A visit from my mom and sister

For the past few days before my final exams, my mom and sister came to visit. On the first day of their visit, I showed them around Brisbane and the University of Queensland campus. The next day, we went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We saw a bunch of native Australian animals like wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, and tazmanian devils. The sanctuary was especially neat because we got to feed and pet the kangaroos, and the koalas were the most active I've ever seen. We also watched a birds of prey show and a sheep herding/shearing show.

A Koala at the Lone Pine Sanctuary

The next day we took a day trip to Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast Hinterlands. We did a few hikes through the rainforest, including one along a canopy skywalk. We also went through a glow worm cave, had a cheese and wine tasting, visited a brewery, and went on a gallery walk in the Tamborine Village.

On their last day here, we went to North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay just outside Brisbane. We did a lot of hiking along the beach and headlands. It is the start of whale season, and we spotted a couple groups of whales breaching and also a few pods of dolphins swimming and jumping through the water.

 Frenchman's Beach on North Stradbroke Island

First Wildlife Sighting

Last night, I spotted my first true Australian wildlife outside of a zoo: the possum.

Sports Weekend

It was a pretty busy weekend of sports activities for me. Saturday there was a volleyball tournament put on by the UQ Beach Volleyball Club, and my team made it to the semi-finals. Later that night, a group of us went to an Australian Football League game. Australian rules football is a pretty entertaining sport- it's sort of like a combination between soccer and a little bit of American football played on an oval shaped field. The Brisbane Lions played the West Coast Eagles, and won 114 - 82. Sunday, my roommate and I went to a National Rugby League game with an international student group from school, QUEST. The Brisbane Broncos played the New Zealand Warriors and lost 16 - 48. It was cool to see Australian sports in person, since Australia is known to be a very sport-centered country.

At the AFL Game

At the NRL Game

CityCat

I went downtown today to get some dim sum in Chinatown. To get there, I took the CityCat ferry down the Brisbane River, which I have traveled on several times. It's super convenient and a student fare is only about $1 each way. Here are a couple pictures of Brisbane from the river:

Mt. Coot-Tha

My roommate and I went for a short hike today up Mt. Coot-Tha on the outskirts of Brisbane. It was a little rainy, but still fun and the views were great.

Waterfall at Mt. Coot-Tha

 

 

View of Brisbane from the summit

Water Warrior

So droughts are a pretty big deal here and water conservation is a large effort. All around my house are a bunch of "water warrior" stickers teaching you how to conserve water. They are pretty funny but for a good cause.

We also don't have a dryer, so doing laundry here is weather dependent, which is pretty tough since it's their rainy season right now. At least I can say I'm being environmentally friendly.

Brisbane

Ahhh… it feels good to finally be settled in. After four nights in a couple hostels in downtown Brisbane, it’s nice to not be living out of suitcases. I guess I could get used to it, but it’s hard to imagine how all the people I’ve met who are traveling around the world can live out of a backpack for months on end.

Brisbane is a really sweet city- it’s not too big but there are still tons of things to do. It was cool to stay downtown for a while and get a glimpse of the nightlife. Last night I moved into a room I’m sharing with another UW student in a house with two Aussie guys and a girl from South Africa. So far everyone is super friendly and easy going. I’m excited for classes to start and to meet new people.

Yesterday was the annual Market Day, which was like a giant student organization fair with sponsors and tons of free stuff. I signed up for an international student social club, some Australian engineering association, and a beach volleyball club. There is so much to do on campus, I don’t see myself having any trouble keeping busy.

 

Downtown Brisbane, near our hostel