Day 11 : Rockhampton

Today was a jam packed day of adventures in and around Rockhampton. In the morning we went to the Capricorn Caves. These caves were discovered by the Olsen family but they had to keep them secret for many years because at the time Australians were only given one plot of land to develop. Eventually, the government came and took a look and decided the Olsens could have the caves as they were of no value to them. These caves are the only privately owned ones in Australia. There is a chapel in the caves where they have many weddings and a few concerts each year. Four of our students got up to sing and they sounded amazing.

After a quick lunch at the caves (hotdogs with bacon, onion and cheese) we drove to our civic welcome by the government of Rockhampton. The chapel it was in was more like a pavilion but it was created by Australian and American servicemen as a place anyone could worship. We were given the basics of the Australian government (constitutional monarchy with the British Queen and a Prime Minister) and then were able to ask specific questions. The voting age is 18, but voting is compulsory, so all citizens must chose a candidate to represent them in office.  The Prime Minister is not elected by popular vote nor electoral, rather by being the leader of the party with the most members elected. In 1999 there was a referendum asking if Australia  should become a republic and break from the United Kingdom, it lost. There are Australians who feel strongly about this issue on either side. Another interesting fact was that about 25% of Australians were born overseas while 66% have one parent born overseas. Australia is still a young country.

After the government visit we went to the Rockhampton zoo and botanical gardens for a quick visit. Saw my first koala and wombat, but plan to hold both tomorrow. 

We also made a pit stop at the Tropic of Capricorn which was pretty awesome for this Geography teacher :) 

We headed back to the hotel to change and relax for about an hour before dinner. 

This next event was my least favorite thing we've done.....the crocodile farm. They had over 4000 crocodiles on site and make their money by selling the meat and skin. Most of the kids tried crocodile soup....not me. We went outside and met a few of the crocodiles couples. Pictures were difficult since it was so dark. 

One of the crocodiles was named Rocky and he was the second largest one they had there at 17ft long and well over 1,000 lbs. His girlfriend was not happy we were there and showed us her teeth. After dinner we had the chance to hold a baby croc (3 years old). I hated every second of it and there are some real nice pics of me holding him. Ew.