Mt. Warning and Byron Bay

On the morning of Saturday August 13^th, we departed by bus for Mt. Warning, a 1,156 m high shield volcano. The mountain is known for receiving the first sun rays in the whole Australian continent and some people will camp out at the base to hike to the top and see the sun rise. 

The hike was 8.8 km round trip, which is not including the extra 7 km we had to walk up and back because our bus was the wrong size and could not fit up the winding road to the base of the mountain. This was not your average 3.5 km walk to the base of the mountain, though. It was a vertical hike without any flat breaks… a perfect warm-up for a tiring hike! (not.) Anyway, the hike was pretty cool because it was through a jungle/rainforest with really cool trees and plants.

At the top of the mountain, the last 400 meters were so steep and rocky that there is a chain that you basically have to use to help yourself climb up. It was a challenge, and I found it interesting to see little kids doing it while our group was SO tired. I guess you have to remember that we had that vertical hike to start with, while they were all able to drive to the base. 

We had lunch at the top and there were 360 degree views, which was awesome. 

The group at the top!

Going down the mountain was easier, but still pretty painful and we were happy to FINALLY reach the bus. The bus took us to our Backpackers Inn in Byron Bay, which was a definite step down from the first luxurious hostel we stayed in. There were three bunk beds to a room and only one shower for a whole hall. Included in the price of this trip, we had a free BBQ at the hostel, free entry to Cheeky Monkeys (a club), and a free drink when we got there. The club was pretty crazy. There was a full moon party going on, which I guess happens every full moon and lots of people there were dressed in white and neon with their faces painted with paint that glows in the black light. The next day we explored the cute little town of Byron Bay, did some shopping, and then headed up to the lighthouse. The lighthouse marks the most easterly point of the Australian continent, and the views were gorgeous. 

The Elon girls at the Lighthouse.

Meghan and me in the museum inside the lighthouse.

Most eastern point.

A Weekend to the Gold Coast and some Ultimate Frisbee

            Over the weekend of August 5^th-8^th, some friends and I took a bus, two trains, and another bus to arrive at our final destination of Surfers Paradise in the Gold Coast. My first impression of the area was that it was more city-like and touristy than I thought it would be. I guess I figured it would be a beach town, but that was not the case. 

We stayed at the Sleeping Inn Backpackers for $27 a night, but because we did the buy two nights get one free deal, we were upgraded from a six person room to a six person apartment style suite. It was awesome! Probably not the best first hostel experience, though, since we were pretty spoiled. Our suite had three bedrooms, each with a bunk bed that was a double on the bottom and twin on the top, two bathrooms, a balcony, kitchen and living room area. 

The night we arrived there was a Backpackers Night Out promotion going on where we were able to pay $5 a person for an all you can eat BBQ, free admission to Vanity Nightclub, and a free drink on arrival—a pretty good deal if you ask me. Vanity was incredible! It was kind of like an underground club with red carpet entry, a couple stages, two bars, and a huge dance pit with a DJ. It was located on “the strip”, which is where all the big nightlife is located.

            The next morning, Kerry, Zach, and I got up at 7:30 AM to play in the Halibut’s Got Talent: 15 Minutes of Fame Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, which was the primary reason for the Gold Coast trip in the first place. The tournament fields were right beside the really cool looking AFL (Australian Football League) Suns stadium. 

There were 14 teams, most of which were legitimate mixed teams or at least people that knew each other, whereas ours was a random pickup team. We paid $70 for 3 meals both Saturday and Sunday and the tournament party on Saturday night. At the party, each team had to have some kind of talent to show off, which I thought was a pretty funny idea, although the party probably would have been more fun if I knew people on the other teams like everyone else seemed to. A girl on my pickup team was actually from Duke University, a team that we play regularly in tournaments at school and there were two other girls on another team from UNC Wilmington and William and Mary, whose teams we also play fairly often. The way the game was played was almost exactly the same, except I want to say that the spirit of the game here is even better than in America. There were almost no fights over calls in any of our games. I was actually caught off guard at the end of the first game because when we went to shake hands and say good game, the people on the other team were shaking my hand and saying things like “thanks so much for a great game”. After shaking hands, both teams mixed up and formed a big circle with our arms around each other and the losing captain spoke first, complementing the other team on their strengths and thanking them, and then the winning captain did the same thing. After our captain spoke he would call for three cheers for the other team. It was kind of a cool bonding experience that we do not have in the states. Many of the other teams would also announce the players that they were voting for female and male MVPs of the game. Basically, each team had to write it down and at the end of the tournament, the guy and girl who got the most votes won MVP of the whole tournament. Some teams gave individual prizes after the games when they named the MVP as well. I received plastic handcuffs from ‘Ultimate Bondage’, a duck keychain from ‘Funny Ducks’, and a Wonder Woman poster from ‘Heroes Ultimate’. I also won the overall female MVP award! The “trophy” was a xylophone with writing on it as well as a tambourine. 

Overall, the tournament was a really fun experience! I am so glad that I was able to get out, throw, and run around even though I was SO soar afterwards. It was also really interesting to meet people of all ages including people headed to beach ultimate Worlds in Italy and other people who had been to regular Ultimate Worlds.

            On Saturday night we went out to a club called Melbas where I met up with two friends from high school, Nick and Scott, who are studying abroad in Brisbane. Randomly, we also ran into a third girl from our high school who was studying abroad in the Gold Coast. 

It was good to finally get to see my best friend Nick because I have not been able to get down to Brisbane to see him yet—mostly because of the Sunshine Coast bus strikes that have been going on. On Monday we walked around and explored Surfers Paradise and then went outlet shopping in Harbour Town. The Gold Coast is really awesome and I hope to be able to get back there for another weekend this semester!

The group of girls before going out.

The three Frisbee players: Zach, Kerry, and me.