Entry 11

Crikey! First week of autumn break has been amazing. Midterms were last week and I was in sore need of some stress-relieving adventure time. My first excursion was to the Outback. I flew from Sydney to Ayers Rock, which is in the very center of the Australian desert. For three days I went bushwalking, learned how to throw boomerangs, and read a book about aboriginal dreamtime and its relation to the native art of dot painting. On the last day I was in Ayers I got to go to a camel farm and ride a super friendly one-humped camel named “Darcy” to the great rock that the town gets its name. Ayers Rock is over two miles long, 1,100 feet tall, and over a mile wide. It’s almost six miles around the base, and half of it isn’t even above ground! The native aboriginal name for Ayers Rock is Uluru, and it is a very sacred place for the local tribe. The different metal composites in the rock make its color drastically change in the setting sun— it truly was an awe-inspiring sight. On the return trip the stars began to pop out of the horizon— the Outback has the clearest night sky of anywhere I’ve ever seen. I had a hard time saying goodbye to the desert, but was excited to fly to the northern border of Australia, and spend some time in the city of Darwin. When I walked off the plane I immediately thought I had landed in Wilmington because it was so humid! Darwin is surrounded by some of the countries largest natural rain forests. On my second day in the Northern Territory city I woke up at 5a.m. and headed to a tour of two of the national parks. First was Litchfield, which had some of the most impressive waterfalls in the world. We were able to swim in two of the locations we went— the water was clear and clean enough to drink, and the pools were warm as a bath. After lunch we went to Kakadu national park, which is famous for its wildlife, specifically the giant jumping saltwater crocodiles. While we waited to get on the boat I got to hold a water python, which was fine until she licked the back of my neck— then my spin shivered and the snake tensed its muscles around my shoulders. On the boat our guide held bits of raw buffalo on fishing rods and to attract crocs. The very first one was a sixteen-foot male with a missing right arm (so we knew he was a fighter). Crocodiles are one of the few animals in the world that are cannibals. Their ruthless nature and genetic superiority is what has kept them unchanged and at the top of the food pyramid since the age of dinosaurs. The male croc only jumped half way out of the water because he was so large, but the female crocs we saw would use their powerful tails to get three quarters of their body above the surface to grab the meal. I’m really glad we went swimming before watching the feeding frenzy because now I am pretty hesitant to get back in the water in this country. On my last day in Darwin I went to Crocosaurus Cove, which was a zoo completely devoted to crocodiles and other reptile and marine life native to the Northern Territory. All ten of the most venomous snakes in the world live in Australia, alone with pretty much every other deadly animal you can think of. Now that it’s officially fall, and I’m back in Sydney its starting to cool off, but I’ve still got one more trip before the end of autumn break. Next week I’m headed off to do some serious relaxing in Queensland at the Gold Coast.

Special shout out to my parents who sent me an amazing care package Easter basket. I couldn’t have asked for a better support team back in America, and I miss my Mom and Dad every day while I’m here. I hope everyone had a great Easter in the states!