June 16th 2011; Top Ten

This is a list of my most treasured and enriching experiences of the trip.

1. Rangitoto College- I will never forget the kids there who gave us a wonderful experience of meeting New Zealanders who were more like us than I thought. We all had so much to talk about including what our lives are like compared to theirs and them teaching us the Haka, it made me regret not getting a pen pal.
2. Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge- That hike was one of the most exciting adventures I ever had. It was more fun due to the extreme and unpredictable weather and the amazing view of Sydney.
3. Courthouse, "State of Origin game"- It was exciting to be able to be able to get into an Australian outdoor bar to watch a huge rugby game that was as important to the Aussies as the Superbowl is to us. It was especially cool of Alec to get us in, since its restricted to kids under eighteen.
4. Kuranda- This was a great cultural experience for me to see their stories on world creation and physical activities. It was especially good for me to get some experience in with the Didgeridoo, seeing as I have one waiting at home for me.
5. Luging- I enjoyed this activity for fun and for experience as this being a modern day activity normal to New Zealand.
6. Great Barrier Reef- I enjoyed swimming in the reef and exploring the different fish and coral. This was my favorite natural reference since I also saw what coral bleaching had done to some of the reef already.
7. Chinese Restaurant- I loved getting into our small group and exploring Sydney's nightlife. Especially when we were able to converse as friends in a small Chinese restaurant.
8. Maori village, "Whakarewarewa"-   This was a great cultural experience for me since we were able to see how the Maori people handle staying in contact with the modern world, be able to make such good use of the geothermic springs, and keep in touch with their ancestral roots.
9. Cairns- I really loved looking around the area of Cairns we were able to explore, because I feel we got to explore it the most and best out of any other town. So that we could really see what Australian town life was like.
10. Sydney Zoo- I enjoyed the Zoo as a cultural experience, because we were able to more easily see some of the Animals we anticipated for Australia. 

Since this was our last day of our trip of actual exploration, we decided to fit as much into this day as we could, and what better way to do so than to visit Kuranda. This was an activities center and a theater room that gave a good introduction of the Australian Aboriginal way of life and history. But we actually started the day on a train ride up the mountains and a gondola ride over the rain forest where we took pictures of the great views. When we finished the gondola ride, we were given a small tour of an Atherton Tableland rainforest. The tour gide some of the unique trees that date back to ancient times and birds indigenous to the area. Afterwards, we took one more gondola ride back to the ground to be taken to Kuranda. When we got there, we were generously welcomed by an amazing performance of Aboriginal song and dance as they told us the translations and unique meaning behind each one. After that, they took us outside to open training fields where they showed us how to use the boomerang and the spear launcher (I had more success with the boomerang). Then they took us inside to a small presentation area where they showed us the use of some of their tools and weapons. Later, we were brought inside to a room with some exhibits of more Aboriginal tools. In a few minutes, we were called into a couple of theaters where they showed us some of their creation stories and the use of the didgeridoo. Afterwards, we got back on the bus to group up into groups of eight this time to explore Cairns one last time on our own. My group went to a pizza place for dinner and it was delicious for a last meal in Australia, except for one of us who didn't get their pizza until some of us already finished. Later that night, we went back to the hotel to get our stuff together for when we leave tomorrow. Then we were called down to the lobby for a meeting of what we will be doing tomorrow. Then after they finished, me and my room mates got the good news that I would be staying with them tonight, that good new brought this day to a great end.