Straddie + koalas

This past weekend we took a trip to Stradbroke island, or "Staddie" as they affectionately refer to it. It's a sand island off the coast of Brisbane, I believe it's one of the oldest sand islands in the world. Pretty shweet. The point of the trip was to learn about sand island ecology, and although it was probably the least informing trip yet, It was by far my favorite! We stayed at a really nice place on the beach, apparently they stayed at a hostel near by last year, but this place turned out to be cheaper this year. I can't imagine how this place was cheaper than a hostel, it was on the beach with a boardwalk going through the mangroves, and it had a pool. I did sleep on a cot in the room, as did many of my cohorts, but I could care less. It was glorious.

Our kookaburra friend hangin out on the deck. They have the largest noggins, pretty funny lookin brids

Learnin about sand?

Scribble tree! so cool. If you ask me what my favorite tree is i'll now reply scribble tree. Some kind of bug that lives in these make the scribble looking pattern.

Sir, there is a crazy lookin spider on your hand. You should probably put it down

We trekked up an extremely steep sand path to the top of the dune. It was crazy hot and a pretty miserable hike up, but it was worth it. Running/leaping on the way down was the best part. (this picture doesnt show the steep part that disappears into the trees)

Our lovely bus

Swimmin tree

Swimmin in sweet tea

Crazy tree roots

Crab city. Crab balls! little sand balls made from the crabs sifting through it to get all the yummy snacks out. they were everywhere.

KOALAS and more..

We recently took a trip to the koala sanctuary oustide of Brisbane. So great.

This guy was killin me. Absolutely killin me. Literally did not move from this position at all. I checked back up on him after our initial meeting, and some movement had been made (see below). Chiller #1. (theres a branch supporting his back that you cant see)

Mr. wallaby. I touched him

Don't be alarmed, these kangaroos are not dead. They are very much alive, just another example of Australian animals doin what they do best, relaxin.

THIS IS NOT AN ILLUSION. i was indeed this close to them.

Chiller #2

Checked back up on Chiller #1 on my way out, and what do ya know, he moved. A very slight movement, but a movement none the less. his neck must have been a little tired, so he opted for this Y shaped branch to wedge his head into. so smart 

This guy was upset about something

AND THEN I HELD ONE

1. pre koala excitement (they were very specific about how to hold your hands, if you ask me she was a little too rough when putting my hands into place)

2. The placement.

3. My time to shine

victory! i am now in the minority of people who have held a koala. It was quite an enjoyable experience, they are really soft as one would imagine, and they don't move much, which makes it a calming experience as a whole. just a little cuddle nugget. I think it farted on Frances or something cause she reeked of koala all day, not in a good way. It was pretty hilarious, luckily he spared me.

So here's a shout out to my furry friend! You were the best koala holding experience a girl could ask for.Thanks for not leaving your stinky koala essence behind on me. 

Until we meet again

camille

Buh buh buh Brizzayyy

After a beautiful but long train ride, filled with lovely landscapes and a crazy woman offering us all popcorn, we arrived in Brisbane early early in the morn. It was 5:30 am when we got in, and the office that we were all meeting at in Brisbane wasn't open until 9, so those who hadn't slept on the train (luckily I was not one of them) caught some z's on the floor of the train station. Comfy.

Once we dropped our stuff off at the office, we had about 5 hours to kill before the official time that the whole group was supposed to meet up, so we decided to wander around town in search of food and amusement...and whammmy! we stumbled upon this man made beach, or the south bank "lagoon" as they like to call it. None of us were expecting to pass the time on the beach that day, but we were happy to give in to the strangely placed swimming spot. Rough life..

Here in Brisbane we're staying with host families, Frances and I are staying with a lovely family with a host mama, papa, and two sisters who are our age. They're all really nice and welcoming. Scott, the dad, took us to the coast over the weekend for what we thought was going to be a huge surfing/art festival but ended up

being a very small festival with little to see. Nevertheless, the coast was beautiful, we went beach hoppin the whole day with a quick dip in a fresh water spot at the end of the day.

A hazy Surfers paradise skyline in the distance

Scott and Frances

Rainbow lorakeets feeding on our deck

View from our back deck, we basically live in a tree house.

We also have a bush turkey. His name is Willy

We went to the Matisse exhibit at the museum, which was really great.

Shout out to my girl Isabel, my tuna, mon frere. I'm pretty sure you are a reincarnate of Matisse and should consider pursuing art as a career, because this sketch of his looks SO much like an isabel drawing its a little freaky deaky. just sayin.

crazy exhibit by crazy japanese lady. yayoi somethin..she really likes polkadots.

gettin back to my musical roots

GAH! the spiders here are absurd. Especially considering we live in a treehouse/jungle. They seem to really enjoy our house, they come into our basement to hang out with me and frances all the time.

Tomorrow we go on a little weekend excursion to Stradbroke Island, a sand island off the coast of Brisbane. I'm crossing my fingers for a dugong siting, apparently they dwell in these parts... everyone send me good dugong vibes!

So long Sydney

The end of Sydney has come, in about two hours I will be on a train (a 13 hour train!) to Brisbane, or Brizzy as they like to call it because anything they can give a nickname to here, they do. Since the last post, I've been lollygaggin here in Sydney visiting some museums and seeing the rest of the sights. Lots of walking, afternoon drink breaks, and sun (a good bit of rain too..). This past week has been an independant study week, so most of us ladies have been staying in a hostel in Sydney, doing as we please. The hostel hasn't been the most pleasant place to rest our heads...but i've stayed in worse. Four girls and I went to a music festival during our week off, which was a lot of fun. I love love love music festivals and Australia is full of em. It was a scorcher of a day which wasn't ideal, but at least we didn't get rained on. Saw some really cool bands and discovered some new jams which is always a pleasure.  

Cool light room at the art museum

 I wasn't actually reaching out to a little boy...he was a good ways behind me..

huge painting at the Museum of New South Whales, loved it.

Free ride on a retro double decker bus on Australia day, yes please.

This was probably the highlight of Australia day...not as wild as I had imagined... We did get some free hotdogs though, or "snags" as they say

Taking a much needed rest at a German brewery down in the Rocks. We walked past this place on multiple occasions and decided it was time to get some beer. Das good!

Mama! this is the exotic trash bird i was telling you about.. not the best pic. the grass is covering his long stilty legs and he's not surrounded by his usual pile of garbage.

Laneway music festival!

so so sunny

M83 to close the night. So good!

Supah bowl! Buncha dudes watchin some 'merican football. They had a "superbowl deal" of 4 bud lights for 20 bucks! screamin deal! sike. couldn't bring myself to pay 5 bucks for a bottle of bud light...

sup brosef

birthday mosas and pancakes! I'm 21 woooooop

Long stroll across the Sydney harbour bridge with a belly full of pancakes

luna park!

birthday billy! Our favorite bar had these pots with handles on them called "billys" which is basically just a big giant cocktail to be shared with a mate. Frances was kind enough to buy me a birthday billy!

My ladies took good care of me on my bday. 21 in australia is quite anticlimactic, but supah fun none the less!

Goodbye Sydney...off to Brizzy!