Port Stephens Trip

This weekend we went on a lovely getaway to Port Stephens. Port Stephens isn't actually the official name, it is Nelson's Bay and Anna Bay, but it is popularly known as such in Australia. We arrived late on Friday night and woke up early Saturday morning to feed sharks and giant sting rays! The sharks were mostly under 3 feet but a few of the nurse and zebra sharks were almost 10 feet long! The giant ray was essentially a giant circle with a diameter of around 7 feet.... in other words, it was HUGE! We all climbed into the tanks until we were waist-deep and used wooden sticks to feed them so they wouldn't bite our fingers off.

Giant Sting Ray

3ft long sharks or smaller

Nurse Sharks (~10 ft)

Super duper excited about feeding the zebra shark!!!

We went for a VERY steep hike up to a lookout point in Nelson's Bay and had amazing views of the beaches below. We also went on a whale watching cruise and while I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture of the whales, I did get a few pictures of the beautiful scenery from the boat. 

Nelson's Bay

After a long day of whale watching and hiking we relaxed by taking a tour of Murray's Brewery and the Skinny Dip vineyard. We went for a wine and beer tasting at the end and stuffed ourselves silly with pizza. The label for the beer is pictured below:

Lots of beer!

Skinny Dip Vineyard

The second day of our trip was filled with duneboarding and  camel riding! Duneboarding is a little bit like snowboarding but on sand. Also, when the hill is really high you have to sit on the board instead of stand up.

The beach next to where we duneboarded and rode camels.

Here they are folks...the camels! Camels are without question one of the grossest species on the planet. They have nasty teeth that they use to chew their cud over and over and over. Their teeth squeak and they tend to spit. They also make very disturbing noises and have lots of gas. Overall: I do not like camels...BUT I loved riding them! 

Here I am! 

The last portion of our trip was a quick game of costume bowling. Our team was the riot police but we stole the mustaches from the Mexican team because we didn't feel like real cops without a little bit of facial hair. 

Surfing

Welcome to spectacular Bondi Beach in the north end of greater Sydney! A few weekends ago we decided to talk the historic walk from Bronte Beach to Bondi and we were so inspired by it that we decided to go back and take a surf lesson. We were very lucky to schedule our lesson for one of the few days that is wasn't raining and that it was actually sunny and warm. Even the water was warm! Take a look at these super cool wetsuits we wore!

These are four of the seven SMU girls on the trip!

 Here are a few pictures from the walk from Bronte to Bondi:

Bronte Beach

The walk...

more...

more...

This is the pool at the Iceberg Club just before Bondi. The club trains lifeguards year-round in this pool where waves crash over the side and fill the pool with salt water and create a rough current. In addition to the current, the lifeguards need to train for the extreme cold temperatures in the Pacific during the winter months. The name "Iceberg Club" comes from the fact that they fill the pool with ice if it gets warm so that it is always 2 degrees colder than the water. This helps prevent shock when the lifeguards jump into the cold waters to rescue swimmers. We are hoping to find some time near the end of our trip to head back to the club and have a swim. Here is a video of the pool:

Bondi Beach! 

This is where our walk ended and where we learned to surf!

Bridge Climb

Yesterday, despite my fear of heights, I climbed the 439 feet to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge! From the very top of the bridge it is around the height of a 40 story building and, amazingly, it was built by hand during the great depression. I tried to talk my friends into going with me but I guess I was the only one crazy enough to go. It is so much colder and windier at the top than at sea level that despite the hot and sunny day below we had to take beanies, gloves, and fleeces with us to the top. We also were required to wear some pretty "cute" jumpsuits and harnesses on the climb to keep us warm and prevent us from falling off! We got all hooked up on a cable system attached to our harness and somehow we actually made it to the top!

This shot was taken about halfway up the bridge. The world-famous Sydney Opera House is behind me and Sydney Harbor lies below. I will be headed to the opera next week to see Terminus.

Also about halfway up the bridge with a view of the city behind me

Sydney Harbor Bridge

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

FINALLY, I HAVE SEEN THE PYGMY HIPPO IN PERSON!!!!!!
That's right folks, the pygmy hippo (or three of them actually) has been seen with my very own eyes! I am now more obsessed than ever!!!! Take a look at this:

The differences between pygmy and common hippos:

The similarities between pygmy and common hippos:

(That's right, it says they mark their territory by spraying dung with their tails. Ewwww!)

I took a short little video of the mom and baby hippos so that you can all experience the magic!!!! ENJOY!

The excitement is easy to see....it was AWESOME!

The Pygmy Hippos live at the Taronga Zoo, just a short ferry ride from downtown Sydney. The beach surrounding the zoo is a beautiful white sand beach with green-blue waters and it is isolated in a small bay. There is a skyway that takes you up the hill to the zoo and as you ascend you float over elephants and gorillas in their enclosures. The view from the top of the Taronga zoo is a beautiful panorama of downtown sydney and the opera house. 

This is a mother and daughter pair. The daughter is the small pygmy hippo pictured previously on my blog and pictured below (I have to admit that these two were taken awhile ago so she was much bigger when I saw her this weekend). 

I loved the pygmy hippos so much that I purchased multiple pygmy hippo post cards and even spent money on a little pygmy hippo stuffed animal!

My new little buddy!!!

Taronga Zoo postcard

Take a look at my facebook to see even more photos of all the animals from the zoo!

Mexican Fiesta!

Hola! This weekend we were all feeling so homesick for Mexican food that we tracked down a little place called "Baja Cantina" and chowed down! The owner is from Seal Beach, CA so it had a very similar feel to the Mexican food at home. All the waitresses were American as well and they had such a great time catching up with fellow Americans that they gave us a discount and some sangria on the house! I think the photos below pretty accurately show our enthusiasm about eating something that reminded us of home:

The most unique and amaaaaaazingly yummy queso ever!!!!

Tasmanian Devils

It took awhile to upload this video but it is living proof that Tasmanian Devils really do spin in circles! This little guy lives at the Featherdale Wildlife Park in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. They have some pretty sharp teeth but other than that they are very cute!

Tasmanian Devils are actually in danger of dying out due to a new, quickly-mutating cancer that can easily be passed between Tasy Devils with a simple scratch or bite during territorial or food disputes. There is also very little genetic diversity between Devils so the cancer is mutating faster than the Devils can breed and vary their own genetics. 

Internship Placement

Hello world! I am finally writing to tell you all about my internship placement. I will be working at a before and after school care program based out of a public primary school. I will be involved with lesson planning, classroom setup, and tutoring during after-school care. It has a structure and curriculum and I will keep you posted as I go. Wish me luck!

KOALAS KOALAS KOALAS!

Hello again!
    I decided in my last post there was simply too much to write for one post so I have moved on to a second one. A few things I forgot to mention before: our trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park, our exploration of the botanical gardens, and our visit to the Sydney Olympic Park!
    First up is the Sydney Olympic Park where we saw the main stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies were held. Take a gander at it!

Next, and I apologize for not having more pictures but I will try to get some soon, we walked through the city and found the Royal Botanical Gardens. Australia seems so independent that it is easy to forget that it is technically under the rule of the Queen still. This means that everything has funny English names! FUN! We also ventured over to the Australian Catholic University as we will be using their classrooms for our political science classes. 

Last, I must tell you all about the trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park!!!!!

WE SAW KOALAS!!!!!!  We also got to pet and feed kangaroos and wallabies, watch a dingo eat baby birds, see penguins splash, tease crocodiles and cassowaries and laugh at fat little wombats! I have not made it to the Sydney Zoo yet so I haven't seen the pygmy hippos but that will happen asap! 

I think this is the best picture of the trip so far!

Koalas spend all day eating eucalyptus leaves or sleeping

We fed the wallabies and kangaroos (I am with a roo in this picture) ice cream cones full of food and straw. They were very tame and clearly used to being over fed by human visitors...I have heard they are much more aggressive in the wild. 

The pelicans here put our pelicans to shame. They are around 4 feet tall standing up and absolutely massive!!! I would be frightened to run into one of these on the beach. 

I am in love with these little penguins!

This dingo spent a good while rubbing it's meal (dead baby birds) around in the eucalyptus leaves before finally deciding to rip it to pieces. 

EMUS! Emus are even bigger than Cassowaries and, with their heads straight up, seems to be at least 6 feet tall. These guys have serious talons so watch out! 

Albino roo! 

What this means is that Kangaroo is fair game...literally! Kangaroo is sold in the market right alongside the beef and chicken! We had kangaroo on pizza in our second day here and I really enjoyed it. It is surprisingly not all that gamey but rather more like a super rich beef. I may try cooking it for myself if I can find a good recipe...and if I can afford it. Food is easily twice as expensive as it is in the US (and that's before we lose out on the exchange rate!). I am watching the news every morning to see how the markets are and what the exchange rate is that day so I can get the best deal possible. 

Yummy! Looks like dinner!

                                                                           Wombat!

It basically looks like a hairy little pig/koala hybrid

                                                              That one is for you, Allie!

A little Echidna!

Cassowary: Stands around 5.5 feet tall!