Day 6: Sydney

Today was another free day and everyone started out by sleeping in. Students visited a variety of places including the Opera House, the Australian Museum, the Harbor Bridge, the beach, and various shops.

As I am speaking, a few students are on a twilight climb of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This climb offers spectacular views of the Sydney skyline.

The beach that some went to was in Manly. Manly is a short boat ride across the harbor from Sydney. This beach is known for its surfing. Andy was one who attempted surfing today with some success.

Tomorrow we will fly at 7:30am to Auckland, New Zealand. Upon landing we will transfer by bus to the town of Rotorua, with arrival time around 12:30. At 7pm we will enjoy a twilight cultural tour with the Maori people. This experience will include Maori protocol, entertainment and feasting.

Stay tuned!

Day 5: Sydney

Today students were free to explore the sights and sounds of Sydney. Some students went on a Harbor Cruise/Tour across to the Manly area where they browsed in various shops. They also visited the beach there.

Other students visited the Sydney Opera House, attended a tour and then the show Le Grande Cirque. This is a show that is similar to the famous Cirque du Soleil where the audience witnesses solo aerial strap routines, contortionists, a magical cloud swing, the wheel of death and a ballerina performing Swan Lake on pointe on top of another performer's head. These acts are all performed in tune with a live orchestra. Yes folks, it was amazing and kept everyone in the audience on the edge of their seats.

Fun Facts about the Sydney Opera House:

• The most expensive ticket for a show was $860.


• The Opera House employes 700 people including a full time nurse who works from 6 am-12 midnight.


• The original estimate for construction was 3 years at $7 million but in the end was 13 years and $102 million.


• There are lifts at the back of the stages that go below to lift the set up. These lifts can carry 20 tons!

Students also visited the Australian Museum and passed by the Anzac War Memorial. The Museum is home to many permanent exhibits, including Skeletons, Indigenous Australians, Planet Minerals, Surviving Australia, Dinosaurs and Birds and Insects.

Fun Facts from the Australian Museum:

• A human baby has more bones (306) than a human adult (250).
  
• Penguins are birds, but they only 'fly' in the water. They can swim 15-20 kilometers a day in search of fish to eat.


• There are different types of beaches, 'Reflective beaches are steep with coarse sand and big waves. Flat, fine sand beaches with waves breaking farther away from the shore are 'dissipative' beaches.


• A mosquito is a type of fly. The mosquito is the world's deadliest insect.
  
• There are more than 2,800 weeds, 25 mammals, 20 birds, 4 reptiles, 1 frog, 34 fish, between 100-400 marine species and an unknown number of invertebrates that have been introduced to Australia since 1770.

Some of the ladies went shoe and dress shopping and met someone who gave them an invitation to the grand opening of the salon that does the hair for Australia's Next Top Model. Rachel Sexton was able to get her hair done by these professionals.

Kelsey Hansen has exciting news to share with everyone. She found out this week that she has been accepted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for graduate school! Her studies will be centered in Physical Therapy.

Day 4: Sydney

Sydney is absolutely gorgeous. None of us wasted anytime in getting out and exploring. The hotel, the Mercure, was situated right in the heart of downtown, close to the harbor and Chinatown. Seeing the Sydney Opera House in person was insane. It is so much more impressive in person than in pictures. The Harbor bridge was also a sight to behold. A few students, myself included, are going to be climbing it before we leave for New Zealand.

Paddy's Market in Chinatown had a ton of cool stalls where students could pick up souvenirs and other goods for cheap. Darling harbor also offered many sights including the Oriental Gardens, the largest oriental garden outside of China.

For dinner students enjoyed a variety of restaurants, Jeff Hartman,Mike Coufal, Dave Morris, Kat Hamilton, Leslie Kile, Megan Johnson, Alan Singkofer, and Adam Schwinn were the students who dined in Sydney's Skytower, a 300 meter tall revolving restaurant and viewing platform giving great views of all of Sydney.

Day 3: Port Douglas, Australia

Our morning began with an early breakfast at 8 am followed by an hour bus ride north of Cairns to the town of Port Douglas. Port Douglas is the closest point of Australia that has access to the Great Barrier Reef.

It was a beautiful scenic drive on a highway that hugged the ocean side. Upon arrival in Port Douglas we went directly to the marina where we boarded a Quicksilver cruise liner. The sail out to the reef took approximately 90 minutes, giving students plenty of time to sun bathe (bake) on the upper deck. The Quicksilver company has a large diving platform on the reef where you can dive, snorkel or sit on the deck and enjoy a seafood buffet.

There was also a semi-submersible sub that we could go out on that had a lower deck with windows allowing those who chose not to get in the water, the chance to view the reef and marine life.To avoid jellyfish stings, we all wore blue, full-body wetsuits that made us all look like smurfs.


We were out on the reef most of the day and got back into Cairns around 5:30pm. Students broke off into groups based on eating locations and headed out for an evening on the town.

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!

Day 1: Cairns, Australia

Well, we made it! Everyone is set up in their room at the beautiful Lakes Resort in Cairns! Happy to be done plane-hopping, we moved en-masse to the swimming pools. The resort has four to choose from, so we are not short of places to take a dip.

Cairns offers its share of culinary wonders. Students enjoyed a variety of seafood and sushi and even kangaroo steaks and crocodile burgers. Wandering along the city's famous Esplanade, we browsed shops featuring didgeridoos and boomerangs (we were really getting the Aussie experience from the get go.)

Tomorrow is sure to be an exciting day as we journey into the mountainous rainforest region located north of Cairns.

And It Begins!

At 4:30 A.M. CST we groggily arrived at Omaha's Eppley Airfield to depart on the first leg of our trip. We picked up our boarding passes and took our seats on the plane to Dallas. For some of us, flying is old hat, but for one, junior Billy Dunbar, this was his first experience in the air. Luckily it was a smooth trip and we arrived in Dallas/Fort Worth Airport at 7:40 A.M. We had two hours to grab a quick bite to eat and get our legs stretched before boarding the flight to L.A.

After beginning our descent and seeing sights such as the Hollywood Sign from our window seats we were all growing excited to be another few hundred miles closer to our goal. Currently, we are awaiting our plane to Brisbane to arrive before we begin the flight to our first foreign destination, Australia. Wish us luck and imagine the warm sea's we will soon be swimming in!

Classroom Preparation

Students were broken into two-person teams and assigned to give presentations over various topics pertaining to culture, activities, and infrastructures we would be encountering on our trip. Some of the highlights included:


We learned from Katie P. and Brad G. about customs of the Māori regarding their everyday lives and their traditional feasts.

Danielle O. and Alan S. talked to us about the Fijian infrastructure and their military government. We learned of the various coups that have taken place in recent history.

We also got an exciting presentation Aaron G. and Casey F. about the blackwater tubing we would be doing in one of New Zealand's most spectacular underground cave systems. Floating along with the current the only light we will have is that from our helmet light and from the glow worms that make their home along the cave walls.

Those were just some of the AMAZING presentations that were given. Everyone did a great job in gathering and presenting the information for us.


FYI of the Day:

Here are some interesting phrases we will be encountering on our travels:

English : Down Under
Hello/Goodbye : Bula
Man : Tan
Woman : Wahine
Pop/Soda : Fizzy Drink
Please : Kere kere

The Excitement Is Growing!

Finals are over with and students are home enjoying the holidays. Everyone is busy dreaming of eucalyptus trees and white sand beaches.

We will depart from Omaha to Los Angeles on January 11th and will arrive in Brisbane, Australia on January 13th. Stay tuned as 42 students led by Professors Dr. Carol Meyer and Dr. Dallas Wilhelm travel through Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.

This blog is being posted to keep those interested updated about events leading up to and happening during the class. Check us out often to see all the cool things we will be doing and remember: Don't get too jealous.