My Birthday!

Day 8

May 30th

Fire making

Most of the day today was spent in the air for us as we had a three hour flight to Cairns in Northern Tropical Queensland. We arrived around noon and then went to the Tjapukai Aboriginal cultural center. Highlights included boomerang and spear throwing demonstrations,  a didgeridoo performance, and hunting / natural foods lessons. It was very entertaining to learn and practice throwing the spears and the boomerangs from real indigenous people. 

Boomerang throwing

The weather hasn’t been in our favor however, it has been raining off and on since we got here which hasn’t made for the best sight seeing but hopefully things will clear and warm up before we hit the reef. Tonight we are heading to a bar called the Salt club that is known world wide. The next on our agenda is dinner at The Fish which is said to be the best place for sea food in the city. Last but not least we will be hitting the downtown area to celebrate my birthday and one of our last times out in Australia.It’s hard to believe that we have been gone for eight days, especially since we didn’t get a May 22nd with the international date change.  

My Birthday cake!

Travel and more travel

Day 7 May 29th

We started off the morning at Charles Strut University and met with Dr. Chenoweth, who used to be at KSU so he was very excited to have us come. We toured their Agriculture department which was interesting to compare this developing  school to what we have back home. We were able to go to the beef equine and sheep units as well as the Veterinary teaching hospital. Their building was built in 2002 so it was interesting to see a newer facility and their idea of what the best set up was. One difference that I noticed other than it being on a much smaller scale than KSU was that their program was a much more hands on program instead of mainly lecture until the last year. another highlight was that we got to see a sheep farmer and his Kelpie in action. 

The college sheep professor in action

After the 5 hour bus ride to Sydney we were able to get out and do some shopping and exploring before going on a dinner cruise. the cruise took us around the harbor where we had a spectacular view of the opera house as well as downtown and the light show. It was a great picture opportunity and something that many of us had never done. Afterwards we went to explore some of the local pubs as well as catch up on some more shopping. Sydney is definitely one of the largest cities I have ever been in and reminded me of New York City a lot, a fun place to visit but not somewhere I could stay for a long time or live. We now are on our way to the airport to catch a flight to Cairns for some beach and snorkeling time. 

Northern and Outback Queensland

A overview of Cairns

    Northern and Outback Queensland has many attractive features to boast, one of the most important is historical. There are many linkages to the Outback and the national heritage of Australia including the meeting place of the first Labor Party and the national song "Waltzing Matilda".

    

Daintree National Park

    Northern Queensland was the site where Captain Cook was forced to land when he damaged his ship, this settlement would later become know as Cooktown on of the larger cities in the region. This area has many breath taking islands, exotic untouched rain forests, various national parks, and several influential cities. Some of the most notable islands include; Dunk Island, Green Island, the Torres Strait Islands, and Hinchinbrook Island, which are all often top destinations for travelers. The Daintree National park, one of the major National parks in the area, contain some of the last of the truly untouched land on earth. In contrast, cities in the region such as Carins, Cooktown, and Port Douglas are thriving. 

   Even though extremely different than it's counterpart, the Outback has many great features as well. these vast dry plains are known for their unique wildlife and Aboriginal settlements. The Gulf Savannah is the most remote land in Australia and is home to very little other than the wildlife. Normaton is the largest town in the region and was began because of the need to transport materials recovered from the many mines that are further inland. Other large cities are Burketown, Mount Isa and Longreach.  Mount Isa is the only major city in far Western Queensland and is in existence only due to the worlds largest silver and lead mine, which dominate the local economy. 

The gulf Savannah

   These regions seem to be very interesting and are rich in history, culture, breath taking scenery and lively cities. As my study tour to Australia continues to grow near, I can't help but get more and more excited for what a great experience awaits me.