Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures in the world and is made from the smallest organisms in the entire world. It holds over 350 coral species and is the home for marine life. This marine life includes over 2000 fish species, 4000 mollusk species, 7 marine turtle species, and 215 bird species. I was lucky enough to experience the reef from the sky and the water and it is amazing from both views. My mom and I took a helicopter ride from our resort, Qualia, over the Great Barrier Reef and landed on a platoon which we scuba dived off of. Under the water was a sea of colors. The entire reef looked as if it was covered in the brightest of acrylic paints. We did our dive during the day, but at night time the reef glows. This is by far one of the most amazing things I have experienced and hope I can return again soon!

Uluru Camel Tours

Earlier this year I wrote about my time at Uluru and the culture of the aborigine I grew to understand. I wrote posts about the dreamtime, song lines, dances, and weaponry. What I did not write about was CAMELS! As soon as Kerry batted her long eye lashes at me and ate bread from my palm I fell in love with camels. Kerry was the baby camel at Uluru Camel Tours when I was there in December. She is beautiful and I though we had become very close when I fed her bread, but as soon as she swallowed she was done batting her eyes at me. Oh well! My love for camels did not die. As the sun still hid behind Uluru my mom and I climbed upon our camel for the morning and rode off with five other camels into the sunrise. As we made it deep into the dessert the sun began to rise and wow, was it a spectacular sunrise. To my left was Kata T’juta and to my right was Uluru. The sky was a gradient of yellow to blue, scattered with puffy clouds. It was breathtaking. The experience I had with Kerry and the sunrise were amazing, but what tied it all together was the comedian who led our tour. Once a horse rancher, he now lives in the middle of the desert rounding up wild camels with the rest of the Uluru Camel Tours staff. For more information on Uluru Camel tours click here for their website. To visit their facebook page with beautiful and amusing photography click here.

Happy Hump Day!

Hamilton Island Golf Club

Another must see around Hamilton Island is the Hamilton Island Golf Club. The golf club is actually an island of its own. On the island is an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse. They have a private boat that takes visitors to and from the island. My mom and I love to play golf but did not have time to play this course, unfortunately. However, the public is welcome to make a reservation and dine at the golf club and have a golf cart tour of the course. For more information on the Hamilton Island Golf Club please click here.

Qualia and Hamilton Island

When you talk to people about their time at the Great Barrier Reef you hear more often stories told about Hayman Island. My mom and I stayed on Hamilton Island though, and got to experience the worlds #1 resort (according to Condé Nast Traveler magazine), Qualia. The Qualia site explains the word by saying, “in Latin means "a collection of deeper sensory experiences". A byword for Hamilton Island luxury, qualia is situated on the secluded northern-most tip of Hamilton Island surrounded by all the splendour of the Great Barrier Reef. With a relaxed aspect and mesmerising calmness, time seems to stretch forever.” For more information and photos please click here.

Outside of spa treatments, Great Barrier Reef dives, beach days, and dining Hamilton Island offers a wide range of activities. My favorite thing about Hamilton Island is the outstanding views. I found two places that showed me the vast beauty of the island. The first is very easy to get to: the center of the island.  The entire island drives around on American golf carts and when you drive to the center of the island you will find yourself elevated with a 360 degree panorama view of the ocean and surrounding islands. The second place is Passage Peak, a 1700-meter hike to the top of the islands peak. This is a moderate hike that includes a lot of stairs but the burn is your legs will be worth the view.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures in the world and is made from the smallest organisms in the entire world. It holds over 350 coral species and is the home for marine life. This marine life includes over 2000 fish species, 4000 mollusk species, 7 marine turtle species, and 215 bird species. I was lucky enough to experience the reef from the sky and the water. It is amazing from both views. My mom and I took a helicopter ride from our resort, Qualia, over the Great Barrier Reef and landed on a platoon which we snorkeled off of. Under the water was a sea of colors. The entire reef looked as if it was covered in the brightest of acrylic paints. We did our dive during the day, but at night time the reef glows. This is by far one of the most amazing things I have experienced and hope I can return again soon!

Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo is another Sydney attraction I recommend if you’re into zoos and want to see some Aussie wildlife, although I do have to recommend Healseville Sanctuary in Melbourne over it (http://myadtravels.blogspot.com/2012/12/experiencing-healesville-and-phillip.html). The truly special park about Taronga Zoo is the view you have overlooking the city and the harbor. I recommend taking a ferry to get to the zoo because it is very scenic. When visiting the zoo I became a seal trainer. We went to the seal show and I was pulled from the audience to command a seal to do a big jump. It was very fun getting splashed and soaked in the heat.

Bridge Climb Sydney

The Bridge Climb! This was one of my opportunities to not only make my mom incredibly scared, but also to show her something new that she hadn’t experienced on previous trips to Sydney. Growing up I probably watched Our Lips Are Sealed a hundred times. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen films this one involves the girls being put in the witness protection program and moving to Sydney. In the movie the girls do the Bridge Climb and visit Luna Park. I knew that these were two sites I could not miss when I was in Sydney since I was very young.

When we arrived at the Bridge Climb office you have to sign your life away and do a few simulators for climbing the bridge. It is all really easy, fun and enjoyable. I can honestly say that since we stepped off of the Sydney Harbor Bridge my mom has told all of her friends and all the tourists we met in Australia that it is a must-do! It is an incredible way to see all of the beauty Sydney has to offer.

When we finished our Bridge Climb and my mom bought all of her souvenirs as proof that she actually did the climb we headed to the ferries station to check out Luna Park. I called this whole day, “My day as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen,” a childhood dream come true. At Luna Park we walked around and enjoyed the views of the harbor and bright colors the amusement park had to offer.

Sydney Sea Life Aquarium

Our next stop was to the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium where I looked at all the fish with my nose pressed to the glass, amazed by some of the crazy sea life and amazing colors. Let me tell you a little bit about some of the sea life we saw.

The first time we saw the Little Penguins was in the aquarium, but Ill tell you more about the penguin parade in Melbourne at this link (http://myadtravels.blogspot.com/2012/12/experiencing-healesville-and-phillip.html). Little Penguins can grow up to 43cm in height and eat small schooling fish, squid and krill. They live in rocky shorelines that are suitable for breeding.

My photos absolutely do not do them justice but the Moon Jellyfish probably tie the Dugongs for the coolest sea life in the aquarium. Moon Jellyfish can be as long as 50cm in diameter and eat a variety of plankton. They live in inshore waters and are interestingly too weak to sting humans. Some people even eat them.

Dugongs can grow to be up to 3.5 meters in length and eat seagrass. They live in seagrass beds in estuaries, bays and shallow waters. It is important that we pay attention to water pollution as these animals are in a vulnerable extinction status.

Lastly, Ill tell you about the Grey Nurse Shark that can grow to be Justas long as the Dugongs. They eat bony fish, young sharks, crustaceans and squid. They live in sandy coastal waters, estuaries, shallow bays and tropical reefs no deeper than 19 meters. These animals are also in a vulnerable status.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is a great area to walk around in to get out of the city for the day. I highly recommend doing the Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk starting at Bronte Beach and making your way along the coast to Bondi Beach. The walk is very beautiful and you will get to play with lots of cute doggies along the way and see all of the cities active residents out on their morning jog. If there is one place you have to eat in this area its Trio café and restaurant. I am still carving the amazing breakfast I had there last month. 

Sydney Opera House

When I visited Australia last month with my mom our first stop was in Sydney (not the capital of Australia). Although it was not my mom’s first trip she took me to all the main touristy attractions that I couldn’t miss. Straight off the plane and we were off to the Opera House.

When visiting the Sydney Opera House it is hard not to be amazed by the architecture of one of Sydney’s main tourist spots. The stunning backdrop of the Sydney harbor graciously welcomed the Opera House, an iconic Sydney site. It took 16 years to build the Sydney Opera House, from 1957-1973, but was originally predicted to take 6 years. I was also amazed by the fact that the Opera house was originally said to cost $7 million and ended up costing $102 million. Jorn Utzon is the man we can all thank for this amazing architectural donation to society, although its conception was rather controversial. This particular design was repeatedly removed from the selected piles of reasonable designs but in the end, Jorn Utzon finally won. When I visited the Opera House the roofing enamored me. It can be described as interlocking vaulted shells covered in 1,056,000 glazed white granite tiles all imported from Sweden. I was also amazed by the fact that the Opera house was originally said to cost $7 million and ended up costing $102 million.

Aboriginal Dreamtime and Song lines

Aboriginal Artwork (Taken in Melbourne)

To Aboriginal people dreaming is not only the creation of life, but deals with everything and all things about life. It tells the stories about how the earth and its elements came to be, stories of the universe, and how the people should interact with everything. In this culture everyone exists in the dreaming. These beliefs are often viewed as a mythology in the western setting but for the aboriginal people, it is a reality. The aboriginal guide I met in Sydney, Evan, explained to me that the dreaming begins for every person in the fetus. Each person has a spirit from before birth and will exist after the death of that person as well. The past is a very important aspect of aboriginal culture. The dreaming relates to past creation and spirits of those who have passed. Beyond the creation stages of life, Dreamtime is used to outline the structure of daily life. For example, rules in society, ceremonies, song lines, and daily life are all part of the Dreaming.

Song lines are often told to tell stories of the Dreaming. These dreaming stories and songs differ throughout different indigenous clans across Australia but all cover similar themes. Often times these stories are related to the land, animals, people, vegetation, and sacred sites. These song lines are very educational in providing information about all parts of the aboriginal lifestyle. Also, many of the song lines have dances to accompany them for ceremonies and rituals. Stories, dances and song lines have all been passed down through generations, but some things are lost or changed. This also creates a difference in the individual stories told in different areas.

Men's Sacred Site in Uluru

The dreamtime involves rituals, some specific to men only and others women. This is called “Men’s Business” and “Women’s Business.” Many of the sacred sites I saw at Uluru were specific to one gender. Interestingly, Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) is specific to Men’s Business only. This is amazing because this natural land structure is over twice as tall as the Eiffel tower and longer than Ayer’s Rock.

Uluru (Ayer's Rock)

The Aboriginal people at Uluru, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, do not call the creation and the stories the Dreamtime. This is because they do not believe the creation should be called a dream, as life is a reality. They believe that the word “dreaming” refers to a non-reality or changeable society, which these natives do not believe. “Dreaming” is not an aboriginal word in their language and is only used by European Australians. According to these natives, the world was originally empty before spirits arrived in the form of humans to create the land, plants and animals.

At Uluru

The story of how Uluru was formed goes like this. Two curious, uninitiated boys were traveling together when they heard a ceremony of the Mala Wallaby people near Kata Tjuta. The Mala people ended up being attacked by an evil spirit created by westerners, the Kurpany. It killed many Mala people and the rest fled running from the evil creature. In the meantime, the two boys began playing at their waterhole, creating mud by mixing the dirt and water. They continued to pile up the mud until it became Uluru.  Then, they started sliding and playing on the giant pile of mud. This is what created all of the gullies after the mud hardened.

Aboriginal song lines and stories are a great way of passing down traditions and culture. The Dreaming is considered the creation of life and its elements by most aboriginal clans and is widely accepted as a cultural belief in Australia.

Experiencing Healesville and Phillip Island

If you are an animal lover then experiencing Healesville Sanctuary and Phillip Island are a must while visiting Melbourne. I really enjoyed Healesville Sanctuary because it gave me the opportunity to see all of the famous Australian animals, with the opportunity to get close up, without walking around looking at encaged animals all day. I also enjoyed watching all of the little penguins waddle around Phillip Island on their way to their burrows.

Phillip Island is a while away from the city and has a refreshing view. Phillip Island Nature Park is a non-profit eco-tourism attraction that brings in people from all over on a daily basis. The island is really all about conserving the wildlife. At one point a Bed and Breakfast and golf course took up a large part of the island but were removed to preserve the island and help provide a stable environment for the penguins. I was also surprised when I was walking across a path, after the penguins had come ashore, and I was stopped because the penguin needed to cross the path to get home to its burrow. The penguins come ashore in groups of thirty or so penguins. They always come up on the same part of the beach and take the exact same path home every night. Therefore, visitors cannot use cameras because the risk of a flash going off would disrupt the penguin’s eyesight making them very lost.

After the sun went down I really enjoyed watching the penguin parade. The penguin parade has been a tourist attraction for over eighty years. In the last twenty years more bridges and viewing areas have been added to the island to better protect the penguin habitat. As the penguins come ashore, the head ranger sits in his skybox and counts each penguin. When I was at Phillip Island the number was around eleven hundred.

Seeing all of the famous Australian animals at the Healesville Sanctuary has been one of the big highlights of my entire trip so far. The Sanctuary has a beautiful layout and really is a sanctuary, not a zoo. The first animal I went to look at, of course, was the kangaroo. The Red Kangaroo is the largest kangaroo species, which can hop an average of four meters. I really enjoyed watching the kangaroos. I saw a mother feeding her baby and a kangaroo going crazy over an itch on its leg. As much as I liked the kangaroos, I actually preferred the wallabies. A wallaby is really just a smaller kangaroo, but I found them very entertaining.

My favorite part about the sanctuary was that I got up close and personal with a koala named Benny. Koalas are “drunk” and sleepy for twenty hours of the day from eating eucalyptus leaves.   There are over 750 different species of eucalyptus in Australia but koalas only eat sixty of the types. Koalas eat about a kilogram of leaves a day. Interestingly, Koalas predominantly rely on their sense of smell to guide themselves as they have poor eyesight. At the sanctuary I also enjoyed the bird exhibit as well as seeing a baby wombat, which was much cuter than I had imagined a wombat to be.

Here is a bit of history about Healesville Sanctuary I learned during my visit. The sanctuary was built in the 1930s, during the depression. During this time the steam train was used to get to the sanctuary. The sanctuary has always been a place for people to come and appreciate the natural heritage of Australia. As World War II emerged the sanctuary struggled to survive, but being the first to breed a platypus in captivity kept the sanctuary afloat. In 1956 the Olympic Games were held in Melbourne and a new platypussary was opened. The platypus was by far the weirdest animal in all of the sanctuary. You could say that it is almost a duck and a beaver mix. The platypus can eat enough food to equal his or her own body weight in a day. They also have enough venom to kill a cat or dog. Before Europeans settled in Australia, the land the sanctuary sits on today belonged to the Wurundjeri tribe. Many of the types of trees used to make aboriginal shields and canoes from still stand in the sanctuary today. In the 1980s breeding programs for endangered animals emerged in the sanctuary.

Wakagetti Cultural Dancers and Bush Yarns: Aboriginal Storytelling and Song

At the start of the Wakagetti Cultural Dancing the lead dancer welcomed the audience by paying his respects to those who have passed, mother earth, the land, and the stars. This continued onto a welcome dance. Traditional aboriginal dancing is a large part of the culture of indigenous tradition. Dancing is often used in rituals and ceremonies. These dances represent many key parts of aboriginal beliefs and lifestyles. I particularly enjoyed the aboriginal style of dance. All of the dances were simple and repetitive. The movements in many of the dances were representative of the behaviors of various animals. They all told stories and showed a connection to nature. Lots of jumping and shaking movements are incorporated into the dancing to help energize the body and wake the spirit. I found it interesting that boomerangs were used as musical instruments by slapping two boomerangs together. Chanting and making animal noises to go along with the dances were also incorporated into the musical aspect of the dancing.

The next dance I watched was dedicated to the mother, father, and ancestors. In this dance the two aboriginal dancers showed displays of a lizard, kangaroo, emu, and echidna. The following dance was a dance only performed by men. The dancers got all of the men in the audience to come and dance with them. This dance was a display of the four families of the kangaroo: the baby, mum, dad, and granddad. This showed how the kangaroo senses its natural predator, the dingo.

Another dance performed was called Red Breast Robin Bird. The story goes that the rainbow serpent travels through the land creating rivers along the way. While doing this the rainbow serpent ruins the homes of the red breast robin bird. The birds are obviously very upset by this horrible act by the rainbow serpent so they chase him down and kill him. After they kill the rainbow serpent, the birds cut him up into pieces and share these pieces amongst the rest of the red breast robin birds. This dance is a celebration for killing the rainbow serpent.

Aboriginal dance is passed down from generation to generation. The main performer started off one performance by thanking his grandmother for it. While talking to him after the show we discussed the meaning of the body paint he was wearing. He told me that he used the body paint to think of his grandfather who works with dolphins. His paint represented the dolphin. His belly was lighter than his back, he had five dots on his stomach like dolphins, and he created eyes on his face. He explained to me that he changes his body art day by day based on his feelings. Some days he paints his body in a way that makes him more in touch with the dances and makes him dance with more energy. Everyday he paints three lines on his body; one line for his mother, one for his father, and the last for his ancestors. I particularly enjoyed talking to him because he had a deep-rooted connection to his family and culture but also showed an interest with the modern world. We ended up talking about American basketball for a long time. He made a comment that Derek Rose needs to up his physio to help the Bulls out this season (which I liked, being a Chicago Bulls fan all my life). He had a great spirit and felt he had the best job in the world.

My favorite dance was called Little Lost Boy, a play dance. The dancers called a young boy up from the audience to help, making it really come to life. The story goes that when little boys grow up under the care of the mother they do not learn how to survive on their own. When they are old enough, they decide to wander into the sunset. Eventually the boys become very lost and give up on finding their way home. They sit down in the dirt and decide to wait until they are found. The mother gets worried when she cannot find her boys and when she finds them at last she dances this dance in celebration.

When the story telling dances finished the dancers did a farewell song and dance. They pay their respects to lost ones in this dance as well. The dancers did not say goodbye because this word is not used in aboriginal culture. This is because they do not say goodbye when people die, because their spirit lives on and they will see that person again.

At the Bush Yarns I learned about aboriginal tools used for hunting and in daily life. I first learned about the boomerang and how the style of boomerangs very from region to region. The clan living near Uluru does not use the traditional returning boomerang shaped like a V. The boomerang used here is made from a Mulga tree and just has a slight bend. The Mulga tree is very strong and well adapted to fire. The boomerang is used to skillfully slice through prey. Different tribes have boomerangs with different patterns carved on them.

Next, I learned about the spear and spear thrower. The spear is very long, taller than myself, skinny, and bendy. Spears made of soft wood hardly looked convincing enough to kill a kangaroo but when the guide threw it into the grass and I went to pull it out I couldn’t believe how deep it had gone. The spear thrower is used to catch big prey like kangaroos and emus but not for animals like turkey because not that much power is needed. Every spear has a peg at the end of it so that when a hunter spears its prey the peg will keep the spear in the animal, moving it deeper and deeper into its body when the animal moves.

Lastly, I was showed the club and shield. These weapons can be used in one-on-one combat but not in big battles amongst many men. The narrow length of the shield surprised me, as it hardly looks protective. This is because it is more commonly used as a sign of peace. When clans travel they hold up their shields to tell other clans that they come in peace. The front of each shield has a design for the clan describing skin type, language, and where you’re from.

Aboriginal culture is still full of many of the same traditions but has modernized a lot over time. Today, aboriginal people live in houses and have jobs to make money to survive. Traditions are passed on through generations but spears and dances are no longer used today for the same purposes. Although the aboriginal dances I saw were authentic they are not used for ritual purposes. Similarly, spears and boomerangs are no longer made for hunting. They are made for commercial purposes instead. When making spears and boomerangs today the youngest are still taught by their brothers how to properly throw one, passing on the culture and tradition.

Aboriginal culture is much more authentic in central Australia than it is on the coast because English settlers moved inland one hundred years after arriving on the coasts of Australia. After a hundred years in Australia, English settlers and aboriginal people started to respect one another more. Therefore, by the time the settlers moved to central Australia they had much better, less destructive relations with the native people. The clans around Ayers Rock are a great example of aboriginal culture and I am enjoying being immersed in it.

Understanding Aboriginal Art: The Australian Museum, Sydney

The Indigenous Australia Exhibit at The Australian Museum of New South Wales is full of insight about the history and culture of aborigines. When entering the exhibit there is a letter to all indigenous Australians. It says that they may see images of people who are now deceased and that no secret or sacred material is on display. It also identifies that the museum is on the land of the Gadigal people. I enjoyed seeing the aboriginal art and the exhibit showed how aboriginal people continue to share their culture.

There are many forms of aboriginal art. Traditionally, aboriginal art was made for cultural purposes. Some of the art was limited to only be viewed by initiated members. This is because initiated people had a better understanding and knowledge of their culture. Tools and daily objects such as the boomerangs, baskets, shields and spears are also viewed as art today. All of these art forms are full of similar marks and dreaming symbols. I was excited when I learned that the boomerang was first used in combat and in hunting before becoming a beach game.

On aboriginal artwork we see many symbols that are representative to various aboriginal groups. For example, some groups use a series of dots to show a journey; the more dots, the longer the journey. The swirl means water. A circle can mean many things from fire, home, or love. Many pieces of aboriginal art feature the landscape the clan resides in. They show the way people understand the land and the conceptual relationship shared with the people and the land. When looking at these map paintings, natural objects are not shown by their physical relationship to one another but instead, by their mythical relationship. The connection to the land is a key component of aboriginal life. This connection with the land and dreaming is shown through art.

Many materials are used to create aboriginal art. While walking through the exhibit, I saw works of painting on bark, wooden sculptures and tools, rock engravings and woven baskets. Ceremonial and celebratory ornaments were also on display. They were decorated with totems and motifs that showed spiritual life.

Another form of aboriginal art that is commonly overlooked is dance. Dancing is a large part of the spiritual aboriginal culture. Sticks, dishes, and dance boards were used by women, while men played many instruments. Dancing was a part of dreaming stories as well as ceremonies. I am looking forward to seeing this dancing at Ayers Rock next week!

While walking through this exhibit I found it interesting how the roles of men and women in society were clearly shown by what daily objects they made and used. In aboriginal society, men are the hunters and women the gatherers. For example, in the exhibit I saw shields and spears that men handmade for dances, ceremonies, and sometimes for combat. The rainforest peoples of north Queensland make the most artistically appealing shields. Women made bags and baskets that both genders used to gather food. This clearly demonstrates the roles in society that have been common stereotypes we still believe of men and women today. Women wove baskets to carry babies and do the less demanding work.

Barney Daniels Tgungurray 1988, Alice Springs, Northern Territory

My favorite artworks of this exhibit were the Rainbow Serpent paintings. Some were even bark paintings. In the image above we see a great example of how aboriginal art shows spiritual representations of natural objects and tells the stories and connections people had with the land. I learned that this painting shows dreamtime hunters searching for the eggs of the rainbow serpent. They found the eggs in caves. I am particularly drawn to the bright colors of this painting and enjoyed seeing some of the markings Evan told me about on the walkabout tour.

While exploring the rest of The Australian Museum I walked through many other exhibits; most two to three times the size of the Indigenous Australia Exhibit. The other exhibits had more security and people wandering through them. I also found the dinosaur and skeleton exhibit interesting, but I was a bit disappointed by how the aboriginal art was being viewed by the public. I later learned that many aboriginal art works have been reproduced without artist consent or regard for the cultural significance of the designs of the artists. I believe that this is a small-scale example of how the 200,000 aborigines in Australia are viewed by the modern world in Australia today.