Garrett Kearns

SOUTH EAST AUSTRALIA

October/November 2012 Australia

Parrots on my head at a little town called Apollo Bay. (Is this what they mean by parrot head) About to have surgery on my elbow after I dislocated it falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji.

The original pen for Wilbur from the movie set in Charlottes Web was at the farm we stayed at.

We saw many Kolas including this baby Koala hanging on its mothers back at the Otway Light Station.

Ellory trying on hats for the Melbourne cup.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA!

Our rst week in Australia was in Melbourne. We had an

unexpected twist when I found out I had to have surgery for my dislocated elbow, we stayed in Melbourne a week longer than we had intended.. This turned out great because we took hold of some great city exploring. We stayed in a suburb of the city called South Yarra, which was a very comfortable neighborhood. South Yarra has the Royal Botanical Garden in it and we spent an afternoon walking around in quite a state of amazement. There were many new species of birds and plants that we had never seen before. It felt really weird because we realized it was Spring in October, there were many familiar Spring blooming plants and owers and it took a while to get used to the fact we were going to miss Fall this year. We ventured into the Central District of downtown Melbourne almost every day and did some great exploring, like going to the Aboriginal Cultural Center, the Aquarium, walking along the Yarra River, going to Federation Square, and just wandering around. When we arrived we very soon realized it was extremely crowded, upon asking we found out there was a major horse racing event going on.

An interesting part of getting around the city was riding on the trams.The trams are like cable cars , on tracks in the middle of the streets. Melbourne is also known as the tram city, it has over one hundred trams taking people from their ofces to their houses or to restaurants or ball games or anywhere you need to go. The trams are like cable cars and go all over the city including all the suburbs. I felt like it was a great form of pubic transportation, and lots of fun. The Yarra River runs straight through the center of the city. It holds large water events such as rowing and outrigger races, yet it also beckons other, more subtile sports such as shing and kayaking. The restaurant district is located on the waterfront so no matter where you go, whether it be a cafeteria or a ne dining restaurant, you will have amazing views of the river. Even though Melbourne was a big city, when our time there had ended I felt like the city was really easy to get around in and that I felt comfortable and familiar with. The city is very friendly, beautiful and full of life.

THE MELBOURNE CUP!

It was really cool that we were

in Melbourne for the horse racing season. The Melbourne Cup is one of the most important and prestigious horse races in the world, comparing to the Kentucky Derby. in was founded in 1861. I was amazed that thousands of people from around the world come to watch the race and pay hundreds of dollars to see it and it only lasts about three minutes. The amount of gambling the Aussies do during the race season is tremendous. On Melbourne Cup day it almost seems that normal life stops. Every town and village has a huge party going on where the people are all totally mesmerized by the lead up to the race. At the race grounds,

horses parade for the crowds who are dressed in their finest clothes, especially fascinating are their unique and funky hats. We were driving North up the Western Coast and stopped in a little wind blown fishing town and went in a pub. The people were all dressed up in party mode with noisemakers, watching the pre race show on a stupendous big screen with surround sound, it made you feel like you were really there. The people were really nice to us and asked us if we wanted to bet, we all got to place a little bet and it made the race really exciting.The race began and everyone in the room started cheering, the horses seemed really clumped together and I was amazed the jockeys

could even stay on going full speed and standing up, in the end the horse I bet on, Jackleberry, placed third out of twenty four horses. After watching the race it helped me recognize how important a part horses play in the history and cultural of Australia. Since the settling of Australia horses have been a necessity for the people, From the work horses in the the cities to the stations in the far reaches of of the outback, horses have been part of the spirit of Australia. They estimate that there are up to a million wild horses called Brumbies. It makes me feel ecstatic that the wild horses are thriving in a harsh yet beautiful landscape.

THE SHIPWRECK COAST!

The Shipwreck Coast of

Victoria, Australia is considered the one deadliest coasts in the world. Filled with massive reefs and rocks jutting out from the ocean, few people venture into these unforgiving waters. Since the mid1800s, immigrants, travelled from England and other parts of Europe to Australia in hopes of nding a new promising land. Many made it to Melbourne the main destination for most of the voyages, but many lost their lives on the long and difcult journey. They say if you drained the sea waters from this shoreline you would nd the remains of up to 1,200 ships that were lost to the sea forever. The trip from England or Europe took from 80 to 100 days. The journey took them through the blazing heat of the tropics as they crossed the equator, then down into the frozen seas around Antarctica. One of the most perilous parts of the journey was when they could smell the owers and glimpse shores of Otway Point, knowing their loved ones were waiting

only one more days sail away.. Bass Strait was a narrow channel going between the reefs on one side and the looming cliffs of the South Coast on the other. As they did not have reliable compasses and charts, they had to depend on sight, at night and in storms or fog this was close to impossible. Their only guide through the deadly channel was Otway Lighthouse; with morse code, ags, and a light that could be seen 36 miles out into the foaming sea.The lighthouse keepers had a huge responsibility to help these ships be guided through these perilous waters. In these modern times we are fortunate that almost all ships have radar, sonar, GPS, and many other sophisticated electronics that help them navigate the seas and treacherous coastlines. It was amazing to stand on the coastline and imagine what it would have been like to be a part of one of these horric or successful journeys.

Otway Light Station

LIFE ON A DAIRY FARM!

Mackas Dairy Farm

Life on a dairy farm is a job that is very
unique and fullling. It requires a immense amount of work yet the rewards of living in the countryside, working outdoors and making a living in this environment are worth the hard work. The primary responsibility of a dairy farmer is milking and caring for the cows. The cows have to be milked twice a day seven days a week. Unlike in the past, the farmers now have machines that they milk the cows with, the machines are cleaned and assembled to attach to the cows each day by hand. As the cows are being milked the milk is sent through stainless pipes to a large tank where the milk is turbo speed cooled to take it from 98 degrees down to 40 degrees in seconds. A truck then comes to the farm every day to take the milk to the local cheese, butter and milk plant. Since only the females can produce milk the farmers don't keep any of the young male calves except a couple of chosen ones they may believe may be good for breeding. The young female calves are kept in the barn and bottle fed milk until they are a couple weeks old. The young females will not produce milk until they have a calf of their own, at about two years old. The farm also had many other animals. Since it was spring, most the babies had just been born. They ranged from just a few weeks old to a coupe calves that were born while we were there. There were pigs, sheep, cats, alpaca, goat, chickens, ducks, and dogs. Many of the babies had to be bottle fed twice daily, we were fortunate that we got to be a part of this. Living on the farm was intriguing and awesome experience. I learned there are many skills you must have in order to successfully run a farm. You must have good veterinarian skills and be able to handle animals to help them in case of emergency. You also must be able to grow hundreds of acres of hay or feed for the animals, so knowing how to do this is another farming skill in agriculture. This is what Macka studied in school. ! It is a tough lifestyle that requires a tremendous amount of work, it therefore leaves little for days off or holidays. It was great being around the animals, but the job is not for everyone it would be an huge commitment for anyone signing up.

MUTANT MESSAGE DOWN UNDER!

Garrett Kearns Mutant Message Down Under / 187 Pages / Marlo Morgan Mutant message down under is a true story about a women who has a career of a psychiatrist in the states who is asked to go on a four month long walk with the aboriginals of Australia through the heart of the outback. If she had be given a choice she would have said no but she did not why she was invited to Australia until the last moment and by then it was to late to go back. During the walkabout, as the aboriginals call it they taught her the ways of their people and in return she taught them about the modern world as we know it. As the walkabout ends she comes into civilization a new person who will teach future generations about the native people of Australia and other third world cultures around the world. I love her writing style immensely because she is so detail with her work and she paints a wonderful picture in my mind of the aboriginal culture and what they are all about. Even though there are very few characters in the book, she really brings out all that she can in them and she exposes everything from physical build to emotions. She really touches with every charter individually and it is amazing how she remembered all that with no journal or anything to write on. She went through many hardships on the journey and she found many thing that made all of life a whole lot easier. Everywhere around the world cultures and people are being treated poorly and they will continue to be unless we can stop it. It's book really show how undies turned some cultures are and will the advancing modern civilisation they are becoming less and less that way. It was an exciting anyone. "Perhaps I started as a

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book and I would recommend it to

reluctant urban student, but now it seemed right for me to have this experience here in the outback where only earth, sky, and ancient life exists, where prehistoric scales, fangs, and claws are ever present, yet are dominated by fearless people. I felt I was nally ready for the life I had apparently chosen to inherit." To me this quote symbolizes how people can make adjustments in life and how it is ok to change the way you are. "After the torrential rain, the owers appeared out of nowhere. The landscape went from barren nothingness to a carpet of Color. We walked on owers, ate them, and wore garlands if owers all over our bodies. It was wonderful." To me, this article show how in the barren land, it can all of a sudden change to beautifulness. and splendor.