Throughout the semester, there has been many trips and activities put on by QUT Exchange Buddies (lame name - awesome group). For some reason, I hadn't been participating that much. The trip to Moreton Island was one of the few that I decided to do and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made here yet. Find out why and at the end there may be a video.....
Not long after coming back from the Whitsundays, a trip to Moreton Island was announced. It was to include transportation to the island, food, accommodation, snorkeling and sand-boarding for a cost of $250AUD. I wasn't considering going because it wasn't a destination that I had wanted to see and I'm not made of money. What convinced me to go, was the fact that so many other students were going to be there. Meeting people and getting to know them is one of my favorite things to do and going to Moreton Island afforded me that opportunity.
The trip was from April 26th - April 28th. We have to meet at QUT at 6:30AM. I'm not one who has that much of a problem waking up early because I have to wake up for work around then. Having to be somewhere at 6:30AM was tough. Dragging my pillow, suitcase, sleeping bag and myself down the Urbanest hallway and over the Goodwill Bridge to QUT was a challenge that I overcame (with the help of a 7/11 coffee and banana).
We met at QUT to get on the coach bus that took us to our ferry over to Moreton Island. Once we got to ferry we unloaded the bus and loaded a trailer with all of our luggage. It was then that I saw one of the people in my exchange group, Christian from Denmark, was on the trip. I'd say that was the start of our bromance.
We all boarded the ferry. I ended up meeting more Danish people (Line, Kristian, Sophia, and Jonas) on the ferry over as well. I'd say that was the start of my love for the Danish. I also met a cool Italian dude, Federico. While I'm at it, all of these people deserve honorable mention from the trip (Canadians: Anya, Brendan, Justine, Kate, Nate, and Nick UK: Adam "Robbo" Norway: Maggie and Henrick)
Once we got to Moreton Island, we were greeted with some interesting news. We had to walk to our accommodation. Lasting an hour or so, this "walk" turned into a hell of a journey along the beach. Dont forget that we were all awake at 5AM to make it to bus. It was fine because there was good company and good conversation. Fortunately, a truck came to pick a few of the people in the back of the group (that would be me) up and drive us the rest of the way.
Getting to our accommodation before most people was a beneficial as we got to choose where we wanted to sleep. Once everyone arrived, we had a much needed lunch and that's when we all started to get to know each other....
About a five minute walk from our accommodation was the beach, so that's where we headed after lunch. The weather was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. That along with perfect water temperatures was a setup for a good time.
Moreton Island was good for me because I was beginning to forget how much I enjoyed meeting people. Let me clarify. Part of the reason I decided to go on this abroad journey was so that I could met people from all over the world that I would not have the chance to meet otherwise while getting to know the person I spend the most time with, myself. I made it up in my mind to take this trip to do just that as most of the people who I normally hung out weren't going...
Walking around the beach and sharing decent meals with students is what most of days the consisted of. The freaks came out at night. There may have been some parcial skinny dipping, camp fires and a warning of a snake on the footpath. I'm not too sure. It was all kind of a blur. I'm certain that I had a good time with good people though.
....I'm breaking the I did this, then I did that story time now....
Moreton Island was good for me because I was beginning to forget how much I enjoyed meeting people. Let me clarify. Part of the reason I decided to go on this abroad journey was so that I could met people from all over the world that I would not have the chance to meet otherwise while getting to know the person I spend the most time with, myself. I made it up in my mind to take this trip to do just that as most of the people who I normally hung out weren't going...Walking around the beach and sharing decent meals with students is what most of days the consisted of. The freaks came out at night. There may have been some parcial skinny dipping, camp fires and a warning of a snake on the footpath. I'm not too sure. It was all kind of a blur. I'm certain that I had a good time with good people though.
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| USA |
One of the days we went snorkeling and sand-boarding. In order to get to the snorkel spot we had to take a 4WD ride to the ship wrecks (pictured above). We were told to get a partner, naturally my sidekick Mandy was mine. :-) Snorkeling was pretty cool. I was a pro at it by this point. We swam around and through the wreck with vibrant colored fish all around us. Our guide gave us a bit of bread to feed the fish. They would come right up and grab it our of your palm! If you were quick enough you could grab them, I wasn't.
Sand-boarding was interesting. Moreton Island is in fact a sand island. After leaving the snorkel site we rode to some random area. I swear it looked like we were in the middle east somewhere. We were given composite wood boards (I'm guessing that 's what it was made of) and then trekked up the huge sand mountain. Before we laid on the board to slide down, we had to wax it up. Of course there was a competition to see who could slide down the longest. Let's just say I wasn't the worst, but I definitely wasn't the best. I think Mandy won actually. Speaking of Mandy, she and Katy - drop dead gorgeous Canadian - decided that they would ride down one on top of each other. Not to be outdone Jonas, Christian and I (in that order from the bottom) organized a triple-stack atop the board and tackled the mountain. By the time we made it to the bottom our board was hidden under the sand and I flew off. No worries. I survived. |
| Maggie and I stuntin' |
It was those experiences with such great people that made the Moreton Island trip with QUT Exchange Buddies so great. I really did enjoy it. On the island, the cell reception was terrible and/or nonexistent. That forced us to focus on each other rather than the distractions of our smartphones. Meeting such great people made me miss my friends back home a bit more though. On the final day I got a good signal and FaceTime'd my dear friend CJ. Good stuff.
The last day we took the walking hike back to where the ferry spot was. We chilled out on the beach for a long time, ate a sandwich (I grabbed two) and then headed back to Brisbane while watching the sunset. Perfect way to end a great trip.
Until next time....
Kyron Whitfield
P.S. After leaving Moreton Island, I discovered that I had the worst bites on my feet ever. I thought that it was just tons of mosquito bites. Nope. Turns out it was bites from "sand fleas" that actually lay eggs in your skin?? Look it up for yourself...This was the result of those bites. Thanks to Carly for providing me with some Benadryl cream to make it stop itching. It was just a nice reminder every time I took a step of my awesome trip to Moreton Island. Now I have a few scars that serve as tattoos as well. ;-)