Travel: Day 1 - Australia - To infinity and beyond

One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to one's heart. 

In January 2011, I taught Tropical Ecology  and, for one of the class activities, I took a group of students on a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico. (Click here to read about the trip to Puerto Rico). 

This January (2013), I am teaching Ecology of Australia and, naturally, it entails a field trip to Australia! What follows is a travelogue of our adventures together, the sights we have seen, the things we are doing, and the lessons we are learning while exploring a land far removed from home.

(You can the previous post in this thread here).

At the Omaha airport, after picking up our boarding passes, the group took the first of (many) group photos.  In time, everyone got used to me signaling for group huddles with the buzzword – conch.  I am not sure how (or why) that was chosen as the group’s calling card, but it stuck a chord and so it remained for the duration of the trip. (Maybe it had something to do with Lord of the Flies Anchorman).

(Note: To see the photos more clearly, click on them and they will pop up in new window).

(C.S. Manish 2013)

The flight from Omaha to Dallas was fairly uneventful.  At Dallas airport, we took our time going from one gate to another – and then it was time to leave the shores of the US of A.  Next stop….Australia!

(C.S. Manish 2013)

The flight itinerary called for a direct flight from Dallas to Sydney, currently the longest flight of any airline in the world.  (Here's some more information on it from a personal account of the trip for Wall Street Journal).  Because the flight is so long and we cross the International Date Line, the trip from Dallas to Sydney involves the loss of a complete day.  We left on the evening of the 2nd and reached on the morning of the 4th.  Somewhere up in the sky the whole of the 3rd passed us by...or something like that.

Due to a quirky procedure the Qantas Airline flight, whilst non-stop from Sydney to Dallas, has to stopover to refuel in Brisbane on the opposite trip.  So, our first steps on Aussie soil (so to speak) were in Brisbane.  We disembarked, walked through a loooooong line at a security check point and then got back on the same plane again.

Flying into Sydney was a treat.  Those on the left side of the plane were greeted with magnificent views of the city, such as this one:

(C.S. Manish 2013)

After we passed through Immigration and Customs (surprisingly quickly) we were officially in Australia!

(C.S. Manish 2013)

We paused in front of a tourism picture on the wall and took the first "conch" photo in Sydney.  Don't let the backdrop fool you - this was taken indoors!

(C.S. Manish 2013)

(Note: In order to conserve space on the blog and make it easier to scroll through, I am condensing how much of  the post is displayed.  To read the rest of it, simply click on the "Click here for the rest of my jaywalk" link below).

The first bit of excitement for us was to convert our American currency to the Australian one.

(C.S. Manish 2013)

Not only is the Australian currency very colorful, it also comes in different sizes.  The coins are something else altogether.  A $2 coin is about the size of a 5 cent coin and it is very confusing, at first.

(C.S. Manish 2013)

(Victoria Vollmer 2013)

At the airport we were received by our on-site co-ordinator, who was quickly christened Lauren.  From the airport we took a shuttle bus to our accommodations - the Sydney Harbor YHA.  The oddity of driving on the left-side of the road made for an interesting shuttle ride for the students.

(C.S. Manish 2013)

(Trey Cusick III 2013)

After checking-in we convened on the roof of the YHA for our first proper sights of Sydney.  The rooftop view was spectacular and a perfect way to start our adventures.  In the middle of the panoramic photo below, sits the famed Sydney Opera House.   A little to the left is the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  To the right is the Sydney downtown area.  In between the Opera House and downtown is the Circular Quay.

(Trey Cusick III 2013)

We spent the next couple of hours walking through the sights visible in the above photograph.  Sydney was surprisingly hilly and the walk was quite tiring after a while.  After a quick lunch (at Hungry Jack's), we took a bus to Hyde Park in the hub of the city.  Said to be the oldest public parkland in Australia, it features the Archibald Fountain at it's heart.

(C.S. Manish 2013)

From there we wandered over to the Sydney Tower Eye - located in a 309m tall building - the tallest in Sydney.  We went up to the Observation deck for a 360 degree view of the city.

Along the way we collected a souvenir photograph.

(Sydney Tower Eye 2013)

On a personal note, I was excited to be able to see the Sydney Cricket Ground (where the Sri Lankan team was losing to the Australian team).

(C.S. Manish 2013)

Every place has it's own unique claim to make and the Tower Eye is no different.  This is what we found there:

(C.S. Manish 2013)

From the Tower we chose to walk back through the central business district, taking in the hustle-bustle of a major city in the winter without shivering while at it!

(C.S. Manish 2013)

We ended the day with a barbecue dinner on the rooftop while watching the sun set on the Sydney Harbor.  Finally, night descended upon us, ending our first full day on the Australian continent.  The view of the city at night was the perfect way to end the long, long day.

(Trey Cusick III 2013)

(Stay tuned for Day 2: Darling Harbor, Sydney Aquarium, Manly Beach and more......)