Day Three

(sorry these blog posting are extremely out of order)

We wake up around 7:30 which is actually the latest we ever woke up so far. We (Lulu, Sophia Laura, and I) took showers and all when down to have yummy breakfast with everyone (2 others schools). Then around 8:30 we got on our private tour bus and headed to Healesville Santuary. Healesville Santuary is a zoo which has lots of native Australian animals. Then we went to see all the day creatures including a Spotter Python and baby sugar gliders. We also went to see the night creatures which we feed and then headed to the “hospital” at the zoo. Then we met up with a vet and saw a kangaroo autopsy which was the grossest thing I have ever seen but it was surprisingly really cool and educational. After that I definitely want to work on the whole vegetarian thing. After that we went to go see a bird show which was really awesome. When we headed back to our hotel. Then we went to a local market called Queen Victoria market. We walked around and eat the BEST doughnuts EVER! They were perfect with really good jelly in them. I would totally bring they back to American but before we can go back and get more they were closed. Anyways, then we went to see if their uggs were cheaper but they weren't :( ha ha, I also got a sweatshirt with an Australian flag on it :). Souvenir shopping is horrible because I don't know what to get my sister :(. After the Queen Victoria market we went back to our hotel and did our laundry. Then we went to dinner and had a conference with our whole traveling group. There is a lot of internet problem so I dont know when I will go on Skype of anything. After the conference we went back to our room and start packing for Alice Springs. Finally we went to sleep around 10 pm after another amazing day in Australia

Blog 4

Our day started out around 5 in the morning! Our group of 4 students including Lulu, Sophie, and Laura went down to get a quick breakfast just before we start heading to the airport for our flight to Alice Springs. The airport went by smoothly as always but we were bummed that it was rainy weather at Alice Springs but it didn't stop as from sleeping outside "under the stars". We slept in a place called Ooranminna homestead where we slept under a cover in swags. Swags are a type of sleeping bag used by the early pioneers when first exploring central part of Australia. Then we had lunch and learned how to crack a whip which was totally awesome but I got hurt a lot ha ha. After that we went around a campfire and listened to an educational speech about our solar system and different galaxies. We learned that in 2031, the astronomers think that a comet might actually struck earth. Too bad we couldn't see the star for our self due to the heavy amount of clouds. Then it was night time so we all went around a fire and laid out our swags. That was the end for another amazing day in Australia!

Blog Day 6

Today we woke up super early so we can go see the beautiful sunrise at Uluru rock! When we got there it was freezing and then I started missing LA because its probably really warm there. After the amazing sunrise we went for a closer look at Uluru. Our bus driver knows a lot about Uluru so he has been talking about Uluru and giving us really cool facts about the magnificent rock. For example, we learned that where Uluru stand it used to be an ocean so the rock has lots of salt deposit in it. We even went up to touch Uluru but we did not climb it because it is offensive to the Aboriginal people. We went to see a watering hole and ancient drawing.

Day 5

After a pretty bad night outside at the Bush Camp due to the coldness outside, we woke up pretty early. We all went to get breakfast and headed to Uluru rock. The drive to Uluru was about 6 hours so I had time to catch up on some homework. When we got to Uluru we went to to see the culture center where we learned about the survival skills of the aboriginal people which was kindly demostrated bu Cassidy Uluru. He showed us the art of dot-painting and the survival skills of his people. Then we all sat down and did our own dot painting with the symbols of the aboriginal people. Then we went to our hotell room where we eat dinner and went to sleep.

Day Two

On day 2, we had to wake up extra early because we were heading to Victoria. We woke up around 5:30 and only got about seven hours of sleep. When we went to our private tour bus and headed to Otway fly. Otway Fly is a rainforest that is located in the wettest part of Victoria. Its was a five hours ride but it was totally worth it! We went down a road called the Great Ocean Road, which is the ton ten ocean-side roads in the world! Also the Great Ocean Road is the ton ten places to photograph in the world! It’s awesome! Okay, then after we came to the Otway Fly, we eat Fish n Chips (fries) which is a famous Australian-English dish. Then we went to plant trees that were called Myrtle Beach and Mountain Ash. The Myrtle Beach is the tree that the dinosaurs eat 200 million years ago and the Mountain Ash is a tree that grows 150 m. tall. We went around the rainforest but of course it was raining so we all looked like puffy marshmallows with our raincoats. We went up 47 m. in the air by a hanging bridge. After our hike up the rainforest, we started heading back to our hotel. Then we went to go eat at an observation station and had really good time.

First Day in Australia

Okay, so let’s start off with LAX. At LAX, my parents dropped me off and I went though security perfectly fine. Then we didn’t wait that long for the plane and got on around 11:40. My first impression of the plane was that it was HUGE, even bigger then I thought. The seats were perfect and we all had our own TV. The TV had tons and tons of different movies and games so that was basically all I did the whole time. I tried to get some sleep but due to my overwhelming amount of joy I couldn’t. When we finally arrived in Melbourne, we went through security pretty fast and I got my money exchanged into Australian currents. My first words when I stepped out from the airport were “Australia smells good” ha ha because it wasn’t as polluted at LA. Then after I got my luggage and got my ticket checked, we headed to our tour bus. Starting heading sightseeing with a tour guide and got some chances to take photos. Melbourne is a really artistic place and has a lot of abstract art in the most random places ever and I really enjoyed that. Then we started heading to Moonlight Sanctuary. The moonlight sanctuary was a really cool place. It was like a private zoo with animals randomly running around. Some of the animals that we saw were wombats, KANGAROOS, squirrel gliders, koala and many more. We had lunch and then walked around feeding the different animals. Then we had dinner and went on a walk around the park in the dark because some animals only come out at night. Then we finally starting to head back home about 7:00 pm. We got home around 8 ish and we were all really tired. My group got a room together and we all had our own bed. I had a great night and everything went well. The only negative was that we had to wake up at 5:30 am for breakfast. Those was just the first day and now we are heading to Otway fly to plan trees and visit a place that is in the top ten places to photograph in the world.

Intro :)

Hey, my name is Elvira and I’m in 8th grade and in 10 days I’ll be heading to Australia with some of my friends from school and my technology teacher Mr. Shelton. I’m really looking forward to see the Great Barrier Reef. I have wanted to go there for like EVER. In the beginning of the year, my computer class had to make a PowerPoint about the country we dreamed of going to and I picked Australia. I wrote all about the Great Barrier Reef and the culture. I’m so exited to leave but I’m also afraid I’m going to forget something really important so packing will be a very stressful job for me. #DSAA09