Top 10

1. Sunrise at Rotorua:  The sunrise was so incredible.  It was so beautiful.  I am probably never going to see a sunrise like that again. Spectacular!
2. Rangitoto College:  It was cool to get to talk to the students at Rangitoto!  I learned a lot from them and it was cool to learn the haka and other traditions.
3. Holding a Koala:  Koalas are an Australian icon and it was so awesome to get to hold one and to get a picture.  It is something that I have always wanted to do.
4. Swimming in the Great Barrier Reef:  I have never been so close to so many fish!  The coral was beautiful and it was cool just to be there and see it.
5. Maori Village:  It was awesome to be able to see so much of the Maori culture.  There was so much to see.  There were also the thermal springs which were amazing.  Our tour guide made it fun though- "I was too tall to be a hobbit"  :)
6. Aboriginal:  so cool to learn about their culture and see some of their artifacts.  We also got to try boomerangs and spears.  Saw some cool shows/movies and someone demonstrated the didgeridoo!
7. Climbing the Sydney Bridge:  It is another icon of Australia and it was incredible to be able to climb it and to see Sydney from the top of the bridge. 
8. Sydney Opera House:  Yet another Australian icon and it was amazing to see it up close and to actually go inside!
9. Agrodome: Learned about some of the sheep and saw one sheared.   Got to pet the baby goats and sheep. 
10. luge: it was so much fun going down the mountain in the luge karts. There was an awesome view of New Zealand.  Lots of fun.

What made this trip great though was that I got to experience it with some of my closest friends.  It was so much fun.  I am glad that we got to go on this once in a lifetime trip together. And I am glad that I made some new friends along the way!! :)

Day 11- Train Rides, Koala Bears, and Boomerangs

Today we took a scenic train ride from Cairns to a little town in the mountain.  The scenery from the train was so cool.  We saw some really pretty mountains and some waterfalls.  On the train ride we also did our Inquiry.  My group did one on different colored plants.  Our question was will there be more yellow, blue or red plants in the fores? We each picked a color.  We were responsible for keeping track of how many plants of that color that we saw.  I counted red plants, jenny counted yellow plants and Kellie counted blue plants.  We did this while we were on the train.  Our hypothesis was that there would be the most red plants.  Our data was red:14 yellow:13 and blue:7.  So our hypothesis was correct.  A question that I had after doing this experiment was why are there more yellow and red plants than green plants? Some sources of error could be that we could have missed some when we were looking out the other side of the train or if we were distracted by the people around us. 

When we got to the town we ate some lunch and then we were determined to find where we could hold a koala.  Alec, our tour guide said that you could do that here so we did.  It took us a little while to find it but we eventually did.  We were all so excited!  All of us got our picture taken and got to hold it.  It was so cute and soft.  We all had big smiles on our faces.  It was one of the best moments on the trip.  I am so glad that I got to do that. 

Then we went to the rain forest tour.  We went on a gondola to get there.  The tour only lasted about 10 minutes, but we saw some really cool plants there. Then in the gondola station we saw some huge spiders.  It was cool and terrifying at the same time.  The spiders were all on the roof just sitting there but I was afraid that one would come down in front of me. 

After that we went to see some Aboriginal shows.  It was really interesting to see some of their dances and we got to see someone play the didgeridoo.  It was so cool.  We also got to see some of their weapons and got to throw a spear and boomerang.  It was a lot of fun.  Now we have to say good-bye to New Zealand and Australia.  I hope that someday I can return because this trip has been the best.  I am going to miss it.

Day 10- Great Barrier Reef!

We are in Cairns now. Today we went to the Great Barrier Reef!  I was so amazing.  We took a boat ride out to a little station.  The ride was about and hour and a half.  The little station was anchored down to the bottom and it had a space down some stairs where we could watch the fish through the windows.  There were also other boats that went out for other tours.  I did a lot of snorkeling today.  When we got there we went right in.  I didn't see many fish when we first got in.  I wanted to go farther away from the boat but the water was really low.  I don't like to be over the coral when it is really close to me because I am afraid I will hurt the coral and myself.  After a little while we went and got lunch.  They had a whole buffet laid out and they had some really good food.  We sat out in the sun to eat.  It was really nice to be in the sun instead of the rain. 

After lunch we went out again, but we didn't go out by the shallow coral because we had trouble with it the first time.  Plus the tide had gone down so much that the coral was sticking out of the water.  So most of us stayed by the boat where the water was deep. There were A LOT of fish by us this time.  They were feeding them so they where everywhere.  At one point someone threw food right by us and the fish went crazy.  We weren't expecting the fish and they were right in my face and hitting me.  I freaked out a little bit.  It was cool to see so many fish up close though.  I swam around there for a long time because it was such a cool experience. 

Watching the fish being fed was really cool because there were so many of them.  The coral was really cool too.  You could see where some of it had been effected by coral bleaching.  It was sad to see.  The water was really nice, but it could be a little cold at sometimes. The water was so beautiful.  The water was the perfect shade of blue and the sun was shinning.  It was the best day to go to the Great Barrier Reef.  Later I swam a little just to swim and it was really nice.  I hope I can go back to the GBR some day. 

Day 9- Bridge Climb and Light Show

Today we were supposed to go whale watching and climb the Sydney Bridge, but that didn't happen.  The wind was too strong for us to go out on a boat so we had to skip the whale watch.  Instead we went to the market.  It was actually really neat.  There was a huge market area in this building and they were selling so many different things: Food, clothes, shoes, bags, souvenirs etc.  It was a little like the Rocks market, but it was indoors.  I don't know which one was bigger, but they were both very cool.  I don't like to shop that much but it was still fun to go into all the shops and look at the stands.  Of course it was raining.  At least this market was inside. 

After that was over we went on the bridge climb!  I was excited, but scared at the same time.  My mom is afraid of heights so sometimes I get scared too, but it wasn't that bad.  First we were separated into two groups.  Then we got out outfits.  It was a one piece suit and we had to put pants on over the suit.  Then we were given a harness, gloves, a hat, and a headset.  We had a lot of equipment.  After we had all that we had to go onto a little practice course so that we were ready when we went on the bridge.  It was pretty easy.  The little ball thing that was attached to your harness was attached to a cable and the you just had to walk and it would follow. 

When it was finally our turn to go onto the bridge I was so happy.  I wanted to do this so that I could get over my little fear of heights.  It turns out that it wasn't that bad though.  The view was incredible from the top of the bridge.  Our guide told a few stories and took a few pictures.  The climb down though was worse than the way up because I looked down at my feet the whole time.  It was still one of the coolest things ever. 

Then after that we went to see a light show on the opera house.  It was really pretty.  The lights would change and move.  They even made a jellyfish go across.  It was  really cool.  This was an excellent day!  I had been looking forward to the bridge climb almost the entire trip. 

Day 8- Sydney Opera House, the Wildlife Center, and Independence

I think that I am more confident when traveling now.  I feel like I can travel by myself new because I know how most of the stuff works.  I think that after this trip I will not be as reluctant to talk to strangers and to do other things on my own.  I usually rely on my parents a lot when I travel, but this trip has made me become more independent when traveling.  There are some things that I wouldn't be able to do when traveling by myself.  I think that I would get lost a  lot and I would lose my confidence if I got lost.  I can be a little frantic when I don't know what I am doing.  I think that I could go through the airport by myself though.  When I travel by myself thought I don't think that I would get much out of it.  I wouldn't get the full experience if I traveled by myself.  I would miss out on a lot of the cultural/historical things of the country.  I think that right now I am too shy to travel alone.  I need to become more outgoing before I can travel by myself, but I am working on it.  I also think that when I travel I like luxury too much.  I am used to skipping an activity because of the rain and things like that.  I would need to do things regardless of rain or shine.  I think I could travel on my own, but I think it would be better if I first improved my confidence, make sure to get the full experience, and be more outgoing. 

So today we did a lot of amazing things.  The first thing that we did was go to the Sydney Opera House!!!  It was so awesome to be at the Opera House.  Before we had just seen it at a distance, but now we have actually been up close to it.  The building is so cool.  I love the way the building looks it is so amazing!!  And we actually got to go inside too.  It was one of the most fantastic things I have ever done.  I was a little disappointed that we couldn't see more of the building though.  You had to go with a tour. 



KOALA!!



So then we did a little bit of shopping on our way to boat dock.  We took the boat around the harbor.  It went past the Sydney Opera House and then took us under the bridge to another dock where we got off.  There we went to the Wildlife center.  It was really cool.  I saw lots of bugs and animals.  I got to see Koalas and Kangaroos!!  It was so exciting because those are the animals people usually associate with Australia.  They had a lot of lego sculptures in the Wildlife Center.  It was cool.  Then after that we got to eat dinner there.  I had a burger and it was really good.  Another fantastic day in Australia.

Day 7- Reflection on Traveling



I think that this travel experience was a lot different.  I went out of my comfort zone a little bit because I usually travel with my parents and this is the first big trip I have been on without my parents.  This is actually the biggest trip I have ever been on.  It has definitely made me feel more independent from my parents.  Another thing I have done to expand my comfort zone is talk to new people.  I usually stay with my group of friends, but this has made me talk to people I normally wouldn't talk to.  I hope that after this traveling experience I can do that at home. Talk to people and hopefully make some new friends.  I am also currently trying to be more outgoing.  I am reluctant to do things on my own and I worry too.  I worry about everything that could go wrong and I hope I will be able to handle stressful situations better.  This trip was actually the first time I have really sat next to a stranger on a plane when I was by myself.  It really pushed me because I normally am very shy and do not like to talk to complete strangers.  Traveling like this has made me go with the flow a little bit more too.  Instead of complain and mope about being wet and tired I try to make the best of it. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I want to get a lot out of it.  This trip has taught me to live in the moment

Hiding from the Rain

Today we went on a bus tour through Sydney.  It was raining again.  It was still fun though.  We went to a lot of different spots.  We went to another spot were we could take pictures of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bridge.  We also got to go to Bondi Beach.  It was really pretty and the waves were huge.  There were a few surfers out in the water, but I don't think they went out too far.  I took a lot of pictures on the beach.  We also went to this really cool rock lookout place that looked out over the ocean.  It was so cool, but we were being pelted with rain the entire time.  We also went around some of the neighborhoods and saw some different house styles.  It was a very laid back day and I really enjoyed it. 

Day 6- We're in Sydney!!

Sydney Tower

We are finally in Australia!  We are in Sydney.  Sydney is different from other cities that I have been in.  I think that Sydney is a very busy city.  There are a lot of people walking around on the sidewalks and it can be very chaotic.  In Chicago I think there is more car traffic than people walking on the sidewalks.  In Sydney there are definitely less cars going around.  Sydney is also very different from what we saw in New Zealand.  New Zealand seems very laid back and mellow, but here everything happens so fast.  In Sydney I feel like there are more that old yet modern look to them and in Chicago I think that there are more skyscrapers and less buildings that have the old architecture look to them.   I think that it is cool that in Sydney their crosswalks beep to let people know when to cross.  I don't know if those are in Chicago though.  There is also a sky walk building in Sydney where you go up and can look at the city from up in the building.  It was awesome to see Sydney from up high.  There was a good view of the harbor, bridge and other parts of the city.  It is similar to the Series Tower in Chicago where you can go up and see the city.  I think that there are also more street performers and markets in Sydney. I don't think that you see many of those in Chicago.  We saw a really cool jump rope performance today.



Sydney Opera House



Today we just kind of walked around Sydney.  We went to eat and then go up the Sydney Tower.  I think I went to a Chinese/Asian food place and it was really good.  The honey chicken was delicious.  There were a lot of Asian food places in Australia.   We also went to where we could see the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bridge.  It was so cool to see them because the are Australia icons.  They are what you see on television and on postcards and it was amazing to be able to see them in person.  We also went to an opal place.  We watched a short video and then we got to look around the store.  Opal is very expensive.  Then we went to the Rocks market.  It is a big outdoor market that sells a lot of things.  I didn't buy much, but it was still cool to be there just to see it all.  While we were at the market it started raining.  It wasn't that bad.  Half of us ended up walking back to the hotel.  It was actually kind of fun.  It was so fantastic day, but so far I like New Zealand just a little bit better. 

Sydney Bridge

Day 5- Redwood Forest and Kiwis

Morning: 
This morning it was raining! We went to the bus stop so that we could go to the redwood forest to hike.  Half of our group got on one bus and the other half had to wait for the next one.  I went with the first group.  We went on some trails through the forest.  I felt like we were going really fast we didn't really have anytime to stop and look at the trees.  Most of the time is was focusing on not falling/slipping in the mud.  It was also raining pretty hard so no one really wanted to stop and look around.  Some of the guys started singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall.  They actually finished the song.  I wish I could have seen more of the forest though.  The glimpses that I did see were really cool.  We ended up having to wait for the other group for a while.  At the end of the hike there was a lot of standing in the rain and waiting.  Everyone was soaking wet after that. 
Afternoon:

After resting up and drying off at the hotel, we got on a bus to Auckland to see the Kiwis at Rangitoto college.  We got to see some of them preform the haka.  It is supposed to be scary/intimidating and it was.  We sang the USA national anthem for them and we sang Happy Birthday for two people too.  We are not very good singers.  Then we got to eat some food and talk with our pen pals.  My pen pal got me Pineapple Lump and some chocolate.  It was really nice.  We also got to take a walk around the campus.  My favorite thing though was getting to learn the haka.  It was so cool to get to learn a part of the Maori culture.  I learned a lot today.  It is our last day in New Zealand. I will miss it, I love it here. 

Day 4- Ducks, Sheep, and Maori Culture

Morning:

This morning when we woke up there was a beautiful sunrise.  It was gorgeous.  It was right over the lake and steam was coming off the lake and out of the mountains. There were birds flying everywhere and there were a lot sitting on the sulfur flat. I didn't want it to end.  We don't get a lot of views like that at home.   

World War II Duck

After we looked at the sunrise we went on a Duck Tour.  We got into World War II vehicles that could drive on the road and go in the water.  We heard about some of the legends/myths that are associated with some of the lakes and it was very interesting.  I like to hear those kinds of stories.  We heard one story about two lovers crossing the lake to see each other and there was another where some people saw Maori people in a waka(boat) and it is supposed to be an omen for bad luck.  Then a few days later, the volcano erupted.  We also learned about some of the houses around the lakes.  Very awesome tour. 

Carved House

The ducks then dropped us off at the Maori Village.  I was really excited about this.  We got to learn a little about their language and some famous/important people to the Maori village.  In the village there was a carved house and it was really interesting because our tour guide explained to us that each piece of the house represented something and they were made to resemble a person.  There are baths and mud pools that use the thermal energy in the village.  They even cook with the thermal heat.  It was really amazing to hear about their culture. 

Afternoon:

This afternoon we went to the Agrodome.  There we saw sheep, cows, ducks, dogs, and rabbits.  They showed us a lot of different kinds of sheep and they were all displayed.  Then the host shaved one of the sheep as a demonstration.  Then a few people went up to milk a cow.  We also got to see some dogs heard some ducks and sheep.  There were also little baby goats and sheep.  They were really cute.  I liked the Agrodome a lot more than I thought I would. 



After that we got to go ogoing!  I actually didn't do it though because I didn't have my swimsuit and I thought that it was a little cold to do it.  It looked really cool though.  It is a big ball with a smaller one inside and they fill the inner one with a little bit of warm water then they go down the hill.  It was a really cool idea.  They also had a stationary one.  It was fun even though I didn't do it. 





Stationary ogo

Dinner tonight was really cool.  We got to have a hangi dinner and see a little show.  We saw some dances and songs.  The guys got to try the haka and the girls got to dance a little.  The food was really good. They had some food that was the same as American food, but there was some that was really different too.  It was a very good day.  I am glad that we got to do so much.  





Day 3- In New Zealand at Last

We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand!  It was so weird to think that we were in another country, but it didn't really feel like we had left the US.  The first thing that we did was take a very long bus ride to get to Rotorua.  I wanted to sleep so bad, but I didn't want to miss anything.  Everything was so pretty and green.  New Zealand is beautiful.  We also saw a lot of cows and sheep along the way.  :)

Today I experienced a few culture shocks.  One shock that I experienced was that there was so much farm land. I was almost everywhere and there were so many cows and sheep.  It was all so green there were so many hills.  I was definitely surprised by the amount of farm area.  Another shock that I had was that in New Zealand they drive on the left side of the road.  It was so weird because I was used to the driving on the right.  It is strange that in most parts of the world people drive on the left, but in America we drive on the right.  It was a little scary because I usually looked the wrong way before crossing a street.  The last shock that I experienced was that in New Zealand they had a lot more dedicated to their native people.  In America I feel like our natives are just cast aside, but they had a lot of Maori culture there.  It was really cool to see that and a lot of their history is really interesting. 





For lunch we stopped in Hobbiton.  It was so much fun.  I am a Lord of the Rings fan and it was so cool to see a smegol statue and to see all the landscape.  I stopped in a little cafe/bakery with some of my friends.  We were so confused.  We didn't know if we served ourselves or where to pay.  It was a little embarrassing, but we figured it out eventually.  All three of us ended up getting New Zealand pies.  They are like portable pot pies.  I got a chicken one and it was really good. 

Part of Luge course

We went to a luge place today.  It was so much fun.  We went up a mountain in a gondola, the view was spectacular and the weather was perfect. It was not too hot and not too cold.  Then we got to go down the mountain on these little carts. You sit in it and then you would pull back on the handle bars to slow it down and push forward to go faster.  I had so much fun doing that.  There was a lot to see going down the mountain, but I mostly concentrated on not crashing. There were a few people who got scrapes and bruises doing this.  Once down the mountain you go on a lift back to the top.  I ended up doing only the beginner course, but it was fun. 

After the luge we all went to a jade place.  There we got to learn about where and how they get their jade.  We also got to see the steps required to shape the stone into jewelry.  It was really neat.  We got to look around the jade store after the presentation was over.  There was a lot of beautiful carvings and jewelry there.

When we were done at the jade store we went to our hotel. It is nice because it is right next to the lake, but it smells awful. The sulfur makes it smell like rotten eggs.  I hope that I will get used to the smell.  After checking in at the hotel we walk to a burger place that had a pizza hut next door.  Some people went to the pizza hut, but I went to the burger place.  It was called Burger fuel.  Their burgers are soooo good.  They were delicious and they were massive.  Yum. 

So we got off to a good start in New Zealand.  I am really looking forward to seeing the ogoing and the Maori village.  I can't wait. 

Day 2- More travel

Today we were in the plane all day again.  We actually lose this day in travel because we go over the international date line. We took the long flight from LA to Auckland.  I slept most of the way there.  I was so exhausted from all the travel we have been doing.  I was sitting next to a stranger on the long flight, but then she moved to a different seat to have more room and she never came back.  So I got two seats to myself which was nice.  Our group got asked a lot of questions in the airport and on the plane: "Where are you going?" "where are you from?" etc.  We answered lots of questions the last few days.  I am getting more excited now that we are actually on our way and almost there.  I can't wait to see New Zealand.

Day 1-Travel Day

Today we finally left for New Zealand!!  When we were waiting for the bus to come, I wasn't very excited.  It didn't really set in that we were actually leaving.  The bus ride to the airport was short, but it was so hot.  I can not wait for New Zealand weather.  It is their winter so it is about 50 and 60 degree weather.  When we finally got to the airport I thought that we were going to have a lot of time to sit in the terminal, but we ended up waiting in line to get our tickets for a long time.  All the extra time that we had came in handy.  Then we finally got onto the plane and began our long flights. 

Food & Cuisine

Cooking and preparation techniques

In New Zealand they have many different cooking techniques.  To get the smoky flavor in their traditional Maori hangi they cook it in the ground.  They dig a deep hole, line the hole with red-hot stones and cover it with vegetation.  The food is then placed in the hole and then sprinkled with water and sealed with more vegetation.  The hole is then filled with earth and left to cook for several hours. 

Other preparation techniques preformed by the Maori people include roasting, and, in geothermal areas, boiling or steaming using natural hot springs and pools.  In non-geothermal areas food would be boiled by putting hot stones into a bowl of water and the food.  Some food was also cooked over the open fire.  They also preserved there food using smoke, air drying, or layers of fat.  Maori people were one of the few people who had no alcoholic beverages. 

In the United States the Native Americans utilized a number of cooking methods.  Grilling and spit roasting over the fire were common methods.  Many times they cooked their vegetables directly in the ashes of the fire. Due to the lack of pottery, the Native Americans  developed a technique called "Stone Boilers".  The American Indians would heat rocks directly in a fire and then add the bricks to a pot filled with water until it came to a boil so that it would cook the meat or vegetables in the boiling water.  This is very similar to the technique used by the Maori people. 

Another method of cooking was to use a empty bison stomach and fill it with desired ingredients and suspend it over the fire.  They also created ovens made of adobe called hornos.  These ovens were used to make breads from cornmeal.  The Native Americans also dug holes in the ground to cook similar to the way the Maori people would. 

I am very excited to try some of the food in Australia and New Zealand.  I am usually a very picky eater and I would like to try some unusual foods while we are there. I am interested to see how the food in New Zealand and Australia differs from the food in the US.  I want to see if the taste of the food is different or similar.  I am curious to see if I will like any of the food that they have there.  I am a little nervous that we will get some food that is really strange or is not something that we typically eat in the US.  But I am going to try to be open to new things on this trip! :)