University of Newcastle: My Office in the Eucalyptus Forest

Well, I've been here for 6 months and before heading home for the holidays I thought I should fit in a post on my workplace, the University of Newcastle in Callaghan.

When I first came to campus back in June, I had some difficulty finding my way around. If you ask for directions, you will be greeted warmly but directed through a maze of Eucalyptus trees which just so happen to be your only point of reference as landmarks for directions. Now that I have been here for a few months, I find myself struggling to give others directions when. Point is: you have to go walkabout to find what you're looking for. Just follow the paths and explore the buildings which may or may not have appropriate signage to help you along your way.

You may even be inclined to take the Birabahn trail which leads to Wollotuka, the on-campus Aboriginal Institute. Walking along the outside, you'll come across some beautiful Aboriginal artwork and architecture.

As you walk along the paths you're also greeted by other locals: kookaburras, cockatoos, galahs, miner birds and magpies fly and swoop over your head, high up in the canopies of the forest. The campus is alive with the hustle and bustle of these locals. In fact, this may be the first campus where the noise form the birds overcomes the noise from the students! If you're lucky, you may also come across a cute, furry, possum...way cuter than the opossums back home in the USA. Now that it is starting to warm up on campus, you are seeing less and less students and more and more mosquitoes...which is why I have been working down by the beach for the past few weeks!

I don't know if its the trees, the sing-song of the birds, the quiet seclusion of campus, or the voracity of the blood-sucking mosquitoes, but when I'm on campus I feel like I'm either in the Ewok village in Star Wars, the Hunger Games or Jurassic Park. These days it feels more like Jurassic Park when you see students racing inside to escape the clouded swarm of mosquitoes closing in on them. No bug spray or amount of thick clothing will stop these guys! They will bite through the thickest jeans and laugh in the face of DEET. Students warn each other about going outside for a smoke or coffee break and look at you like its the Walking Dead out there if you do decide to brave the swarm.

So, campus may not be the best location in the summertime, but come Autumn and winter when the bugs die off and the trees start to shed their  sweet-smelling foliage, campus can be quite beautiful and serene.

While I love and miss my concrete jungle and sing-song of the cars and sirens of NYC, it is a lovely change to look outside and see swaying eucalyptus trees dancing in the sunlight and tropical lorikeets singing while making their nests outside your window. However,now during the summer, I will continue to enjoy the sandy, mosquito-free beaches of Newcastle before heading back to campus in autumn.

Stockton Sand Dunes by Quad Bike

G'day all!

I've been living, studying and working in Newcastle for about 3 months now and have been taking walks on the beach everyday, it being so close to my apartment...yes...feel jealous. On my walks along Nobby's Break-wall, I  look North to see beautiful sand dunes right across the bay. One day, our trusty tour organizer and friend Aslak, told us about a company called Sand Dune Adventures who conduct quad bike tours on the sand dunes. Not only does this fabulous adventure exist on the hauntingly beautiful sand dunes, but he found a way for us to do them for a discounted price! We were sold! We all decided to take the Sand Dune Adventures in Stockton by storm.

Sand Dune Adventures is a non-profit organization owned and operated by the Worimi clan of New South Wales. All the proceeds from their tours and adventures goes back into the community. They also have big plans for more tours that will be even more adventurous than ever! They have a bush-tucker tour that allows you to explore the area and learn about the flora and fauna and how they are used by the indigenous people for food and medicine. As part of my PhD, it is vital that I return... plus it'll be fun!

Our day began with a 30 minute drive out to the cultural centre. Thanks to our dedicated chauffeur and friend Edwin, we all made it on time after a couple of car trips back and forth into the city. We explored around the cultural centre for a while, taking in the indigenous heritage of the Worimi people, when we were called outside to be taken by van out to the sand dunes, where our quad bikes were awaiting us.

The indigenous instructors gave us a quick and informative run down on how to drive the quad bike and how to not get hurt and die in the process. Apparently, you only use your thumb for accelerating and braking, which took some getting used to, but once we had the hang of it we were off!

Luckily, we all survived and managed no not only have fun bounding over the sand dunes, but enjoyed the beautiful views of the ocean as well.

After our thrilling 1 hour adventure, we returned to Newcastle for some beer, wings, and walks on the beach - looking out onto the sand dunes with even more longing than before to return to Stockton and the Worimi tours. What a ride!! Woo hoo!!!

Victoria: Ballarat, Southern Ocean, Tower Hill, Geriwerd, and Melbourne

G'day mates! I recently returned form the beautiful and cold state of Victoria. I'm told that is it not always cold down there, but it being July, winter and even closer to the South Pole down there, my body was not having it and was thoroughly confused. I should be sun bathing and BBQing, shooting off fireworks for the 4th of July instead of wearing 3-4 layers and struggling through the rain to race home and have a cup of tea and some hot soup.

Despite the rainy weather in Victoria, we had a few sunny moments and lovely drives through the beautiful, green countryside. All of the greenery, farms, cows, rain and cups of tea made me feel like I was back in Wales, but the occasional marsupial, eucalyptus tree and Aussie accent reminded me of where I was. Even the Southern Ocean had the grey hues of the Atlantic, but every once in a while you'd catch that turquoise blaze in the waves that can only be found in Aus.

After driving though the miles of green countryside, I arrived in Ballarat. A small town just 2 hours West of of the bustling and cosmopolitan city of Melbourne, Ballarat has its charm in its old Victorian styled architecture buildings, complete with lattice ironwork, and stoic Cathedrals and clock towers. I felt like I had stepped back in time to the days of Ned Kelly and his gang.

I explored the town of Ballarat pretty thoroughly on my first couple of days in town. From here, I went to visit the Tower Hill (Koroit) and Grampians (Geriwerd) National Parks, which lie further Northwest of Ballarat. My very generous supervisor was a trooper - driving me from point A to point B and back to point A in a day, a trip that should take at least a couple of days with a decent amount of rest. I don't know how he made such good time.

 The parks were beautiful and pristine. We visited the Aboriginal cultural centers, which had a lot of cool, authentically made products for us to buy. We were also welcomed by the feathered and furry ambassadors of the parks who greeted us upon our arrival.

 Speaking of furry and feathered greeters, my best day in Victoria was spent at the Ballarat Wildlife Park. Like I didn't get enough animal attention at Australia Zoo, I have become addicted to these friendly and funny creatures. I just cant stop feeding them! and they seem pretty OK with that.

I might have overdone it on some of them though...

We saw everything: kangaroos, koalas, wombats, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, wallaroos, emus, black swans (who bite), crocs, snakes, and yes even alpacas! I was shocked to see these guys since it is supposed to be an Aussie animal park, but I didn't complain. They were pretty hungry too, but tended to tickle your hand more when feeding.

Eventually, we had to leave and get down to work. My next day, July 4th, was spent in Melbourne. What a beautiful and picturesque city. It is Fall, so many of the trees were in full golden glory.

After a morning of meetings for the PhD project, I was left to my own devices and spent the day exploring the plentiful stores of the arcades on Bourke Street. Every store you could imagine is here. The consumer within me was trying very hard not to splurge on Mac, Zara, H&M, Victoria's Secret, all the stores I cannot get in Newcastle. My suitcase was definitely not big enough and I wasn't about to lug a million bags back to Ballarat, let alone Newcastle. I curbed my urges, bought a couple of books, and continued walking to Federation Square, but you can always take the trolley around town as well.

From Federation Square you get a great view of the city and the river.

Along the way, I saw many beautiful buildings and churches that held a bit of the Victorian charm about them. Les Miserables had just opened, so there was a lot of rouge, blanc and bleu around the city, which was fitting for my July the 4th. Thankfully the rain had subsided as well so I got to enjoy plenty of sunshine on Independence Day.

It was a short visit, but I had a productive, fun and fulfilling time on my first trip to Victoria and look forward to exploring Melbourne and all its charming Victorian surroundings on my future trips down there.

I'll keep you all posted on more of Melbourne's hidden gems soon!