Looking back on my trip to Aussie there isn't a single thing that I would change except perhaps make it longer and change the weather on a few days, but that's just getting picky on my part. the trip as a whole was defiantly a experience of a lifetime that I am glad I was able to share with a great group of people. I was so excited to finally be in the trip it took the first day and a half for me to finally come to terms with actually being in Australia. Touring the Healsville Sanctuary was a great first taste of both the wildlife and the people but the first major impact for me was when we had dinner at La Camera. Both the menu and some of the differences in word meanings made it finally seem real that we weren't in Kansas anymore. This as well as meeting with the head of Primary Industries and learning about the impressive National Livestock Identification System in place were two of the biggest impacts and first impressions I had.

My birthday at Gilligan's

    Although I can't pick a favorite, the farm visits were a very high ranking portion of the trip. All of the visits helped me gain a little more insight as to what the average rural Australian family or farm are like, something that just touring the main tourist sites would never convey. Going off the beaten path and staying in small cities like Wagga Wagga and Albury were also a favorite part of the trip. although the hotels may not have been quite up to par with those in Sydney and Melbourne, but locals were very welcoming. They all were people that our group could connect with more since we had small towns and or agriculture as common backgrounds.

Dinner cruise in Sydney

  Towards the end of the trip were some of the most memorable and fun times, especially when the whole group celebrated my birthday at Gilligan's in Cairns as well as surprising me with a cake at dinner. The most indescribable sight we saw, however, would have to be the Great Barrier Reef namely the bottom of it while scuba diving. As soon as we returned home, as a matter of face before we even left I was ready to go back and do more exploring in what had quickly became my favorite place I have ever visited. I can only hope to go back someday and spend some more time in Sydney and go out to the Reef and Green Island again for sure. 

Our scuba diving group

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.