One of the best parts about Brisbane (there are many) is its location in relation to numerous attractions and landmarks. On the rare chance that you cant find something to do in the city one weekend there is always somewhere close by that makes for a good weekend or day trip. Just a couple of hours north you’ll find the Australian Zoo, Frasier Island, and the Sunshine Coast. To the south and east you’ll find Moreton Island, Stradbroke Island, Gold Coast, and Byron Bay. So far I’ve been to the Gold Coast several times and Moreton Island twice. I still plan on visiting Byron Bay, the Australian Zoo, and Sunshine Coast so I’ll tell you about those later.

Moreton Island:

(I already wrote about my trip there with my family in a previous entry so now I’ll focus more on my most recent trip which was a blast!)

Who I went with: One of my friends from the Gold Coast and a big group she had met in some of her classes. About 18 people all-together which made it more fun and cheaper.

How we got there: Since I was the only one from Brisbane I had to take a cab from the city to the Port of Brisbane. From the port of Brisbane there is a ferry called the Micat (http://www.moretonventure.com/) that leaves about twice a day every day to Moreton Island. Coming back from Moreton ended up working out a lot better as I shared a cab with three others to a nearby train station and then took the train back to Brisbane.

How much it cost: The only part of this trip that made it expensive was my initial cab ride to the Port of Brisbane. Had it not been for that, this would have been a really cheap weekend trip. The cab cost me $50. The Micat was $50 for there and back and the total price for camping rentals (such as tent, sleeping bag, table, chairs, etc.) was $30. And it cost me about $10 to get back to Brisbane. So without the initial cab ride this would have been about a $90 three day, two night trip.

What we did: There is a lot to do and see on Moreton Island. We camped out right near “the wrecks” which are a bunch of shipwrecks just off the beach that you can snorkel around. The first day we took a long walk along the beach and then into the island a little to get to “the desert.” This was an incredible area with massive sand dunes. We were all fairly tired after running, jumping, and rolling up and down the dunes. We had one sand board to try out sandboarding which was a lot of fun but we also got entertainment out of just jumping off the top of a steep dune. That night we headed down the beach again to Tangalooma where wild dolphins show up every night to be given some food. The next day we spent most of the time laying out and walking along the beach. I saw most of the island the first time I went so I was content hanging around the campsite or by the water but there is a lot you can do and see on the island. (Mt. Tempest, Blue Lagoon, etc.)

Chillin in "The Desert"

Jumping off the Top

Sunset at Campsite

Wild Dolphins at Tangalooma

Hanging Around the Bonfire

Gold Coast:

(http://www.visitgoldcoast.com/) One of my good friends from home is studying in the Gold Coast so I have visited a few times to go to the beach and go out at night with her and her roommates (2 from Australia, 2 from Germany)

How I get there: Getting to the Gold Coast is super easy. There is a train that runs express from the city to the gold coast and then you can catch a bus once you get off depending on where you are going. There is about a 25 minute bus ride to Surfers Paradise once you get to the Gold Coast. Surfers is a really nice beachy, kind of touristy area, but a lot of fun.

Cost: It usually only costs me about $35 to get to the Gold Coast and back. Since I have a place to stay that makes it cheaper but if you don’t have a place to stay you could easily make it a day trip and not have to pay for a hostel.

What to do there: Go to the beach. That’s the main reason I’ve gone out there. Obviously, there isn’t a beach in Brisbane (except the city beach which is just now opening up after the floods had damaged it) so it’s nice to be able to escape and get some sun at Surfers. I also went there once to watch a surf competition earlier in the semester which was really cool to see. I would recommend going to a surf comp if you’re here for one. The nightlife in Surfers and Gold Coast is a lot of fun also if you stay the night. I’ve always stayed with my friend and her roommates who live in the Gold Coast always know good places to go. I haven’t been yet but Gold Coast Theme Parks I have heard are a lot of fun. There is Dreamworld and Whitewater world. (http://www.dreamworld.com.au/)

Beach at Surfers

You Know, Just Catchin' Some Waves

Snapper Rocks Beach (location of Surf Comp.)

Note: I wrote this blog right after my mid-semester break to New Zealand but hadn’t been able to put pictures up so I am just now getting around to posting it. Imagine it is the end of April…

I just got back  from my mid semester trip to New Zealand and although I’m running on little to no sleep in the past two days I shall share of my adventures. Before I begin, let me start by saying I am in LOVE with New Zealand. It is absolutely gorgeous and the town we spent the majority of the time in – Queenstown – was incredible. I might move there. But seriously. Ok, not really. But if I am ever a billionaire it will be the location of the first vacation home I buy. PS – this post is really long, honestly the pictures themselves would get the job done if you don’t feel like reading

DAY ONE – Flew out of Brisbane to Christchurch. About a 3.5 hour flight - arrived late evening.

As you know (or maybe don’t), Christchurch was hit badly by an earthquake not too long ago and the devastation from this was pretty evident. We were supposed to stay at a hostel in the heart of downtown but due to mass deconstruction, downtown is fairly vacant and inaccessible at the moment. So, we stayed just outside downtown in a small hostel called the Jailhouse. It was literally a jailhouse at one point, now renovated into hostel.  We arrived there late so a few of us just walked around for a bit then hit the sack in preparation for an early departure to Franz Josef the following morning.

DAY TWO – The majority of our day was spent on a bus heading from the east coast of the South Island (Christchurch) to the west coast (Franz Josef). It was about an 8 hour trip including stops at various lookout points and for lunch. This was when we discovered the true beauty of New Zealand. I had no idea how gorgeous the country was with its mountains and sheep and such. Anyway, we arrived in Franz Josef mid-evening, got settled into our backpacker resort (which was much nicer than the Jailhouse) and then grabbed dinner at one of the two places to eat in the tiny 5 by 5 block town. I actually, really liked Franz Josef though, very quaint. This was the point at which I realized, along with everyone else, that South Island New Zealand is actually quite cold this time of year and I was going to be putting good use to the one pair of jeans I brought on the trip…oops.

DAY THREE – This was the day of our glacier hike! We left around 8 am, geared up at the store in town, and then took a bus to the glacier. We split into groups and walked 2.5 km then hiked 20 minutes up a steep, rocky hill to where the glacier began. There, we stopped to put on our clampons (spiky attachments to our boots that help us not fall on our faces on the slippery ice) and then we were off. This wasn’t no tiny block of ice, it was huge. We were on the ice for 8 hours including a short lunch break at the peak of our climb. The hike was really cool, PUN INTENDED. It was all really fun sans the FREEZING part. Who would have thought it would be so cold on a glacier?  It wasn’t actually too bad though until it started raining and my mittens soaked through with freezing water. After lunch and a pair of dry mittens from our guide the decent was again enjoyable. There was one point of the climb when I was soaked and cold and thought I’d rather be in a warm bed until I looked around and realized how unbelievable fortunate I was to be on such a gorgeous piece of nature. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves on this one, but basically it was pretty incredible. That night, same place for dinner and then hit up one of the small bars in town, where we played pool and listened to live music (a funny old guy on guitar).

DAY FOUR – Another travelling day. This time we headed south from Franz Josef to Queenstown, stopping at various lookouts and Puzzling World. Puzzling World was pretty cool, there was a large, very difficult, 3D puzzle outside that I attempted…for about 10 minutes. The average time to finish was something like an hour and a half. There were some cool illusion rooms inside that we checked out. The lookout points we stopped at on this trip were even more incredible. There were a few lakes where the water was an unreal blue/turquoise color. My pictures literally don’t do it justice, but you can get an idea. We arrived in Queenstown early evening, checked into our hostel (X Base, right in town), and then got a burger from the ever famous Fergburger. Queenstown is known for a few distinct features…skiing, skyline gondola, and Fergburger are among a few of these. They claim to have the best burgers in the world and there is ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS a huge line/pack at the place. The burger was huge and, yes it was quite delicious.

DAY FIVE – My favorite day? Perhaps. My 134 meter bungy jump made for a nice wake up call in the morning. Who needs coffee when you can just jump out of a suspended cable car in between two canyons? This was probably my favorite part of the trip. Even though this jump was three times as high as the one in Cairns, I wasn’t quite as nervous. Before I knew it, it was my turn to jump and I just sort of stopped thinking about it and went. It was a lot more fun, in my opinion, than the shorter one. Instead of it just being over so quickly you could actually open your eyes and register what was going on, which was really awesome. “The best ground rush you’ll ever get,” as one of the employees put it.

Later that afternoon we went on a jet boat ride on Shotover River. I don’t have any pictures of this but basically you’re in this jet boat and you go through canyons, coming very close to the rocks and then do a bunch of 360 spins and get wet. That night our whole group participated in a bar crawl called Big Night Out. They pretty much take you around to six bars in town (all of which were really close). It was a good time and gave us a chance to see some Queenstown nightlife.

DAY SIX – This day was a bit more relaxing and less of an adrenaline rush. A few friends and I took the infamous (on most post cards) skyline gondola up to an area that has a sweet view of the city, a fun luge track, and other various activities. We first took advantage of the luge, which was loads of fun. Then, we did a zipline track through the trees up there. There were four lines to the track, cool views of the town/lake/trees/mountains and they taught us some upside down maneuvers that were pretty fun. It probably would have been scary if we weren’t so adapted to doing nerve-racking-height-challenging activities. Besides freezing our butts off, this was good fun. After that, we took the gondola back down and grabbed lunch at Hell Pizza, ironically located right next door to a shop called Angel Divine…lol. Then we explored town and souvenir shopped of course. That night, we checked out the local ice bar because none of us had ever been to one. It was pretty cool < pun intended again. There were ice sculptures everywhere and everything was made of ice…pretty much what you would expect from an ice bar.

DAY SEVEN – On this beautiful morning myself, and two guys decided to go hang gliding. They took us up on a bus to the top of a hill/mountain, set up the hang gliders, and briefed us on what to do. It was kind of a weird feeling, you basically just run down a hill next to your tandem partner and before you know it you’re lifted up off the ground and flying through the air. The views, as expected, were amazing. We got to see the other side of some of the mountains where all of the skiing is done. Queenstown is a big skiing town come June 4^th and we were told that the population literally goes from 8,000 people to 18,000 people on that one day as the skiing resorts open up. There wasn’t snow on the ground yet, but I can imagine they would be great skiing hills. The hang gliding itself was really fun and a little scary. He would dip down and do turns and he let me steer for a bit. The landing was kind of unexpected – you just get really close to the ground and slide on your belly until you come to a stop. Rest of the day – exploring, souvenir shopping

DAY EIGHT – This feels like it was just hours ago it all went by so fast. This was a travelling day from Queenstown (L sad to leave) back to Christchurch. We arrived back at the Jailhouse in the evening, ate pizza, of course we watched the Royal Wedding, played some scrabble, some cards, and then went to “bed.” I use quotes because it was more of a 3 hour nap on account of our 4 am departure from the Jailhouse.

DAY NINE – As I just said, 4 am departure, 6:50 am flight from Christchurch to Auckland, then to Brisbane and HERE I AM!

This week flew by so fast and was such an incredible adventure. If I ever come back to Australia some day (cross my fingers) I am most definitely spending more time in New Zealand. We only scratched the surface as far as things to do and places to see there.  Some fun facts…

-”Sweet as” is a popular saying meaning “that’s cool” or “great!”

-There are 8 sheep for every person in New Zealand

-People from New Zealand are called Kiwis (not for the fruit, but for the flightless bird)

-Aussies often make fun of Kiwi’s (in a friendly way) for being kind of slow. (but I found them to be very very friendly)

-They are really big into Rugby and their team is the All Blacks

-There are no snakes in New Zealand

-Togs = swim suits

-Kia Ora = Hi or G’day (in the indigenous Māori language)

-We found a sheepskin jacket at a store for $1,999! So, naturally I bought it.

That’s all for now. Since I’ve been so busy before and after this trip I haven’t made a whole lot of posts about things I’ve done in and around Brisbane. For the next few posts I’ll try to retrace my steps and let you  know about some of the other adventures I’ve been having!

Lauren

Hello Again,

So my family was here for the past two weeks and it was really nice to see them and show them around Brisbane. We also went up to Cairns for a weekend where we went to the rainforest one day and out to the reef the other day. We also took a day trip out to the Gold Coast to swim and hang out on the beach. As I promised here is a list of my top 3 favorite places in Brisbane (so far) This list will certainly grow as it has only been a few weeks.

1. South Bank: On our first night here we walked across the river to a place called South Bank. At South Bank you’ll find museums, several restaurants, shopping, bars and pubs, a large Ferris wheel I have yet to try, parklands, markets on the weekends., etc. Basically, it’s just a really lively place with heaps (popular Aussie word) to do. There used to be a city beach there right by the river but is now under construction due to the floods.

2. Queen Street Mall: Just about an 8 minute walk away is Queen Street Mall where I do all my grocery shopping at Coles or get basic necessities at Target. At this outside mall there are also several restaurants and shops (a lot of great clothes) and there is generally some sort of band or individual musician playing somewhere within the mall. It’s just a fun place to walk around and explore on any given day or night.

3. Bicentennial Bikeway and Bike/Pedestrian Paths in General: This is something that I really love about Brisbane but unfortunately was hit pretty hard by the floods. There are numerous bike/pedestrian pathways right by the river stretching around the city and around the South Bank area. There are also bridges that cross the river meant solely for pedestrians. Quite a few of the paths are under construction at the moment but there is still enough open for a nice run by the river.

Alright…now my top spots at UQ…

1. The Lakes: UQ has an area called “The Lakes” consisting of beautiful greenery and 3 little lakes. Perfect quiet reading/studying spot.

2. The Union Complex: This is a really cool place to just chill before/after/during classes. Not good for homework because it’s always full of people and quite loud, but good for a bite to eat or socializing. There are numerous restaurants, a lolly shop, book shop, and even a bar.

3. The Great Court: It’s a large grassy area encapsulated by a semi-circle of beautiful sandstone buildings with gorgeous architecture and pillars (lecture halls and such). Great place for lying in the grass to study/picnic/nap in between classes. This is where Market Day was mostly held as clubs and societies had stands on the border of the semicircle.

Sorry this is such a short post with no pictures. I actually have quite a bit of homework to catch up on this weekend since I didn’t get much done with my family here. I’ll write again soon!

Well, hello! So you chose to stay and read a little more? Most excellent. Here goes…

A map for you're reference as I name particular cities

I’ve been in Australia for 4 weeks now and to even begin to explain everything I have seen/done/experienced would be a task far greater than I am capable of (unless of course you enjoy reading lengthy novels by a amateur “blogger”) So instead, I will try my best to quickly show/tell you what I have done…

February 9^th – Left Indianapolis in route to Chicago – San Francisco – and finally Sydney. This was my 3rd long (>13 hours) flight and if you haven’t been on one they actually aren’t too terribly bad. I think I slept for about 7 hours on this flight and the rest of my time was occupied by inflight movies, games, and meals (they give you lots of food it seems)

Flew on this bad boy

February 10^th – Did not exist for me

February 11^th – Arrived in Sydney where I met up with other students participating in the Study Australia program (http://www.educationabroadnetwork.org/)

February 11^th-15^th – Study Australia Orientation in Sydney consisting of…

Amazing accommodations..

on the 74th floor of the World Towers.

Tours of the city...

and the harbor.

Trip to a petting zoo..

and Sydney Bridge climb!

This orientation was a great way to get to know some fellow study abroad students, learn and engage in Australian culture, and experience different aspects of Sydney.

The next part of my journey took place in Cairns, a town in Northern Queensland, home to the Great Barrier Reef. This was an optional pre-semester trip offered by Study Australia. The highlights of the trip were…

Bungee jumping...

White water rafting...

Skydiving...

Scuba diving...

and a liiiittle relaxation.

I think my biggest success in Cairns was staying alive. Cairns was such a rush of adventure and excitement (as you can probably tell). Furthermore, it was another opportunity to meet and get to know study abroad students. An advantage of making friends with students studying at universities all over Australia is that I now have a free place to stay when I want to travel. I already plan on staying with friends in Sydney and they plan on visiting me in Brisbane. It’s a win, win!

So, that was all my time in Australia BEFORE I arrived at my apartment in Brisbane. These first 10 days were a blast and if you do choose to study in Australia I would highly recommend traveling either before or after your time at Uni if you have the chance. My first week in Brisbane was spent exploring the city and attending O-week events at The University of Queensland. I’ll talk about my apartment, O-week, and my first week of classes in this post and cover favorite parts of Brisbane and UQ next week.

My apartment - Exceeded all expectations. I wasn’t sure what to expect and after bathing in the luxery of the World Towers in Sydney I thought for sure I would be let down. This was not the case. I’m living on Tank street in Brisbane’s CBD (central business district). Location is perfect; just a 8 minute walk to Queen Street Mall, 5 minutes to bus stop. Apartments are spacious; 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for the 3 of us, large porch. And I met my roommates for the first time the day we moved in and it has worked out great. We all get along really well and are having so much fun exploring the city and going out at night.

Some of our apartment

My roommates and I

After settling in what would be my home for the next 4 months began activities at UQ…

O-week - Orientation week. This entails a series of orientation sessions, optional information sessions and seminars on various topics, market day (see explanation), and nightly themed parties at The Red Room (a bar on campus).

Market day was a highlight of orientation week for me. Basically its one giant club fair with all of the Uni clubs and societies organized around The Great Court (large grassy area encompassed by lecture halls/buildings, see picture). It’s a great chance to shop around for clubs you might want to partake in. There is tons of free stuff, information, and a LOT of students. There are also businesses lined up on a different part of campus giving away free stuff and giving information about their company and what they can offer you. I mostly just browsed around and picked up free stuff.

My siblings and I in the Great Court, not during market day though

So O-week was over and it was time for classes to actually begin. I can’t really complain though because I’m only taking 3 courses (12 credit hours) and my schedule runs from monday to wednesday. Hello long weekends. My first week was even less busy on account of no tutorials. So, for each class here I have a lecture and a tutorial. The lecture is, obviously, a lecture from a professor and the tutorials are smaller groups that meet to discuss the lecture, readings, and any questions or concerns. Tutorials usually begin in week 2 (which I just finished)

I found all of my classes to be really similar to classes I’ve had back home. The biggest difference, as anyone would tell you, is the grading system and assessment. Where as in a class back home I might have had several smaller assignments plus a few big exams, here there is more emphasis on a few large assignments. For example, in one class my grade will consist of attendance, a short essay, and a long essay. While this may sound really nice (and it is) you have to remember to stay on task otherwise the last few weeks of school it can really build up on you.

Anyway…my family arrived last Friday (after my 1st week of classes) to visit me in Brisbane. The day after they arrived we took a trip to Moreton Island (3rd largest sand island, just off the coast of Brisbane) where we took a 4WD eco tour. It was quite a bumpy ride (which my brothers and myself liked, my mom not so much) across the sandy “roads” of the island, but we all had a great time.

Map of Moreton Island

Runoff from certain trees caused the water to turn red

My family will be here for two weeks but right now they are in Sydney and tomorrow I am flying out to meet them in Cairns for a long weekend. I’m really excited to go back to Cairns, but also sad to leave Brisbane, even for only a few days. I was nervous about living in a city but I absolutely love it here. And I will tell you why in my next blog!

Stay tuned for next week’s blog all about Brisbane and UQ hot spots and my 2nd trip to Cairns.

Let me begin by introducing myself and the blog you are about to embark on. My name is Lauren Dunn. I am a Sophomore at Purdue University currently studying abroad for the semester at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to come to Australia and my experience thus far has exceeded all expectations. Before you skim through my entries attempting to skip the mundane please at least read this…(I’ve made it bold so you’re more likely to read it) If you have the opportunity to study abroad, take it! If all you remember from this blog is the fact that I commanded you to study abroad that will be enough for me because honestly, my goal is to encourage anyone to experience the semester that I am experiencing right now. But, on the chance that you would like to stay and read a little, I hope that my blog gives you an image of what it is like to be studying in the great country that is Australia at the amazing University that is UQ. Enjoy!