Calentines Day

Our third week of the study abroad trip was by far the best. We had the opportunity to go hiking at Blue Mountain National Park, which is one of my favorite hobbies. First, we drove an hour and a half to the park with our Australian tour guide, Adam. Once we got there we went to see an amazing view of the three sisters mountain range and hear the myths behind their formation. After the interesting story, we went to a local restaurant where we ate lunch and hydrated for the hike. Because it was so hot that day, we had to cut the hike into segments but we still had an amazing time! We hiked down a trail that lead us to an open area where we saw the most beautiful view. The view was similar to the Smoky Mountains but it was also very “desert looking.” In fact, the entire park reminded me of the outback, which is an area of Australia I want to see before I leave. 

The other area we hiked ended at a pool of natural water between two large mountains. Our group took turns diving in the water that was freezing cold since it was hidden by the shadows of the mountains on either side. We froze in the water, but managed to hike back up the trail where we road the tour bus to our last destination. Our tour guide created face paint with the iron in the rock and mixed water with it to make red paint. Since I am adventurous, I painted my face with stripes to look like a native warrior. Besides the fun and pictures, the view was also incredible at this spot. You could see for miles and the valley below us looked like it stretched out to the horizon. Overall, the experience was incredible and I enjoyed it so much more because hiking is one of my favorite past-times.

The last thing I did this week that was exciting was eating a passion fruit. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to try one because they look so satisfying and I could not buy them in Nashville, TN. I looked up a video on how to cut dragon fruits and cut them up into bite-sized pieces. The fruit was a little more watery than I expected and not as tasteful, but I got to fulfill one of my childhood wishes in the process. Lastly, before my birthday on Valentines Day, some of us went to Woolworths (basically a Walgreens) to get some ice cream. To my satisfaction, I found coffee flavored ice cream for a really low price. We also went to an amazing wing restaurant called Wings and Tins. They had buffalo sauce and a special deal (eight wings for $6), which made my birthday so much better than it already was. After this, we walked to another ice cream place called Max Brenner’s and I got the 80’s milkshake. It was chocolate ice cream with a scoop of vanilla on top covered in magic shell chocolate coating. My birthday was perfect, and celebrating it not only in a different country but also during the Summertime made it unique. This week has been a blast so far and I am so happy I got to celebrate my birthday with such a great group of friends!        

   

Wings And Tins