Why Did I go To Australia?
This is the first question that most people ask about my trip! Through Hiram College's Extra Mural Studies program, I spent three months in Australia with 22 Hiram Students and 2 Hiram Professors, Prudy Hall and Marty Huehner. We took three classes as we traveled around the eastern half of the country. Collectively, the classes were grouped into a collegium called "Australia faces the 21st century." The three classes that made up this collegium were Field Biology, Environmental Studies, and Field Geology.How Did I Get There?
From Cleveland, the 24 of us flew to Los Angelas, then on to Sydney Australia. The flight to L.A. was about five hours, but the flight to Sydney was about 17 hours! Even worse, we had to stop in Honolulu due to a medical emergency, which meant we spent 19 hours on the jammed packed Air New Zealand 747.Where did we go first?
Immidiately upon arrival in Sydney, we travelled 4 hours inland to the capital city of Canberra. Here we would stay for two weeks, in dorms at the Australian National University. In Canberra, we learned many things about Australia government, culture, and natural areas. Canberra is a small, planned city, that became the capital because of a feud between Sydney and Melbourne. A spot was picked between the cities to place the capital city, which was designed by the American Walter Burley Griffith.In Canberra, we would have class in which we would discuss readings from Environmental Geology and E.O. Wilson's the Diversity of Life. We took many field trips, in which we would examine certain plants and animals, and be quizzed over them, or we would have to write a short paper on our observations. Some of the more memorable trips in and around the Australian Capital Territory were to Tidbinbilla Nature Preserve, Greening Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Commision, and South Durras Beach.
Where did we go after Canberra?
After our two weeks in Canberra were finished, we packed up our bags for sixty days on the road! We would be traveling with Murray's coaches, with Kevin, our driver, and Linda, our cook. Behind our motorcoach we pulled a trailer, which house our food, tents, and many other camping supplies. That's right, we would be camping, in tents for sixty days!
Our first night on the road was interesting, but the tent and my sleeping bag really began to feel like home!
Over Our sixty days, we made many stops. Some of the highlights included: Mt. Kosciousko, Wilson's Promontory, Phillip Island and The Fairy Penguins, Melbourne, Mootwintgee National Park, Broken Hill, Wilpena Pound, Coober Pedy, Uluru, King's Canyon, Ross River, ALice Springs, Keppel Island, Carnarvon George National Park, Lamington National Park, and Coff's Harbor, NSW. These were our main stops! Many nights we were in small obscure towns. If you really want to know the whole story, i'm working on typing my journal from the trip, which will give an in depth view of a very unique country.
The most amazing thing about the trip is how many different plants, animals, and ecosystems we were able to witness. Contrasting the lifeless moonplains of Coober Pedy to the lush subtropical rainforest of Lamington National Park was quite an easy task. The wildlife was amazing--There is nothing like waking up in the morning to 100 screeching sulphur crested cockatoos--or three times as many rainbow lorikeets!