The Final Countdown

Well us Spartans survived the land down under! Our final day was a bittersweet one. The morning was spent grabbing some last-minute gifts and souvenirs for those back home and adding the final touches to our poster presentations. When 3.00 o'clock rolled around we all gathered in the tv room ready to present our projects. …

A Day With the Crocodiles

Early this morning we left Cape Tribulation and headed back to Cairns to finish up the last two days of the study abroad. Of course on the way we made a couple of stops. The first stop we made today was the Daintree Discovery Center. Here we got to walk through the oldest rainforest in …

Ocean Safari Reef Experience

Hello Spartan family, Today's adventure started at Cape Tribulation beach as we boarded a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef for an ocean safari. I brought my book and my head phones as I was expecting a peaceful ride out to the reef like we had in Cairns. Boy was I wrong! The inflatable …

JCU Facility Tour

It’s down to the final days and today we are doing our last road trip of the study abroad. This time we are heading up the coast to Cape Tribulation in pursuit of the Daintree Rainforest, crocs, and more reef! On our way to our lodging, our bus had to use a ferry to pass …

Research Day

Although we still have about a week left in this amazing country we are beginning to wrap up our 4 credits of our senior seminar HPS class. This has consisted of amazing experiences, group discussions, classes, daily journals/reflections, and even a couple quizzes. Today was a day to fulfill our 2 undergraduate research credits. Over …

July 23 – Fitzroy Island

Today the whole group spent the day on Fitzroy Island! Fitzroy Island is south-east of Cairns and is covered in rainforest and has parts of the Great Barrier Reef around the island. Our day started with an hour boat ride out, and on the island we had access to lots of water sports and hiking …

Ballooning, Repelling, Sliding, Jumping and Zip-Lining

Today was exhilarating. A few of us had the opportunity to view Australia from 5,000 feet up in a hot air balloon! Most of us, myself included, got to go canyoning in Cairns! We began the journey by climbing THE steepest hills we had ever seen. It was probably the most strenuous part, but every …

Celebrating our 21st Birthdays Aussie style

We are officially three weeks into our study abroad program with many of us headed back to the States and New Zealand next Saturday! This has been the funnest, fastest month of me life. However, we have some celebrating to do before then because we have two special birthdays today! Both Jillian and I share …

The Great Barrier Reef

Australia's Natural Wonder: The Great Barrier Reef! This morning our group adventured to the Great Barrier Reef for the first time and had the time of our lives! How many people can say that they've seen and interacted with one of the seven natural wonders of the world!? For those who are curious like us, …

Wildlife Experience & Daintree Aboriginal Rainforest Tour

The day started out with a quick breakfast at the YHA where we boarded the bus at 9:00am with our new friends from the University of Arizona up to Port Douglas. When we arrived at the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas we were free to explore the different enclosures including the Savannah, Rainforest, and Wetlands …