Brisbane & The Ekka

Yesterday we went to the Ekka in Brisbane! We had to stand up at five in the morning which was pretty early… The Ekka is a big exhibition which was originally about agricultural things but now there are beside cows, horses and sheep also rollercoaster! We went first into to the cow stall where we made a picture sitting on the bull which won a price last year! That was really funny. After that we walked around the different stalls and the house about agricultural things. We spent nearly 1 hour in the food court tasting different bread, beef, apples and other things. At a table with spicy sauces I tasted a sauce which was 10++/10 and yes it was really hot, hotter than fire!

After the food court we watched a dog show where different types of dogs were judged. One dog had so many hair in his face that we couldn’t see his eyes. He looked really funny but he didn’t win the price of his category. Our next stop was the high flyer. It’s a carousel 20m above the ground. In the first moment it was a bit scary to be 20m in the air but then we enjoyed the view over Brisbane.

After 4 hours at the Ekka we went with the train into the city centre of Brisbane. We had a walk through Queens Street which is the main street of Brisbane. We walked to the middle of one of the bridges to have a better view over the river and the “House of Performing Arts”.

Then we went back to the train station to go back to Caloundra.  

Mooloolaba

Here are some pictures of my day trip to Mooloolaba!

The first boating

Last wednesday I had my first boating lesson with a power boat! I was the first one in my group to drive the boat away from the beach into the canal. First I was really afraight because I won't crash with another boat or a post. So I drove really slow to be carefully. When we went out of the canal I started to drive faster, because there was more space and so I wasn't afraight anymore to crash with something. The boating teacher told us to drive an eight that was not really difficult, but at next we had to drive straight away from the beach which was really difficult because we went backwards. After that we had to rescue a "person" which was acted by a pylon. In the end everybody tried to park the boat at the jetty which was not as easy as we thought it would be and so everybody needed more than one try haha.
After 90 minutes it was unfortunately over, because it was so much fun! Now I'm looking forwards to my next boating lesson in term 4. And for all german students, yes I got marked on driving a boat haha! :D

Heron Island - The Great Barrier Reef

What an amazing week!
On sunday night I went with other marine studies students and some internationals to Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef. First we went with the bus to Gladstone and then with a boat to Heron Island. The 2 hours on the boat felt like a never ending time, because the wind was very strong and the boat swung the whole time up and down. In the beginning it was funny but after 30 minutes I got seasick and went to the outside of the boat, which was much better!
After 2 hours we finally arrived at Heron Island, and the first impressions were the best I ever had!
White sand, turquoise water and a blue sky! This is paradise!
We brought our things into the rooms and after that we had our first reef walk. At this walk we chose a organism we want to explore for the week. Cecilia and I took a blue clam.
After lunch we had our first dive. We should find our organism again at high tide. When Cecilia and I went nearer to the place where the clam must be three black-tip-sharks crossed our way. I was really surprised but I found it also very interesting but Cecilia was so scared of them that we went back. On our way back to the others we saw a shark which was as big as me!
On the next day they we were surprised by the water, because there was no water anymore. The guests of the resort left the island, but the teachers decided to stay. In the afternoon we had another dive in the reef. And on this dive we saw a ray, a turtle and some really big fish.
On wednesday the water came back but we had to be very carefully with it. On midday we went with the boat in the middle of the ocean and had a really amazing dive. We saw a cornet fish and many different corals.
In the evening we had a harbour dive during the sunset. This was so beautiful, because we saw the sun at the horizon while we were in the water. In the night we went to the jetty to watch the spangled sky, the sky was so clear that we saw every little star and also 5 shooting stars!
On our last day we stood up at half past five to watch the sunrise. We sat on the beach and watched the sun go up. This view was really amazing, because the sun dyed everything into red.
At half past twelve we went again on the boat, but the trip was very good, because there was nearly no wind. After the long bus trip from Gladstone to Caloundra I was really tired and just felt asleep when I was back in my australian home!

A shell!

Sunrise!

Research Station!

The beach!

A seastar!

Jetty!

Me haha!

Sunset!

Sunset!

Our clam!

A shark!

The Great Barrier Reef!

Sunrise!

Me at the reef walk!

A ray!

Australia Zoo

Today I finally saw kangaroos, because we went to the Australia Zoo with the other International Students and the students from Japan.
I had to go by bike to school and so I was a bit angry, because the whole way is like a roller coaster ride, but when I arrived at school and realised that I have no school my mood changed ahah!
After 30 minutes the bus arrived at the zoo. We got a map and after that we started our tour in little groups through the zoo.
Our first stop were the alligators. There were small and big ones but all of them were lazy..just as the koalas. They looked so cute while they were sleeping (they sleep 18-20 hours a day) and one of them had a baby in her arms. This was so sweet because I only saw the arm and the face of the baby which lay in the arms of their mother. I really wanted to take one of them home but I think they wouldn't come with me ahah!
After that we passed the two camels and went to the snake house. We saw plenty different snakes behind glass walls. Most of them were sleeping and one moved right in front of the window which was very amazing.
Our next stop was the kangaroo park. It's a big grass field with many kangaroos jumping around or laying on the ground. They were so trusting that we could touch them as well. Before we went there I thought that kangaroos are always grey or brown but I saw also red kangaroos there.
Then we went to the wombats. These little animals are so sweet! They smell a bit and they are also not very nice to touch, because their skin is not very fluffy but they are just cute as they are!
Our last point of the zoo tour were the tigers, elephants, giraffes and zebras. Some zookeeper were standing relaxed in the tiger house, then one of the tigers started to run 1m in front of them and all of them jumped away like they have never seen a running tiger before ahah!
At half past eleven we met the others of the group and went to the "Alligator Show".
It wasn't only a alligator show, because there were also birds. But the part where the people fed the alligator was the most exciting!
After a long day in the zoo we went back to Caloundra! I'm so lucky that I touched a koala, kangaroo and wombat, and I think nobody in Germany has done this before ahah!

The Big Pineapple

When my hostmother told me that we're going to "The Big Pineapple" I was a bit scared, because I couldn't image what it would be.
And when we arrived there I was still scared, because it was just a big pineapple made of plastic. I don't know why people built things like that but I liked it, because it looked like the house of Spongebob and so it was very funny.
After that we went to the "Aussie World" which is a big amusement park. There we looked over the souvenir shops which are around the park.
Our next stop were the strawberry fields. There we picked up and ate strawberries. I was really shocked when the woman at the checkout told us that 1kg makes 16$! It's really crazy because I normally think that a package of strawberries makes 3€.
After the sigtseeing my hostsister and me went to the beach with some friends. We stayed there six hours and now I'm very, very tired, because the sea makes me tired haha!
Tomorrow I have to go to school but I'm looking forwards to the weekend, because at sunday I'm going to Heron Island Camp which is a school camp on an island in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef! :-))

Australia! :)

The Big Pineapple!

The Big Pineapple!

Forget the world, eat the happiness, breathe the madness!

 

 

Hell yeah!

Hell yeah it's winter in Australia and I'm standing in the water which is actually warmer than the air and that's the reason why it was nevertheless so cold in the water because the cold wind always blew through my face.
When I get my wetsuit I start to surf like the other people.
 It looks so easy to stand on the board and ride the wave but I think it’s actually very difficult and I have to practise a lot to stand on the board. The beach is only 500m away from the house. That’s good because I only have to walk down the street or take the bus to go surfing. :)
Yesterday we were at the Laser Zone with the international students from Caloundra State High School. At the Laser Zone we played Laser Tag. It’s a game where everyone has a laser gun and shoots on the players of the other teams. It was really funny because everyone was just running around and shooting in case that anyone is coming in front of the gun haha!

Today we learned an aboriginal dance in my dance class in school. This was very exciting because the movements always describe anything. For example a snake or a dog or any other animal or thing. It could also be a river or water which is flowing over the arms. It's very hard to learn it because there are movements I never done before because I never practised Temporary Dance before. But all in all I can say that it was very much fun! :)
After school Cecilia and me went to the beach. It was very cold today and it was rainig so there weren't many people at the beach.
Some surfers and some kids were in the water but I think it was too cold to go inside the water. We had the luck that we saw the sunset at the horizon and it looked so beautiful with the big waves and the clouds. It was very windy and at half past five it was getting dark.
In the sky was only one star beside the thin moon and so you couldn't see anything at the beach except the boats which are going to Brisbane.
The beach is only 10 minutes away from the house and so we walked the way back to Buderim Street. I saw nobody walking on the streets and my hostmother said that's because australians are not used to it that it rains and so they stay in the house in case of rain, haha! 

That's Caloundra!

                       

You will maybe not believe but that's me! :)

                            

Buderim Street!