home of the Australian Sea lion, which is either the only, or one of the only, sea lions with hip joints, so they walk more than flop like other sea lions.  They were absolutely adorable!  There were pups and adults, the adults were mainly sleeping but the pups were playing around, it was precious.  We eventually had to leave Seal Bay and headed for lunch.  After lunch we got to go to an Australian Birds of Prey show.  It was done by Dave Irwin (yes, related to Steve, they were cousins) and his wife.  We got to hold an owl and a kookaburra.  It really fun and actually really interesting! After the show ended we got back on the bus and drove through Flinders Chase National Park.  A lot of the park was re-growing because of a fire that went through a big portion of the park a few years ago. We drove through the park and reached the Remarkable Rocks.  The Remarkable Rocks are a cluster of granite boulders that have been shaped by the weather.  The wind and rain have changed the shape of the rocks over time, it was really fun to go around and see the different ones, we even got to walk under some of them and through them to the other side.  I definitely suggest looking them up to see what they look like.  When it was time to finish exploring the rocks we went to the Cape du Couedic Lighthouse.  We weren’t able to go into the lighthouse but it was nice to see.  Then we went to Admirals Arch.  It is a natural arch made from the ocean carving it out over time.  There were seals here, but they were New Zealand fur seals. They were playing around in the waves and having a great time.  These seals were having as much fun as the sea lions we saw earlier.  Finally we made our last stop to the visitors center and then a kangaroo sanctuary.  I have seen tons of kangaroos since I’ve been here, but these were definitely the biggest ones I have seen yet.  There was even a joey that they found all alone, he was found trying to crawl into a male kangaroo’s pouch (which doesn’t even exist) so the people who run the park took him into their care and are nursing him back to health until he’s old enough to be on his own. We stopped in town for dinner and then headed back for the ferry.  The ride back to Adelaide from Kangaroo Island was not as pleasant as the ride there.  I have never been on a boat that rough, and I was most definitely regretting my fish and chips dinner about five minutes in.  We finally made it back to Adelaide, dinner intact, and got back on a bus for the city. 

Sunday was rainy so we were limited with what we could do, so we did the reasonable thing and shopped (more looked than shopped).  After spending the day looking around we headed for the airport. By the time we finally got to Melbourne we were exhausted. 

This week I have had tons of work and assignments but luckily I am done and get to have another fun weekend this weekend, I’m going home with a friend on the floor tomorrow.  Can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Love you and miss you all!

wombats and wallabies

The week after New Zealand was very laid back compared to that week of adventure!  I went to another footie game with one of my friends.  It was St. Kilda vs. Carlton, it was very fast pace and a close game all the way until the end, Carlton only won by a few points.  The rest of the week and weekend I spent working on a big paper for class so nothing big to report on that.

This past weekend kicked off my marathon travelling before I have to head home (which is in less than two months! Crazy!) Wednesday evening after class I went to Tasmania along with two other international students, one from America and one from Sweden. We headed to the Melbourne airport and made our way to Hobart, Tasmania.  We flew on a less than lovely plane that was more of a bus with wings so I was very thankful when we landed in Hobart late Wednesday night.   After we got there we spent some time exploring the city but then went back to the hostel to get some rest for Thursday.  The next morning we went to Port Arthur.  Port Arthur was a prison colony that was pretty much reserved for prisoners who messed up in other prisons, or were too old or too young for other jails.  It was really big but surprisingly pretty for a jail colony.  It is bordered by water on one side, surrounded by brush on two sides, and the only way off the property is a little patch of land only a few meters wide.  Our tour guide gave us a story about a prisoner who decided he wanted to escape.  He thought he’d go slowly and take his time to get away.  He was coming up to where the guards were at on the little stretch of land when he found a kangaroo carcass.  The prisoner skilled the kangaroo, put the skin on, and started hopping towards the guards.  He got past them (it was evening so they couldn’t really see) and was doing just fine until one of the guards decided he was hungry and that kangaroo steak would be a great dinner. The guard got out his gun to shoot and was quite surprised when the kangaroo started running around screaming to not shoot.  Needless to say he was taken back to the prison and put back away. After Port Arthur we headed up the coast to St Helens.  Along the way we stopped along the road at different places that looked interesting. We stopped at Tasman’s Arch, Devil’s Kitchen, and the Blowhole.  Each of them was a cave that had fallen in and you could see the ocean rushing in through the top.  Finally we ended up in St. Helens for the evening.

Friday morning we headed out for a hike at Wineglass Bay.  The weather was off and on rainy and sunny but it was a wonderful hike!  We went all the way to the top where we could see the bay and surrounding mountains and then we headed down to the bay.  The water was crystal clear and there were little shells all over the sand.  When we started to turn around to head back we ran into a little wallaby.  At first we stood really far away to take some pictures because we didn’t want him to run off, but then when we started to walk closer he didn’t move at all.  He just stayed in one spot, occasionally changing the way he would look at us, and let us get close to him.  A bunch of people crowded around him and a few even tried to pet him, which he allowed.  It was so fun to see him just hanging out.  Finally we went back up to our little car (Which I have yet to explain.  We rented a car at the airport for the weekend.  It was a little yellow Hyundai and I’m sure we were quite the site in it as we drove across Tasmania!) and headed further north towards Bay of Fires.  When we got to the Bay of Fires we were a bit confused as to whether or not we stopped at the right place but finally decided we did.  It was gorgeous.  The sky was kind of cloudy but it was still incredibly sunny and you could see straight through the water.  We walked around some and climbed on the bright orange rocks.  Eventually we got bored and headed to a sandy beach down the road.  We ran around the beach and away from the waves, thankful to be out of the car and able to stretch our legs some before heading west to Cradle Mountain.  We drove through the night to get to Cradle Mountain dodging all sorts of Australian animals.  The most common was definitely wallabies, there were a few wombats, and possibly some Tasmanian devils but most of them were speed bumps when we passed them.

Saturday morning we woke up (after a freezing night in the hostel) to go to Cradle Mountain.  We went into town for some breakfast and then towards the trail we were going to hike.  As we were driving along the road, nearing our destination a truck flicked its lights at us, we were really confused as to why because our lights were on but in a few meters we understood.  There was a line of cars, some parked, some turning around, right before a hill.  A big truck pulled up to our little yellow car and advised us to turn around.  They tried to put it as kindly as possible but pretty much what they said was that there was no way our little yellow car was going to make it down that hill and if by some miracle we slid down the hill without hitting anything there is no possibility of us getting back up the hill.  The man in the car said we won’t be getting to Launceston that evening if we tried it.  So we took their advice and turned around. We drove around to a few different lookouts, tried to go into a cave but the tour guides weren’t there, and ended up going to a waterfall called Liffey Falls. It was beautiful and we had a great time hiking down to see them and climbing around on the rocks near the falls.  After that we went on our way to Launceston. 

Sunday morning we went to Cataract Gorge and went around and hiked a bit more.  That didn’t entertain us for long so we headed to the local park.  They had Japanese monkeys on exhibit so we went and looked at them for awhile.  After watching them for a bit we went to Narawntapu National Park.  We hiked around and got to overlook the ocean, the water was incredibly rough and wavy. We got to wind around and walk along the rocks over the ocean. It was incredibly windy and we felt like we were going to be blown away off the mountain, but it was definitely worth it for the views! We headed back to Launceston, explored around museum before it closed (only the hands on kids part) and then finally made our way to the airport for our flight back to Melbourne.

This Tuesday I went to a Hillsong conference in the city.  It was a fantastic conference followed by a great concert by Hillsong.  I had a great time and it was definitely a good way to start the week! Tomorrow I head to Adelaide with another international friend for the weekend. 

I’m sure I’ll have lots to report about Adelaide and hopefully I’ll be able to update sooner than this past time!

Hope you all are great and I can’t wait to see you! I love you and miss you all!

kia ora

Kia ora! That means “hello” and pretty much anything else you want it to mean in Māori.  I just spent the last week in New Zealand and it was absolutely amazing.  I did a weeklong tour of the southern island of New Zealand, it was most definitely the coldest spring break I’ve ever had but it was unforgettable.

I left for Christchurch the 21^st of April and stayed there until Saturday when the tour commenced.  I stayed at a hostel that had been converted from a jail for the two nights before the tour.  The hostel was kind of far away from the city and I had no idea where I was going to I pretty much just hung out around the hostel the whole two days.  On my taxi ride from the airport to the hostel the driver informed me that Christchurch is still having aftershock and some parts of the city are completely closed down because of the destruction and aftershock causing more damage.  That tidbit of news definitely made me want to stay in the hostel and away from any tall buildings.  Finally after two long days stranded in a jail hostel it was time to start the tour.  We left around noon on Saturday and headed for Greymouth.  We passed the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps first.  Our driver pointed out a place along the way that was where part of the first Narnia movie was filmed.  For those of you who have seen the film, it is where the fight scene happens and they retreat to weird looking rocks on a hill.  We also saw the place where Aslan was killed.  We stopped at a place called Arthur’s Pass for tea and then kept going.  We finally reached the beautiful west coast and our accommodation at Greymouth.  After resting up for a bit we headed to Monteith’s Brewery where we were given a tour and dinner.

Sunday was Easter, and it was very strange to not spend the morning in church but it was an absolutely gorgeous day.  They gave us an Easter treat of hot cross buns for breakfast and then we were on our way.  We kept heading along the west coast, the water was so gray and choppy, I can’t imagine how cold it was! We made our first stop in Hokitka where we got to visit a jade factory.  We saw all the different types of jade, where they are found, and how the jewelry is made.  We then made our way to Westland National Park.  We were able to stop and put our things in the room and then went for lunch. We found a little café where I got fish and chips and my friend ordered a side of guacamole.  It was the first time I’ve seen it in a restaurant in a few months!  We asked if it came with tortilla chips and the waitress looked at us like we were idiots…so we ate the guac with fries.  Not the best ever but definitely the best since I’ve been gone! After lunch I went on a hike with some of the tour group up to Fox Glacier.  They gave us socks, boots, coats, and spikes for the bottom of the boots called crampons.  The company that runs the hikes up Fox Glacier carved steps into the side of the glacier to the top.  It was steep, cold, and a little slippery at times but it was so much fun!  When we got to the top of the glacier the view was absolutely stunning.  We were able to watch the sunset from the glacier between two mountains surrounding the glacier.  It was definitely an amazing way to spend Easter surrounded by some of God’s beautiful creation.  We made our way back down the glacier and back to our hotel for the evening.  We had dinner at the hotel and then went on a guided bush walk to see glow worms. Honestly, it was pretty gross once we heard about how they glow (they don’t have butts so everything they eat just glows, and then they grow up and don’t have mouths but do have butts so they stop glowing and die) but it was neat at the same time.  It almost looked as if you were looking at stars, but they were hanging off roots from a tree. 

The next day we left pretty early and headed towards Lake Matheson.  From this stop we could see New Zealand’s tallest peaks.  We kept driving and stopped at a place called Thunder Creek Falls.  Thunder Creek Falls is a beautiful waterfall; it was lovely to see it falling down from the high mountains surrounding it.  After this stop we went to Makaroa where we got to see two different lakes, Hawea and Wanaka.  I know that it is redundant that I keep calling everything beautiful but it really was.  The whole country is simply breathtaking, there’s no other way to describe it.  Then we headed for Queenstown.  The scenery along the road was amazing!  The roads were winding up and down mountains and we kept getting glimpses of the city in the distance.  Finally we made it to Queenstown, put our things in our room and headed for lunch.  Some of my friends and I went into the city and found a…Mexican restaurant! Not exactly authentic New Zealand food but it was so nice to have a burrito, salsa, and tortilla chips. Next on the list of foods to find: fried chicken.  After lunch a group of us went to the Shotover canyons where we went on a Shotover jet.  These jets were invented in Queenstown and were the first adrenaline rush thrill invented in Queenstown.  These jets can go in waters as shallow as four inches and the drivers take the boats flying through the canyons, up close next to the sides, and then do sharp turns and 360 degree circles between the canyons.  After getting of the jet we headed back to our room and got cleaned up for dinner.  Our tour group went to a place called Minus 5, it is an ice bar that is completely made of ice (obviously).  Before going in they gave us boots and parkas and then walked into a freezer.  It was really neat to see walls, seats, statues, and chairs made of ice.  It was crazy! Then we went to dinner at a local pizza place.

Tuesday we had the whole day free to explore Queenstown.  One of the friends I did the Shotover jet with and I spent the day walking around Queenstown.  We went for lunch at a place called Fergburger.  It was a delicious burger place that is well known throughout New Zealand, most of the time when you walk past the restaurant there is a line along the street waiting to get in.  Luckily we went when there wasn’t too long of a wait.  After eating way too much of my hamburger we explored the town a bit before heading up the mountain in the gondola.  It was a very steep climb up the mountain and from the top we could see all of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.  On our way down the gondola we even saw a bungy jumper jump off one of the famous jumps on the mountain.  That evening we just hang out with some of the other people on the tour then headed to bed for an early start the next day.

Wednesday, at six in the morning, I went to an English pub to watch a soccer game with some of the people from the tour who are from England.  It was my first “football” game that I’ve ever watched from start to finish and I feel like a legitimate fan knowing I’ve watched it with real supporters.  After the game we left Queenstown for good.  We stopped at Te Anau and saw Lake Wakatipu.  It was, yet again, absolutely gorgeous.  We had lunch and then jumped back on the bus for Milford Sound.  Before we got there we made another quick stop at Mirror Lakes and the chasm of Hollyford Valley.  Once we arrived at Milford Sound we jumped on a boat that was our home for the night.  We got a little tour of the sound (which is actually a fiord, it was just named incorrectly), we saw a waterfall that looked microscopic compared to the mountains surrounding it but the guide informed us that the “little” waterfall was actually twice the height of Niagara Falls but because of the tall mountains surrounding him it doesn’t look like it.  Later we got the option to kayak, swim, or go on a nature speed boat.  I decided to go kayaking, it was so peaceful and it made you feel so small to be in such a tiny boat surrounded by such big mountains.  Once our kayaking adventure was over a bunch of us decided it would be a brilliant idea to jump into the water.  Probably not the best idea ever but how many people can say they’ve swam in Milford Sound?  After warming up we had dinner and then spent the rest of the evening playing games. 

We got off the boat early Thursday morning and made our way back to Te Anau.  After stopping for an hour or so there we kept going.  We were driving along the Kawarau River and saw the site of AJ Hackett’s original “Bridge Bungy”.  We also passed a site where some of Lord of the Rings was filmed.  Thursday was a pretty long day in the bus but we finally reached Lake Ohau where we stayed for the night.  We all hung out around the fire to stay warm and then just had dinner and played board games for the rest of the night.   Before heading to bed I went out and looked at the stars from the deck.  I have never seen so many stars in my life! It was stunning. 

Our last day was Friday.  We left the beautiful Lake Ohau and headed towards Lake Pukaki (in case you haven’t already come to the conclusion, there are lots of lakes in New Zealand).  Here we were able to see Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand, in the background.  After taking a few pictures here we went to Lake Tekapo.  Here we walked around the little town and saw a church called the Church of the Good Shepherd.  It is the most photographed building in New Zealand.  From the outside it doesn’t look like too much, just a small stone building.  However, from the inside it’s a different story, behind the pulpit there is a large window providing the most spectacular view of the lake and surrounding mountains.  After taking a few pictures we kept walking around a bit.  They had a statue of a sheep dog commemorating the service they provide for the people of New Zealand. After grabbing lunch in the town we headed back to the bus for our last stop.  We made our way to a Mackenzie country farm to see a sheep farm.  The ratio of sheep to people in New Zealand is 7.5 to 1; sheep are kind of a big deal there.  We got to see where sheep are sheared and then a demonstration on how they are rounded up by the dogs.  After that we had afternoon tea and then got back on the bus to go to Christchurch.  We got back to Christchurch in the afternoon.  We were dropped off at the Jailhouse hostel for our last night.  Some of the group had to be at a different place because they were heading on for the north island tour.  A group of us got dinner and then just watched movies and hung out for the rest of the night. 

Saturday morning I was up at 3 to get a bus to the airport at 3:45.  My flight back to Melbourne was at 6, and I pretty much passed out on the flight back and finally got back to La Trobe.  It was an amazing break and I’m so sorry its over, New Zealand really is amazing! Class starts back today and sadly its only two and a half more months until my adventure is over. 

I got the news when I got back about Tuscaloosa and how bad it has been hit by the tornado.  All of my friends are safe and healthy and I am so thankful for that news.  It is definitely going to be weird to go back and see how everything has changed and I wish I was there now to help the town out.  I know many of the people who read this are from Tuscaloosa and are no doubt already doing this but for those of you who aren’t I just ask that you please pray for Tuscaloosa and all the residents affected by this storm, thank you.

I love you and miss you all and I really am so thankful that you are all safe. I will see you in two and a half months!