Virginia Reid, the Hokies Abroad service-learning in New Zealand and North Queensland 2015 student blogger, writes:

We have arrived safe and sound in the “land down under”! After leaving bright and early from New Zealand, we reached Townsville and headed directly for an overnight sleepover at Reef HQ. After hearing all about their conservation methods and management strategies, we received a torchlight tour of the turtle hospital and a full “behind the scenes” viewing of their large coral filled aquarium. 

Saying farewell to our fishy friends, we then hopped on a bus to a former grazing property owned by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. While there we removed old barbed wire that has been harming wildlife, such as sugar gliders and bats before traveling on to Hidden Valley Cabins where the owners run their property purely on solar power! During our time at Hidden Valley we were spoiled with delicious home cooked meals and stayed in cute little cabins. We hiked and swam in the beautiful Running River Gorge, watched a platypus in its natural habitat, and listened to two great lectures by Ross McLennan, part-owner of the Hidden Valley Cabins, and Dale Gurtz, member of the GuGu Badhaun, who taught us about the Aboriginal Australian’s culture and history.

We also had the chance to work on our midterm, which consisted of groups creating a concept map of the terms studied in New Zealand.  We will now focus on Australia and learn how the two countries compare in their management of species and approaches to sustainability.

Next, we traveled to Mission Beach as happy students full of fresh tropical ice cream from the Frosty Mango. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon on the beach at the EcoVillage and discussed Australian Aboriginal culture to prepare us for the lecture given by Dr. Ernie Grant, a Jirrbal Elder. Here we learned about the brutal history of British colonization in Australia, and the differences between Western and Aboriginal thinking and how these different ways of thinking affect our worldviews. We then helped the Jirrbal people renovate the landscape of their future business office. 

What is ahead for the Kiwis gone Aussie? We are headed to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation to explore the Daintree Rainforest. Stay tuned!