Amanda Ferguson, 2014 North Queensland student blogger, writes:

The water! The rocks! The sky! If I were to write a poem about my stay here in Australia so far that is what it would be. No kidding though, everything is wonderful here.

Arrival at Bungalow Bay on Magnetic Island was immediately followed by a trip to the beach. Sand between my toes with a blue-sky breeze and a postcard view in front of me, that’s when it hit me—I’m in Australia! That was only the first of many beautiful encounters I’ve had with nature here.

Running River Gorge

We recently took a trip to a place called Hidden Valley Cabins, an eco resort in the bush. Tony, our guide, along with his family have worked to make the place as sustainable as possible, even converting their primary energy source to solar panels.

We’ve already gone on a number of hikes through a variety of terrains, but my favorite would have to be the one Tony guided us on into Running River Gorge. After a steep hike, we reached the river nestled in between the most beautiful rock formations. It was unreal. And it was so awe-inspiring to be floating right in the middle of it all and feel so small compared to the majesty of nature around me. A close second was catching the sunset from the top of the Forts hike back on Magnetic Island where I also got to see a juvenile koala in the wild. It’s only been a week, but it has certainly been a magical experience already.