July 14 - Rain Forest

We traveled out of Cairns to visit the rain forest and learn a little more about the aborigines.

RainForeStation provided the opportunity for us to get close to kangaroos and wallabys and to hold a koala. We took a bush walk and learned about the type of trees used for weaving and the ones that had poisonous fruit. Some of us even had our faces painted with tribal paint.

We learned how to play a didgeridoo and how to throw a boomerang and spear. We had a chance to throw the boomerang, and some did fairly well.

We got to ride on a military duck that was built by women in Detroit during WWII. It took us around the facility and we saw a good variety of trees.

We were treated to traditional aboriginal dances and a few of our group joined in the fun on the stage.

We also got to see the rain forest from above the canopy. We traveled by sky ride down the mountain, stooping along the way to explore.

Our dinner tonight was prepared by a girl's club, very similar to our Girl Scouts. We had a choice of several types of chili and rice and tortilla chips. For dessert there was Lamingtons. First time I've seen them on this trip! They were SO good!

They played a trivia game, competing by table.  I'm happy to say that my table won!  As Anna put it: I'm now an international trivia queen. :)

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day of activities.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

July 4

Happy Independence Day from all of us! Just wanted to let you know that the hotel internet hasn't allowed me to publish yesterday's blog. It's ready to go,  complete with pictures, which are the hold-up, I think. Anyway,  I'll post it as soon as I can. Reminder: no internet for the next couple of days.  If I can send text through my phone, I will.
Read more

July 5 - Council, Bath, Thermal Valley, Marae

Image
We had a full day of varied activities. We started out by meeting with Council member Trevor Maxwell. He is responsible for cultural exchange and tourism. He shared that all of the tribes in New Zealand stem from seven original tribes. Tourism has become a major component of Rotorua's economy. I was very proud of our students. They asked good questions and had good discussions with the councilman. Then we went to the Blue Bath for a swim. The water was fed by the springs and was nice and warm. We pretty  much had the pool to ourselves. We also had lunch at the Blue Bath dining room. It was a variety tea sandwiches that were very tasty. On our way to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley we stopped at Waiotapu geothermal pool which had bubbling mud.  It was so funny to watch the mud spurting up all over the pool. We hiked through the Waimangu Valley and saw Frying Pan Lake,  Echo Crater and Inferno Crater Lake. It is such beautiful country. We learned a Maori song to sing dur...
Read more

July 8 - Hobbiton

Image
Our last day adventure in New Zealand was spent on the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings set. The farm where the filming was done is absolutely beautiful. It looks so peaceful with the sheep grazing all around it. Basically, the lodgings were empty shells, with nothing in the interiors. But, the details in the exteriors were amazing. Even though I'm not a fan of the movies, it was a pretty neat experience. The site is a 1250 acre sheep and beef farm with 39 Hobbit Holes. At the end of the tour we were treated to a mug of ginger beer. Our last night of lodging is in Hamilton, and it will be a very short night. We have to stay in Hamilton,  about 2 hours from Auckland, because all the hotels are booked up for tonight's game. I know many of the students want to see at least the beginning haki of the All Blacks game. How much of the game they actually see will be determined,  as we are leaving the hotel at 4:00 a.m  to get to the airport. As you can see, I'm up-to-date in pictures ...
Read more