January 10 – Melbourne, Sorrento

Today January 10th, we arrived to Melbourne via the Spirit of Tasmania. We then drove to Sorrento. We were all super sore from yesterday’s hike, but excited to do some kayaking! Upon arrival in Sorrento, we stopped for a quick breakfast a few miles from the beach. A group of us ate at Bakers Boys Cafe, which was delicious despite the fact that the Australian bacon is really just crispy ham.  Everyone in the town was super friendly and the town can be pretty much described in one instance we saw in the cafe: a group of grandma’s all gathered for coffee and scones, on a first name basis with every waitress and barista.

Once we arrived at the beach, we got a safety brief from our instructors.  Each student paired up and got into our kayaks.  We struggled at first making it past the breaking waves, but eventually it was smooth sailing.  Our guide Andy shared with us the story of William Buckley, an Australian criminal who escaped from the prison and sought refuge with an Aboriginal tribe outside of Melbourne, only to turn himself in about 20 years later. Australians now use the phrase, “You’ve got Buckley’s chance” when they believe your chances are slim to none. It was quite ironic that Andy chose to tell us about this phrase in the middle of the ocean with a long paddle still ahead. Thankfully we all made it to shore, where we split into teams and played the Surfer’s Safety game — a sort of relay that required us to begin by laying on our stomachs, then jumping up and running about 30 yards to grab a branch in order to avoid elimination. It was tough goings for all the girls, as we competed against Sam Brown who is a star on Elon’s track team.

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Though we were all tired from yesterday’s hike and this morning’s kayaking journey, the end was a bittersweet moment as it meant that we’d finished with phase 1 of our trip and had to say goodbye to our 3 tour guides. Though we’ve only been here with Andy, Scotty, and Lucy for 6 days, its felt much much longer. The three of them did such an amazing job at showing us the wonders of Melbourne and Tasmania, and the journeys that we’ve shared will be truly unforgettable. I think we’re all in agreement that this trip would definitely not be the same without them.

We’ve got one final free night in Melbourne to bring phase 1 of our trip to a close before jetting off to Cairns tomorrow morning. Wish us luck as we hit the town tonight to perfect our “juicy wiggle”. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more adventures to come!

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