Carins, Australia: AustraLearn Program Introduction (Pictures added!)

G’day everyone! I hope you have all been having a wonderful week! The past few days have been pretty awesome. I have gotten to learn a lot about Australian culture and experience a few of things that are uniquely Australia.

The flights over here were extremely long as expected. I had always thought O’Hare was the worst airport to have to spend time in; however, LAX has now taken that honor. Qantas airlines on the other hand has to be about the most deluxe airline in the world. In economy class we were provided with a personal video screen complete with on-demand movies, TV shows and games. We also received a menu for our meals and schedule of the flight so we could plan the activities of the next thirteen hours. The meals were pretty good and we were given lots of snacks and amenities (likes sleeping mask, toothbrush, etc.). I slept for about 7 hours of the flight and although a little cramped the flight went much better than I had hoped. Our trans-pacific flight took us to Auckland, New Zealand. From there we went to Brisbane, Australia were we had to clear customs. I was one of the lucky 6 people who lost one of their bags. Fortunately I received it the next day, but after declaring my luggage and waiting for the people in front of us to make it through customs I missed my flight to Cairns along with two other girls. We entertained ourselves in the Brisbane airport for the next 5 hours and were excited to catch the next flight out. We were met at the Cairns (pronounced Cans) airport just in time for dinner and were taken to join the rest of the AustraLearn group. Rumor has it we were lucky enough to miss out on what was dubbed a boring information session on how to be safe in a foreign country.

Our first full day in Cairns was spent at the Rainforestation, located outside the city. Our first stop was the wildlife park where we got to see and experience the animals native to Australia. We saw koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, salt and fresh water crocodiles, snakes (which some people opted to hold – no thanks!), and a cassowary (a large Australian, flightless bird). At the end of the animal viewing we had the chance to feed the kangaroos and wallabies. They are so cute and very friendly. It was definitely a very “Australian” moment and we were all talking about how in the states this type of activity would involve a petting zoo with goats. We then moved on to the Dream Walk which was an area devoted to aboriginal culture. We watched a performance of many aboriginal dances, learned how to throw a boomerang (rather unsuccessfully but in theory I know the proper technique ), learned about aboriginal spear throwing and learned how to play the didgeridoo (a traditional aboriginal instrument). I found it interesting that it takes 3 months to a year to make a didgeridoo using termites or fire and that once it is completed it is only played once before being destroyed. After lunch we went on an army duck tour of the rainforest and learned that there are very few things that are safe to eat in the rainforest. My thought it that if I am ever lost in the rainforest I will just go hungry as anything you might try to eat will likely kill you. We finished the day with the ever popular Australian Koala Picture. Those little animals, although soft and cuddly as they look, have very sharp claws and smell rather interesting. We were all excited to have our picture at the end though. In the evening I took a trip with several girls to the coast in Cairns. We watched the sunset which was gorgeous and had dinner together.

Our second full day in Australia was spent on the Great Barrier Reef. We took the Passions of Paradise boat on a two hour trip out to the reef. Four other girls and I who were certified at SCUBA got to go off from the rest of the group a bit for our dives. This was especially nice since they offered an introduction to SCUBA option for everyone else on the boat and we were able to get away from them. Our first stop on the reef was Michaelmay Bay. We took a small boat to the Banana Bommy site and did a backwards roll into the water. I was a bit concerned about getting down under the water but it was much easier than any of the dives I have made in Minnesota. We spent about 40 minutes underwater and got to see a million fish, coral, giant clams, grayfish and a “nemo” fish in a sea anemone. We also were able to swim through tunnels in the coral and rock formations. After the dive we joined the snorkelers on a small island beach. Access to the beach is very limited and it is only open certain hours of the day. It’s primary function is as a bird and turtle reserve. During peak breeding season there can be more than 20,000 pairs of birds on the island! We took a break for lunch (both for us and the fish) and then moved over to Paradise Reef. This dive was even more spectacular than the first. The colors were more vibrant and there were many more fish. We saw a puffer fish, more nemo fish, crabs, star fish, sea cucumbers, and coral that would “hid” when you passed by. I especially enjoyed this dive because Rob, our instructor) showed us all of the things we could touch. We spent another 40 minutes under water and then headed back to the boat for a trip back to Cairns.

Today we are leaving Cairns and are heading back to the airport for a flight to Brisbane where I look forward to finally being able to unpack and settle in. Congrats to those of you who have made it to the end of this rather long entry. The last few days have been a lot of fun and I had a hard time condensing things. I will leave you with a few interesting things I have noticed since I left:

• In Australia they call airplanes “aeroplains”, pronounced airoplanes.
• In Cairns, the stoplights make noises to let you know when it is safe to cross. The signal that it is safe to cross is rather comical and sounds like you have just won a game show.
• Trash cans are labeled rubbish.
• Toilets have full and half flush options to conserve water.
• Australians love their chips (read fries). We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and were served chips along with our pasta.