June 20, 2016
Vanderbilt’s Australian tour has ended and sophomore Kristin Quah and recent graduate Olivia Wirtz share some thoughts on the experience.
Hi everyone! It’s really been a memorable ten days and I couldn’t think of a better group of people to go on this trip with. I’d like to thank our coaches and the entire athletic department for making this possible.
Our trip started in Melbourne, where we had a rare opportunity to bowl in the Schwepp’s Melbourne bowling cup (you have to be invited to bowl the event). During which, we got to meet the top bowler in the world, Jason Belmonte. Jordan bowled really well in the event and managed to come in second place!
Once the tournament was over, we set off to Phillips Island, where we spent the entire day. There were some spectacular views from the island and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We had an amazing experience there, being able to come close to animals such as kangaroos, koalas and the smallest penguins in the world!
We had to catch an early morning flight to Cairns the next day, and that was definitely my favorite part of the trip. We had to take a boat out to Green Island, which sits an hour’s ride from shore in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. Getting a chance to swim in the Great Barrier Reef was a dream come true for me! Giselle and I pretty much spent the entire time we had on the island out at sea. We were able to swim through the colorful reefs, getting close to many cool sea creatures such as fish, clams and turtles (except coach, who was upset that he was the only one that didn’t get to see a turtle).
This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, being able to spend these ten days here with an amazing group of people. Some of the experiences that I had here will probably be etched in my memories for a long time to come!
I believe I can speak on behalf of the whole team when I say that I’m very grateful for this opportunity given to us by the Vanderbilt athletic department.
Anchor down!
–Kris
Hello everyone!
By the time you read this we have been in our beds sleeping off the jet lag from our 16+ hour flight back from Australia. Kristin recapped the first part of the trip so let me top it all off for you.
The day after the Great Barrier Reef, we ventured off to Harley’s Crocodile Adventure. The first thing we saw was a giant, but fake, 18-foot long crocodile which was claimed to be the biggest in the world at one point. We later came across an actual 15-foot long crocodile which I thought was fake at first until it moved. I didn’t realize how big they actually were!
We then hopped on a boat which went through a swamp infested with crocodiles and the tours guide fed them right in front of us. One by one we watched them slowly swim up to us and jump out of the water; their jaws making this loud popping sound from air quickly leaving their mouths as they went for the food hanging off of a string attached to a long pole.
After the fun with the crocodiles we made our way to the rainforest where we rode on gondolas to the very top of the tallest hill/mountain there. The view was amazing, even though it was hard to see any wildlife below through the canopy of the trees. On our way back down, the gondolas started to slow down and at one point I was afraid we were going to get stuck up there. Even our tour guide became a little worried. We did, thankfully, make it all the way down eventually.
At that point our time at Cairns (pronounced more like cans) had come to an end and we prepared ourselves for the flight to Sydney the next day. We spent most of that next day traveling to Sydney since our plane didn’t leave until 1pm.
Once we arrived we wasted no time and immediately headed for a boat to tour the Sydney Harbour where we also got to see the opera house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time. Fortunately for us, VIVID was still in season which is where the city lights up with beautiful colors in celebration of art. It’s claimed to be the largest outdoor art gallery. It runs from May 27th to June 18th so we made it to see the last two days.
The Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge are amazing as they are, but when they are lit up with colors they are breathtaking. Our boat ride lasted an hour and we went to go explore downtown Sydney a little where we ate and saw fireworks before turning in for the night.
Our last day in Australia was not one to forget either. We had the opportunity to go inside and tour the Opera House itself. We saw both major concert halls that held around 1000 people each, they weren’t as big as I had imagined but they still were beautiful.
Afterwards we made our way to the bridge climb, which was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done. The tour guide stated that the very top was 343 meters (1,125 feet) above the ground, and that is exactly how high we climbed. We stood on the very top, after climbing over 600 steps and ladder rungs just to get up there, and were able to see the amazing view of Sydney that surrounded us on all sides. As scary as it was, it was definitely worth it.
That night we had a little free time and a few people went out to explore and see one last firework show, so I guess you can say our trip ended with a ‘bang.’
The flight back seemed to be a lot quicker, even though we were in the air longer than we were on the way to Australia. We flew from Sydney to Dallas, followed by another flight from Dallas to Nashville which seemed like nothing after an extremely long flight.
I will forever be grateful to Vanderbilt for gifting me not only the opportunity to travel to Australia but to travel outside of the United States for the very first time!
Anchor Down!
–Olivia