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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

Paying thanks to previous generations - Being Ochred

This is my ninth time going to Ku Ring Gai park, but I always learn something new. The students were ready to go after getting caught up on some sleep. The only thing that tried to hold us back was the weather. On the bus ride to the park we hit some major showers and then had some rain on and off through the morning. Despite this the students continued to show great interest and enthusiasm.

Group with Les

On arriving to the park we met up with Rae Lister and John Booth. I think that Rae and John have been meeting with our group for about four or five years, so it was great to catch up with them. Shortly thereafter Les McLeod arrived. Les is the Aboriginal coordinator for the Parks’s Discovery program. This was the first time that I had met Les and I was very impressed. Les has a great passion for educating people of all ages about the indigenous people and the need to show respect for their history and culture. His passion was evident and the students were very interested in his content.

Up close with an engraving of wallaby

He began our time by painting our foreheads and hands with ochre to help show respect for previous generations and the land.  Following this we spent much of our time going to many different sites of importance to the aboriginal people. He showed us many fascinating engravings and told us their importance. He also explained how the aboriginal people used various plants for food and medicine.

View from West Head Lookout

We also had a chance to take a look at West Head Lookout where we were able to see some great views of the area. It was very peaceful. After taking pictures of our views we had an exciting lunch. I say exciting because we had a visitor, the Lace Monitor. These are not animals you want to fool with, but luckily nothing bad happened. Following a quick look of Red Hands Cave, we had a chance to play some authentic aboriginal game. All the students had a chance to play both the traditionally male and traditionally female games. The moral of the female game was learning to protect their children and the moral of the male game was to learn how to hunt for food. After the games we had one more engraving site to see. We had a chance to go to the Echidna engraving site which was quite special because it is closed to the public.  Following our goodbyes we made a quick stop at Manley Beach on our way home. The one bad thing was that the water was not swimmable because of blue bottle jellyfish, but I am sure some last bit of time in the sun was enjoyed by all.

Throwing spears

I will close with a quote that I stole off of Les’s e-mail to me. Les, I hope this is okay. I feel that it sums up what he was trying to teach us very well.

I believe every woman on this planet is my sisters. I believe every man on this planet is my brother. Like all Koori’s I know the earth is my mother. Now, we must learn to share with those three. If the rest of the world could think about adopting that philosophy of sharing and caring there would be no wars, but most importantly there would be no starving children…’ – Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon: Aboriginal Activist. ”The FOX”

Enchinda engraving

As Jason posted, we finally arrived in yesterday. We had a relatively uneventful flight. We did have one student whose bag did not arrive, but hopefully that will be fixed soon. After arrival to our hotel, we had a short meeting to talk about upcoming activities, expectations, etc.; all the fun stuff. After the meeting, we encouraged the students to stay up as long as possible because it would help out with jet lag.

It seems that most had the same idea and took a stroll around town. Of course the big highlights to be seen were the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge. Some walked across part of the bridge and others went to Manly Beach. Jason and I had similar ideas. We enjoyed the area near Sydney Harbor, the Rocks and walked to Darling Harbor. On our way back from Darling Harbor, we walked through Hyde Park. Overall, it sounded like most of them turned in early for our first day of adventures.

Hello, my name is Dr. Eric Hall, I will be a co-leader of this winter term course with Jason Springer. I will briefly introduce myself and then let Jason introduce himself. I am an Associate Professor of Exercise Science at Elon University and this will be the 9th year that I have lead this course. I will use the blog to keep everyone up-to-date as to what we are doing and how we are doing while in Australia, so please keep coming back.

Here is a picture of me from a previous year.

Hello all-

My name is Dr. Eric Hall and I will be leading the Australia Ecotourism course during Winter Term 2011. I am an Associate Professor of Exercise Science and this will be my ninth year leading this course. My co-leader this year will be Rob Springer. Rob is the Assistant Director of Academic Advising at Elon and Director of Elon 101. We will be maintaining this blog throughout our time in Australia so please come back as often as you can to see our adventures.