Disclaimer: I don't know how to write a blog. I don't know how to do themed posts. You'll just have to hope for the best! Study Abroad in Perth, Western Australia, Spring 2011. And thanks for Calum for getting this up and running for me!
Team Perth 2011 landed safely in Sydney only to face ridiculously long lines, which ultimately caused us to miss our flight. Not all was lost however, as we hit up the train and headed to the harbor to take in the sights. Just so you know, the Sydney Opera House only kind of looks like it does in the pictures. But the botanical gardens were beautiful.
After our little day trip, we went back to the airport. The plane ride from San Francisco to Sydney was surprisingly easy, despite the daunting 14 hours airborne. I pretty much slept the whole time. The way the flights worked out meant that none of us really suffered from jet lag. I can only imagine that it will be terrible on the return trip though. During the flight we also crossed the international date line - so I left on Feb 5 and arrived Feb 7. Sorry Feb 6! We were met in Perth by the first of many very jolly Aussie tour guides, who took us to our colleges for our first nights sleep in Australia. The fact that I'm in the Southern Hemisphere has yet to really sink in.
The next morning we rose bright and early, assembled the whole team - Brady, Michael, Anna, Amanda, Robin, Professor Rebecca Dobkins and I - to meet our next very jolly tour guide, Leith. Leith was a force of nature. Full of Aussie charm, jokes, opinions, travel knowledge and advice. Thus began our excursion that Willamette groups have been doing for years before us. We headed south. First stop on the trip was the Busselton Underwater Observatory. It is the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia loves saying things like that - the biggest/longest/tallest ____ in the Southern Hemisphere) and has an underwater observatory at the end. It was our first glimpse of the ocean, and the colors were unbelievable.
We drove some more, before stopping at Yallingup for our first dip in the Indian Ocean. Needless to say, we were stoked. So stoked we sacrificed lunch to swim. Next stop was the Wardan Aboriginal Center. Our activity was a bush story trail/bushtucker tour. Bushtucker is basically a word for food that you find in the bush. The Wardandi are the traditional custodians of the land, on that short walk through the bush we learned a ridiculous amount of information that I wish I could remember, because it was amazing. We learned traditional uses of different trees, traditional laws about living in the bush, traditional practices and punishments, tasting and touching along the way. The grass tree grows an incredibly small amount every year, such that the tree that came up to about my waist was 360 years old. The Wardandi ate the tender parts of the 'grass' part, used the resin that gathered at the base to make the world's first plastic, and when the grass died, they knew the witchetty grubs had got it, so they cut out a section and ate the witchetty. The peppermint tree is traditionally the womens tree, and the leaves taste very strongly like peppermint. Surprise! Along the way we found seed pods, bigger than your fist, with holes in. These were used to carry fire. The embers were places in the holes and carried like that, until you reached your destination, when you would drop the embers into kindling. The possum tree indicated when they could hunt possums. When the tree was in bloom, no one was allowed to hunt possums because it was when babies were being raised. Violation of this tree resulted in very harsh punishment. The plastic I mentioned was made by grinding resin, kangaroo poo and charcoal together, and melting in the fire layer by layer until it built up. This was used to hold knives and spears. Totally rad. The Aboriginal culture is one of the oldest living cultures in the world, which is entirely underwhelming to say. When you witness their knowledge of the bush, the laws they abide by in order to respect the land, and the techniques they have developed to perfection over hundreds of years, it is simultaneously humbling and awe-inspiring.
The next morning we went to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. It was such a strange feeling because it felt like we were driving through the middle of nowhere, and yet out of the blue a winery, brewery, chocolate factory, this or that tourist attraction would appear. We were driving through tall forests, that you really wouldn't expect from your stereotypical image of Australia. They were beautiful though, and Margaret River has some really super wines.
Next stop was the shearing shed. It sounds really corny, I know, but turned out to be a whole lot of fun. First, sheep are awesome. Second, baby sheep are even better. Our guide, in keeping with the trend, was hilarious in a dry, sarcastic manner, so that you felt he was always making fun of you just a little bit. It was also really interesting to hear about the shearing industry, the various jobs necessary in the whole operation, and seeing it as a current part of Australian society. We watched him round up the sheep with his two awesome dogs, a border collie and a kelpie, watched him shear the sheep, I had to sweep the floor, Brady had to hold the sheep for a bit, and Michael had to jump on the wool. Then we bottle fed the lambs. For my work, I got paid in a chunk of wool. The lanolin is really good for all kinds of things. Untreated wool is particularly good for blisters while hiking.
Stopped for a brief photo opp at this really awesome place I don't remember the name of, but here's the gang!
Then we swam in the most wonderful beach ever. Be jealous.
After that we went to Mammoth Cave, which was really really cool too, but I forgot my camera. It was a magical wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites, columns, glittery rocks and a sheet of red translucent crystal (or something). You can tell I haven't taken geology before. Everywhere in the region there is some story about the Bussells, the first European family to live there. The story with the Bussells and the caves is that one of the girls was riding her horse through the forest when this cave just dropped away in front of her. She rode back to tell the fam, but they couldn't find it again for another 30 years. It really does just come out of nowhere. We climbed out that way, and it was like climbing out of the earth's belly button into this beautiful Karri forest. Or that cave they dive into in Planet Earth. I hadn't expected to see caves in Australia - another assumption that its just red dirt desert and beach - but that was definitely the coolest cave I've ever seen.
The next day we hit up the river in canoes with our guide Gordon. A lovely fellow who was building a straw bale house. It was great to be on the water and hearing more history of the area. We sampled some riverside plant life cuisine, swam, canoed some more, before posting up for a bushtucker lunch. Best lunch I've had here. Started with legit bushtucker - little plums, blood limes, fruit leather from native fruit, and these big starchy nuts. Yums. Real lunch was kangaroo and emu meat for the carnivores, sundried tomato bread, bush tomato and black pepper, marinated mushrooms, peppers and chutney from native fruits and veggies for the herbivores. Climbed up the cliff to look out over the river.
Underneath the cliff we were standing on was another cave. There was another story to do with the Bussells and Aborigines saving a shipwreck and the sailors slept in the cave or something. Anyway, this cave was sick. The brave ones of us followed our trusted leader Gordon through a tunnel at the back that looped back into the cave. Knees were scraped, elbows exfoliated, clothes muddied, but we all made it through. It was tough though - lots of maneuvering at the end around inconveniently placed rocks and pillars. We were then challenged to a race back to the beach and we were definitely the favorites until Michael tipped the canoe right at the end, and Rebecca's team won the prize bottle of wine.
Went further south to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. It is the south-western most point of Australia, and where the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. Super windy!
Next stop was the Gloucester Tree. It was used as a fire lookout back in the day. It had rebar stuck in it going up in a spiral like a ladder all the way to the top, where there was a platform. At the bottom there was a little sign indicating that there were
dangers associated with climbing the tree, but that was it. It would be totally illegal in the US.
Here's a picture of Amanda, Anna and Robin climbing it. I got about 10 steps up before deciding I
chose life.
For our last day, we went to Pemberton to take in the beaches and forests by fou-wheel drive. We headed out through a Karri forest that had never been timbered, paddled by a river, then the landscape and vegetation changes instantly as you hit the dunes. The beauty of the Karri trees is impossible to describe - so tall and straight. The sand dunes were insanely high. There is a constant battle between the forest and the dunes. So far I think the dunes are winning and are permanently moving and encroaching on the forests territory. I don't know how we made it up the dunes, but we did. At the top we got out to play - rolling down immediately followed by sprinting to the top races, flips by the boys. The wind was blowing though, and we got sand blasted. My birks got filled up in the short time we were out. Then we headed to the beach and the river mouth. The shells were beautiful.
The final stop on the way was the weirdest place ever - Gnomeville. So weird. There were thousands of gnomes from all over world that had been gathering for years and years. It wasn't just that there was a patch of them, there was a hill, a valley, a river, another hill, a forest. It just kept going! Of course we left a Team Perth gnome to join in the fun.
The excursion was really just a vacation. Next time I'll get into Perth, college, uni and adventures around here. Some fun facts until then...
Australia is super eco-friendly in some ways, but they don't have recycling anywhere. The only peanut butter here has suger and salt added, but they have Laughing Cow cheese in a jar ( I would have expected that of American). Vegetarian/veganism hasn't really hit Australia yet and through this I have discovered that tofu does not mean the dish is vegetarian, and also that my taste buds have evolved past cheese. Aussie's love meat. People would rather run you over than stop for you. Everything is super expensive. Imagine the price you would usually pay for something and multiply it by about 5. My college is a bit like a sorority without the rushing and pledging. Boys wear short shorts. Girls wear short shirts. Everyone dresses up on the daily. They ask "How're you going" instead of "How're you doing". I still don't know how to answer. All places should be shortened and end in o...Fremantle becomes Freo etc. The broad accent, Aussie Aussie, is also known as 'Strine'. Say it to yourself a couple times and see if you can hear it...
