G'day from the Outback

The most red dirt you've ever seen, views for miles, dry and hot climate, clear starry nights, Aboriginal communities, and spectacular scenery...this was the outback for me.

Going to the Outback was an absolutely amazing experience that I will remember forever. 

I went with a friend that I met in Melbourne, her and I arrived in the morning by plane to Alice Springs and welcomed the hot dry climate after months in cold and windy Melbourne. I was sad to leave Melbourne as I realized that chapter of my life was closing, but the memories were heartwarming and full of smiles and laughs. We spent that evening preparing for our 3 day tour and had a nice dinner and beer. 

The next morning we popped into a van/bus with 20 other people from around the world; Ireland, Poland, Canada etc. We had to drive a couple hours outside of Alice Springs to get to the main attractions; the landscape was all desert and all red. We spotted many eagles and even a dingo on our way out to Kings Canyon. Once we got to Kings Canyon, we prepared for the 3 hour hike through it. One thing I was not prepared for was the flies, my god they are so abundant and annoying, and apparently only get worse as it continues on into summer. Our hike started out with 'heart attack hill' to get up to the top of the canyon, we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the desert and down into the canyon. We continued our hike through the 'lost city' (dome like rock formations) and down into the 'garden of Eden' (a palm oasis sanctuary in the middle of the desert).

Hiking through King's Canyon

Hiking in Kata Tjuta

Seeing as the desert is so massively huge, a lot of time is spent driving, but luckily our tour guide was funny and prepared which made the time go by fast. We collected firewood in the middle of the bush and spent a good hour picking up sticks so we could have a dinner that night. We spent the evening spotting Fool-uru, the fake Uluru, and yes there is more than one giant rock in the middle of the freaking desert...who would of thought! We watched the sunset over the desert and next to a dry salt lake, it was stunning sight to see and it finally set in that I was in the middle of the Outback. We flew into our camp with our bus like bats out of hell, blaring music and cruising out the middle of nowhere to set up camp. That evening was laughs and giggles as we attempted to cook dinner around our massive camp fire. We spent the night under the starry sky in our 'swags' (sleeping bags with pads), the night sky was crystal clear and it would take you a lifetime to count all of the stars.

Looking up at Uluru

The next day was a jammed packed one beginning with breakfast, camp clean up, and then we headed to Kata Tjuta. This was my favorite day on the tour because this 3 hour hike was through some terrain that I had never seen before. Surrounded by desert was this huge group of these round red rocks towering hundreds of feet above you, and you are able to hike between them as they hover above you. They look smooth as butter from afar, but up-close you see that they are made of tons of smaller rocks. They've been created by earth plates shifting and eroded by wind and water, now they look like melting ice cream scoops...or maybe it was just so hot that I wished they were cold and delicious ice cream scoops. One the hike, our tour guide explained some of the Aboriginal stories and also how they used the local plants and such in their every day lives; for example, they made spears out of these one plants and used a certain vine on the end which helped in hunting kangaroos. That afternoon we headed to the information center that explains the Aboriginal significance of Uluru (Ayers Rock - you know that big red rock) as well the cooperation between the Aboriginal community and the Australian government when it comes to the national park and Uluru.  There is some cooperation between the two, but tensions remain because the majority of people involved with Uluru don't want climbing to be possible, but there is still a small group (the Australian tourism section) that wants to keep the option to climb the rock available. Plenty of people have died doing it and the Aboriginals don't want people climbing it, but it still happens.

Aboriginal cave art

Our tour guide, with Uluru in the back

Uluru was absolutely breath taking, especially when we did a 9 kilometer base walk around the entire thing. We were treated with beautiful views of the rock, looking straight up and not being able to see the top, the blue sky with a faint moon, Aboriginal cave art and stories of the legends that the Aboriginals have of the area. I am so happy that I got to go the Outback, it was everything I wanted it to be and an overall fantastic experience.

On the way back to Alice Springs, which is about a 4 hour drive, we stopped at a racing camel farm. Yes, I know, random; Australia has lots of camels. So the option was available to ride them, and what happens to be on my list to do before I die, ride a camel. So I hoped on the camel with another friend and we rode around a bit. It was hilarious and the ride was a lot smoother than I thought it would be (similar but not exactly like riding horses because they have different steps than horses). Camels are pretty cool creatures, and that was only reinforced by the fact that they can survive in a place like the Outback.

Overall the Outback was a memory I won't soon forget and I'd do it all over again! 

My buddy, I called him Ed, although he looks a lot like other people I know

Where the rainforest meets the reef

Going to the Great Barrier Reef was a complete and utter disappointment, a small collection of reef with a few fish that isn't worth anybody's time. All that hype, all those beautiful photos...fake and unwarranted.

NOT!!!

The beauty of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is absolutely unimaginable, and the diversity you see is overwhelming. The GBR is 2012 km long (approx. 1250 miles) and 21 million hectares (approx 81,018 square miles) of extreme diversity, color, and life.

Lucky enough for me, my friend is up working in northern Australia at a reef operator known as Ocean Safari which is the most rural reef operator in Australia. So one my main goals on this trip and on my bucket list is to see the GBR, and that dream came true when I was in Cape Tribulation. We left on a small boat carrying about 30 people and rode a half an hour out to the reef. Yes, I was already thinking, oh my goodness I'm in Finding Nemo!

So once arrived to the middle of nowhere, the middle of the ocean, but the middle of something as gorgeous as the GBR; I grab my snorkel gear and jump right in the water. It takes about 45 seconds for the water to fill in my wetsuit and warm me up, and for me to put on the snorkel and fins. I'm the first one in the water, which is an eerie feeling, but I push passed it and swim a bit away from the boat and dip my head under water. To my frantic surprise, there is a shark no more than 50 feet from me!!!! My heart skipped a beat!
The white-tipped reef shark swims casually by, and thank goodness they are classified as not threatening. "Deep breaths Kristin....deep breaths....OK....that was awesome!!! Let's do this!" It was actually a beautiful experience to watch it, it felt majestic.

So, I just keep swimming, just keeping swimming (as Dory the fish would say). This is what I see....

Not a bad view, welcome to the Great Barrier Reef

Such a beautiful purple and blue coral color

Giant Clam

There is a Blue Lagoon Sting Ray there under the rock, can you see his stinger?

The Green Sea Turtle munching away on lunch

The Green Sea Turtle looking for food

It is hard to capture the beauty of the reef in words, I think pictures are the best way to try and convey what I saw. There are crazy amounts of fish, so many different sizes, colors and shapes; some are chunky rainbow fish, others are streamline nearly-invisible-when-sideways fish, groups of bright blue small fish, and more. I can't even remember everything I saw because it was overwhelming. I think certain attractions in the world that most people hear about can be played up beyond their actual beauty, but in my opinion, the Great Barrier Reef is not one of those things. It lives up to your expectations.

Me with the green sea turtle hunting for food

Now you may be wondering why this post is called "where the rainforest meets the reef?" Did you know Australia has a rainforest, in fact it is the oldest rainforest in the world at 135,000,000 years old. The Daintree Rainforest is a beautiful example of Mother Nature and diversity; all within 1200 square kilometers.This World Heritage Listed added this area in 1988, saying that this area contains the highest number of plant and animal species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, anywhere in the world. As for its importance to Australia, the Daintree Rainforest contains 30% of frog, marsupial and reptile species in Australia, and 65% of Australia's bat and butterfly species. 20% of bird species in the country can be found in this area. And it all lives in an area that takes up 0.2% of the landmass of Australia.

View from the Donahue range

Mt. Sorrow peak - view from a canopy crane

I have to admit, you see so many animals and insects, so I spent a lot of my time walking though the forest worrying about what creature was going to bite me. But, after a few days, you just accept all the weird noises and sounds and learn to enjoy and appreciate them; the loud geckos, the clumsy iguana things, the snakes on the paths, and the sing-song birds. One thing I never got over though, was the concept that when you walk at night you always have to watch out for pythons. Although they are little threat to humans, you can easily step on one on the street or on a pathway while they are out hunting at night. A bit creepy.

Just being in this rainforest was amazing. So much of it reminded me of being back in the Amazon and being surrounded by all that natural beauty. I was also fortunate enough to go up in the canopy crane that is sponsored by the James Cook University. This isn't open to the public, but my friend knows somebody. It was like being in a BBC documentary, floating about the rainforest canopy with the ocean and the great barrier reef off in the distance.

I was fortunate enough to have a friend working here in the rainforest (same friend), she works at Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours, a zip line operator. So I got to zip line through this beautiful rainforest, and hang upside down. Zip lining is quite a rush! You fly 70 feet above the ground.

Hanging upside down in the oldest rainforest in the world

My best friend (Giggles) and I (Stiffler's Mom) :-)

Up here in northern Australia, the rainforest meets the reef, and it is an unforgettable experience.


To read the previous blog post on what it is like studying abroad, click here 

Melbourne: All fun and no work?

So I've got questions from a couple people about how school is? You know, the "study" part of studying abroad. Well in case you were wondering, it isn't all fun and play... a girl has to crack down sometime and hit the books.

At our library study spot, we are here often

Being here in Australia is great, the city of Melbourne is lively and fantastic, and meeting Aussies is so fun. It is also really great to have the group of international students around campus, everybody is so nice and friendly. We all hang out often for school events or just for fun. A few of the things the school puts on for us are potlucks, free footy (Australian football) games, movie nights etc... its a great way to meet everybody at school. The international students come from all over the world; from Japan, to South Africa, to Germany, to Mexico, and everywhere in between. I have been fortunate enough to find a group of people I really click with, and we do tons of things together. Affectionately known as the Rebelzz, this group of people has become a very close group of friends. In the group we have Denmark, Canada, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and the USA represented.

At an 80s party

At the Charles Dicken's tavern in the city

Deakin University is a fairly large campus, consisting of about 17,000 students, and is constructing new buildings as it continues to grow. It is a spread out campus that has a river and park running through the middle of it; a peaceful place that is great for walking, running, spotting animals, or taking the dog (you can see the park in the map below).

I am taking three classes here, which is considered full-time enrollment. One of my classes is International Migration and Multicultural Societies; this is an interesting class that looks at being the "stranger/other" in societies, racism, migration patterns, etc. We often look at developing countries and there internal affairs, but we also focus on the immigration policies of countries like Australia, the USA, or Great Britain. It is really interesting to get an Australian perspective on immigration, and there have been some major events since I've been in Australia that have changed the immigration policy. Australia deals a lot with what they call "boat people" (or what I call "people") who are refugees taking boats and trying to illegally enter the country. (Read more about the "By boat, no visa" here: http://www.immi.gov.au/visas/humanitarian/novisa/ ). These policy changes happened in July, and the ramifications are now being hotly debated because September is election month where they will decide the next Prime Minister. Although I am familiar with immigration issues because it is such a hot button issue in the United States and particularly southern California, Australia seems to act quicker and more drastically. The main sentiments toward immigrants to Australia is that immigrants will take the jobs from Australians, that they don't have anything in common with Australian culture, and that they sincerely need help because they are fleeing from horrible conditions, repression, and life threatening discrimination. The sentiment is mixed, but what is focused on is the negative. I tend to share my experience and knowledge about immigration in the United States, my experience being the "other" in South America, and my work with Burmese refugees while in Thailand (read more about that here: http://knmelody48.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/min-ma-haw.html ).

My other classes are Ethics in a Global society and Order and Justice in World Politics. Both of which are fascinating classes that look at issues like global justice, human rights, the justification of humanitarian aid, immigration policies towards refugees and asylum seekers, international institutions, and patriotism and nationalism. Again, it is great to get the perspective of these concepts within the Australian context.

We have about 6 weeks of school left, exams take place in mid-October. It is flying by, but I'm learning a lot!


To read my previous post on spending time in an Aussie jail, click here .

One month in, and the flair of Oz is coming out

Possum's Plastering : "Get plastered with us"

Earlier this week, I passed my 1 month anniversary here in Australia. What a nonstop whirlwind it has been, full of something to do everyday and every night. I'm finally feeling like I know where I am, have my bearings, and have gotten so used to things that I sometimes forget I'm in Australia. But some things keep you grounded here, remind you that you are down unda.   

I was walking around Camberwell, and found this..... um, that baby toy has no head. Does that classify as recycling?

Australia: The land where they drive on the left side, line dry their clothes and dishes, constantly say 'no worries,' vegemite and nutella are indeed everywhere, they don't drink Fosters, they almost never call each other by their first name, and they are genuinely nice people.

"Sagittarius: Cheerful, Enthusiastic, Generous"

Australia: Where everything is abbreviated like breakfast is brekkie, arvo is afternoon, and chocolate is choco. They add a 'u' into labor, color, neighbour and tons of other words. They call you Sheila and Mate all the time,







Australia: A place with great names for places like Warnnambool, Gippsland, Dandenong, Geelong, Great Otway, Ningaloo, Woolloomooloo, Lilly Pilly Gully Circuit. (Thanks Holly)

Surfing the waves on the Great Ocean Road

I have been in Australia for two weeks, and the time has absolutely flown by and yet I feel like I've done so much.

After leaving the wonder hospitality of some friends of a friend, I moved in to what I will call home for the next 4 months or so. I'm living in what they call a boarding house here, which means that the couple that own the house live in the downstairs area; the upstairs area is a self-contained rentable area. I live upstairs with two other girls, both originally from China, and we have three bedrooms, living room, full kitchen, and a shared bathroom on the second floor of the house. It is a wonderful set up and I am very close to campus, 3-5 mins. walking time. I've lived there for a week now, and am loving it, and I love hanging out with their cute dog!

Sunrise view from my kitchen window

Me and Jessie

Let me know by email or post a comment if you would like the address.

Well luckily for all exchange students, my school here Deakin University set up a three day beach trip to the picturesque town of Lorne, located on the famous Great Ocean Road.

So, before I left there were a lot of questions about surfing in Australia, quite a trademark of traveling in Australia (cough**David**cough). So dude, even though I'm like from Southern California, dude, I've like never totally mastered the surfing bro. (Hopefully you understand the exaggeration there). Keeping in mind that is winter here, and that the air temperature during the day is 15°C (55° F), at night is 5°C (40°F), and the water is 13°C (55°F). I did go surfing, in the town of Lorne. I had to wear a full wetsuit, actually everyone was wearing a full wetsuit except for this crazy old guy, wearing white, see-through-when-their-wet underwear.

Photo by: Nadia Buttice

Well we did get surfing lessons, and after attempting to catch some waves...I was actually able to stand up! ...and then I fell....but I sure felt accomplished! Surfing is really so much fun, and quite a good workout.

Me and my Australian surf instructor

The university had activities set up for us for all the days, meals set up, a place to stay, etc.... all at no extra charge to us. Well a line up like that attracted almost all the exchange students, and in total we were about 200 people. It was a giant group, but surprisingly over the three days we got to know each other all pretty well. Split into groups of 50 people, we rotated though the activities for three days.

The first day, my group had surfing which was an absolute blast. That night at dinner, I was part of a limbo competition, i'm not as limber as some of those people. The next day was a jam packed day of fun; beginning with a hike into the Australian bush. We headed inland early in the morning, the landscape can best be described as semi-arid forest, with plenty of ferns and eucalyptus as well as rivers running every which way. It was my lucky day because we spotted a kangaroo. It was a much different spotting a kangaroo hopping around in the wild than it is to see one in the zoo; and I have to admit, I felt a little bad about eating kangaroo steaks only a few days before because it was probably his cousin or something! After the really nice hike, I opted for beach yoga. This was very refreshing and felt good after being sore from surfing and hiking. The afternoon was full of fish and chips and beach volleyball and then wine. You have to watch out when your eating outside because there are yellow-haired cockatoos everywhere, as well as the black and white magpies...together they threaten any meal you eat outside. Dinner that night included Trivia Night. So, without using your SMARTPHONES!!.....first person to get this question right by leaving a comment, I will send you a postcard!

Which of the following is not an Australian innovation?
A) Chiko Roll (kind of like egg roll)
B) Lawn Sprinkler
C) Plastic Bank notes
D) Dual flush toilet
E) Wine cask


 The trip to Lorne and traveling along the Great Ocean Road was amazing and loads of fun!

First day on the Great Ocean Rd.

I still don't understand how they destroy homes???

Hiking into the bush

Magpie birds, that are everywhere, like our crows

A great group of friends I've made

I didn't mind looking at this view for 3 days

Two English speaking countries, separated by a common language

I've stepped foot on Australian soil !!!

I think this is my 15th foreign country (see the rest here Countries traveled to ), and that number only seems like a drop in the bucket of all the places I want to go.

So bags were packed; an 85 liter backpacking bag and a regular school backpack fit everything I think I will need...

The flight here was not bad at all; I left LAX 10:30 pm and transit time was about 19 hours, so I arrived at local time about 10 am. Now some of you may be gasping, thinking that is an awfully long time to be in transit, but let me explain why it wasn't. So first, LAX on a late Tuesday night isn't so bad, security went fast and there was no cavity search, so I knew things were looking up. Once I finally sat in my aisle seat on the Air New Zealand plane and got situated, I was all nervous and such. I kept telling myself to breath and relax, and then the most relaxing thing you could imagine happened..... the safety instruction video came on. Now normally this wouldn't calm me at all, but guess what the video clip was a cheesy safety instruction video made by the one and only Bear Grylls -- only on Air New Zealand!!! Take a look here, and tell me what you think ??  Feel safer now? Thanks Bear Grylls  Air New Zealand became OK in my book, but they sweetened the deal with complimentary full dinner, complimentary alcohol, complimentary breakfast, my choice of new release movies on my own screen, and the friendlist flight attendants I've met. I think American airlines need to take a hint. Honestly though, after a 2 hour movie, dinner, and 2 glasses of red wine, I feel asleep for 10 hours! I woke up with 1 1/2 hours left til landing and breakfast on its way.

I had a 2 hour layover in New Zealand where I contemplated exiting the airport and traveling around New Zealand for six months. I want to go to that country so bad!!! But, I decided trying kangaroo meat was more important, so I went to my flight gate.

So upwards and onwards, after landing and standing behind some really smelly guy in the customs line, I was admitted to enter Australia...and I'm still smiling about it. I had a friend back home hook me up with this buddy and wife who live here in Melbourne (thanks smokin' joe!) and they were kind enough to pick me up from the airport, they are so sweet. I am staying here for a couple of days until I can figure out a place to live close to campus.

In the meantime, I have been running around with Walt and Lorraine who live in a suburb outside of the city. So far this place reminds me a lot of home, but there are some key differences. Like there are sheep everywhere and much more open spaces. They spell tires, tyres, and yogurt, yoghurt, and trolley is a shopping cart, and globes are light bulbs and that everybody is friendly. I learned that southern Australians talk much faster than northern Australians. That there really are times that I can't understand what somebody is saying. That I'm 17 hours ahead of home. That things are more expensive here unless they are goverment subsidized (some of those things include milk and eggs), that gas is like $6/gallon, the public transportation system is great, it is hard to find a regular sized black cup of coffee, and that I won't run in to TOO many spiders and other deadly creatures while inside the city.

So I leave you with this...Remember the old ad slogan, "Beef. It's what's for dinner." Well tonight's meal is "Roo. It's what's for dinner," so Kangaroo steaks it is!

Cheers!