FRIENDS!
AHHHH the program is over!!! Not officially, but tomorrow is our final dinner and we took our final exams the past two days. I'm now back in Brisbane and we're done with scheduled activities.
So let me just catch yall up...
SO after the near death experience on the ferry to Great Keppel we spent a few days there finally studying some awesome marine bio because we finally were on THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!!!
Unfortuntly for us though, the weather was still not cooperating and we didn't actually end up seeing anything because the sediment made the water so murky. We couldn't snorkel, but we were able to swim a little bit! It was a really relaxing time and we learned a lot about the reef, the reef structures and also all the threats the reef is facing / already faces. Since our schedule had been pushed around a bit, we ended up having a bit more of a chill time. We had a couple of lectures each day and then did a walk around the island too. It was beautiful and there were so many shells that had washed up from the cyclone. We also saw some ferrel goats!!! They're a really big problem that the national parks have been trying to eradicate since they eat all the vegetation that stabilizes the small islands from erosion.
After Great Keppel we did a bit of a ping pong travel day to get to Lady Elliot Island. Within 24 hours we took a bus, an overnight train, another bus, and a small private plane! Lady Elliot is a GORGEOUS corral cay island about 80km off the mainland. It's smack on the reef, and actually, made entirely of dead corals. It was everything I could ever imagine about Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. It's CRYSTAL blue waters and fish everywhere. LEI is especially known for manta rays too! - unfortunately we were at the wrong season, but we did see loads of SEA TURTLES and WE SAW BABY SEA TURTLES BEING RELEASED!!!!!
From Lady Elliot we went straight to the Bunya Mountains where we took our final exams. It was similar to Maria in the sense there was wildlife EVERYWHERE! There were so many pretty face wallabies! Finals weren't bad, but there was a lot to study and we had about 4 hours to cram after getting off the bus and before the next days exams. .... It was a bit rough, but all in all not bad....And now I'm FINISHED WITH MY JUNIOR YEAR!!!
If you have any questions you can now reach me reliably at: ksaylor@lclark.edu
AHHHH the program is over!!! Not officially, but tomorrow is our final dinner and we took our final exams the past two days. I'm now back in Brisbane and we're done with scheduled activities.
So let me just catch yall up...
 |
| Lady Elliot Island |
Unfortuntly for us though, the weather was still not cooperating and we didn't actually end up seeing anything because the sediment made the water so murky. We couldn't snorkel, but we were able to swim a little bit! It was a really relaxing time and we learned a lot about the reef, the reef structures and also all the threats the reef is facing / already faces. Since our schedule had been pushed around a bit, we ended up having a bit more of a chill time. We had a couple of lectures each day and then did a walk around the island too. It was beautiful and there were so many shells that had washed up from the cyclone. We also saw some ferrel goats!!! They're a really big problem that the national parks have been trying to eradicate since they eat all the vegetation that stabilizes the small islands from erosion.
 |
| SNORKELING WITH A GREEN TURTLE |
 |
| BABY TURTLES |
From Lady Elliot we went straight to the Bunya Mountains where we took our final exams. It was similar to Maria in the sense there was wildlife EVERYWHERE! There were so many pretty face wallabies! Finals weren't bad, but there was a lot to study and we had about 4 hours to cram after getting off the bus and before the next days exams. .... It was a bit rough, but all in all not bad....And now I'm FINISHED WITH MY JUNIOR YEAR!!!
 |
| In the lagoon (the shallows) of the reef! |
If you have any questions you can now reach me reliably at: ksaylor@lclark.edu
Cheers!
Kate