Blog archives for the day Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Tuesday was the longest day of our lives. We actually did time travel in that we left Melbourne at 12:10 pm and somehow arrived in Los Angeles at 7:00 am on the same day. We all made the flight and then in most of our cases traveled back to the East Coast. It was a great journey; I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Other than the knee injury at the end and the floods in Brisbane it was a pretty drama free course. Thanks to all our guides who made the learning possible. Hopefully do this again soon.

PS, keep an eye out for any last minute pictures or videos we put up.

Our final day of activities started off with breakfast at the hostel. The weather for the beginning of the day was not the best, it was raining when we left, but this was appropriate because our first stop was at Maits Rest Rainforest. We had a quick walk through the rainforest and then made a quick stop at Castle Cove for some pictures. Will was able to talk to us about the different areas and how they fit into the Victoria Parks system. He works for them full-time so he had some insightful things to pass onto the group.

Will at Castle Cove talking about Parks Victoria

Luckily after these first stops, the weather started to break and the sun came out. We made two more quick stops at the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. The 12 Apostles is one of the most photographed sites on the Great Ocean Road and is a landmark in Australia that many can’t miss. It is interesting because it is completely made by nature with erosion of the sandstone by water and wind.

12 Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge is probably a lesser known site, but many would agree that it is probably more beautiful. It received its name after a ship that wrecked just off the coast in the late 1800s. The story is quite interesting in that there were only two survivors of the ship Eva Carmichael and Tom Pearce. Tom saved Eva and then had to climb out to get help for both of them.

Loch Ard Gorge

After these quick stops we stopped in the town of Port Campbell for some lunch and then made the long drive back to Melbourne for our last night. The students did some reflection in Port Campbell and then when we arrived back in Melbourne they had their final assessment before enjoying their last night out.

Students engaging in some last reflection over lunch

Sunday began our two day adventure on the Great Ocean Road. This is always one of my favorite trips because you get a chance to see some beautiful scenery. Our day started with about and hour and half bus ride to Ocean Grove. Ocean Grove is where we were able to do a two our surf lesson. This is always a highlight for the students. They now have the opportunity to say that they surfed in Australia.

Time to get the boards

The company West Coast Surf was excellent. Upon arrival everyone was given a wet suit and a surfboard. We then went down to the beach where the instructors warmed the students up and gave them some initial instructions and then gave them the chance to surf for about two hours. There were definitely some tired and sore people following, but everyone had a great time.

Better stretch before you surf

After our surf lesson we drove to Torquey where we met up with Phil and had a quick lunch. Phil then gave a quick history of the surfing industry for the area. Two popular surf companies were started here, Quiksilver and Rip Curl. It is also close to Bell’s Beach which is one of the oldest surf competitions.

Some last instructions

After our stop here, we finally started on the Great Ocean Road. For those of you who don’t know, the Great Ocean Road is considered one of the most scenic drives, but is also thought by some to be the largest war memorial. Following World War I it was envisioned to bring tourism to the area, but also a chance for veterans to get jobs. Millions travel the Great Ocean Road each year.

Time to catch some waves

We made a quick stop in Lorne and had a great view of the road from Teddy’s Lookout. We then hiked down to the beach from the lookout where our guide Rob gave a talk to the students about indigenous culture. Our students were quite lucky to have such knowledgeable guides about this  topic and Rob did a great job.

Beginning of Great Ocean Road

After our talk we continued on the Great Ocean Road until we reached the town of Apollo Bay and our hostel. The accommodations are great in a quaint little beach town. While some of us were preparing our BBQ dinner, many of the students went down to the beach for a game of beach cricket. The students all enjoyed themselves, well except for one. We had been having a relatively injury free course until one of the students hurt his knee diving after a ball. Following dinner we ended up taking him to the emergency room, but not a whole lot could be done other than crutches and some pain relievers. Hopefully nothing too serious was done.

Students at Teddys Lookout

View from Teddys Lookout

Rob talking to the students about indigenous culture

Saturday was a free day for the course. Students were given a chance to explore the city. I used it as another day to go to The Tennis. I planned ahead and bought tickets for Rod Laver Arena in the evening. It was an awesome environment because the last male and female Aussie players were playing, Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur. Unfortunately it was not a good day for the people I was cheering. John Isner lost a long 5 set match earlier on Margaret Court Arena and then both Bernie and Sam lost in the night matches. It was a long day of tennis, but once again a lot of fun. We did get to see Nadal play which was fun.

Most of the students used it as a day to look around Melbourne and head to the beach. Many made it to Federation Square to explore and then went to St. Kilda for some shopping and beach time. Jason and a few of the students went to a cricket match between Victoria and New South Wales. It sounded like everyone enjoyed the free day.

One last picture of The Tennis from Margaret Court Arena - check out the skyline