{"id":5236,"date":"2017-06-15T12:34:54","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T00:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/auip.com\/?p=5236"},"modified":"2017-06-15T14:07:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T02:07:00","slug":"student-perspective-wallaman-falls-world-heritage-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/student-perspective-wallaman-falls-world-heritage-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Perspective: Wallaman Falls World Heritage Site"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

McKenna Scott, a\u00a0Baylor University Sustainability in North Queensland\u00a0student blogger, writes:\u00a0The things we choose to experience are the the backbone of who we are. This past week, I had a chance to do something that stretched me physically, but left me awestruck in the end. Let me start out by saying, yes, I am a Recreation major, but no, that does not mean I am by any means athletically inclined. I still tire after long walks and sometimes steep inclines make me feel like I would rather just roll back down the hill I am attempting to conquer. So when we were told about the hike we were going to take, my head instant<\/span>ly filled with dread. What if I can’t do it? What if I’m the last one? What if, what if, what if…what if it was the most beautiful thing and because of these thoughts, I missed out?<\/p>\n

This hike was to Wallaman Falls, and let me tell you, the destination was stunning. At the top, you look out over a vast valley lined with cliffs and green trees stretched as far as the eye could see. In the middle stood a cascading waterfall, not unlike the waterfall in Pixar’s <\/span>Up<\/span><\/i>. I still can’t comprehend how something that big and powerful can exist so peacefully. As part of the Wet Tropics of North Queensland, Wallaman Falls is officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To qualify as a World Heritage Site, the location must meet at least one of the following natural criteria:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history, including the record of life, significant ongoing geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [Credit: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]<\/span><\/p>\n

    The UNESCO World Heritage recognition protects the area from development and keeps Wallaman Falls in its natural state, preserved for those who wish to come and see it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So back to the hike! This was the steepest hike I’ve ever been on and each step down into the canyon had to be well thought out. And on the return, I ran out of breath multiple times and I\u2019m sure my face was as red as a tomato. But, it was beautiful! Once at the bottom of the canyon, it appeared as if we had stepped into a whole new world. Rocks stretched into the sky and a thin mist sprang from the waterfall, covering the rocks and forming a rainbow that was as magical as the Falls. It was truly an incredible experience I will remember forever.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    McKenna Scott, a\u00a0Baylor University Sustainability in North Queensland\u00a0student blogger, writes:\u00a0The things we choose to experience are the the backbone of who we are. This past week, I had a chance to do something that stretched me physically, but left me awestruck in the end. Let me start out by saying, yes, I am a Recreation major, but no, that does…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249,5,23,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2017-student-blogs","category-australia","category-australia-north-queensland","category-student-perspective"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5236"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5239,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5236\/revisions\/5239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}