Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb

On our free day on Sunday a group of us climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. After about 45 minutes of filling out paper work, putting on a very unflattering jump suit, and attaching the rest of our equipment we were on our way. At the top we were about 450 feet off the ground, and the view was amazing. Even though there were horrible winds that I thought were going to blow us off the bridge, it was the most incredible experience yet. We learned a lot about the bridges history such as how the workers did not have harnesses and all they had were the shoes on their feet. Surprisingly only about a dozen people died during the construction of the bridge. One of the most difficult jobs was being inside a hollow metal beam. They were in there with a bucket of water and it was their job to cool down the hot pegs and secure them. Also, we learned that during construction they initially wanted to put support beams in the Harbor so that they could make the arch. The bottom of the Harbor was too soft, so they had to suspend the metal beams in the air. So after a very windy day and about 1,400 steps our adventure came to a close. It will probably be the most memorable experience I come away with from Australia.

-Courtnie

The Three Sisters

We went to the Blue Mountains Saturday and hiked into the gorge. We saw the "Three Sisters," the rock formation in the photo. According to our park ranger, Dindy, aboriginal legend says that three sisters with a controlling father were turned to stone after being scandalous in some way. Some say that the story originally included seven sisters, but due to erosion and time only three "sisters" remain. Dindy couldn't thoroughly explain the story because only aboriginal people are allowed to pass on their oral history.

--
~Taylor Jeffris '14

Black Breasted Buzzard, AKA Slammer

When we were at the Taronga Zoo on Friday we attended a bird show.  One of the birds that I found most interesting was the Black Breasted Buzzard named Slammer. This bird's favorite food is an emu egg, which is the equivalent of about 12 chicken eggs and has a very tough exterior.  For this demonstration they used an egg made from plaster and put food inside for the bird to retrieve.  Using a rock, Slammer would slam the rock into the shell in an attempt to open it.  After a couple slams she would use her beak and talons to pry open the egg.  After a few times she finally achieved her goal.  Watching Slammer try to get into the egg was quite an impressive sight.

-Ashley

Aquarium Picture

Heres the picture!!

Sydney Aquarium

We went to the aquarium on Friday at Darling Harbor. We saw a range of animals from the platypus to the Japanese Spider Crab. We also got to touch some different species like the starfish and were also able to examine a shark egg. The egg was unlike any other egg we have seen. It was soft and was made of keratin, which is what makes our hair and fingernails.  Standing under the shark tank was definitely experience since Courtnie is afraid of sting rays, Taylor is afraid of sharks and Ashley is afraid of fish. Though we have our phobias of the marine life the aquarium was definitely a fun experience.

-Courtnie, Ashley, and Taylor

Blue Mountains; lyrebird sighting

28 April, 2012
Blue Mountains Tour

We took the train a few hours west to the Blue Mountains.  It was a beautifully clear day, so the sometimes misty mountains were very visible.  We had a fabulous guide, Dindy, from the National Park Services who gave us a great ecological hiking tour down an enormous canyon into temperate rainforest!  If you are trying to imagine it and have hiked Watkins Glen gorge, think 10X deeper and greener and you are coming close.
The most important and amazing sighting (for me anyway, as an animal behaviorist) was seeing a lyrebird scratching through the leaf litter.  It has the most beautiful song and amazing mating display.  It is so gratifying to see in person for the first time an animal that you have described in class so many times.  There is a wonderful video on youtube from the BBC that is part of Attenborough's Life of Birds, I believe that shows the behaviors of the lyrebird.
Other wonderful things were primitive tree ferns hundreds of years old, cascading waterfalls, eucalyptus trees, cockatoos and parrots flying overhead, and majestic sandstone formations.

Students had a great time hiking the trails and taking the steepest railcar ride in the world back up to the top.  We have an enthusiastic and engaged group and that makes all the difference!

Lynn G

Students and an Emu; Moon Jellyfish video

27 April, 9:00 pm

Sydney Central YHA

A very comfortable evening.

One of the things we do at the Taronga Zoo is to walk through an enclosure with kangaroos, wallabies, and an emu.  The emu in the photo was walking along the path with the students and other visitors, and got very close to the students in the photo.  As you can see, they were thrilled with the encounter. 

If I can get it to work ... at http://youtu.be/dtJT92QuthU you will find a YouTube video of moon jellyfish from the Sydney Aquarium.  Sorry about the annoying reflections and the jittery nature of the video; I hope to find some time to edit.  Nevertheless, they are pretty nice to watch.  Below is an attempt to embed this video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dtJT92QuthU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

--charlie j

Charlie's new cell phone number

27 April, 6:30 am

Sydney Central YHA

Mild, pleasant.  Short-sleeve weather.

 

Well, we have arrived, safe and sound!  The weather is just perfect -- the Sydneysiders think it is a little chilly, but since we're coming from a locale that recently had over three inches of snow, it feels fine to us. 

We did our usual first day tour:  the Hyde Park barracks and the Indigenous Australian exhibit at the Australian Museum.  But we landed here early enough so that we could take a nice stroll around the Botanic Gardens -- including a look at the flying fox colony.  Sometimes, people ask if I ever get bored with this course, and I always answer 'no'; getting to see the country along with others makes it fresh every year.  And at the gardens yesterday, watching the students and my colleague Lynn and their enthusiasm at seeing the flying foxes for the very first time, made for a perfect example of that. 

The photograph attached is of the group at Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park. 

I do have a new cell phone number for the tour here in Australia.  For those dialing from Australia, it is 04-1570-9620.  For those calling from America (14-hours time difference!), it is 011-61-4-1570-9620.

 

--charlie j

Welcome to the Australia blog

We leave Tuesday April 24!!  Pack light!