Travel: Day 10 - Australia - The long road home

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). 

In January 2013, I taught Ecology of Australia and, naturally, it entailed a field trip to Australia! What follows is a travelogue of our adventures together, the sights we saw, the things we did, and the lessons we learned while exploring a land far removed from home.

(You can see the previous posts in this thread here).

Day 10 finally rolled around in spite of our best efforts to stave it off.  The wee hours of the night were spent in packing and reminiscing about our time in Australia. Even Marie's travel companion - Gumby - seemed a little sad that the trip was coming to an end.

(Katherine Lederer 2013)

So, it was with a heavy heart that we left Cairns early in the morning, getting onto the plane the old-fashioned way - via a stairwell to the cabin.

(Katherine Lederer 2013)

Cairns to Sydney was a short flight.  After a couple of hours, we then got onto the longer flight to Dallas. We left in the morning to bright skies, much appreciated by Gumby....

(Katherine Lederer 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).

We crossed over the International Date Line, "regaining" the day that we had "lost" on the journey to Australia.

(Katherine Lederer 2013)

At Dallas, after a few anxious moments (hours) at the Immigration  counter, the students were able to get onto their connecting flight to Omaha.  Soon, the familiar sight of the Missouri river winding its way through Nebraska/Iowa told everyone that the trip was officially coming to an end.

(Katherine Lederer 2013)

After 10 days on the road and collecting a lifetime of memories together, the gang got together for one last "conch" moment before dispersing.

(Katherine Lederer 2013)

Finally, as my own journal winds down, here are some random facts about the trip and some photos that may not have made the first cut in the blog entries but do capture the essence of the trip very well.

(Everyone 2013)

(Everyone 2013)

And in case you were wondering:

• The most photos were taken on Day 8 - 2,356
• The fewest photos were taken on Day 10 - 39

How many photos did we take as a group in 10 days?  Well...here's the answer.

(Everyone 2013)

I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures.  Thank you for following along so patiently .  

Where will I take students on my next study abroad trip?  It is going to be one of these destinations.  The trip is already being planned.  So, you'll have to stay tuned for that blog...coming up in January 2015.  Until then, G'day, mate!

(Photos from Google images)