By Alessandra
Welcome back to my gap year excursions! The past few weeks have been so incredible with starting in Paris for a few days walking the city, exploring the small and old towns in the South of France, and adventuring through the East Coast of Australia! And yes, like the title states, I’ve made several friends with the furry kangaroos!
My trip began with a few days in Paris, roaming the streets, trying baguette and pastries, and going to art museums. I walked through the famous Tuileries garden to the Louvre and then all the way down to the Champs-Élysées and got a view of the Eiffel Tower. I went to the Musée d’Orsay where I saw an impressionist exhibition and many beautiful paintings and statues. The exhibit was unique as it replicated an art showcase set up by the impressionist artists themselves rather than their patrons in the 1800s. The artists chose to feature more provocative paintings as well as ones that were more authentic to themselves rather than the public eye. I loved using my art history knowledge to analyze the paintings and learn about how the artists used their work to comment on the social climate at the time.
Later, I went to the South of France and explored several little towns. I stayed with a family friend who drove me through the fields of France to get to four towns. We stopped at lavender fields for pictures of course and then made our way to a forted town with roughly three or four homes total. We walked to the top of the fortress to see the beautiful views on the cliffs and farms below. It was amazing to see these cities that were hundreds and thousands of years old. I was also able to explore a cave with stalagmite that was thousands and thousands of years old. After a week and a half, my trip was over and it was time to depart to Australia!
I am over two weeks into my Australia trip with four other girls and two leaders as part of a gap summer program called Pacific Discovery. The first few days were spent in Sydney exploring the city, botanical gardens, and an aboriginal dance show at the Opera House. We then began our hiking and abseiling (rappelling down cliffs) in the eucalyptus covered Blue Mountains. After, we headed over to Crescent Head to do some surfing and work on a few service projects. The waves were amazing and we met some amazing guides and mentors along the way! Or service projects entailed weeding and planting native species along the river bank which was both rewarding and informative! Our service project leader, Bob, told us all about the different native plant species and how the changes in biodiversity influenced the migration of the birds and animal populations. He also taught us about the unique bird species in Australia like cockatoos, sea eagles, and butcher birds. We then road tripped up to Byron Bay for some shopping and sunsets. We saw wild kangaroos on the sides of the road and so many farms filled with cows and horses! Then we were off to the Australian Zoo where I got to cuddle with kangaroos, pet koalas, and watch a crocodile show! This is where I met my bestie, Mr. Roo. Although, I’m not quite sure if Mr. Roo was a Mr. or a Mrs. If you check out the photos, we got a selfie together:). This zoo was built by Steve Irwin and his family and it was amazing learning about his devotion to saving and preserving wild life. Then we headed over to K’gari Island which has been my favorite excursion so far. The island is the largest sand deposit in the world (yes, bigger than the Sahara desert) yet it has a rainforest on it. The rainforest is preserved by this fibrous fungus that provides the trees with the nutrients they need. We swam in the most serene crystal clear lakes, learned to play the didgeridoo, tried to throw boomerangs, hiked the sand blows, watched shooting stars, flew over the island, listened to stories about the Butchulla People, nearly got attacked by dingoes, and drove the whole time on 4 wheel Toyota land cruisers. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Now, we are in Yeppoon where we snorkeled on the southernmost part of the Great Barrier Reef on Keple Island. Tomorrow, we leave for Airlie Beach where we will go ocean rafting, snorkeling, skydiving (15,000 ft tandem skydiving!!!!), and hiking to a waterfall. We will then continue north to Magnetic Island to visit a koala and wildlife sanctuary. And finally, we will head up to Cairns to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, learn about coral bleaching, and wrap up the program. My Dad will come at the end of the trip to pay me a visit and go on a boat for five days to the outer Barrier Reef to do some intense scuba diving and get my advanced open water diving certificate! Then we will head home and I will be headed off to Duke just ten days later! This trip has felt like a dream so far and I’ve made some incredible friends (shoutout to Lizzie, Sofia C, Sofia P, Erin, Portia, Adriana, Sophie, and Tycho) and learned some incredible things along the way! I’m so beyond grateful to have been able to do this trip and am excited for the next three weeks adventures! See you all at Duke!!!
