Submitted by Rebecca Runkle on the 2014 winter session program in Australia sponsored by the College of Engineering…
The highlights of this week were Wilson’s Promontory and the St. Kilda fest. Wilson’s Prom is a large national park. It is also the Southernmost tip of the Australian mainland, which should make it chillier than the rest, but we went on the perfect beach day. The sand was the softest any of us had walked on and that includes people who had been to places like Hawaii! There were sizable waves, so while everyone wasn’t playing beach soccer, body surfing was popular. Besides the beach, there was endless hiking to be done. We didn’t have time to explore everywhere, but there was a river that led into the ocean right on the beach where we were. A few of us followed the river, which was beautiful and had swimming holes where some kids were playing. Eventually, there was a footbridge that led to trails. We hiked up and got to overlook the beach we had been on. A couple more minutes of hiking and we were looking down on Squeaky Beach, named after the squeaky noise its sand makes when you walk on it. The park was absolutely gorgeous. We saw some beautiful birds and one student even spotted a koala while we were driving in. It was easily my favorite place that we visited. St. Kilda fest was a week long event, but a couple friends and I went for a day. Each day has different music and events and we happened to go on the day of the gay pride march/celebration. There was an excellent singer along with many enthusiastic attendees. Apparently, the fight for marriage equality is also happening in Australia which was interesting to see.
So after finals, we all flew out to Sydney. I have to say I preferred Melbourne as a city. It was cleaner, felt safer, was easier to navigate, and it felt like there was more to do. Still, Sydney was pretty fun and a bunch of us went to a show at the Sydney Opera House. It wasn’t like one of their typical shows, but it was very popular. It was called “La Soiree” and was a burlesque type show complete with acrobatics. The entire group also got a tour of the opera house the next day and learned what an undertaking it was to build! At one point, the citizens of Sydney gave up on the expensive project and the architect left. While in Sydney, we stayed in a hostel, which I had never done before. It turned out to be really enjoyable. There were eight of us in my room, but we had enough space and I’m sure it was a great deal for a few nights. The hostel offered plenty of things to do around the city too, often at reduced prices.
