Fraser Island

For a two day one night trip I went to Fraser Island! It is a beautiful sand bar that is made up of 98% sand and 2% rock. It is filled with trees and plants which makes it so unique because the soil is sand. There is also a lot of history to be learned about the island.

This adventure started with our awesome tour guide Cameron. He was a very funny and knowledgeable Australian man.
Our first two stops were Lake Wabby and Lake McKenzie. Lake Wabby had a huge sand dune (which we climbed) that was practically 90 degrees. To get to the lake we had to take a 45 minute hike which was very long but very worth it once we got to the lake.

During our walk to the Lake Wabby (and mostly everywhere on the island) there were postings about Dingoes. Dingoes are wild dogs that roam the land. They can be very dangerous and often are attracted to small children.

Lake McKenzie was unlike anything I have ever seen. The lake is all fresh rainwater and the sand is unlike any other. The water was crystal clear and the sand we used to exfoliate our bodies!! Ha and it actually worked. The sand also worked to clean one of my mates (yes, mates) jewelry.

Everything on this island was breath taking. It was so perfect that at times it seemed fake. To get to anywhere on the island you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle. We were in a huge 4 wheel drive bus that at times was veryyyyyy bumpy. It took a lot of skill for our tour guide Cam to navigate through all the trails. On the second day we went to Eli Creek, Indian Head, colored sand mountains, Maheno Shipwreck, and the rain forest. Indian Head is the second best lookout point in Queensland. It was so pretty that I could have stayed there all day just watching the ocean beneath us.

The shipwreck was also really cool. There is a long story that goes along with it but it is almost 80 years old. You are not allowed to climb or go inside the ship anymore and if a ranger catches you you will be given a huge fine. Before the safety signs about not being allowed on the ship were put up tourist would go inside. Little did they know that there were still active bombs on the ship which they set off. The bombs were all found and are gone now but the front end of the ship was destroyed and you are only able to see a few pieces above the water.

I was very disappointed that I was leaving the island without seeing any dingoes. But SURPRISE on our way home we saw one walking the beach. It is a male and he looked like he was searching for food.

On bus also got stuck in the sand on the way home but our awesome tour guide,Cam, got us out :)
Overall, this was a great weekend. We stayed in a amazing resort and had so much food! I hope that every travel experience I have in Australia is just like this!!



My First Week Down Under

I have officially been in Australia for one week! It is all so unreal that I am actually studying abroad. I had some homesick issues when I first arrived but now I am doing great J I’ve met so many great people from Australia, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and the USA. I have a great view from my room of the campus. Our campus was built on a kangaroo reservation so they are all over the place.

You have to be careful not to get too close to the kangaroo’s because they can hurt you really bad.  But here was my first spotting on the first day of orientation week.

I celebrated Valentine’s Day in Australia with some great people! The girls all made pasta and dessert for the boys and then us all just hung around. It was really nice J For O-Week (orientation week) each night had a different theme. The first night was a toga party and the next night was Mexican party. Both were a lot of fun and the aussie’s sure know how to party! I went to The Sunshine Plaza, which is an outdoor mall. It is HUGE and has really great stores that we don’t have in the USA.

Our campus has a lot to offer and one cool thing is the art gallery. This was the featured work.

I’ve been to the beach twice so far. It’s great to just catch the bus and go to the beach for the day! It’s very pretty and there are a ton of people. It’s cool to watch the surfers too! I’ve been doing a lot of walking..on the beach, around campus, at the mall, to the grocery store, and to Kondalilla National Park. It was beautiful! We hiked down to a watering hole where we all got to swim. The waterfalls were so pretty but the trails were very muddy!! We also went to a lookout of The Glass House Mountains.

I start classes on Tuesday and I am nervous/excited!! I hope they are interesting and not too hard because I have a lot of traveling I want to do!!

finally in australia!

so ive finally made it here to australia and it is GREAT!!! ive met so many great people and everyone is so nice! the walk to the grocery store is very long but i need a lot things than i thought i would. i just met one out of the three roommates i have tonight. her name is lisa and she is from germany, which is so cool except she doesn't speak english well. ive met a lot of great people from the states too!! i tried to get a cell phone today...i needed my passport...so lets just say i didnt get a phone today because i didnt know i needed my passport. internationals need their passport for a lot here and it makes me nervous because if i loose that i am toast!!! orientation is tomorrow, its at 8:30am but i cant wait because i haven't seen campus yet! or a kangaroo!!