Here are just a few of those snapshot moments so far in Australia:

Caitlin – *Watching Rossco (our guide on Fraser Island) jump off the side
of a sand dune at the Rainbow Gorge. It was totally unexpected and then we
all got to try. We all got to spend time “jumping off the edge of the
world!”*
**
Lauren – *I had a really hard time deciding! Trapeze in Byron was amazing.
It was really scary at first, but swinging/trying tricks was such a rush.
Trapeze was something I hadn’t anticipated doing but I had such a good
time. I’m pretty sure I annoyed most of the group because I couldn’t stop
talking about it! I won’t forget how exciting and exhilarating it was when
I mastered my trick!*

Cody – *The atmosphere at Surfaris is my favorite part so far. They’ve got
hammocks, a pool, an awesome band, free internet and they cook for us! Not
to mention meeting James, Mitch and Mal and including them in our games and
stuff. I don’t ever want to leave!*

Kristen – *I really enjoyed the couple of days we were in Byron Bay because
the weather was beautiful and the beach was pristine! The sun was shining
and the water temperature couldn’t have been better. I loved floating in
the water, I never wanted to get out. The water had pretty variations of
blue and the waves were strong but not overwhelming. Everything was as good
as it could be in Byron. *
**
Leah – *It’s hard to decide which moment to choose! I think surfing for the
first time was a pretty exhilarating moment. Actually standing up on the
board after being tossed around in the waves all day was such an adrenaline
rush. *
**
Ilana – *There are so many moments that I always randomly think about from
Australia. I loved working with the kids at North Keppel and I LOVED Fraser
Island with its magical colorful sand at Rainbow Gorge. But I think my
snapshot moment was walking to the lighthouse in Byron. It was a long hike
from our resort, and blazing hot, but it was worth it. The landscape was
beautiful, and on our way down we spotted about 20 dolphins in a pod. It
was a rewarding token to our hike up the hill. *
**
Olivia – *A great moment in Australia was rhe first evening of surf camp -
playing scrabble and listening to the band play, then waking up in the
morning to go surfing. *
**
Kaitlyn – *One of my favourite moments was in Byron Bay doing the sunrise
mission up Mt. Warning. Only a few keeners were down to wake up at 2:30am
and endure the big climb with our head torches. Chicnuts, figs and muesli
bars fueled us up and we made it in time to watch the beautiful sunrise.
Then we ran down the mountain in time to fill our hungry bellies… and to
pee. Amazing!*
**
Christine – *A small, but great moment for me was discovering the gelateria
in Byron Bay. Having done my first semester of the school year in Italy,
I’m spoiled in regards to good gelato, but this was SO GOOD! I got a banana
cinnamon scoop and a double chocolate scoop. It was absolutely amazing, and
made ten times better by the fact that I was eating it in togs by the
beach. *
**
Grace – *During the trip to Fraser Island, we made our way to Lake
MacKenzie. We swam for a few hours in the beautiful lake and exfoliated our
skin, hair, teeth and jewelry! The small, smooth, round grains of sand
provide the perfect method for smoothing and softening our bodies. We could
all feel a huge difference!*

Daniel – *The most memorable time in Australia was the zoo! I had never
seen live kangaroos and also be able to pet them. It was so incredible!*

Laura – *Rainbow Gorge on Fraser Island was the most beautiful place I have
been in a while. Truly incredible. Wiping out on a massive wave at surf
camp was the scariest moment of life so far, but go big or go home!*
**
Holly – *Pulling up to the Grand Hotel in the small country town of
Biggenden, Queensland…. detoured due to a flooded highway, we headed
inland on backroads and ended up spending the night at a quirky hotel/pub
in a rural mining town – a classic and unexpected taste of country
Australia!*
**
Only one week left in our collective journey – onwards from surf camp to
the Blue Mountains and then to the famous city of Sydney!!
**
**

I think some of the most memorable moments are playing jungle speed and
then meeting the random backpackers from New Mexico who picked up the game
and kept beating Holly! *- Daniel*

Underwear on the outside dayis really memorable and awesome. Everyone
joined in, including our guest, Dan the Man. Underwear was the perfect
accessory for rock climbing, as it is an activity that requires lots of
attention to the rear end. I didn’t think it would be that memorable, but I
am still laughing at my photos! *- Lauren*

We arrived at the Bay of Islands and we saw kids boogie-boarding down a
mountain. A bunch of us thought that looked like so much fun, so we took
leftover boxes and shaped them into seats. We tried – and failed – to
slide, so i went and got duct tape and Holyl came over with a wax candle.
With our combined efforts, we made the normal pieces of cardboard into
sliding machines. The best part was that I had known these people for all
of 3 days, which basically meant they were still strangers to me. I knew
I’d grow into this family, since they’d all join in with me on doing crazy,
stupid stuff. That was the beginning of our extremely eventful adventures. *-
Ilana*
**
Finding Connie Tibbs in Taupo. If someone amazing had not left it beside
the computer my trip would not be complete. This is because it is the best
book ever! *- Caitlin C*
**
People are really grateful for leftover food, even when it is half eaten.
It is somewhat refreshing to not see food go to waste and not find people
scared of eating something they had not seen made/ordered – afterall, chefs
are strangers too! Beyonce (Grace) and Fraggle (Laura) went canyoning. Who
knew stepping off a cliff and going headfirst down a waterfall would be
something I not only chose to do and paid for, but actually found really
fun and exciting! Moral: a lot of trust can be found in strangers. *- Laura*
**
When we were camping at Nelson Lakes, these ducks and ducklings were very
persistent in coming right up to usand stealing our food. I have never had
the opportunity to interact with such cute animals up close. As I sat on
the ground with my legs out straight in front of me, ducklings came right
up to me and pecked the sandflies right off my pants!! *- G*race

Blading was awesome. We bladed all over in Wellington and got ice cream,
played in parks, met the Aussie rugby team and swam off the docks. We also
saw a street performer with a mullet and went down a megaslide! * – Cody*

Going to Milford Sound was definitely one of my most memorable moments on
this trip for me. Seeing the mountains coming out of the water pver a mile
high and flowing waterfalls was a spectacular sight! *- Leah*
**
I really love listening to all this cool music in the van while looking out
the window and seeing breathtaking landscapes: snowy mountains, turquoise
water and green hills. It’s mesmerising. *- Olivia*
**
Some of my favourite moments over the past month have been when we’ve gone
swimming: a nudie dip in Kahurangi National Park, jumping off the pier in
Wellington, bridge jumping in Wanaka and our most recent dip in the glacial
Lake Pukaki. We always have a blast, even if the water’s freezing cold! *-
Christine*
**
Our free day in Nelson – about half our group went down to this
amusement/fun park where we all went on sack slides – rip down a huge slide
in potato sacks – so fun! THEN onto the mega hydroslide – which we did
about 20 times – went down sideways, backwards, in a big train… best day
filled with smiles, laughter and tons of fun. *- Kaitlyn S*
**
As I was walking to the chocolate store, Patagonia (in Queenstown), with
Lauren and Ilana, we came across Piano Man – a skinny man with dreads
playing on an old, wooden piano on the sidewalk. I didn’t want to go
anywhere, I just wanted to stop and listen to this music. The next night a
bunch of us went back and listened for maybe 2-3 hours until it started to
rain and he packed up and rolled his piano away. holly described his music
in a perfectly simple way – it’s like looking back on a sad memory and
feeling that pain again, but at the present moment you feel content and
happy. It’s like music from the Amelie movie. It’s beautiful and melancholy
and I love it! * – Kristen*

Tomorrow we are off again on a volunteer week in Nelson Lakes National
Park, but first, here are some random ramblings, comedic journal entries
and written thoughts from some of the crew during our recent expedition in
Kahurangi National Park:
**
*This was my first experience hiking with a giant pack, and it was
incredible. It was super steep and rocky, but extremely rewarding to
complete. The views from the track were magnificent and I can’t wait to do
it again tomorrow. *Ilana, Day Two

*Sweet as easy trek today – woke up to layers of sandflies, ate some delish
muesli, did some compass navigating then hit the trails. Small-child like
weight on my back, leaping up rock face – was a wonderful time completed by
some methylated spirits for dinner! Can’t wait till tomorrow.* Kaitlyn,
Day Two

*We slept in caves! Well, atleast the brave ones did. Christine, me and
Andrew shared the big wet cave with wetas all over (we called it the Weta
Cave). Laura and Holly slept in the medium-sized cave with spiders in it.
Kristen slept in the 3-foot high, 100 foot deep cave by herself because it
was too small to share. *Cody, Day Three

*Holly and I slept in “The Spider Den.” There was a large spider with eggs
that did not move and then we found another spider with massive jaws, or
perhaps a top hat. We built a stone fortress around it, so it wouldn’t eat
our faces when we slept. Then we dreamed up a wonderland of slides and
rockwalls and a stampede of spiders with tap shoes and bow ties! *Laura
(cave sleeper) Day Three

*Tramping Day Three began with bruised bones and high spirits. We crossed a
bridge and soon went off the trail to do some mad bush-bashing. Clambering
ensued and the following occurred:*
*- nettle infestations*
*- near-death tumble (almost man down)*
*- embarking on Gollum’s Challenge, which involved climbing a rope ladder
and a dead tree*
*- squeezing through 2 mud-dripping caves*
*-wasp attacks (3 people down)*
*Yet, all was well and we lived to see the next day. *Caitlin, Day Three

*Going into the caves was really exciting! Laura, Kristen and I jumped
down into it and saw what really looked like human leg bones! Then we
continued through the cave with our packs balanced on our heads to maneuver
through the skinny passage ways. Wetas (huge spider-like crickets) lined
the cave walls and our boots sank into 6 inches of wet mud!! *Grace, Day
Three

*This tramping trip was exhausting but amazing! Gollum’s Challnge made me
feel like a treasure hunter out of a movie. We saw some really cool places
and had beautiful views. It’s the last day today and after climbing
mountains and rope ladders, sleeping without a tent and fighting our way
through branches, rocks and mud, I think we are all looking forward to a
warm shower. *Olivia, Day Five

*Today some of us got naked and jumped into a freezing cold lake. It was
totally awesome. *Christine, Day Five

*We just got back to Nelson and my legs refuse to move. I’m recovering from
my epic face-plant with a bloody nose and remembering amazing views from on
top of mountains. The night walk was my personal favorite – seeing stars
and the moonlight was awesome. The shower once we got back was amazing, too.
* Leah, Day Five

A flipped canoe – rowers plunged into cold water, dampened spirits, lost
items… warmed, comforted and recovered by those in upright canoes.

A massive day of paddling – 51km and nearly ten hours on the water – had us
all sore, tired and impatient, happy and relieved to finally set up camp
for the night on a bluff high above the river. There was burned food and a
frypan fire, a sliced thumb and an explosion of frustration – each
of us experienced an annoyed, angry or upset low at some point during the
week, but we emerged as stronger individuals and a more tightly bonded
group.

By our final day on the Whanganui, we powered through slow-moving water and
navigated rapids and whirlpools like pirates…a crazy mudfight in a
sneaky riverside cave had us covered in smooth, greyish goop – and the
subjects of many tourist photos from their passing jetboat as we clambered
along rocks into a neighbouring cave to wash off our new coats…

It was most definitely a difficult journey for each of us and all of us,
but as we pulled into Wellington for three days of city life, we were happy
to have paddled as far as we did and were much more grateful for each other
and the luxuries of a comfortable life…