Blog archives for the day Saturday, January 15th, 2011

Today we were finally able to leave the mountain. O’Reilly’s is always one of my favorite places to be, but the weather definitely influenced it and I think we all had cabin fever and were glad to go. We had an early departure (6:30 am) to make it to the University of Sunshine Coast by our 10:30 time. Coming through Brisbane we had the opportunity to drive across the Brisbane River, we did not see a lot of damage because we were away from the downtown area, but it was evident that the water level had been up and luckily it was not influencing our travels.

Liani giving students a guide of campus

Upon arrival to USC, Laini and Sarah met our bus to give us a quick tour of campus. USC is probably the size of Elon and has a few more students than we have. Their current enrollment is about 7200 students, but has similar programs to Elon. Many of the buildings have followed sustainable practices and have won some regional rewards. One unique aspect of the campus was the number of kangaroos that make the campus residence. We have squirrels, they have kangaroos; I think we know who wins that one.

Kangaroos hanging out on USC campus

After our tour of the campus, we had a chance to have a lecture with Dr. Sheila Peake about ecotourism. She gave a very nice lecture about some of the common principles of ecotourism and some of the problems with the concept. I hope the students found this interesting. Following the lecture we had a nice lunch and some time to explore the campus. Our tour concluded with a tour of a campus apartment after which we made our way to Mooloolaba for our hotel. It is a very nice hotel and as I am writing this post the students are taking their first assessment. There definitely could be worse places to be taking an assessment. Tomorrow we have an early departure for the airport and then on to Cairns.

A final picture from campus

Thursday was a pretty relaxing day for students. We were to have a free day on that day in Brisbane, but once again because we were at O’Reilly’s we decided to give them some free time to journal, reflect and relax. However, in the morning we all went on a hike to Moran’s Falls and the Wishing Tree. Duncan was the guide for our hike. In my nine years of going to O’Reilly’s it was by far the most water that I have ever seen coursing through the Falls. A few of the students had previously walked the trails, but it was much different because today we were actually able to see the sun a bit.

Duncan talking to our group about stinging tree

One of the highlights of the hike was the opportunity to see some owls along the path, but also to see the colors and the sounds of the rainforest in all its glory.

Group photo at Moran's falls

In the afternoon, as I said many took the time to catch up on some reading, journaling and studying for their upcoming exam; others took the time to pack and do laundry before leaving because we had finally arranged to leave O’Reilly’s and head to the Sunshine Coast on Friday.

Moran's falls

Picture of the valley from across Moran's falls; nice to finally see blue skies

Last sunset from O'Reilly's

As you are well aware we had to spend two extra nights at O’Reilly’s because of flooding in Brisbane. It was quite scary to be watching the footage on the television at O’Reilly’s to see the number of people affected. It is probably on par with the damage and significance of Katrina in the area around New Orleans. On Wednesday we had the chance to meet with Douglas James an aboriginal guide/educator who I have probably worked with for about six years and loves to spend time with Elon University students.

Students learning indigenous dance

We met Douglas Wednesday morning at the O’Reilly’s vineyards. Upon arrival Catherine O’Reilly shared with me a photo from the paper from the 1974 floods. In the background of the photograph was the Royal on the Park hotel which we were supposed to be heading that day. It was chilling to see it knowing that I had just been there the year before.

Group with Dancers

On a more positive note, we started our time with Douglas by having him and his cousins demonstrate some traditional dances of the indigenous people of that area. They also were able to give some brave volunteers the opportunity to participate in the dance and explain the different stories that each represented. Thanks Lindsay, Roger and Scott. It was quite nice to see the performance.

Class teaching Douglas offensive positions in football

Following the dance, the cousins left and Douglas began by explaining a little bit about his culture, his people and through photographs about the land in which his tribe had lived. He was originally hoping to take us out on a tour of the land and show us firsthand how the land could be used for food and medicine and the significance of different parts of nature but the previous weather influenced it.

Douglas teaching kids how to make fire

After a lunch break, Douglas shared with us a number of different artifacts and tools that aboriginal people would use. We finished up our time at the winery by playing a traditional aboriginal game. However, Douglas decided that he was not done with our group yet so he agreed to come back up to O’Reilly’s and share more of his knowledge with our group. Up at O’Reilly’s we had a chance to learn how grass could be used and made into rope and also used to make baskets. Some of us were definitely better at it than others. After dinner our final treat of the day was to hear Douglas play the didgeridoo. Overall it was a very busy day with a lot of activities. It was great for me to see Douglas again.

Students attempt to make fire

I forgot one last thing; Douglas is a huge fan of football. In Australia they call it grid iron. A number of our students spent time explaining some of the rules to Douglas and positions that are played on offense and defense; he was very excited for the knowledge that we were able to give him as well.

Douglas playing the didge