Australia

Hello, everyone! G’day from Queensland, Australia!

Here we are in Port Douglas, northern Queensland. It is, well, a tropical paradise.  Colorful exotic birds flit from tree to tree, and the beach is just a few blocks away. The temperature is in the mid-80s, sunny.

Lest you think that we are merely on vacation…we’ve only been here for less than 24 hours, and already we have toured the rainforest with an Aboriginal guide, driven through parts of the Daintree Preserve, eaten a delicious lunch featuring strange fruits (well, strange to us, anyway) such as the Dragon Fruit and the Custard Apple, fed kangaroos and wallabees in the Port Douglas habitat, and had a few pictures taken with a koala and a python (some of the more adventurous students, that is).     

It is quite an experience to get on an airplane in the middle of the dry desert of Alice Springs and arrive several hours later in a lush environment with high humidity! The Parrotfish hostel where we are staying is basic but very comfortable. Upon our arrival, we were treated to a hearty lasagna dinner (thanks, John Belk study tour office!) and then walked down to the beach as a group. The stars out there were brighter than most of us had ever seen!

It was an early rising this morning to tour the rainforest and learn about the ways in which the Aboriginals learned over centuries to treat every illness and injury using native rainforest plants.  They have cures for deadly snakebites, poisonous plant contact, and venomous jellyfish stings. That could really come in handy.

After learning about a tree that oozes a highly toxic black tar, even our most rambunctious tour members remained on the path and did not venture far!

We followed all of this education with a swim in beautiful Mossman Gorge.

Now, at the end of a long and beautiful day, your sons/daughters/friends are playing on the beach or strolling the streets of Port Douglas. They seem very happy. Tomorrow, we go snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef. No worries, we’ve done this many times before, and the Aristocat staff is thorough and professional. Gorgeous weather has been forecast for our trip.  Everyone is very excited about seeing the tropical fish and other creatures we studied in class last semester.

Dr. Lynn Morton