Donuts, Surfers, and Sunsets, Oh My!

11 miles. That's how far I walked today. Eleven miles up and down the streets of downtown Newcastle, through the shops of Darby and Hunter Street, and along three different beaches. And I think those eleven miles earned me a donut...or maybe two.

Doughheads Donut shop is an adorable little bakery found in the middle of the Hunter Street shops. Their donuts are legendary, and they come in flavors like Caramel Toast, Nutella, Cinnamon Sugar, and Top Deck, a donut drenched in chocolate ganache and topped with white chocolate shavings. (Is your mouth watering yet?)

After a bus ride and a quick walk to the shop, I happily ordered a Caramel Toast and a Top Deck donut. I spent $9 AUD for two donuts and ate undoubtedly hundreds and hundreds of calories. 

WORTH IT. These were, and I say this with utmost certainty, by far the best donuts I have eaten in my entire life. And I have had some pretty great donuts in my twenty or so years of existence. 

Above: the remains of a Top Deck donut.

(This was eaten immediately after the picture was taken)

Below: a VERY happy Caroline

Yum.

As we walked along three of the local beaches, we came across many surfers. It was 70*F/21*C today, and gorgeously sunny. This is the best kind of weather, if you ask me! 

Below are a few of my first attempts at photographing surfers. In hindsight, this probably is pretty creepy, but what they do is so cool. (Side note: if you are one of the surfers pictured and somehow stumbled upon this blog, thank you for being such a cool subject to photograph!)

They make it look easy. (As if!)

Between the donuts, shopping, photography, and beach walking, we stayed in downtown Newcastle until sunset. As someone who loves a good sunset, I was amazed when I realized that I had yet to fully see, appreciate, and photograph an Australian sunset. So, here you go: Aussie Sunset, Take 1.

Finally, before I go, I thought I would give you all one more update: The Seagull Feud is alive and well. While they did decide to pose for me today, I still got some low fliers at the beach and some very sinister looks from them. War strategies are being drawn up as we speak. To be continued...

Koala-ty Day in Newcastle

After my Opal card (public transportation) finally came in the mail, I decided that it was high time for another adventure, hopefully filled with animals.

The journey to Blackbutt Reserve was an interesting one. After a bus ride across town, we walked beside the highway a while, hoping we were going the right direction. We walked over a bridge and on the edge of the woods until we finally came upon the car park for the reserve. 

Blackbutt has an odd name, but it's a great place, filled with native Aussie birds, wombats, emus, wallabies, and yes, KOALAS. 

And did I mention that it was FREE? You may recall that I tend to enjoy free activities. Especially when they involve these cute marsupials!

This one looked so shy. He only showed his face once! 

These guys especially loved to hang, jump, and climb about! So cute!

And did you know that they are super fast runners? When there's food around, at least. 

    

Even after we got done watching our furry friends, there was so much more to see at this reserve! I'm talking about wallabies, lorikeets, and emus, who we got to feed (with their food in an ice cream cone)!

Look at him snatch that cone from me!!!

Just as we were about to leave, though, we came across some gorgeous peacocks who loved to shake their tail feathers!

Now I just need to figure out a way to take these critters home with me...

First Week of Uni

Believe it or not, I came to Newcastle to spend a semester at the university here. It is study abroad, isn't it?

So, week one of uni is done, and it wasn't entirely what I expected. On the first day, I had the same nerves that I did on my first day at the U of A, but after my first class began, that all dissipated and I got to start really experiencing life as a uni student in Australia.

First, before you ask why my week is already over, I only go to class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Australian university courses are much more self-directed, so much of the learning happens through projects, reading, and research.

I am taking 4 courses while I am here--Film and Television Studies, Schooling, Identity, & Society, Australian Pop Culture, and K-6 Science and Technology. From what I can tell so far, I really am going to enjoy each one of them.

There are a few differences between the U of A and the UON that have surprised me.

1. The campus here is enormous. I'm used to a big campus, but I swear, this is like two different campuses squished together. 
2. Courses are broken down into 2 parts: lectures and tutes (tutorials) or workshops. You attend each part just once a week. 
3. I DON'T HAVE TEXTBOOKS. I have $15 course readers for two classes, and a couple novels for another. Living. The. Dream.

So far, so good, I'd say! And there's plenty of time for me to explore this awesome country. I think on Friday I'm going to go to a reserve here to see some more Aussie animals! 

A Downtown Walkabout

Hello again! This won't be a very chatty post--mainly pictures! Yesterday, I went with the UON Exchange Student Network on a tour of downtown Newcastle. We looked at some public art, went down Darby Street, and most importantly, did a long walk along the beach. (That sounds like the start of an online dating site profile, doesn't it?)

I'm not sure you can tell in any of the pictures, but the wind was crazy yesterday. I'm talking 40 mph gusts of wind with no storms anywhere nearby. Anyway, you probably are looking for the pictures, so here you go!

I found this on the wall behind a hotel.

I'm guessing you don't find many real camels in coastal Australia.

This one was on a street corner. Random, right?

This was a skate park with a coffee house on the side.

I swear the seagulls are plotting my death or something.

The sand felt so nice...except when it was blowing in my face.

Isn't the ocean gorgeous?

Breathtaking views all around.

The City of Newcastle...my city.

Learning the Ropes...literally

I heard somewhere that the best way to make the most out of a study abroad experience is to do something (preferably new) every day. Clearly I took this to heart because after just one low-key day here, I was bored and in need of an adventure.

Technically, it is still O-week (or Orientation Week) here at the University of Newcastle, so I checked out my orientation email to see what I could do today. (After all, I am still just meeting people!)

I came across an event through iLead, an international leadership program here at the UON. It was a Great Aussie Bush Adventure camp with a catered lunch and snacks. More importantly, it was FREE. (Another piece of advice I heard was to never turn down opportunities to make friends or experience things for free.)

So, I signed up last minute, packed a bag this morning, and hopped on the bus at uni for this grand adventure, about which I knew nothing. About an hour later, I arrived at this camp and got started on abseiling (or repelling in American English), a high ropes course, and a high swing.

While I did not get a ton of pictures, I can tell you that I was very slow at abseiling and the ropes course. Luckily, the pictures don't seem to portray that too much.
 Though I lacked the necessary coordination for the first two activities, I had enough of an adventurous and daring spirit to do everything. I pushed on, succeeded (for the most part), and finally, I got to the best part of the day: the swing.

Mind you, this isn't just any swing. This swing is over 16 meters (55 or so feet) in the air. The rest of your team pulls a rope that lifts you high into the air, and then you pull a string to release yourself for an incredible ride.

You fly back and forth in the air until you finally slow enough to come down.

Does it surprise you that I asked to go first? Wow, I loved this.


As we prepared to travel back to the uni, though, I got a huge surprise. KANGAROOS! (Update--the animals I previously saw were wallabies, which are like kangas, but smaller and more stout. For more information on this distinction, follow this link).

Here's the best part, though. They weren't afraid of us humans AND I had my camera. iPhones just don't seem to do the job for wildlife photography. Below are the pictures I got (they are not edited, cropped, or lighting adjusted, as I am on a school computer until my new adapter gets here), so please enjoy!

Shark Cuddling and Sand Boarding

Yes, you read that correctly. "Shark Cuddling and Sand Boarding" was the activity on the agenda yesterday.

"How does one cuddle a shark?" you may ask. In waders, of course! It turns out that Australian rescue sharks at the Irukandji Shark and Ray Centre love to swim around you, brush against you, and of course, eat prawns from you. One particular shark, who I believe was named Priscilla, particularly loved to cuddle with me. She was so friendly and gentle, nothing like what you would expect of the typical shark, that is, if you haven't been around sharks up close.

One thing our group (international students from UON) learned while at the centre was that sharks only aim to attack people because we look like animals they would eat. Think about it--if you were on a surfboard with arms and legs hanging off, you'd look particularly like a sea turtle. If you wore a jet-black and sleek wet suit, you'd look like a seal. Sharks don't want to eat people...we apparently taste bad.

For the record, I did not get pictures with the real Priscilla. Cameras and water don't tend to mix well, especially with sharks and rays splashing about.

 Now, you may wonder, "What in the world is sand-boarding?" Fear not, I have even more answers for you!

Just outside of Newcastle is a place called Anna Bay, and it is home to the largest moving sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. This is in Australia, of course, so what did the Australians decide to do on these dunes? Ride them!

There are two ways to sand board-standing and sitting. I wish I could say that I was coordinated enough to ride standing, but alas, that is not one of my gifts. So, I rode sitting. It. Was. So. Fast.

Riding down was a blast, nonetheless, but when you go down a hill, there is that small detail of climbing back up. And this particular hill was made of (you guessed it!) SAND.


The hill was worth it, though, because the views were incredible. It honestly didn't look real.


After a long and tiring afternoon of boarding, we made our way back to the bay, home to yet another amazing view--waves along the edge of the dunes.

 I share these last two pictures out of general interest for all of you Americans. We toured a brewery at the end of the day (Aussie drinking age is 18), and it is currently American Beer Month. Festivities are to include "finger-lickin USA food" and Elvis impersonators, along with plenty of obnoxious Fourth of July decor. Great.

Then, on the right is a pic of my first-ever kangaroo sighting! Yippee!

     All in all, it made for a wonderful day.

Australian Winter? A Beach Adventure

Yesterday, Elise and I spent the afternoon at Nobby Beach in Newcastle. We took the 100 bus from the uni all the way to the last stop downtown, hopped off, and started walking toward the Harbour. With so many cute restaurants and views, it felt like a dream. I photographed sailboats, the water, the birds, anything I could see.

Then we arrived at the beach. And wow, it was a sight. My first look and steps on Australian sand. I even stepped into the water for a bit! (Stuck my feet in)

Let me remind you, this is winter.

Winter.

 Winter.

Now please enjoy this picture of the seagull who attacked me whilst I was photographing the beach.

Despite the mean seagull, it was a pleasant "winter" day at the beach!