Fraser Island Adventure

Sunday, 20th April 2014

written by Lorena Buller and Zoe K'Gari

Today at the time of six o'clock in the morning (which is not really the favourite time for most people to get up), we had to prepare for the Beauty Spots Tour on Fraser Island. Our tour began at 8:30am and ended at 4:30pm. Our tour guide Gary,who was a true blue Aussi took us all over the beautiful island in this huge bus and he was really cool. To get to our first view point we had to drive for about one hour through a road shaped like a rollercoaster. Our second stop was the fresh water spring "Eli Creek", which flows into the sea and where we had the chance to take a swim. Approaching to the spring we had to drive along the beach which was like the highway of the island and while our driving we had the chance to take a look at the sea. After having a cup of tea and some really nice cookies we took off to the ship wrack where we took a lovely group picture. 

Next, some of us had the great opportunity to fly over the island and thanks to Anastasia who missed out on flying because we were too many people, everybody who wanted to, could fly. The view we had over the island was simply amazing and a very good experience. After our lunch the next destination was the rainforest and we had a 1,8km bushwalk, where the moskitos enjoyed their lunch too (German students and teacher).  Our last stop was at lake McKinzey, a lake formed just by rainwater and without any connection to the sea, so the water was very clear but also very fresh. 

Everybody was happy to take a swim and to relax in the sun for a little while, after this long and exhausting trip. Back at the lodges we had to hurry a bit to be at the beach in time to see the sunset. 

For us this day was a very good and exciting experience we had on Fraser Island. 

It was really a day in paradise!

Some Impressions II (Hervey Bay - Fraser Island - Sydney)

My bloCK entry ;)

Saturday, 19th April 2014
written by Ramon Dragusin

After our First night in Harvey Bay, we had breakfast at 9 o'clock. At 10:30 am we went to the Port by bus and went by ferry to Fraser Island. We arrived 2 hours later and did a little tour through our resort. We recieved our keys for the rooms, made our beds and met for the canoo tour. We were divided into 2 big groups and paddled in groups of three.

We paddled for half an hour and got of the canoos to see a little bit of the coast of Fraser. In the evening at 6:30 pm we had dinner in a restaurant next to the sea, we ate pizza and after that, we made a camp fire with a ranger, who told us stories about Fraser Island and her own history. The stars were amazing the whole night and evening. At the end of the camp fire, our damper was ready. 

After that some of us played Poker in one of our huts.

All in one, the day was really exciting and good for me. Everyone was happy, everyone had fun and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Heading for Fraser Island

Friday, 18th April 2014

written by Linus Quellhorst

Today we had to leave Brisbane. We woke up at 8 am, had a shower and went to have breakfast. At 11 am we went by train to the train station at Hervey Bay. In the train I played poker with Tom, Ruben, Marcel, Valentin and Ramon. After we arrived at 3 pm, we had to go by bus for another half an hour until we arrived at our hostel. We took our bags to our rooms and I had a pizza. Furthermore we played soccer and at 6 pm we had dinner. Now we will go to bed after a great day.

Tomorrow we will go by ferry to Fraser Island for two days and I hope we will have a great time. 

Day 5 in Brisbane

Thursday, 17th April 2014
written by Jan Freitag

Today is Thursday, the fifth day of our stay in Brisbane. After breakfast we played poker. Then we (Tim, Lukas and I) decided to spend our day at the city centre because there was no programme. At 12 o' clock we took the ferry to the city centre. The ride to the city centre is free and took approximately half an hour. The ferry station was called Eagle Street Pier.  Afterwards we decided to discover the city centre. The city centre is very modern. We saw lots of skyscrapers but we also saw a few old buildings. Then we went to Queen Street Mall which is a pedestrian mall. It is 500 meters long. Over 700 retailers are located there. We went into a few stores and I bought an Australian soccer jersey. In the afternoon we were hungry. So we went to an Asian restaurant. There we had some noodles. Then we went to a supermarket. We wanted to buy something to drink because the stores would be closed the next day. Then we drove back by ferry. In the evening we saw a beautiful sunset. Then we had dinner in the youth hostel. After dinner we started packing our luggage for the trip to Hervey Bay.

Floating on Brisbane River

Wednesday, 16th April 2014

written by Lina Große-Schönepauck

After we had breakfast this morning at 9 o`clock some of us layed next to the pool to enjoy the sun, others played for example poker. At 12:30 pm we met at the reception because we wanted to make a boat tour on Brisbane River, we walked to the little port and wated there for the city cat. The boat tour lasted about one hour, we drove down the river and had a great view over the city and all the skyscrapers.

After the trip some of us got off the boat earlier to see the beach next to Brisbane River. My roommates and I got off at the station where we embarked because we wanted to have a little picnic on the other side of the river. We went to the city and got some food and then we walked over the bridge and layed down in a little park. During our picnic we listened to some music and enjoyed the sun.

At 4:30 pm we went back to our hostel and met our friends in our room to relax with them. We had dinner at 6 o´clock like every evening and we had suasages with mashed potatoes. After we finished, we walked in a group of 12 students to the river and enjoyed the skyline of Brisbane at night. That was our 17^tth great day in Australia.   

Brisbane: Day 2

Monday, 14th April 2014

written by Marvin Friedrich

Today was our first day without our exchange families.We all had breakfast together at 9:00 am. Then we decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art. We visited an exhibition of the Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang with the title  "Falling Back to Earth" which was really exciting. After the exhibition we decided to go to fhe city center. We went to a few shops and bought some stuff. We also read that there is a botanic garden in Brisbane so went to it. The nature was really cool. After dinner we played some cards with the other students. All in all it was a really good day.

Our first day in Brisbane

Sunday, 13th April 2014
written by Tassilo Busch

I was very sad because we had to leave our exchange families. The departure was very emotional. We left the Gold Coast and drove to Brisbane to a little hostel. The bus travel took one hour. The hostel is not as good as the exchange families. We live with five other guys in a small room with a window which you can't open. It was a rainy day. Nearby our hostel is a cinema and other cool things, for example: a shopping centre a small market and a nice restaurant. At the end of the day we had a short meeting with the group at dinner. Then Marcel, Tom, Ruben, Valentin, Ramon and I went to the city. Brisbane is a very exciting city. There are a lot of skyscrapers. After this all we went to the other guys and Marcel played the entertainer.

Some things never change...

...but some Australian cafés provide the answer...

Thank you so much for an amazing time at the Gold Coast!

The last day at the Gold Coast

Saturday, 12th April 2014
written by Luca Haurand

Today is Saturday and also the last day we will spend here on the Gold Coast. There were not any plans from the school for the weekend, so I spent the night with my exchange student at Ruben and Valentine's house. 

I woke up at 7am and got up at 8:30am and made my breakfast and waited until the other guys woke up as well. We spent some hours there and later we drove home to get ready for the beach and lunch at Currumbin Beach Club with my family and Ruben and Valentine's as well. We had a great view over the coast from the restaurant.

After lunch we went down to the beach and went swimming and we laid in the sun. We went home at 3pm so I had enough time to take a shower and pack my stuff for tomorrow when we will leave. At 6pm we drove to the AFL game and had a great time there and it ended at 10pm.

It was a very good last day to relax on the Gold Coast with my friends and the family and to get ready for the other two weeks of our trip. I hope that I am going to see all of them again very soon.

Hiking at Night

Friday, April 11, 2014

written Zoe Labreze 

 

In the early hours of Friday morning we set off on a great adventure. Our day began at 01:30am and ended at 01:00pm.

 

In the dark night we had about half an hour to get ourselves ready for the drive down into New South Wales. Our destination was Mount Warning, where we were to climb the summit in time for watching the sunrise at the top. This mountain is about 1200m high and it took us about two and a half hours to hike to the top in the dark. And three hours more to get back to the car at the bottom.

 

The two parts of hiking were very different: First we got up in the dark and needed torches to allow us to find the right way. There were glow worms and many stars because the sky was very clear. We had to stop several times but after 4km and a steep rock climb of 400m with the aid of a chain, we reached the top and were the first ones in the whole world to see the sunrise. We had a picnic at the summit and enjoyed the amazing view. Our way back down was a bit longer because we took many photos and there was not the rush to get down for a set time. All in all the hiking was about 9km long.

 

When looking out from the bottom we could not believe, we had climbed such a huge mountain.

Although it was very challenging and exhausting it was an experience I will never forget.

 

Thank you to my host family for the good time at Gold Coast!

Australian Wildlife & Dreamworld

Friday, 11th April 2014

written by Valentin Rödiger 

Today it's Friday. I woke up at 9:15, which was a bit late because at 10 am we would go to the zoo to see some typical Australian animals like Koalas kangaroos and crocodiles. So Ruben and I had to hurry a bit. 

In front of the zoo we met Luca and Lina. We went straight to the Koalas, because all of us were very excited to see these animals and to take some photos. After we made some pretty cool photos, we went to a Bird Show , which started at 11 am. The show was pretty interesting and also had a lot of action, because the birds flew very near over the heads of the whole audience.

The next attraction was the kangaroo enclosure. It was awesome because we could go into the enclosure to feed the kangaroos and touch them. I also took some photos and selfies with the kangaroos. At 12:30 the crocodile show began. Somebody told us a lot of interesting things about these very exotic animals. After this show we went home and then straight to the beach until 3:45pm.

So we went home, took a shower and waited for our final event of this lovely day. 

Ruben, Kate, Liz, Luca and I went to 'Screamworld', it was a special event with DJs and lasers in the Dreamworld theme park. We went on lots of cool rides there, so it was a pretty nice end of a very cool day.

Thanks to my host family and greetings to Germany.

Anastasia Letting Loose

Thursday, 10th April 2014

written by Anastasia Krieg

Today is Thursday. I have been looking forward to this day because we had some cool activities planned. I woke up at 6.30 am and because no one else was awake, I played with the puppies of my host family. Afterwards I had some breakfast, brushed my teeth and made myself ready to go.

Then my host family drove me to Currumbin Beach, because we had surf lessons organized for us. We were given some surf shirts and a surfboard and told to go to the beach. There we were divided into four groups with each six or seven German students and one teacher. They explained to us what to call the parts of the surf board, how to paddle, how to get up and how to be safe in the water with a surfboard.

After that, at 11ish, we got into the water and we tried to catch some waves and get up on the boards. It was so much fun and even though I was in the water most of the time (instead of on the board because I fell down all the time), I had a really good time and gained some awesome experiences. After surfing we brought back our surfboards and surf shirts and had a “shower” at the beach.

Next I went to Meret’s place with Jenny, another German exchange student and we had some sushi and watermelon for lunch. Then we baked some brownies with raspberries and relaxed by their pool, trying to get tanned, but unfortunately all three of us got sunburned faces as well. At around 5 pm we drove to Robina Shopping Centre and walked around. We were looking for some shorts, but there were none as it is autumn now, so I bought a dress. I got picked up at 6.30 pm while Meret and Jenny stayed there.

Then I came home and had some Thai Beef Salad for dinner. Next I watched a movie and relaxed with my family, which by the way is very nice, funny and lovely, just saying.

Finally I wrote this awesome and unique blog post so you Germans could all learn about our fabulous journey in warm Australia being on holidays, and get jealous because you are still in school.

I leave you with some Australian slang, “G’day mate!”

"Supergood" days

Wednesday, 9th April 2014

written by Meret Floeth

Today started like every day since our exchange students have holidays: After waking up at 6:30 am without an alarm clock, as every day since I am in Australia, I went out for a walk with the super-cute dog of my host family, Rosie and had a short swim in the Pool afterwards.

Together with the family we decided to go to the Theme Parks, which are very close to our home. They bought me a “VIP-Pass” for the Parks, which means that I can go to every theme park with my pass so I didn’t have to pay every single time.

We started with movie world, and even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of theme parks before, I am now! There were three of us, my exchange partner Christie, her friend Genie and me, and we had so much fun, I didn’t expect it before.

Because the day was pretty hot, we decided to go to another park, called wet ‘n’ wild, which is a water fun- park with many water slides and also ordinary rollercoasters and it was fun again, but not as good as movie world!

The parks close at 5 pm so there was some time left and we decided to go to the beach and the view we had to surfers paradise was fantastic, just like the whole atmosphere, when the last surfers left the water and small groups of friends sat together and had a picnic for dinner or were just looking at the beach.

All in all, I can say that this day was a perfect day in Australia, and I’m looking forward to many others like this.

Didgeridoo at Surfer's Paradise - Simply Amazing!!!

The Sea World Experience

Tuesday, 8th April 2014

written by Tom Sternmann

Today it was a perfect day for me. I was with Tassilo, my exchange student Chase, Hayden and Ramon in Sea World. It was really fun. First of all we went on a rollercoaster where we got really wet. We saw a lot of different animals shows. The best ones were the dolphin and sealion shows. In the dolphin show you can see some guys who made stunts with the dolphins like backflips and frontflips. After that we made more rollercoaster and saw some special fishes and pinguins too. You can swim with the dolphins if you want but this is really expensive. 

After the nice experience in Sea World we went with lots of other guys to the beach and swam in the really nice ocean. There were so beautiful waves and the weather was also well. We also went to surfers paradise's city and bought some things and food. Here is erverything more expensive than in Germany. After a really nice day with new experience everybody drove with the exchange parents home. 

Word of the week

We are constantly learning new words during our stay in Australia - vote for YOUR word of the first two weeks now! This week you've got the choice between "Fair dinkum" (ein typisch australischer Ausdruck, der in etwa so viel bedeutet wie "Zweifellos"), "sticky beak" (bezeichnet u.a. eine Person, die seine Nase in die Angelegenheiten anderer steckt), "shenanigans" (zu Deutsch "Blödsinn", "Unsinn") und "No worries" ("Keine Sorge", "kein Problem" - das australische Motto schlechthin). 

Hiking at Springbrook

Monday, 7th April 2014

written by Shadi Safari

Today is Monday. The holidays have started so we didn't have to go to school and we could sleep longer.

After a stormy Sunday everyone was hoping for good weather because we went on a hike in Springbrook. The track we actually wanted to go on was closed because of the storm yesterday so we had to go on another one. 

On our way up to the waterfall we stopped and took a lot of photos. Everyone was amazed by the view we had. We saw a waterfall but unfortunately we couldn't go behind it because the way was closed.

Up there most of the Australians were cold while the most of us Germans said it wasn't cold. After we went back the same way we had a nice picnic. Some of us were just sitting and talking and others were playing things like rugby. At about 3 pm everyone got picked up by their hosts. 

After we arrived at home we went to Bill's house which is just up the road. Later a few other guys came over and we all played soccer, tennis, rugby and basketball. Jessica, my exchange student, had to leave soon because she had a netball match but I stayed with the boys and we played poker. After Duncan, Linus and I went home we had dinner and spent the rest of the evening with Jessica playing Darts. 

All in all it was a very nice day. I spent a lot of time with my German friends but also with the Australians.