Today was probably one of the coolest things I have done in Australia so far. We went to this place called quad bike king, which is in Port Stephens (where Oakvale farm was). Basically we went there to drive ATVs on the sand dunes of Australia. Pinch me am I dreaming?? So i signed my life away and proceeded to drive out to the dunes. We were given fashionable hairnets and helmets. Then I picked the last red ATV in the line and waited for Dean (our tour guide) to give us instructions and explain the hand signals. After a 5 minute breakdown we were off. oh yeah and since I got the last ATV that meant I would be first in line right behind Dean! WOAH talk about going right into it! But honestly Im so glad I got the last ATV because being First was amazing!
We did some trails as we made our way to the shipwreck! I loved the factors of speed and jumps. It was like flying over sand! at one point it was just James, Nick and I fallowing Dean. Some how the other half of the group fell behind! But the hour and a half was possibly one of the best feelings ever! Once we got to the ship wreck he gave us some history about the storm that hit and was the catalyst of the ship wreck. The Ship was the Sygna (Norwegian freighter) which was hit with a cyclone in 1974. The crazier thing is in 10 years it will be completely overtaken by the sea.
The ride back Dean took us on a trail that had more twists and turns and jumps and hills then the last. I didn't thing it could get any better, but I was gladly mistaken! Driving on that ATV was the most freeing and adrenal pumping experience. I was very sad to see it end so soon. But earlier in the tip Melissa, Brittany and I were joking about how we wanted to go on a date to Sydney and go to the zoo and Darling harbor at night... But Ive come to the conclusion that I want to go on a date there! Needless to say I will find some excuse to go back to the dunes. Dean said that I was pretty good and Im not gonna lie, it TOTALLY went to my head!
But if you want to see more here is the link:
http://www.quadbikeking.com.au/
all geared up and ready to go!!!!
So g'day mates today I traveled to the lovely Sydney... Again! I can't stay away! Every time I go I fall more inlove with the city. It never ceases to amaze me! This time we traveled to paddy's market which is on the corner of George street as hay street! Right in Chinatown! Man was the market so cool! But so overwhelming even though we didnt have a lot of time to spend at the market and we were defiantly not prepared for this event. There where rows upon rows of vendors! Some selling clothes, others selling purses, crafts from the aboriginal tribes and this market even had vendors selling wigs and hair extensions (hmm I could go for some purple hair to show so high point pride... Joking joking!)! But i did meet a really cool vendor who was selling aboriginal boomerangs and didgeridoos. Each craft was had painted by a certain tribe instead of the usual sight of the made in china sticker. But as we browsed through all the crafts he told us about the meaning of each symbol and drawing and dot. It was like hearing a story through something simple like a boomerang... For instance a turtle represents love, a footprint is the symbol of warrior! Honestly I wish I got to sit and listen to him longer but we were a bit pressed for time. But paddy's market place had a little bit of everything for everyone. So needless to say the shopaholics will be back and will have a game plan!
After our wallets were hurting from a bit from our shopping expedition we walked around circle quay. Where we saw a cruise ship and got to enjoy the water and the Sydney opera house and bridge at night. Words can't describe how beautiful and calming it was. Every time I go to Sydney I just find more reasons to go back.
enterance to Paddy`s Market
meaning of the paintings (SO COOL)
So this Sunday Rayna and Jason 15 of us and their kids went to Oakvale farm. Where we saw koalas, kangaroos, dingos, wallabies, camels and a wide variety of animals. Some we got to touch and others we didn't. We took a bus to get there and it was a little hole in the wall farm that was absolutely worth my 4.60 spent to get there! As fun as it is to see baby goats and lambs and cows and other farm animals. The group as a whole was more excited about the feeding of the kangaroos and wallabies and patting the koala. Going into this small field with wallabies and kangaroos was a bit daunting. If anyone has seen the movie kangaroo jack you would understand my apprehension. With my bag of feed in hand, we started taking selfies and photo ops with the 30 some odd jacks. And it was nothing like kangaroo jack for the record except the movies portrayal of kangaroo and how each one had their own separate personality.. Some where outgoing and friendly and other were more extroverted and tended to done and dash after tentatively eating some of the feed. When you gave them a pat they were fluffy and soft and the same feeling went for the sleepy koalas we pet. But regardless I got a great picture with the joeys. But I got some really great pictures with a kangaroo that I named hank on the count he eat like it was his last meal and was quite the ladies man. Let just say he put some moves on me. Haha. Hank in fact was so hungry he proceeded to stick his head in my feed back and then ended up eat part of my feed bag. After my lovely encounter with Hank I fed a camel and some miniature horses but stayed away from the alpacas and llamas because I wasn't sure which one spits and I didn't want to take my chances. After spending time with the more exotic animals I got surrounded and feed mugged by some very cute and pushing goats! After a long day that concluded with ice cream (not from McDonald) we went home and got ready for our third week of uni. Which. Is crazy how fast the time is flying.... Honestly it feels like we have only been here for a week! Ahhh where did the time go! For more pictures of my trip to the farm see Facebook!
a cute joey and I bonding.
Roo loving
im quite popular with the kangaroos
sorry I haven't written in a while. The first week of Uni was a lot to take in with finding new buildings and lecture rooms and meeting new people. But over the weekend we ventured out a bit. We visited this community market which sold anything from sweets and clothes to music and toys. talk about one stop shopping. It took a while to get to it seeing as we got lost a few times and came to the conclusion that australians directions like "take a right at the roundabout and then fallow the crowd" needed a bit more elaboration. The market was a great place to just look around and see what all the local venders had to offer. Although I didn't find anything personally my flat mates came home with a couple of trinkets.
The next day (sunday) we took the 3 hour train ride into Sydney. which lived up to everything and more than I imagined. Im sad to say photos do the area no justice at all. We explored another market and went into an opal place where I did find something to bring back. We realized that UGG boots are the same price here as they are in America, which was slightly disappointing. But was quickly forgotten when we explored sydney a bit more. As we started to get our barring (thanks to Sam). We decided we were hungry and we ate at McDonalds...How American of us. Two ice cream cones later (don't judge...they were 30 cents each). We decided to make moves and head through a park to darling harbor. Word cant describe how pretty it is at night. A couple of the girls joked that stopping here would be the perfect date. haha. When we got to the harbor we saw a live street
performer name Tiah from japan and lets just say he was funny and kept flashing passers by who weren't interested in his show. He ate fire and juggled swords..you know...that sorta thing. But we got to see this cool water swirl where you could walk down, im not sure of its purpose but it looked really cool and of course Caroline and I had to try it. After that we took the train back home and passed out after a good 2.50 spent to get to Sydney. Lets just say I will defiantly be going back.
street artist we saw when getting off the train
the bridge i will be climbing september 14th
Darling Harbor
The cool water swirl in the sidewalk at Darling Harbor
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