Day 2: Kuranda, Australia

Today was a great day! After waking up and eating breakfast at the resort restaurant, we bussed over to the Tjapukai cultural park. The Tjapukai are one of the aboriginal tribes that first inhabited Australia. Here we were all given demonstrations and lessons on how to throw Aboriginal spears and the boomerang. We also learned how to play the digoridoo, but that didn't go so well. We were told not to play it like a trumpet. A digoridoo is being played in the lower right hand corner of this group photo.

Brad, Andy, Ashley, Amanda and Joey all had their faces painted and they participated in some native dances (which was very entertaining) while at the park.

At noon we walked right next door to the Kurunda Sky rail. This lift carried us over 2.6 kilometers of pristine World heritage rainforest. Along the way there were stops to get out and view the Barron falls and old growth forest. The falls were amazing and along the way students got up close to some interesting wildlife such as the Brush Turkey.

Once we reached Kuranda village there was time for lunch on our own and souvenir shopping to do. While dining certain students found out that you had to pay for just a glass of water (no ice included), this, as you can imagine, was something we weren’t used to! Many of the women in the group went immediately to the jewelry shops to purchase some of Kuranda’s famous Evert opals (some of the finest quality opals in the world). Others went for a sportier gift, such as the boomerang.

Alan was the lucky individual who

was able to "cuddle" a snake.

After lunch it was time to cuddle a koala at Kuranda’s Koala Gardens. This is one of the few places in the world where you can actually hold a koala, because they have a very fragile rib cage and any type of rough handling can break their ribs. This was an activity thoroughly enjoyed by all. While at the gardens, we were also able to see freshies (fresh water crocodiles), kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, and lizards.

Fun Facts:

• There are 5 times as many kangaroos in Australia than there are people.


• Kangaroos have a 38 day gestation period.
  
• Koalas are only active about 4 hours out of the day to conserve energy.
  
  

Our evening was at leisure and students broke up into smaller groups and headed out on the town. A number of us went to Dundee's for some authentic Australia cuisine. The Aussie Duo was a hit entre selection, where students were able to enjoy some crocodile and kangaroo. The crocodile is very similar to chicken and the kangaroo has strong similarities to steak. The kangaroo was a definite favorite and was simply amazing!

PS: For all of you avid followers of the blog, we apologize that you have not been able to immediately see what we are up to. We have had technical difficulties, but hopefully they have been resolved! Thanks!