This past Saturday our program took us to Morton Island to go sand boarding and snorkeling! After a treacherous drive through the forest and over sandy “roads” in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, we reached an area called “The Desert” (basically enormous hills and valleys all made of sand). Walking through this sand, and especially trekking up a huge mound of it, proved to be fantastic exercise! It was a rewarding effort, though. We all got to go down the hill on wooden boards – essentially it was sledding, or snowboarding if you were extra daring – on sand. Except SO much faster!
The group walking up the sand mountain!
That's Allison and me wayyyy at the bottom after our run!
We then enjoyed (read: endured) another crazy 4WD trip back to the beach, where we ate lunch then headed into the water for a snorkel! The waters off of Morton Island are unique as they feature something like 15 ships that were purposely sunk to create a sort of artificial coral reef. You can see the tops of some of them from the beach, but a lot of them don’t make themselves apparent until you are swimming over them with a snorkel mask on. Though, I have to say, the coral and fish here couldn’t compare with what we saw at the Whitsundays (which are, to be fair, part of the Great Barrier Reef), it was a really different snorkeling experience maneuvering through the sunken ships.
Tops of some of the sunken ships
I love the water and how it changes so quickly!
The rest of the week was more or less a blur of scrambling to get work done. It’s funny, the whole “study” part of studying abroad is easy to forget when there’s a foreign country at your fingertips 24/7. On Sunday I did get to go into the city with Frances and Elizabeth to St. John’s Cathedral for an Anglican Evensong service. The Choral Scholars from St. John’s were leading the music and are super talented, so it was really fun to see them shine! I also got to write a paper on Keith Urban and make a presentation on the Red Sox this week, so I suppose the school part wasn’t all bad!
St. John's Anglican Cathedral, the only Victorian Gothic Cathedral under construction in Australia
And now, finally, it’s mid-semester break (or spring break as we would say in the States)! That means we get next week off of school, and naturally we Americans are keen to travel. My plans? I am going on a road trip with Michelle (another American in my program) and Rob (an Australian from my college), and we are also picking up a Canadian girl about halfway through. The goal is to drive down the east coast, stopping in different towns, national parks, and of course at beaches, ultimately reaching Melbourne early next week. Then it’s off west along the Great Ocean Road (an iconic stretch of Australian highway along the coast with stunning views and rock formations) to Adelaide, and finally turning back northeast for a trip through the outback and back to Brisbane by the end of next weekend. It’s a plan I’ve been fondly referring to as “spring break epicness” – I. am. so. pumped!!! It seems like it will be an amazing opportunity to see HEAPS of incredible places, and since we’re going with an Australian we will get the privilege of an insider’s view on everything.
I’m also really excited because at this point in the semester, even in Australia, I feel the need to get out and away from school for a bit. This week especially I have felt unusually stressed and bogged down, both with school and a variety of other things, so I think a little vacation is just what I need. It should be a relaxing week and I hope to use it to clear my head and re-prioritize a bit. Spending time heading down the highway, with really cool people, and perhaps most importantly, on the beach (!!!), should be the ideal environment for this.
Sending you love love love from the road!
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