Mom and Dad arrived

Mom and Dad have arrived in Wollongong! I spent Friday showing them around Wollongong, the uni, the beach and the international house and met up with my new friends! On Saturday morning we watched the sunrise before they headed into the Blue Mountains. That night, I went on a Harbor Cruise in Sydney with the International House. We had perfect weather and a gorgeous night on a boat with views of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Back to school again today, but excited that KU is going to the Final Four. Hope my Jayhawks can bring home the title this year!

Surf Camp

I am officially a pro Surfer! Well not really, but here is the evidence:
I had surf lessons last weekend on Seven Mile Beach about a half hour south of Wollongong in the town called Gerroa.

This second picture in on the clostest beach to the international house in Wollongong. The beach is called North Gong. In the distance you can see the lighthouse, one of the well-known sites of Wollongong.

First Week of Class

The Three Sister in the Blue Mountains

I am in my second week of classes at University of Wollongong. I am taking 2 engineering courses, a statistics course and history of Australia (AUST 101). So far, my teachers have not been too difficult to understand but I am still easing into classes.

My first weekend in Wollongong I took a trip to the Blue Mountains. It is a mountain range west of Sydney known for its blue tinted mountains and a special rock called the Three Sisters. I stayed in a small touristy town called Katoomba. I went abseiling down a mountain, went hiking, saw the Three Sisters, ate kangaroo jerky and went to a zoo. I saw my first kangaroo, wallaby and koala since I have been here!

This past weekend I took the train to Sydney with a bunch of people in the international house. We went downtown on Saturday for the Madri Gras Parade. It was a fun group, but unfortunately rained a lot and kept the crowds away.

We have had many rainy days recently and areas in New South Wales are having flooding problems. It is predicted to rain every single day of March! This is new to many people my age because this year is ending an 11-year draught in the Sydney area. Rain or Shine I am still determined to learn to surf! An Australian living in the international house was kind enough to teach me. I 'sort of' got up on my third go. I still have a lot of room to improve!

Wollongong: Moved in

I am finally moved in to the International House in Wollongong! I already spendt a nice afternoon on the gorgeous beaches watching surfers in the water and skydivers above us. The I-house is just a 15 minute walk from the beach and 10 minutes from campus. This week our house has many activities set up for us including a trip to the wildlife center (like a zoo), outdoor bowling, a "Gala" or a semi-formal, a trip to a water park and orientation. Unfortunately, we cannot attend all of them due to class orientation, but just getting a feel for the school has been nice! My roommate has not arrived yet, but hopefully in the next couple of days.

Back to Queenstown

I have completed the loop of the south island and back to Queenstown where we will fly out of on Friday. After Wellington our next stop was Marahou in Abel Tasman national park. The scenery was gorgeous with the orange beaches and torquoise water. We had beautiful weather and went kayaking and sailing. We saw tons of seals, a penguin, a sting ray and tons of birds. We made chicken fajitas for dinner but for dessert we picked some mussells off the rocks, boiled them till they opened and ate them with hot sauce. I learned I fortneately do not have my moms shellfish sickness. The next day we stayed in Greymouth. It is an old mining town that is the west connection of Aurthors pass through the mountains. The next day we headed to Franz Josef Glacier where we went on a glacier hike. It lasted all day and we went high on the ice and in 2 caves. It was very interesting to learn about the glacier and how fast it is receding. This past month alone the glacier lost 5 meters! Then today we drove back to Queenstown. I have retired from my bungy jumping but the other 3 I am traveling with all signed up for a bungee tomorrow that I will watch. It feels good to be back in familiar territory and it is making me excited to start school in Wollongong!

Wellington!

Hello! I am currently in Wellington on the north island, known as the "Windy City" or New Zealand. It is an artsy town and probably my favorite stop thus far on our trip. The bus trip I am taking is here:
http://www.straytravel.com/new-zealand-bus-travel/search/21/
and we decided to add a stop and a day in Wellington. Yesterday we came from Kaikurau which was a cool beach town that was known for its crayfish and whale watching along the Pacific Ocean. The water we have experienced so far has been freezing since it is melted from Antarctica! IT never really gets that warm but that's what bring the whales in. Today, we will explore Wellington's museums and art institute.

I am currently in Christchurch! We have started our bus trip around the South Island of New Zealand. We started going east and spent our first night in Mt. Cook. Mt. Cook is a mountain covered in glacier and we had a great afternoon where we hiked to a great view of the glacier. Then next day we set out for Rangitata, which is a great location for rafting. The weather has been cold and rainy so we went horseback riding and crossed a river that got up to our feet. This morning we drove to Christchurch and walked around the old city that was destroyed by the earthquake. Most of it was blocked off, but we were able to see the botanical gardens and a new shopping center that has recently sprung up. Tomorrow we will take a bus to Akaroa which is on the coast of the Pacific ocean on land that was made by a once active valcanoe. The bus trip will bring us north and down the west coast and near glaciers. We are excited to see more of the south island!