05.28.09

Short End of the “Snake”

After exchanging some cash, we were on our way to the Moonlit Animal Sanctuary. This was going to be our first opportunity to get up close and personal with some of Australia’s amazing creatures.

In route to the sanctuary, we got a quick tour of the city of Melbourne. They have some amazing architecture and art. Some of the large art pieces reminded me of the ones back in Denver.

We had a warm welcome at the sanctuary from both people and animals. Rita, the resident wombat, had made a mess of her enclosure and we had to help fix it up…out came the shovels and gloves. Holes were filled in and branches were gathered…soon Rita’s cage looked like new and the students were proud of their hard work.

During and after the work in Rita’s cage, we managed to interact with a few wallabies. These little guys are smaller than kangaroos and look very similar. We all had the opportunity to feed them and get up close and personal.

We moved on to checking the squirrel gliders…looking for those females that might be pregnant. Our final activity for the day was supposed to be looking at some of the weeds on the grounds and actually pulling a few. Unfortunately the light rain we had been dealing with most of the day picked up a bit and sent us into the sanctuary’s kitchen where they prepare meals for the animals. And this is where the adventure really began! The meal worms were pulled out for everyone to see and they soon found their way into the mouths of all Colorado students and teacher. (Some of us even ate two!) Not something I had planned to do, but I couldn’t let my students show me up. Needless to say, they didn’t taste like chicken. On our way back to the main building, we were greeted by several kangaroos…very curious creatures.

Later in the evening we had a visitor share information about the various frogs that inhabit Australia and how they are working to restore many of the endangered breeds. Once again, bugs came into play…this time Ashlee decided she needed to eat a cockroach. This was something I knew I wasn’t about to eat.

Finally, we moved back outside for an evening walk. We encountered several more animals and capped off a wonderful first day in Australia.

05.25,26,27.09

Amazing Sunrise & Land!

Well, the day finally arrived.  As we neared DIA I began to worry with all of the storm clouds in the area.  We had the good fortune of meeting up with Stacey, from Discovery Student Adventures, at the airport.  She had the opportunity to meet all of the parents and help us get checked in.  After hugs, kisses and some group photos we were off to our gate. 

Stacey treated us to ice cream as we waited for the plane.  After one gate change and about an hour delay we were airborne.  In the back of my mind, I was hoping that we were going to make the flight in LAX.  (Our original layover was just under two hours.)

The DSA team was amazing!!  As soon as we hit the ground in LA they had a representative there and waiting to whisk us off.  The kids were equally amazing!  They stepped it up, tied up their shoe laces and began the sprint across LAX.  They passed us off to various DSA team members as we made our way to the international terminal, through check-in at the Qantas counter, and then passed us off to the Qantas folks who led us through security and straight to our gate.  Fortunately, there were some other folks from New York who were in the same boat as us and the plane ended up taking off about 30 minutes late.  We were headed to Australia!!

And what a plane – an Airbus 380…amazing!!  Of course we weren’t in the section with suites, but it was a great ride. You have to take a few minutes to visit the Qantas site and check this thing out!  Thanks to an Australian gentlemen sitting next to me who informed me of the Sky Cam…a camera mounted on the tail of the plane!  It was pretty cool watching both our take-off and then the landing.  (Today’s photos are the sunrise a few hours out from Melbourne and then us coming into the city.)  The crew took good care of us and we had plenty of drinks, snacks, movies, and games during our 15 hour flight.

After touching down in Australia, we learned that even though we made the flight, our luggage did not.  The kids were troopers and Qantas gave us a little goody bag with a shirt, shorts and toiletries. 

05.24.09

Spring in Colorado!

Well, the clouds began building this afternoon. The storm was north of us so I didn't pay to close of attention. I would peek out the window every now and then - watching the wild looking clouds. I had just taken a couple of wide-angled shots, getting most all of the storm in the frame.


I then noticed an interested looking cloud and continued to watch it a little more closely. Within about 5 minutes, I could tell it was circulating. The funnel cloud never became a tornado, but it sure was interesting to watch.

05.19.09

Start Bookmarking!

As I type this, I have 6 days, 22 minutes, and 14 seconds until my students and I leave for Australia on our Discovery Education Student Adventure (http://www.discoverystudentadventures.com/). Needless to say, we are all VERY excited!!

We may be trekking through rainforests, sleeping under the stars in the outback and snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, but we will always have our technology by our sides! Included in our gear: computers, iTouches, MP3 players, digital cameras, HD video cameras, cell phones, GPS units, converters, and of course...LOTS of cords and batteries.

All of this equipment will help us keep in touch will all of you...via Blogger, Twitter, YouTube, and Picassa. Ultimately, you should be able to access all of these by visiting our main blog at: http://dsaaustralia.blogspot.com/

Now, you DON'T have to have a Twitter account to follow us. All you have to do is visit my URL: http://twitter.com/JJensenDSA This will allow you to see all of my Tweets. You can then check out what my students, along with the other teachers and students, have to say by simply clicking on the "following" link to the right.

So bookmark the blog and Twitter account and follow us on this amazing journey. We look forward to hearing from you all while on our trip. Now remember...there is a BIG time difference between here and Australia. All you have to do is subtract 8 hours and add one day. So if it's 8:00PM Monday in Colorado, it's 12:00PM Tuesday in on the East Coast of Australia.

05.18.09

Great sunset.

There were a few storms that moved through the area last night...no rain, just a LOT of wind!! It did result in some beautiful clouds.

05.17.09

ISLANDS Magazine Photo Contest - Honorable Mention

Well, I was hopeful that this week I could tell everyone to run out and purchase the June issue of ISLANDS Magazine and turn to a certain page...unfortunately that's not the case.

I learned back in February that I won Honorable Mention, for a second year in a row, in the ISLANDS Magazine 20th Annual Photo Contest.  (I was able to "formally" announce anything until the magazine came out.)

My winning photo was of a sting ray laying on the sand. I took the photo while on a liveaboard in Turks & Caicos.  We were just about ready to head back up to the boat and there were two rays gliding across the sand.  They are amazing creatures and are so fun to watch.

There were only half of the photos that made it in the magazine, but you can see them all, including my stingray, by visiting the the ISLANDS web site and clicking on "Photo Gallery":  http://www.islands.com/article.jsp?ID=1000071546

04.25.09

I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Today was a great day and my sister looked beautiful!! Kelly and Alex exchanged vows in front of family and friends. Everyone danced the night away .