Crikey!

Today was a magical day, even without Disney World.

But I'll start with yesterday. My friend Emily and I went hopped on a train and rode for an hour and a half out to the Gold Coast to a wonderful place called Surfer's Paradise. What a place! The beach was absolutely gorgeous with the finest sand I've ever felt before. Even with the strong wind and the rain coming and going, it was a great day out on the ocean.

Now today.

At the start of the semester, the uni had a market day where all of the uni groups/organizations/clubs were at the great court for us new students to look at. I joined a student society called QUEST that basically is filled with Aussie and international students that travel locally on discounts. So today was the first QUEST trip ever to the Australia Zoo, home of Steve Irwin.

The bus driver on the way to the zoo told us that we needed to say two things today, "G'day" to those you meet and "crikey" when you see something crazy/exciting/startling. Needless to say, Emily and I were taking full advantage of this new adventure to say "crikey!" at every moment. It was quite fun.

The zoo itself was founded by Steve Irwin's parents in order to give rescued animals a safe environment to live. Walking around today it was evident that the zoo is very concerned for animal conservation, respecting and appreciating wildlife. It was quite interesting to hear the staff talking about Steve in a very affectionate way. From what I gather, Steve was a kind and easy going guy who was very involved in the zoo and its employees. I couldn't help but walk away from the zoo with a vigor for animal conservation and awareness.

Needless to say, I had an awesome time. I have always loved the zoo and learning about new animals and other parts of the world. After meeting some elephants, my new desire is to go to Africa and Thailand to see these beauties in their natural habitat. All in good time.

I posted more pictures on facebook so check them out.