I’m all settled into my new place and school is only a day away. I’m starting to get used to the way of things here. I’m slowly learning how to get around and familiarizing myself with local shops. Moving to a brand new place, it’s hard not to feel lonely and lost. I guess as I slowly adapt to my new life here and make friends I will feel less like an outsider and more like a local. I think school will definitely help with that. Studying will give me a sense of purpose here.
This past week we’ve had some weird weather in Queensland. When I went to visit my Canadian friend Alanna at the Gold Coast, my train was delayed because of a severe hail storm! The people on the train couldn’t believe the weather. They were taking photos, calling friends and family. Some people were actually freaking out! Honestly, it was a nice respite from the heat (which as returned in full force).
Alanna just completed her exchange at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Her father and boyfriend are here to visit. The three of them will be traveling all over Australia until the new year. Alanna kindly invited me to partake in some of the excursions near her area.
We first took a drive to the Currumbin Rock Pools. It was an incredibly scenic drive. Large trees with vines and bushes with colourful flowers surround the winding road. It made me happy to see something new, something outside of the city. This is the Australia I’ve been waiting to explore.
The Currumbin Rock Pools are located in the Currumbin Valley just a brief drive from the Gold Coast. The pools are on parkland, with a short trail leading to the rock pools and out further to an old abandoned sawmill. There were lots of lizards and birds along the trails. Its so nice to see wildlife.
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| PEOPLE SLIDE DOWN THIS! |
After the Rock Pools we had lunch and went to visit the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The Currumbin wildlife zoo hosts a number of native Australian wildlife. The neat thing is that the place is almost entirely interactive. You can hug the koalas, you can hop around with the Kangaroos, feed the lorikeets and avoid the backside of the emu (they have scary projectile poop abilities).
Prepare yourself for some really cute photos!
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| Getting ready to pick up Sunny |
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| DREAM COME TRUE |
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| Ready for my close up! |
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| NOM NOM Eucalyptus |
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| petting the kangaroos! |
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| Emu |
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| Joey |
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| POW POW |
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| Kangaroo Boxing |
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| Up close and personal |
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| Holding some sort of common Australian python. They estimate that these are in 1/3 of houses on the Gold Coast |
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| Warm Koalas sleep like this |
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| Cold koalas sleep like this |
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| Timid Tasmanian devil |
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| Echidna |
I also got the chance to check out some cool stuff in Brisbane. I didn’t know but there are botanical gardens within walking distance from my house. The Mount Coo-Tha Botanic Gardens is a 52 hectare subtropic botanic garden hosts a number of “themed gardens” including fragrant, fern, bonsai, Japanese and more! The park is beautiful and you can tell that the city puts a lot of work into the park. The best part about it is that it is free! I will definitely be returning to have a picnic some day that I am off!
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| Taken on my iphone, hence the not so clear quality |
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| This is a fig tree! I did not know figs grew like this!!! |
UPDATE- So I didn’t get around posting this when I should have because my internet was out after another crazy hail storm. Today was actually my first day of school and it was awesome. I will write more about it when I have a free day to complete some writing. I am trying to study while the people above me have an end of the year party (Aussie summer just started). ITS DRIVING ME NUTSSSSSSSSSSSSS, my bed is vibrating!!!!
Don’t expect an update too soon! I already have a quiz to study for next Monday!
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