Mackenzie Erickson, the Eagles Abroad Sustainability in Australia and New Zealand 2015-16 student blogger, writes:

Australia was a blast! I can’t believe that my trip has come to an end and I am already back in Wisconsin. After leaving New Zealand we crossed the Tasman Sea to Australia. Here we had a short visit in Sydney where I saw the famous Sydney Opera House, did some souvenir shopping and learned to surf!
From Sydney we travelled to North Queensland and a place called Hidden Valley where we stayed at a small, family-owned accommodation. My time at Hidden Valley Cabins was very relaxing as well as interesting. Ross gave us a great presentation on how he keeps his business sustainable by using solar power and water conservation. We got to go swimming at a small swimming hole, see various wildlife, and enjoy a home cooked meal while staying at the cabins, which was a wonderful break.

We also had the opportunity to take part in another service-learning project and work with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. We were assigned the task of clipping and removing old barbed wire from the protected land in order to lessen the risk for small creatures such as gliders, who frequently get caught in it.

Following Hidden Valley, we traveled to Townsville and over to Magnetic Island where we learned about the Great Barrier Reef and then went snorkeling in it! That was a truly amazing experience.

Our final days were spent learning about sustainable businesses on ‘Maggie’. As we were preparing for our final, I realized I have learned a great deal about ecotourism and how each and every business can implement a sustainable business model no matter how big or small. I hope you have all enjoyed reading my posts during my travels and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and Australia to definitely do it. I promise you will not regret it.