Friday: We got to Canberra around 5pm and got a free drive to Weeden Lodge with since we’re exchange students. When we arrived at Weeden, we got a bunch of paperwork to fill out. We got to our rooms and unpacked everything from our suitcases. I was surprised by some of the things I found in my suitcase since I had packed it so long ago, so that was nice. We also found out that our shower doesn’t drain. Next, we left for the mall nearby to get some snacks to celebrate that we finally got to Canberra. They have different things here, so we spent quite a bit of time exploring the options. We came back and watched the only movie Kiley has on her iTunes, Divergent, and ate our snacks. It was a good first day.
Saturday: We met my parents in the morning to go to the mall for essentials and groceries. We got a pillow, blanket, cleaning stuff, and school supplies before getting groceries. We also got prepaid phone plans at Telstra. They have Aldi here which is so great! It’s cheaper here than other stores just like in Iowa. After that, we went to Coles to get the rest of our groceries. We thought it was about time that we start celebrating, so we all got a bunch of delicious ice cream. We took everything back to our apartment and put it away after that. Then, we headed to my parents hotel to hangout since it was super nice. We watched some TV and ate some dinner and realized our phones still weren’t working. Kiley and I decided we would go back the next day to figure it out. We had a great evening, but it was also hard knowing that I wouldn’t see my parents again for 4 months. They drove us back and dropped us off. There were a few tears and several hugs. It was great that they could come and spend a little time with us to get us settled before leaving to go back. Sunday: We tried out a church nearby that morning. The service was pretty long, but it was nice to get to church again. After that, we left for the mall to use the Wi-Fi and get our phones fixed. We ate at a café there, and I got a new sim card for my phone that worked way faster than the last one. Kiley had to buy a new phone since hers was locked from her US carrier. She got a cheap phone, and we went back home to make dinner and go to bed early since we were still exhausted from New Zealand. Monday: We had orientation from 9-noon. We first met some of our closer friends on that first day. They threw a lot of information at us that first day. A lot of it was very informative and included important things that we had to do that week. It’s always hard to sit in a lecture room for 3 hours after summer, but they had free food which was really nice. All the exchange students got free entry into Sky Zone for unlimited jumping time. It was really fun to jump around and do flips into the foam pit and get to know other students better. Afterwards, some of us went to a chocolate café right next to it to talk a little, and some people got hot chocolate or shakes. Tuesday: We had orientation again from 9-noon that day. A surfer guy came in to talk about surf camp in October. He was really funny and a total surfer. It was pretty entertaining to watch him pretend surf up front. We signed up for surf camp that day because we knew we didn’t want to miss it. Wednesday: We worked on our checklist of things to get done that week for most of the day. We also got a membership for the gym we go to. That night, we went out to the Lighthouse bar. It was a big party for students since classes started the next week. There was some theme, but we didn’t have a lot of extra clothes to dress up with. We had to pay to get in which wasn’t very fun, but we danced a lot and talked with some of our new friends. Kiley, Nicola, and I left somewhat early because we were still super tired. Thursday: We went to the gym for the first time in forever (yes I sang that in my head like the Frozen song). It was pretty great to do Body Pump and swim in the morning. We worked on a lot of things on our list again. We got our student ID cards, figured out where our classes were, and more. Friday: I honestly don’t remember much about what we did this day because it was a while ago. I’m sure we went to the gym, did laundry, and packed for our trip to Syndey and the Blue Mountains the next day.
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Canberra is the capital of Australia. Melbourne and Sydney were arguing about which one should be the capital, so they chose to intentionally create a capital city. They used the bush (forest) as the forefront of the city. There was a contest for whose proposed design for the city would work the best. They created the city with the government in mind. There are 3 main areas of Canberra. I live in Belconnen in a neighborhood called “Bruce.” The main city is called Civic. I haven’t been there yet, but that’s where you can get a famous “freakshake” at a café called Patissez. The other area is called Tuggeranong. I haven’t heard a lot about that yet. You can’t see much of the city from the roads because of all the trees. The answer is yes, we see kangaroos regularly on campus and whenever we go hiking. The people here are very welcoming and friendly. We live about a 5 minute walk to Westfield mall which has everything we could ever want (as if we have money to buy anything above essentials). Our gym is Club Lime which is part of the Canberra International Sports and Aquatic Centre (CISAC), and it’s only about a 7 minute walk away. The University of Canberra campus is a 15-20 minute walk. We also live close to a pretty lake that’s nice to walk around. Everything we need is close enough that we can walk to it which is really nice. It’s much drier here than Iowa in the middle of summer. I feel like I’m always thirsty and need to put on more chap stick, but it’s also nice not to have humidity. We have TV’s in our rooms which is nice. We get to watch some familiar shows like Ellen, Gilmore Girls, and Friends. We’re trying to save money on food, doing laundry ourselves, and walking instead of busing. Overall, I think I’ll like Canberra. It has the city and the mountains nearby. It has trees and shopping malls. It has ice cream shops and an awesome gym. It has a nice sense of a balanced life. It’s in a nice location because there are several places we want to go that aren’t too far to travel. The environment is a nice place to live and fit into for the next four months.
August 8: This was the first day of classes technically, but I only have class Tuesday through Thursday. I went to the gym and then the library to use their Wi-Fi. I also did laundry, made some food, and caught up on my journal from the weekend in Sydney. August 9: I had my first Sustainable Communities lecture that afternoon, and it was interesting. The professor seems passionate about the subject, and I’m excited to see another country’s views on conservation. That evening was trivia night. The theme was the Olympics and Australia in general, so our team of international students didn’t do the best. However, that didn’t stop us from getting our free pizza and chips (French fries). Our team had a pretty good time trying to figure out the answers. August 10: I had my first Introduction to Nutrition lecture in the morning. I think I’ll enjoy learning more about what we should eat each day and how what we eat affects and fuels our bodies. I also had my first Sustainable Communities tutorial. That was much smaller, and we got to discuss things in more detail. Not having free Wi-Fi at my residence has really made me appreciate the free Wi-Fi and computers on campus. August 11: My first Indigenous History and Identity lecture and tutorial. I think this class will be different than what I was expecting, but I hope it’s informative and interesting. I hope to learn more about Australia’s past and how that affects the country today. Kiley and I are in this class together, and another exchange student from Finland is in that class with us as well. I also had my first Introduction to Nutrition lab which was great. We compared our normal portion sizes with a serving size. I think I’ll like my teacher for that lab. August 12: I don’t have classes on Fridays, so I went to the gym in the morning. I checked out a textbook from the library to study over the weekend. There was a scavenger hunt for exchange students at 2:30 around Canberra. We met and split up into teams with a student ambassador driving in each car. Our group had 2 girls from Germany, Kiley and I, and a University of Canberra student. We decided at the beginning that we wanted to win because we never win these things. We ran everywhere every time we parked at a new destination. We had to collect all kinds of Aussie things like Vegemite, a kangaroo (toy), a boomerang, and more. We also had themed pictures at each destination we had to drive through. We had a great time seeing everything in Canberra and taking crazy pictures. We ended up winning too which is awesome! We got a travel adapter and a $20 gift card to Coles (a grocery store). After the hunt, everyone met up for a barbeque to hang out and eat some food. We went from the barbecue to Cold Rock (an ice cream shop at the mall). I got some with peanut butter and Tim Tams in it. We all enjoyed our ice cream while getting to know each other better. August 13: I tried to sleep in but didn’t sleep well that night. That afternoon Kiley, Nicola, and I walked along the lake by Weeden Lodge. It was a lovely day for a walk. Most of the time we talked about autumn and winter and Christmas. We talked about things that we’ll miss about fall and our family traditions that we’re excited for at Christmas. After our walk, we were pretty tired. We got back to our apartment and just watched TV while studying. August 14: We left to go hiking in Tidbinbilla around 9:15am. It was about a 40 minute drive. We went to the visitor’s center first and saw some animals that were stuffed and learned some things about the native animals. From there, we drove to a koala sanctuary. Unfortunately, almost all of the Canberra koalas were killed in the bush fires in 2003, so now they’re trying to re-introduce them. We went on a little walk in the sanctuary and saw some wallabies. When we got back to the front where the koalas were, one of the joey koalas was out of its pouch. The baby was super adorable. After the koalas, we went to see some platypuses. They would come up for water every once in a while, but they were much smaller than I thought they would be. Next, we went left to go to the big hike. The hike up the mountain was kind of steep but not too bad. I had a great time getting to know new people and enjoying the views along the way. At the top, there were some amazing views. We spent some time eating some snacks, drinking some water, and taking in the scenery. The hike down was faster but somewhat steep at times. We had a great time, but by this point in the afternoon, we were all pretty hungry. We drove to a nearby park to play some sports and have a barbecue. We played catch with a Frisbee and football. After eating, some of us played a group game of soccer which was pretty fun. On the drive home, we were all pretty tired from the hiking and being in the sun all day. August 6: We met at 6:45am for our 3 hour bus ride to Sydney. All 60 of us exchange students on the trip got free T-shirts along with maps of Sydney and the itinerary. We watched an Australian movie called Red Dog on the way there. We also played trivia where they asked us questions about Aussie lingo and different Australian facts. Our first stop was the Sydney Tower. We took an elevator to the top where we could look out the windows all the way around and see most of Sydney. The view was great, but it was kind of scary looking straight down at the ground because we were so high up. We went back down to the mall and ate some lunch. We got some gelato to go before we left. I got peanut butter fudge and creamy caramel. It was quite tasty. We walked to a Cathedral close by even though it was sprinkling slightly. The Cathedral was beautiful inside and out. There were tall arches throughout the ceiling, stained glass windows, and a beautiful set of the Stations of the Cross. We went from there to the Royal Botanic Gardens. We walked around for a while and saw plenty of neat plants and different birds. The trail lead us along the harbor where we had a great view of the Sydney Opera House and the bridge together. It was so cool to see such famous attractions. I had flashbacks to Finding Nemo, and that one Mary-Kate and Ashley movie in Australia. The view was awesome. After getting some typical tourist pictures, we kept walking along the water until we reached the Opera House for a group picture. After that, we left for Paddy’s Markets where there were plenty of vendors to get cheap souvenirs. Kiley and I got some $12AUD sweatshirts and some other little things. Then, we went to the Sydney Aquarium to see all the cool fish and sea creatures. We saw Nemo and Dori, plenty of starfish, some turtles, all kinds of different fish, and even some sharks. We got to walk through one of those cool archway tunnels where the fish can swim all around and over top of you, and that was pretty cool. Everyone met up at the Pontoon Bar in Darling Harbor right near the water for dinner. There was a great view of the dark blue sky, the lights of the city, and the water as the sun was about to disappear. After we all ate, we boarded the bus for our hostel in the Blue Mountains. We sat by the fireplace before going to sleep because we were cold and very tired from the long day. August 7: We had an included breakfast at 8am and drove to Echo Point so we could see the Three Sisters and start our 1.5 hour hike down the mountain. The hike through the forest was super pretty and unique. There’s a reason they call them the Blue Mountains. Our hike started down a wide path but soon turned into a steep, narrow staircase. There were railings on both sides of us most of the way. By the end of the stairs, my calves were shaking involuntarily even though they didn’t hurt or ache. It was really odd. We walked along the trail for a while until we reached the bottom of the railway. The railway took us straight up back to the top of the mountain. We faced down, so we went up backwards. It was steeper than I expected, but it was pretty cool and had a great view. Once at the top, we explored the gift shop a little and had some snacks while we waited for everyone. Then, we went to the Featherdale Wildlife Park. We saw SO MANY Australian animals. There were wombats, emus, dingoes, snakes, crocodiles, koalas, kangaroos (and Joeys), wallabies, and tons of birds. The Joeys could hop right under the fences and roam about, so we got to pet several of them; they’re super fluffy. We also got to pet a koala while it was chilling in a tree sleeping. It was awesome. I wanted to just cuddle up with it and take a wittle nap. After seeing everything, we got some food and then left for the drive back to Canberra. It was a fun trip with lots of cool experiences, and we got to make some awesome friendships. July 29
Woke up at 3:30am NZ time, 1:30am AU time for our 6am flight to Sydney. The flight was about 4-5 hours. Once we got to Sydney, we had to wait in the airport for 7 hours for our 3:30pm flight to Canberra. We got some ice cream with Oreos from Hungry Jacks which is what they call Burger King here. At this point, we would've rather been anywhere but the airport. But, we were excited to make Canberra our new home. The time is now. We were so excited to be in one place and get back into a routine, but we’re also so thankful for the time we got to spend in New Zealand. It was an incredible experience with astounding scenery and culture. I can’t wait for the adventures to come. Wish us luck! July 28
We woke up around 7:30 to walk along the lake and the Queenstown Gardens again and make the most of the morning. After another lovely walk around to explore and take in the views, we went back to Mrs. Ferg’s Pantry where Kiley got a breakfast bowl. We went to the ledge by the lake again, and I ate some stuff I brought with me. After trying to soak in Queenstown as much as possible, we walked back to the hostel to pack everything up. We walked to the bus stop in town to get to the airport. We flew to Auckland after being delayed and enjoying one last look at the Remarkables on our walk to the plane. We arrived in the Auckland airport for the 4th time, so we knew it pretty well by then. We took a bus to Ibis Budget Hotel from the airport. Some of the lights didn’t work, it was small, and we had to go to the lobby to get wifi. However, it was nice to have our own room and bathroom. We showered and headed to the lobby to get wifi. I had to Skype Virgin Australia about adding a checked bag to a flight. Man, that was a process. I’m not going to say much more about that other than I hope that doesn’t happen again. We went to bed early after packing while watching music videos on TV. July 27 A day in Queenstown. No busses. No planes. No travel except by foot. What a lovely thing that is. Queenstown was our favorite city by far. It’s like “Winter Park on steroids” as Kiley puts it. “The Remarkables” mountains are truly remarkable, and we could see them from outside our hostel along the lake or in the middle of the city. They’re very unique in their snow-covered ruggedness. This lake was similar to Lake Te Anau because they were both formed from glaciers, they're over 1000ft deep, and they contain crystal clear water. It was hypnotizing to take in the views and listen to the water gently rolling into shore. We walked to some nearby hiking trails and decided to go up the One Mile Creek hike and come down on the Tiki Trail. It was hard to follow the trail for most of the way up, but we were reminded we were on the trail fairly often. It got pretty steep, and at times it was more similar to rock climbing than hiking. It was so fun! It seemed really dark because of all the foliage and where the sun was coming up. We got to a lookout where you could see the lake and mountains pretty well and then kept climbing. We got to a clearing and started down the Tiki Trail. On the way down was where we found the best view of Queenstown. We could see all of Queenstown, the lake, and the Remarkables in the background. We had to take a moment to enjoy the beautiful scenery in front of us. The way down was rocky and slippery, but you’ve got to love a little challenge. We ended at the bottom of the Skyline where we were supposed to go star gazing that night and walked from there through town to the Queenstown Gardens. We walked on a path along the lake that was amazing and went along the shoreline of one of the peninsulas. It was a peaceful, lovely little walk. The gardens also had a pond, tennis court, and a bowling club; there were several bowling clubs through all of New Zealand. After our walk around the park, we decided to check out the ice cream and gelato shops. We treated ourselves to some gelato at Mrs. Ferg’s which is the neighbor to the famous Fergburger. We both chose Peanut Butter Banana and Cookies and Cream. We walked back to the lakeside to eat our gelato on a ledge in front of the beach. It was one of those picture perfect moments enjoying so many great things at once your senses can hardly take it. The sights of the mountains. The sound of the water and people passing. The feeling of sunshine, a slight breeze, and the gelato slowly freezing your hand. Last but not least, the taste of sweet gelato in the most scrumptious of flavors. After we slowly finished our gelato, we ventured back into town to get some souvenirs. There were heaps of little shops, so we tried to find the best deals. We each got some cheap hats and our traditional key chain for every place we go. It was fun exploring and going up and down the streets. We found a Skyline center in a shopping center, so we stopped and asked about the possibility of our star gazing being cancelled. It had been cloudy and raining on and off all day. The girl we talked to said we would get a refund if they cancelled it. We ended up talking to her for a little while because she was from the US and had lived in Sydney for a year and a half before moving to Queenstown 3 months earlier. She told us a few places we should go in and around Sydney, so that was nice. It’s always fun to run into someone who is living the kind of life you hope to live after college. One of my dreams is the live and work abroad for a few years out of college to see more of the world and experience even more new things. We left the mall and looked for some dinner. We ate at a place called London’s. Kiley got pesto penne, and I got lasagna. My meal came in a square dish it was cooked in with sizzling cheese holding all the heat in. It was warm, delicious, and hearty. We enjoyed our meal and the rugby that was playing inside. We walked back to our hostel from there in the rain and got ready to head to the Skyline. The walk was wet and cold. When we got there, they gave us a refund because it was cancelled. We walked back to change and cuddle up in warm clothes. I read a little in my bed before going to bed early. We were sad to miss our star gazing, but the day was pretty awesome otherwise. beJuly 26 Our bus left for Milford Sound that morning at 8:45. The landscape was gorgeous; there were mountains, lakes, creeks, forests, waterfalls, and more. Our bus driver and guide talked the whole way there about the land, conservation, and history. We took a few stops for shorts walks or Kodak moments. Our first stop was in a valley with a beautiful view of surrounding mountains. We also stopped by a chasm with churning waters flowing through. It was pretty cool to see how deep and fast the water was as it flowed under the bridge. Mirror Lake was our next break to see how the lake reflected the mountains behind it. It was somewhat windy at first, so the reflection wasn’t the best, but we went to a different part of the lake and saw an awesome reflection. It was crazy how much it looked real. It reminded me of a Bob Ross painting. The road to Milford Sound had recently been closed, so we got pretty lucky we got there safely despite the “Avalanche Zone” and “Black Ice” signs. When we arrived, we got our tickets and lunch vouchers and headed for the ship. We went straight to the top of the boat to see an incredible view. There were huge mountains everywhere and a big waterfall. We could see down the fiord towards the ocean. Once we left the dock, it surprised me how fast we were moving through the water. One of the first things that happened was we saw a pod of dolphins not far away. They drove the boat towards them, and the dolphins must’ve liked our boat because they stuck around for a while. We were on the front of the boat looking over the railing at the dolphins swimming at the same speed as the boat. They were jumping out of the water at us for quite a while. It was crazy, and it reminded me again of why I like dolphins so much. They’re so majestic, graceful, social, and playful. It looked like they were having a great time showing off for us. There were more swimming along the side of the boat. I thought I got a video, but turns out it didn’t work L. Next, we headed from the lake part to the river part of the fiord. We went down one side and back closer to the other. The mountains were really steep because of the glaciers that formed them. It’s hard for me to describe the feeling I had being surrounded by that immense amount of beauty that God has created. It was intense and hard to take it all in. I hope to remember that feeling forever and experience it again. The views the whole time were amazing. Once we got to the ocean, we turned around to go back. The turn was pretty rough from the waves since it was the open ocean beyond. The view of Milford Sound from the ocean was really unique and awe-striking. By this point, however, Kiley and I were extremely cold. We decided to head inside to get our lunches from Pita Pit. Our wraps were good and filling. We could see well from the inside but decided to go back outside when we got close to the waterfall. We could feel the mist and were almost under the falls at one point. Nearby, we went past some seal pups sunning themselves on some rocks, and they were adorable. The whole cruise was breathtaking. When we got back, we boarded the bus for the ride back to Te Anau. We stopped by a lake to see the misty mountains and crystal clear water. We also rested at a creek so people could fill their water bottles with glacier water. Everyone got pretty sleepy on the ride back. Constant transportation has a way of making even the most well rested, alert people really tired. We got back to our hostel with about an hour until our bus ride to Queenstown. This bus ride was in the dark, so there wasn’t much to see. We got to the middle of town and got wrong directions to our hostel from our driver. However, we got the right directions from the wrong hostel. It was about a 20 minute walk in the rain with our stuff to YHA Lakefront Hostel. We got to our hostel tired and a little wet, but we were glad to be settled. We headed to a lounge area with bean bags to figure out what to do the next day. We knew it had to be something more affordable since we had spent unexpected money on the cruise that day. We looked for some good hiking trails in the winter and found a few short hikes along with the Queenstown Gardens. We made a general plan for part of the day and tried to get some sleep despite our roommates coming in late and leaving early to hit the slopes for some skiing and snowboarding. P.S. sorry about my glove in lots of the Go Pro videos...still getting the hang of that thing ;) July 25 We got up at 6:30 for our flight to Queenstown on the south island. We landed around 11:15 and caught a shuttle to the city where we got on our Naked Bus to Te Anau. We walked around a little and got some minimal groceries to make our meals cheaper. We also got some sandwiches from a bakery for lunch. We knew we’d like Queenstown from the moment we got there. On our 2 hour drive to Te Anau, we saw beautiful landscapes with snow, mountains, lakes, and countryside. It all reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings. Although we didn’t go on a tour to see exactly where it was filmed, I’m sure we saw some of the same scenery. When we arrived, we walked to our hostel and left our stuff there so we could walk along the lake. Lake Te Anau is super clear so we could see the pebbles on the bottom. It was super blue, and there were mountains along the whole other side of the lake. The sun was going down behind the mountains, so the view was really great. We went back to our hostel and talked to the guy working at the front desk about suggestions for the next day. We were originally planning to hike around Te Anau, but we found out there aren’t many trails that are good in the winter. Instead, he suggested that we go on a cruise in Milford Sound. We signed up online that night for the cheapest cruise package including the bus ride there and back. We headed to bed pretty early again so we could enjoy the next day a lot. |
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December 2016
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