Day 13 : Billabong & Farm Stay

We left our short stay in Airlie Beach and headed northwest to our farm stay. I was a bit apprehensive about this part of the trip, but now think it might be my favorite part. The trip was long, but we had a good three hour stop at the Billabong Wildlife Center to break up the day.

At Billabong, we got to see up close many of the Australian animals. We were surrounded by kangaroos just about everywhere on the grounds. After a quick lunch we went to the crocodile area (I thought we were done with these!) where we watched a "feeding." The reality was that the guide had a piece of meat on a string and teased the croc with it for us to see his moves. After the crocs, we went to the turtles and were able to feed them a snack and then watched a turtle race. 

We went next to my favorite part of Billabong - the wombats and koalas. Tonka the wombat and Mac the koala let us hold them and take pictures. A wombat feels like dead weight, he had been handled so much he doesn't mind people at all. His hair is rough and he is also a marsupial. The koala was what you'd expect - she dug her claws in to hold on and gave a great hug!

After Billabong we went out towards Charters Towers to our farm stay. We stopped in town to use the bathroom quick and we all thought the farm would be right down the road. The reality is that we had about 40 minutes on highway followed by 20 minutes down their driveway before we made it to the homestead. We were staying at Wambiana Station with the Lyons family. Wambiana means kangaroo in the Aboriginal language of the area. Station is what they call farms. So you could have a cattle station or a horse station, etc. Stations in the bush are huge and very remote. Being only an hour from town is actually not that bad we learned. Wambiana is 57,000 acres and they typically have 3,300 heads of cattle, but this is their fourth driest year on record so they are under 2,000 this year. 

We were greeted on the bus by most of the Lyons family including their dog, Little Dude, who jumped right on our bus upon arrival. Michael and his wife, Michelle, manage the farm with the help of John and Ronda who are still involved in the farm after handing it down to the next generation. Michael and Michelle have four kids, Thomas (almost 13), Conner (11), Sophia (8), and Hugh (5). The only other help they have is their governess "govy" Natalie and an international travel student Chloe from France. If Chloe works on a farm in Australia for 88 days she can stay on her travel visa for an additional year in Australia.

We unloaded the bus and the kids got settled into their "White House." The girls were in one side and the boys in the other. All in bunk beds and sleeping bags. It was a good chance from the hotels we've been in. The leaders got rooms with actual beds, whew! It was almost dinner time when we got there, so once the kids got settled we had a fantastic home cooked dinner. 

Following dinner, Conner gave the kids instruction on a few ways to crack a whip. The kids all had a chance to try and some were really good! They then lit a bonfire and we brought out sparklers for the kids to celebrate the Fourth of July. 

Day 12 : To Airlie Beach

Today was a driving day up to Airlie Beach. We stopped a few times along the way, once because the highway was closed. There really is only one major hwy and it is typically two lanes. There are many built in passing lanes, but when an accident happens, the highway closes. 

This happened to us on our trip today. We waited it out for a bit at a gas station, we were told it could be three hours, thankfully it was less than one. Cars could take the back roads, but large vehicles like our bus would be too wide to make it.

We also did a bit of shopping in Mackay and Airlie Beach.

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.

Day 10 : Driving Day

Woke up this morning on the Sunshine Coast in probably the nicest hotel yet. We ate breakfast and then boarded the bus for a loooooong drive. We drove for around 10 hours today with three stops along the way. Along the way we saw the Great Diving Range. 

Our lunch was hosted by the Gin Gin School. This rural school was for students in years K-6. Many students travel up to an hour to get to school. Uniforms are required here and include hats that the kids must wear on the playground. We are getting closer to the Tropic of Capricorn so the sun's rays are stronger here. They also are able to use rain water to support their water supply. 

 It was interesting to see the PBIS posters that were very similar to what we have at Park View.

Tonight and tomorrow we'll be staying in Rockhampton, the Beef Capital of Austraila.

Day 9 : Sunshine Coast

I'm This morning we packed up our stuff and boarded the ferry back from Moreton Island to Brisbane. We move around quite a bit, never in a hotel for more than a night or two. Once back on the makand we drove up to the Sunshine Coast to try boogie boarding and surfing. The surf instructors cooked us hamburgers for lunch before changing into wetsuits and heading to the ocean.

Our group split in two and while half went  boogie boarding the others tried to surf. Boogie boarding was tons of fun but surfing was not for me. We practiced on land quite a bit, but once out in the water it was a different story. I tried to get up, but had no luck. 

After our day at the beach, we traveled to our hotel for the night. We walked over to Wallworth's for some fun food shopping - I have determined that Australians love Kit Kats. Lots of options like mint or cookies and cream, but I got the "chunky" kind which is really KitKat with a  top layer of caramel. We also bought treats for our trip to tomorrow, ten hours on the road as we get closer to the Tropic of Capricorn. 

Day 8 : Moreton Island

We are at Tangaloma Resort for two nights so today was another day of activities. After breakfast we went on a bushwalk with a resort staff member. Along the way she gave us much of the history of the island. An aboriginal tribe called Noogey were the first inhabitants of this island. This is a replica of the type of home they lived in - 

They were here for thousands of years before the whalers discovered the island and where Tangalooma is today was a whaling station. They had a limit of 600 whales per year and had an easy time finding the whales to hunt mainly for their oils. In the 1950-60s numbers of whales coming by Moreton Island declined and the whalers could not even get close to their limit. They soon learned that other countries were whaling closer to Antarctica so the whales wouldn't make it up to Australia. In 1965, humpback whales were added to the endangered species list and no longer allowed to be hunted. 

Our bushwalk took us up to lookout sites like this one 

And also down to the beach to look for starfish

The afternoon was reserved for snorkeling, but I decided to take the afternoon off since we will be snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. 

Day 7 : Brisbane to Moreton Island

This morning we packed up and left our one night stay on the Gold Coast to head north to Brisbane. Here is a view of the ocean from our hotel room.

 I know I teach my students how big this country is, but the reality is something different. The distance we are traveling over 3 weeks is similar to the distance from Florida to Maine. The Pacific Highway 1 goes around the entire continent, but of course would take a long time to do. Many Australians have not gone to the west coast and even fewer have seen Uluru (Ayers Rock).  

We went only about an hour today to Brisbane which is the third largest city in Australia with about 2 million people. Sydney is the largest but Melbourne is rapidly growing and may pass Sydney soon. The locals call Brisbane "Brisee" like many words they like to shorten it and add an e. Brisbane was originally home to some of the worst convicts that were brought to Australia from the UK. The streets here are all named after members of the British monarchy.

We stopped a few places in the city to see Parliment and Kangaroo point. 

Around lunch we then grabbed a ferry to take us to Moreton Island where we will stay for two nights. The island is the third largest sand island in the world and is home to one resort and three townships of about 80 vacation homes each.  The resort we stayed at is called Tangalooma and it is the location that they filmed the movie Scooby Doo a few years back. It is their winter so the resort is not very busy, nor is the weather too hot. After quickly checking into our rooms we boarded the busses for the desert. After maybe 15 minutes of navigating through the thick forests - we came to an opening....

Here we had the chance to try sand tobogganing. It's pretty simple to do, they give you a pièce of plywood and just before headed down the hill, they wax one side and help you get positioned. You have to hold up the front of the board slightly or it will dig in the sand and you'll stop. The climb up was intense but going down was worth it. 

After a few runs, we went back to the resort and got ready for dolphin feeding. Each night around dusk, these Dolphins done right up to shore and are feed by the resort staff and guests. You hold a dead fish in your hand like an ice cream cone and just dip your hand in the water and the Dolphins will take it from you.