Here is my first attempt at recapping my
AWESOME adventures in the land down under : )
I know that everyone hates having class on Monday, however, the Monday class I have is Aquaculture, which already makes it 20x better than any other Monday class. When I got back from the Inskip trip, I took my first field trip over to Bribie Island to look at one of the local aquaculture research facilities. We got to see quit a few different techniques they were trying to bring to the industry in order to make aquaculture easier and cheaper on the everday fish farmer.
My next adventure for the week would be an embarrassing attempt at surfing....Now there are a few things that a person with terrible balance should probably stay away from (or at least attempt carefully..). I would personally like to add surfing to this list if it hasn't already been put there.
I had so much fun, and it is definitely something I would try again...once the fear of being smashed by a wave passes...lol. Maybe next time I try it wont be during a massive swell..7-8 foot waves make you second guess a first attempt at surfing.
I finished off the week with the activate group and an amazing climb on one off Australia's beautiful mountains: Mt. Coolum. We all met up on campus and drove out to the mountain, had a wonderful climb, it truly was beautiful...you could see for miles. When we got to the top, our club president, Loz, enlightened us with one of the old Aboriginal tales of the mountains in the area. According to their tales, a beautiful Aboriginal girl named Maroochy was loved by another of her tribe, Coolum, a young warrior whose union to Maroochy has the approval of the Elders. One day a mighty warrior named Ninderry, who belonged to a fierce and warlike tribe, stole Maroochy while Coolum was out hunting.
When Coolum returned and found that Maroochy had been abducted, he set off in pursuit following their tracks. He caught up with Ninderry and the captive Maroochy before sundown. However, fearing to demand Maroochy’s return from such a fierce warrior as custom decreed, Coolum decided to use a trick. During the night he crept up to the camp where Ninderry lay sleeping, and quietly freeing Maroochy from her bonds, they fled back to their own Tribe’s territory on the coast. When the sun rose the next morning, Ninderry woke to discover that Maroochy had escaped. Ninderry flew into a mighty rage, incensed all the more when he found tracks that Coolum had left as he aided Maroochy’s escape. Ninderry immediately set out after the fleeing young lovers, Coolum and Maroochy.
When Ninderry caught sight of them he threw a huge nulla (club) at Coolum. The nulla knocked off Coolum’s head which rolled into the sea and became Mudjimba Island. Coolum’s headless body turned into stone and became Mt Coolum. Beeral, the Spirit God, had been watching these events from his crystal throne in the sky and was deeply incensed by Ninderry’s foul deed, and struck down Ninderry and turned him into stone and he became Ninderry Crest. After all, Coolum and Maroochy’s union had the sanction of their Elders and should have been respected. Filled with sorrow at the loss of her beloved Coolum, Maroochy fled to the Blackall Ranges where she wept so much that her tears flowed down the mountain range and became the Maroochy River. Eventually Maroochy decided she wanted to find Coolum’s spirit that had gone out of his body, and so that she could search for it, she changed herself into a swan. She still goes up and down the river and flies to swamps and lakes in her search, and so do her children and their children.
After the amazing views from our climb, we decided to cool off with a nice dip in the ocean. The waves were once again massive due to the cyclone still going on up north, but we had so much fun.
Once the waves were too much, there were some rock pools we could explore; you never know what you're going to find in those, but I always manage to find some beautiful shells.
