Thursday, June 10, 2010

The End is Near

I only have about 4 weeks left in Australia. Time has been flying by. Classes ended a week ago and I just got back from my trip to Sydney. During the last week of class, there was an international student farewell event. I got to hold four new Australian animals; a snake, a crocodile, an orange possum, and a sugar glider (see pictures below). After classes we were off to Sydney.

We spent two days downtown, one day in the Blue Mountains, and three days at my friend’s house in Wollongong (suburb of Sydney). We took a three hour walking tour of Sydney on our first day. It was awesome seeing the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the two structures that are in nearly every picture of Sydney. It was an interesting afternoon trying to walk around and learn about Australia’s history while avoiding the pouring rain. By the time we finished we were soaked to the bone and threw all our clothes in the dryer. Down in Wollongong, we did some hiking in a national park. We saw and fed wild kangaroos, walked on the beach, and climbed on giant rocks at the edge of the ocean. We spent our last day in the Blue Mountains, about a two hour train ride inland from Sydney. It was amazing because we could see for miles all around us. The only downside of being up in the mountains was the weather. I was the coldest I’ve been since February in the Wisconsin winter. It was about 32 degrees and they said it might snow. I’m looking forward to coming home to the warm weather.

It was nice getting out of Brisbane for a change. Now that I’m back, it’s time to actually study for some exams. My mom and Julie get here in exactly 20 days and I can’t wait to see them. Here are some of my new pictures.


Sugar Glider named Byron

Snake named Zappa

Orange Possum named Amber

Baby croc named Snappy

Me and our tour guide - Harbor Bridge in back

Up in the Blue Mountains

Opera House

Wollongong

Got to touch a baby joey in the pouch!

Exploring the ocean caves

Singing on the Opera House steps