G’day mates!
The last two weeks have been filled with many adventures for us as it is there spring break here in Australia! Here are some highlights and insights!
1. Through our partner University we had the opportunity to go visit the Queensland Museum where we learned about Australia’s impact on aviation, their military history, their native animals, along with some Indigenous culture.
2. We did a week long road trip through the South Island of New Zealand, starting in Queenstown and stopping in Wanaka, Lake Tekapo, and Christchurch.
3. We put our problem solving skills to the test as we faced 2 cancelled flights along with a cancelled tour of the Milford Sound.
4. From New Zealand we flew to Cairns, where we snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef and got to see a lot of cool fish and marine life!
5. We drove from Cairns to Townsville where we spent the day on Magnetic Island and came across some Wallabies while on a walk waiting for the ferry.
6. Drove from Townsville to Airlie Beach where we got to spend another day on a boat, snorkelling other reefs, spent some time at White Haven Beach and got to see more cool and colourful marine life.
Overall it has been very cool to notice the similarities and differences between Canada and Australia! One thing in particular that we have noticed is a huge similarity in how prominent their Indigenous culture is here. They have land acknowledgements everywhere (even right now as I’m typing this in our hostel there is a land acknowledgement framed on the wall), and simply how much Indigenous perspectives are being incorporated into the schools. We’re looking forward to seeing more of this when we start our placements next week since we finally have our Blue Cards (equivalent to a Canadian Police Check) approved!
Cheers!
Mollie, Megan, Katarina, Tayah, Madalyn
(We’re having technical difficulties trying to import the images but we will add them when we can!)