Australia: Sport, History and Culture 2017 Blog

             We have concluded our journey in Australia, and what a journey it was. Over the past couple of weeks, our group has grown from strangers to close friends as we have shared an incredible learning experience. We saw some amazing games, sights, people, and adventures all over Australia that we will hold onto for the rest of our lives. While our Australian journey may have come to an end, the Aussie Gang will be back together in September at Syracuse to pick up where we left off and build on our experiences Down Under.

June 10th we arrived in Cairns and it was a great first day! We went on a tour around a rain forest which was very cool. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the different types of animals that live in the rain forest as well as all of the plants. The tour also included a portion in a small creak where we saw a few lizards along the side and in the trees. After the tour we walked over to learn about the indigenous community of the area. Our new guide for this part was a part of an indigenous tribe in the area and he demonstrated blowing into a musical tube for us as well as tossing spears. After that, he allowed us all a turn to throw boomerangs which was very cool and surprisingly we were not terrible. After tossing the boomerangs we saw a show that a few of the members of the community put on with traditional dances. Patrick and Rachel also got involved by participating with them and learning the dance. It was a very cool day and really interesting to learn more about the i

June 9th was our free day in Sydney and it was spent mostly relaxing and regaining energy. I slept in until around noon and woke up to watch the NBA Finals in the hotel room with my roommates. After the game I went to Darling Harbor to have lunch with a friend of mine from home who is working in Sydney for the summer. I really enjoyed Darling Harbor and was glad that I went because it is a really neat and scenic area. I went back to the Great Southern Hotel after my late lunch and spent the rest of the day hanging out and continuing a pretty mellow day. This day was really crucial for me because I had been running very low on energy and really need to catch up on sleep for Cairns.

On June 12th, I woke up at around 8:40am and walked down the street to get a coffee with my roommates in cairns; Andrew, Nick, Ryan, and Peter-Owen. After that, we hopped on a bus and went to a zoo around 30-45 minutes away. Upon arriving, Dougo gave us our crocodile boat tour passes. After that, we all ate at the zoo, and proceeded to go get pictures with a koala, which now sits on my mantel at my house. After that, we walked over to the crocodile boat tour where we were driven around in a boat in Hartley’s Lagoon for 45 minutes and we learned all about crocodiles, fed them food and watched them snap for it. I learned on that tour that the crocodile has the hardest bite in the animal kingdom, by a longshot. After that, everybody was given free time to explore the zoo. I went to go see the kangaroos and wallaby’s first, but saw everything from cassowaries to komodo dragons. Towards the end of my free time, I went and watched the snake show where some monotone man talked all about snake

                Tod ay we had our last full day in Cairns and sadly, our last day in Australia. I started the day by waking up and getting my final ham, cheese, and tomato toastie to start the day. Then, a bunch of us took a bus to Palm Cove and enjoyed our final day on a beautiful beach, getting some food and drinks with a view. The time managed to fly right past us throughout the day as we tried to ignore the inevitable departure back home that was creeping up.  We headed back for a final group dinner at Fasta Pasta, and enjoyed our last meal all together for the last time.  At night, a lot of us decided on going to the Night Markets for last minute souvenirs. Then, a majority of us decided to spend our tie staying awake for our meet up at 3:45 AM and walked down to the ocean and all hung out to spend the last of our time together, reflecting on our trip and how quickly the time evaded us. Terribly hard to swallow what has been an amazing experience is concluding, we can take with us

    On Saturday our group started early and headed out a few blocks to one of Victoria universities campuses. Here, we were given a lecture by our guest professor Michelle on the history of the city of Melbourne and learned its deep and how the city transitioned from one of the richest in the British empire to the sports capital of the world. After this lecture, our professor for the day led us on a walk to one of the many back alleys in Melbourne filled with small shops and cafes. After a small coffee break we headed back to the classroom for a lecture on Australian rules football, learning the sports rules, teams, and legends. The group then had a small lunch break before heading to the park to play some Aussie rules football. At the park we met with a real Aussie rules coach who taught us the basics of kicking, passing, and dribbling the ball and how to successfully complete a mark. Then the coach organized a scrimmage between the group and we got to show off our new skills. This wa

Today was our travel day from Melbourne to Sydney but the day wasn’t wasted by flying as our program coordinator “Dougo” scheduled us to wake up before the crack of dawn to get on a plane and make sure we had a full day to explore Sydney.  Despite everyone being tired, the whole group was buzzing with excitement at the opportunity to see a new city, especially one with so many amazing landmarks.  Once we arrived at the airport we got right on a bus and began a guided driving tour of the city. We got our first glimpse of Darling and Sydney Harbors as well as an opportunity to get out and take pictures in front of the world famous Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. From there we walked around the Sydney Harbor area and got a peek at the botanical gardens.  Next, we were off to mouth of the Harbor to an area called Watsons Bay for some amazing views and photo opportunities. We hiked along the cliffs and were able to see some whales breaching out in the ocean below us.  Our fin

Jared Godfrey Today we visited both James cook university as well as the Cairns Taipan professional basketball facilities for two different sets of the lectures, and even had some fun along the way.  The first lectures at JCU concerned the culture, health and wellbeing of the indigenous peoples here in northern Australia and surrounding pacific islands.  While personally for me this was not the most interesting lecture, it was definitely one of the most informative and eye opening presentations of the entire trip. Not only was I shocked to know that there are native communities in Australia that are nearly impossible to reach due to intense and dangerous travel conditions and vast distances. It was also news to me that the United States in fact does not fall into the top seven of the world's most obese countries. Afterwards, we even got to look at some of the native marine species to prepare us for the trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  The second set of lectures took place

Today we had a very long and busy day. We all met in the lobby around 9:20am and headed to the Melbourne Museum. As a group we went to the First Peoples Exhibition where we learned about the history and background of Aboriginal Victoria. It was interesting to open my mind up to new cultures as I walked around this exhibition. Personally, my favorite part was listening to the different dialects of the aboriginal communities. After viewing that exhibition I wondered around with a few people from our group to see the rest of the museum. We saw the Top Designs of 2017, the animals in the Wild exhibition, skeletons of dinosaurs, Bugs Alive, and the Human Body exhibition. I was very impressed with the museum and it definitely exceeded my expectations. After some Nandos we headed over to the National Tennis Center where we got a tour and played against each other. Our tennis player Gabi showed off her skills on the court. Next, we departed for the Kin Group where we liste

Day at the Daintree Today was one of our rather long days.  We woke up early for a long drive to Daintree National Park.  After a solid two-hour drive filled with naps and tunes, there was a quick stop at a beautiful overlook of the beach from the jungle.  Next stop was at a tropical ice cream stand where the flavors of the day that each of the gang tried included wattleseed, passion fruit, jackfruit, and sour drop.  The tasty treat came with discrepancies of which flavor was best, willow seed is my choice).  On our way to our next location, we saw a momma cassowary and her three babies crossing the river (this bird is a rare site to see as Professor Burton had never seen one in the while). As lunch approached the gang was dropped off at the beach to make some sandwiches and chill out.  Emma, Syd, Rachel, and I went on a stunning run along the coast even spotting two 'Cuse alumni on a post-graduation trip.  The coast was absolutely breathtaking and probably one of the best

        Still in Sydney today, everyone grabbed a quick breakfast at the Great Southern, then headed off together to the train station. We hopped on and made the hour trek to Cronulla to the Sharks Rugby League Football Club. There, we first grabbed some coffees (and some incredible Chai Tea Lattes) and went around a guided tour of the facilities. The pouring rain didn't stop us from exploring the grounds, and along the way we got to see the field where the Sharks play, the workout room, and other exclusive areas usually only accessible to players and members.  There was a presentation in which we learned about the rules of Rugby League and various aspects of how the Sharks operate and engage with the community and promote the league. Later in the afternoon, we were lucky enough to sit in on a press conference with the head coach of the Sharks. The game tomorrow night is of particular significance because it is a rematch of between the two teams that competed in the championshi

Our second day in Cairns was also the first day we were able to sleep in, and we all enjoyed it to the fullest. When we did finally wake up at 9:30 am, all of us were ecstatic to go see authentic Australian animals; especially the crocodiles. We traveled along the beautiful Australian coastline to the Wildlife Reserve of Tropical North Queensland - Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. We began our zoo experience with a boat ride around the crocodile reserve. 20 crocodiles live in this enclosure and we were able to see every single one of this giants. One of these beasts had half of his jaw bit off by a crocodile and only has one eye and one tooth from fights when he used to be in the wild. These creatures are the most interesting animals I have ever been scared of. There is something very frightening about a giant monster that lurks in thick murky water waiting intently to attack its prey. We were able to witness a few of the crocodiles in action when our boat tour guide fed them off