06.02.09

Banana Farm.

I had to go "back in time" so I could mention my new Australian friend Terry.  He is the owner of the banana farm we visited.  It was great getting to visit with him and his wife.  They take GREAT care of us...coffee, tea and lamingtons...YUM!!  He was kind enough to share his waterfall with us, along with his amazing farm.  And I have promised to send him a Christmas card!  I selected this photo because he was using his iPhone.

Orpheus Island - Australia

I just wanted to share a few pictures from our day on Orpheus Island. I didn't have my underwater camera housing, so everything is topside.

This was one of the days I was really looking forward to. It was the day that I could share a whole new world with my students - the underwater world. If you know me, you know I love scuba diving...the jury was out on snorkeling. I did enjoy our time in the water yesterday, but I think I will stick with diving.

The kids did an amazing job as scientists collecting all of their fish behavior and reef condition data. Is was fun watching them trying to keep track of one specific fish while counting the number of times it bit coral.

I learned that it's very hard to laugh with a snorkel in your mouth.  Mrs. McGuire and I were buddies and she got VERY excited about some of the fish we saw.

Hanging out at the beach during sunset and finally getting to see some of the gorgeous Southern Hemisphere sky was another highlight of our trip to Orpheus Island.



Today we left the island and returned to HQ Aquarium where we were able to analyze our data.  It was great to see all the information our group collected in tables and charts.  This experience really gave students an opportunity to put their math and science skills to work.  (We even did some graphing with bug bites and coral cuts!)  I think there may be a few future marine biologists in the group.
I echo Mrs. McGuire - I really hope all of these students realize what an amazing opportunity this has been.  Looking back over the photos we've taken, I can't believe all of the absolutely amazing things we have done over the last 12 days - it's incredible.  We will be sad to leave Australia behind, but we are anxious to get back home to our families.

We Have Humidity!

Up until yesterday, I had never said, “I love the humidity!”  We have truly enjoyed our warm, humid weather here in Northern Australia.  After leaving the center we headed north to Cairns and made a stop at Hartley’s Crocodile Farm.  We were treated to an amazing show and dinner.  Along with the giant crocs, another one of the night’s highlights was the up-close visit with a koala.

We did have some rain this morning, but we were on the coach headed to the banana farm, so we managed to stay dry.  And we were treated to several more rainbows…something else that has been as common as the rain. 

Before hopping on the “banana bus,” we enjoyed some tea and lamingtons on the front porch of our hosts.  On our way to the banana fields we stopped by a gorgeous waterfall.  For me, the biggest surprise about the banana trees were the large, plastic bags covering the bunches of bananas.  The bags protect the bananas from the sun and pests.  They are different colors based on their stage of ripening. 

We finally arrived at the packing building and the kids enjoyed playing in the water as the bananas were being washed.  As you can imagine, there was a “small” amount of water that made its way out of the trough.

Back on the coach we headed south from Cairns to Townsville.  It was exciting to meet the staff members at Reef HQ who will be working with us over the next few days.  We got a quick tour of the aquarium and then headed over to the dive shop for a snorkel lesson.  All of the kids did an amazing job and are ready for the Great Barrier Reef. 

We will be learning more about this amazing ecosystem tomorrow and will venture out to the waters around Orpheus Island on Thursday where we will take part in a research project in conjunction with James Cook University.  I am very excited to be sharing a passion of mine, the underwater world, with my students.  Everyone is looking forward to the reef.

Australian Sunrise

Phenomenal, amazing, gorgeous, beautiful, spiritual, inspiring…

I’m not sure there are really any words to describe this morning’s experience at Uluru.  We had been disappointed the night before due to the fact there was no sunset on the rock.  Everyone was holding out hope for this morning and we weren’t disappointed.

The morning of course started out like all of our mornings - cloudy and overcast…even had a little drizzle.  (Drizzle – something else that rarely happens in Australia.)  Just as we were getting ready to leave Uluru, the sun peaked through the clouds.  I think the photos speak for themselves.  It was a morning we will remember forever.

Lemonade in the Outback

Turning lemons into lemonade…an expression I have heard a number of times on our trip. We've encountered several instances where we’ve had to make a few modifications to our daily itinerary or purchase necessary supplies. Saturday was an instance when most people would have thrown in the towel, but our travel manager Amanda did an amazing job of saving the day.

On average, the Outback around Alice Springs averages 10 rainy days a year and we managed to visit on one of those days! Our motor coach wasn’t going to make it down the roads due to the rainfall, so they arranged for a four-wheel drive coach to come and take us to the Ooamainni Camp.

We had the good fortune of taking the “back” roads which provided us with an amazing adventure.

Seeing the Outback from this perspective was a real treat. The contrast between the deep, red soil and the green of the vegetation was beautiful. We had a great time slip-sliding our way to the station/camp.

Had we actually encountered the “typical” weather of the Outback, we wouldn’t have had this unique opportunity to venture through the back roads that most people never see.

05.30.09

Today began a little later than yesterday and that was a good thing considering how late I was up last night.  A short bus ride got us to our main destination, Healesville Sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to a number of rescued and endangered animals.  The students were able to see a number of animals up close and personal including sugar gliders, koalas, ring-tailed opossums, and many more.  Fortunately for the Healesville animals, my students didn’t try competing for their mealworms.

The sanctuary is also home to a hospital.  A number of animals from the bush fires this last February were brought to here.  Wounded or sick animals from the area are also brought to the hospital.  We were able to watch an autopsy of a kangaroo being performed by one of the veterinarians.  I was so impressed with my Colorado students – they stuck it out longer than I did in the room with the kangaroo.

Our final stop of the day was the Birds of Prey show.  It was so impressive seeing these animals up close and personal.  I’ve seen similar shows back home and it was fun to see similar birds from a different continent.  For me, the highlights of the show were watching the students duck out of the way as an owl or eagle came swooping in above them.

The sanctuary will actually be celebrating their 75th Anniversary this coming weekend.  And we learned that there was a group of school children from Colorado who sent letters and cards to the sanctuary this winter, right after the bush fires.  We were hoping to learn the name of the school.

Well, in the morning we will be hoping on a plane.  We are leaving the rainy and cool climate of Melbourne and will be headed to the center of Australia…into the outback.  We will be out of range for any cell service starting tomorrow as we begin our bus ride out of Alice Springs.  We will be staying in the Bush Camp Saturday before making our way into Uluru.  Our Tweets and blogs will be silent until we reach our hotel in the Outback on Sunday evening.  (It will give all of you an opportunity to catch your breath.)  We look forward to catching you all up then!

05.29.09

In the Tree Tops

With an early morning start we headed along the Great Ocean Road.  The twists and turn were just a little too much for Carol Ann…we think the TimTams we ate during our first pit stop may have also contributed to the car sickness as well.

We had the opportunity to see some amazing coastline and even a few koalas in the gum trees along side the road.

After about three hours on the bus we arrived at Otway Fly.  Our first order of business after lunch was to plant Mountain Ash and Mrytle Beech trees.  This took me back to my 4-H wildlife days and planting sticks, aka trees, in the habitat areas.  The trees we planted today actually had leaves!!

As for the Mountain Ash, it is either the tallest or second tallest tree on earth – depends if you talk to an Australian or a Californian – but either way it grows up to 150 meters tall! 

We then make our way into the temperate rain forest (and in the rain) to see the amazing vegetation.  We went up the fly structure, 47 meters in the sky, where we had a great birds-eye view of the forest below.  They created all of the walkways 5 years ago and replanted the areas that were disturbed during construction – it looks incredible!  The students enjoyed learning about the vegetation and how the early Aborigines people used various plant combinations to improve their tools.

After our time at the Flyway we made our way back to Melbourne through some beautiful countryside.  Dinner was at the Observation Deck, high about the night skyline…spectacular views all around. 

Well, I’m ready to move off the bathroom floor so I can get these posts and photos uploaded.  We are headed to Healsville Sanctuary tomorrow and looking forward to another wonderful day down under!

Cheers!