Australia Ecotourism | An Elon University Academic Blog

When you step off the plane in Carins (pronounced “Cannes”) you know you are in the tropics. This place is very green and very humid. We gathered our bags quickly and headed to our coach. Our coach driver provided us with some insight about the local area. The basic message was “there are crocs everywhere”. We all took note of this as we headed to the hotel.

Our group spent yesterday afternoon at Reef Teach. This company exists to do land based education about the reef. We learned a great deal about the plant and animal life we would see today on our snorkeling excursion. To say there was a lot to learn is an understatement.

Following Reef Teach we decided to have a group dinner at a place called Outback Jacks. This location was chosen because of its proximity to a very large population of fruit bats. For those unfamiliar, these are bats about the size of a small Cessna. Around 6:30 every evening they decide to leave their resting places in the trees and fly in circles. This daily activity is like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Our bats did not disappoint.

We set out this morning at 7am for a day long adventure that would take us to two different snorkeling locations. It was two hours to our first destination. This gave everyone adequate sunscreen application time. Sunscreen isn’t a suggestion here; it is a way of life. I’d guess between the 31 of us that comprise our travel group, we probably used about two gallons of sunscreen today. Step two was to collect a “stinger suit”. Stinger suits are necessary due to the number and potency of the jelly fish that inhabit the reef this time of year. The suits aren’t the most flattering fashion statements but for the most part everyone was happy to protect themselves from potential stings as well as the intense sun.

Upon arrival on the reef everyone quickly disembarked. Some were trying to find Nemo, others were looking for sharks. Perhaps the biggest quest today was for a glimpse of some friendly sea turtles. We had plenty of Nemo sightings and even a few shark sightings at site one.

After an hour or so in the water everyone started to become quite hungry. So back aboard we climbed just in time for a very good meal served up by our fun and capable crew.

Then it was on to sight two. Following yet more sunscreen application time and rehydration we arrived at a small island that provided yet more opportunities for fun fish finds. The biggest “get” of the day was a very large sea turtle spotted at the end of our time at sight two.

I am happy to report that despite intense sun no one in our group got more than a mild burn and no one was stung by a jelly fish.

This evening everyone is off exploring Cairns and/or completing assignments for our course. Tomorrow is a day to explore Fitzroy Island just off the coast. We will spend the day snorkeling, sea kayaking, and hiking.

After five days in the mountains, we have finally left O’Reilly’s. It was a tough process because we needed to cross through Brisbane, which is under turmoil right now due to the floods, but we are all safe and well.

Close to a week of grey skies and rain let Mother Nature give us an 80 degree sunny day when we traveled to the University of the Sunshine Coast. A superb up and coming university, this school had one of the most relaxing atmospheres I have seen for a foreign school.

We had our first assessment when we got to the hotel and most people thought it went well (for the most part). We were all able to have an excellent night out for our last few hours in the Sunshine Coast and the group keeps getting closer.

Rising early has now become normal for every single student as we rapidly were prepared to get to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

Its extremely hot in here right now (Yes, just like the hit rap song by recording artist Nelly).

We’re about to have a big class dinner right now and we are too anxious to see the Great Barrier Reef after our intro course today.

Til Later,
Cheers,
Raj (member of student led “Public Relations” leadership team)

(Oh, and also we saw Kangaroos………Epic Win).

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

The drive up to O’Reilly’s begins at the airport and winds through suburban highways traveling at a comfortable 100km an hour. You pass car dealerships, giant furniture stores, and even the occasional water park. And then you enter what we back home would call “the country”. This is where the lanes narrow from four to three, three to two, and before you know it all of the buildings fall away and you see a peaceful blur of green. This peaceful stretch lasts for a solid hour before you begin the accent to O’Reilly’s and Lamington National Park.

It is at this point in our entry that it is appropriate that we acknowledge our coach driver Mick. You see, the oneish lane “road” up to O’Reilly’s is narrow and the drops off the road are steep. There is often vegetation trying to reclaim what is rightfully its own. There are switchbacks; lots of switchbacks. Add in the rain and 29 noisy college students and you understand why Mick will always have a friend in me. It is also worth noting that unofficially about one in six men in Australia seem to be named Mick, something that didn’t get passed the writers of Crocodile Dundee.  You will find that Australian coach drivers are willing to share a wealth of valuable information. They know where everything (and I mean everything) is, they can name every kangaroo species, and they can explain crickett (as well as it can be explained). If you find yourself in Australia and need to know something, anything, find a coach driver. Mick drives a bus the way a top surgeon weilds a scalple. And he does so with the same general attitude of most Aussie’s. If Mick built a rocket that took a man to Mars he’d probably say “aw yeah. Nothing much to it really. Just found some ole liquid nitro laying around…”. You get the idea.

So up we went in search of a place originally land granted to the O’Reilly family in 1911. The drive from bottom to top takes about an hour in a coach. We cover about 20 miles during this time.

Finally we arrive at the top.  O’Reilly’s is like a lot of Australia; hard to describe. It’s both comfortable and rugged at the same time. The O’Reilly’s have been welcoming guests to this property since 1914. The trip from Brisbane used to take two days with good weather. You may wonder why anyone would want to take two days to come to a rainforest. Well the answer in my mind the answer is two-fold. The first reason is the obvious, to see the forest. The second reason is the hospitality. It was true then and it is certainly true today, this family run business knows how to treat its guests. Michael “Mick” O’Reilly still serves up the toast at breakfast, shares family stories on daily tours, and remembers each guests name (with the help of a trusty notepad he keeps in his shirt pocket) at 75 years young.

After settling into our rooms and filling up on delicious food we began to plan our activities. Some students headed out into the dark forest in search of the glow warms. Others managed to find the pool, hot tub, and sauna (I promise we are working them hard while they are here!) as the glow worm tour is limited to 20ish participants per evening to limit traffic on the trails and make for a more intimate experience.

The following morning began for many students with a 6:45am bird walk. Others chose to start the day after a hearty breakfast. Hikes and 4wd forest tours followed. Lunch was delicious and then it was off to the highlight of the day for many “The Flying Fox”. This activity involves strapping yourself into a ridiculous harness, launching yourself down a slippery wooden runway, and then dangling from said harness about 25 meters above the forest floor as you travel 180 meters down a cable at about 40 kph until you either drag your feet through the mud enough to slow yourself and disconnect OR smash into a large steel pole. First up was our fearless Andrew. Our trusty guide Matt gets him hooked up and then a large clap of thunder rumbles above us. Our guide informs us “this has never happened before” and after making a joke about “The Frying Fox” suggests we should wait a few minutes before we send Andrew down this lightening rod. Andrew and I agreed this was a good idea. After a reasonable amount of time Andrew was off and then the next and then the next. A good time was had by all and many fears were faced and conquered. Dinner and more glow worms followed.

It is important to mention that all of our activities from beginning of our time here to end involved rain. At times this was a light sprinkle and at times it was a driving, unforgiving downpour. Staying dry was not an option and mud has become a way of life. Our students have embraced this fully and with almost no complaints.

Dr. Hall will be writing soon about our eventful final two days at O’Reilly’s very soon and our students have written a very fun post as well. I do want to leave you with this thought. The people of Brisbane and much of the east coast of Australia have been devastated by flooding over the last several weeks. It is important to us that we thoughtfully acknowledge this as a group and contribute where we can.  More on this later.

(Pictures will be inserted when we get somewhere that doesn’t have a prehistoric internet connection).

Leaving Sydney, we went from bus to plane to bus again in the span of four hours and arrived at O’Reilly’s, two hours outside of Brisbane. Our bus wound up the mountain on a path that left everyone happy to reach the top. O‘Reilly’s is the best of both worlds in that it is an extremely nice resort that happens to exist on top of a mountain in the middle of a dense rainforest. It’s nice to cap off a day navigating your way through the jungle by soaking in the hot tub or swimming in the infinity pool. The accommodations, staff, and especially the food are all excellent.

Even though we arrived under rainy and gray skies, several of us set off on a wet night hike through the rainforest to view glowworms along the riverbank. The next day, our class split into several groups to explore all that O’Reilly’s has to offer. Students fed birds (King parrots and Red parrots, to name a few), took a four-wheel drive bus tour that included a bonfire and tea, or hiked through the rainforest on trails to Python Rock, Morans Falls Lookout, and the Wishing Tree. Later in the afternoon, all 29 of us flew through the treetops on the Flying Fox zip-line. All of this took place in the rain, but spirits were still high.

Yesterday we met with Douglas, an Aboriginal guide, who spoke about his experiences and Aboriginal heritage. He and three of his family members performed traditional Aboriginal dances and invited students to participate and learn the moves. He showed us bush food, Aboriginal weapons and medicine, and demonstrated various traditional activities such as basket weaving and fire making. The rare medicine he invited us to try wasn’t very pleasing to the palette, but everyone can now say they have had aboriginal medicine. After returning to O’Reilly’s with Douglas, he played the didgeridoo for us and we said an emotional goodbye to our new friend.

The excitement of being here has been beyond overwhelming, so we decided to stay here for two extra days (this decision had nothing to do with major flooding at lower elevations).

Overall, O’Reilly’s has been a refreshing experience. We’re away from cities, have limited communication with the outside world (the internet runs like dial-up), and no TV in the rooms. We’ve had time to bond as a group through all the activities and quiet time. O’Reilly’s truly embraces its ecotourism mission, and its easy to get into that mindset when you’re smack in the middle of a rainforest up on a mountain.

The key part of this course is the bonds that have been occurring between all of the members of the class. Being isolated from the rest of society has helped all of us become close friends as the days go along. We are all primarily concerned with learning the culture and eco nature of the land we are on, but we know we must work as a team to do this. As the days are going on, we are all learning to grow from our surroundings and most of all, holding each other accountable for everything.

It is not even halfway through the journey yet and each one of us cannot believe we have to go back to school; we really want to spend more time than a month here.

The University of The Sunshine Coast is next on our agenda then a flight over to Cairns.

Until Then,
Cheers
-Oliver, Carolyn, Nick & Raj.

P.S. – We hope you’re enjoying all of your snow, because we’re very happy with our Sun!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we are doing well. You may be aware that major flooding is expected in Brisbane over the next 24-48 hours. We’ve made the discision to stay at O’Reilly’s for at least another day or two. The course will continue as planned with the exception of our visit to Brisbane.

Students are enjoying their time here very much. Despite very wet conditions we’ve been hiking, riding the Flying Fox (zipline), and exploring the rainforest.

We will keep you posted.

Our day began with a 6am departure from Sydney. We headed into the Blue Mountains, a trip that took about two hours. We were met by our friendly and capable canyoning guides from High N Wild. After a quick briefing on the day’s activities and wetsuit fitting it was back on the coach for a 40 minute ride to our starting destination. After the obligatory paperwork and lunch planning our three groups of ten headed down some fire roads which serve as trailheads for various activities; thus began our decent into the canyon. The trail was wide and the weather was mild. The sun began to peak out. “Piece of cake” we were all thinking.

And then we stopped in front of a sign that warned us of impending doom. Our guide referenced the sign and with a quick “alright then, off we go” we started down a narrow trail that seemed to get steeper with each step. Occasionally we would arrive at a clearing that was actually the top of a sheer cliff. We were reminded to stay at least two body lengths from the edge. “Not a problem” most of us thought. Our decent continued losing twelve inches of elevation with each step (which was more of a controlled fall at some points; teamwork is a good thing). Finally after hearing moving water for several minutes we arrived at a series of boulders that would be our “jumping off point” (literally) for our stroll through the canyon. We slipped into our wetsuits, harnesses, and helmets. Everyone took the 20ft plunge into the “refreshing” (re: cold) water. And off we went.

It is hard to describe this part of the experience. I imagine it’s very much what an ant experiences on a daily basis. We were surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs that often stretched hundreds of feet into the sky. We scurried over boulders the size of Mack trucks. We floated on our backs in slow moving pools for hundreds of yards. We marveled at how the lush green vegetation growing on the canyon walls contrasted with the clear blue sky and the occasional drifting cloud. We picnicked with water dragons that made it very clear who this real estate belonged to. The journeys into the side canyons were amazing. These were very narrow and dark sections of canyon with water temperatures much colder than the main canyon due to the lack of sunlight. Pictures can’t do this experience justice.

After several kilometers of canyoning it was time to make our assent out. As our guides told us “what goes down, must come up”. While the end of the canyon seemed to come rather quickly, it was a welcomed opportunity to thaw out for many (did I mention this water was “refreshing”?).

One of the side canyons

We removed our wetsuits and packed everything away in our trusty yellow backpacks and contemplated our assent out of the canyon. I say contemplated because it wasn’t always obvious there was a trail out of this place. It is safe to say that we are all now amateur rock climbers after the first 400 yards of this assent. Finally, things began to level out a bit. The trail became a bit more obvious and we all settled into a nice steady pace as we hiked out.

And then “they” found us. “They” were leaches. Our peaceful cool-down of a hike out was interrupted by hundreds of blood sucking leaches. While these things are harmless, it can be a bit unnerving to have them find their way into your shoes. Some students took time to stop and remove their leaches as they were accumulated only to find this simply provided a great opportunity for more leach friends to join the party. Others took this as an opportunity to quicken their pace out of the forest. Needless to say the sight of our coach was welcomed by many.

I think it is safe to say our students had a physically challenging and memorable learning experience yesterday. Aside from the outdoor experience we had an occasional math lesson that involved converting Fahrenheit into Celsius, meters into yards, kilometers into miles, etc. We also had the opportunity to learn yet more Australian culture from our guides. Gummy worms are lollis (as in lollipops). Our guides like to add “O” and “ie or y” to the end of words. Dave the guide was Daveo and sunglasses became sunnies. Other than some sore muscles (maybe that’s just Eric and me), a few bumps and bruises, and some chilly students everyone returned to Sydney safely.

Today is a free day for students to explore Sydney. Tomorrow is a travel day. We are keeping an eye on the rains and flooding up north. As of now we don’t expect any difficulties. We will have limited or no internet connectivity while we are at O’Reilly’s (http://www.oreillys.com.au/) for several days so the next blog post may be a bit delayed.

(if you click the smaller pictures you should get a larger view; some of them simply didn’t want to load in the larger size)

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