About 2 weeks ago, I went to a rugby game in town with some friends from my college, mostly study abroad students. Luckily, we did have some natives with us to explain the game, because for a while none of us knew what was happening in the game. It was fun to see the "big" sport here and I was amazed by the players. The guys were so big and buff and wore very little or no protective padding. Even the little kids that played at half-time were being rough and knocking each other over!
I had mentioned my days at the beach before, and they have continued to be just as wonderful! The picture below was taken at Jervis Bay, about an hour south of here. It is part of a National Park and they claim to have the whitest sand in the world! There were some people there kite surfing that day, which you can see in the background. Sometimes, there are dolphins swimming in the bay too. I haven't been out surfing again, but am getting really good at relaxing, reading, and eating at the beach!
I am still very happy with my decision to come to the University of Wollongong, sometimes just because of the scenery on campus. It is very different here than in Madison. Overlooking the Uni is Mount Kiera, which I still have to climb, but looks beautiful in the background of most of my views. None of the brick paths on campus run in straight lines, but curve around the ponds and natural topography. There are a lot of grassy areas to sit and have lunch or talk to friends. I even got someone to pose for my picture! There are lizards running around campus instead of squirrels and ducks waddling around instead of seagulls at the Terrace. It really is a beautiful campus!
This weekend, my study abroad program took us on a trip to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. I had been there before, with dad in August, but it was very different this time. When we arrived on Saturday afternoon, they arranged for us to go abseiling. Abseiling is the same thing as repelling, where you are in a rock climbing harness and start on the edge of a cliff and lower yourself down. It was really fun and was even more intense because of the heavy fog. We couldn't see the next cliff over, but we could see the ground below us as we were going down. For the start, there was a vertical rock face to "walk" down, but then there was nothing, and you just slid down the rope as fast as you wanted. It was so much fun! This morning (Sunday) we got up early to cook breakfast before our big hike. We started at Wentworth Falls, and walked down the recently redone stone staircase to the bottom of the falls. Then, we walked along National Pass, which is a ledge about half-way up the cliff. Then, we took a more difficult path along the base and back up. There were many obstacles, including a lot of mud pits, down trees, streams, and slippery rocks, but it was well worth it! Contrasting with the previous day, we were all very hot and sweating by the time we climbed the narrow "path" back to the top. It was another fantastic weekend, but now I am exhausted!
We started about in the middle of this photo, worked our way down and to the left, then all the way to the right, and back up again to where the picture was taken.
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