Hi, this is Casey from Team Australia. I can’t believe it’s already been three years since our trip Down Under! Anyhow, I was at the Explorer’s Symposium on June 21st, and I would like to tell you about it. I arrived a little early after a two hour drive from West Virginia, which gave me a little time to explore the garden behind the National Geographic building. It was filled with a large variety of beautiful plants, which all of the birds seemed to enjoy.

The reception started at 5:00 pm, so I had an hour to talk to the other kids from the trips to the Galapagos, South Africa, and Peru, and some of the National Geographic staff who I hadn’t seen for two years. I also enjoyed the excellent food they served from different cultures. At 6:00, two Buffett Awards were presented to Moi Enomenga and Paula Kahumbu for their role in Latin-American and African conservation, respectively. Moi, a native Ecuadorian from the Huaorani tribe was given the Buffet Award for helping to build the Huaorani Ecolodge, which helps to collect funds for the Huaorani and promotes environmental conservation. Paula is a Kenyan Emerging Explorer for National Geographic who has played a fundamental role in African wildlife conservation, such as leading the fight to ban a pesticide that is killing many of Africa’s endangered wildlife including lions and hyenas.

A panel discussion called “Stories of Exploration”, moderated by Boyd
Matson, followed the Buffet Awards. The panel featured an
Explorer-in-Residence, two Emerging Explorers, and one National
Geographic Fellow. Dr. Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist and
oceanographer, spoke about her experiences in a submersible suit,
describing the bioluminescent jungle of life she observed on the ocean
floor. Matthias Klum, a photographer, documents and photographs
stunning scenes in some of the most beautiful, but sometimes tragic,
places on Earth. An example of this is a stunning photo, which shows
the sad story of a rapidly receding Icelandic glacier. Paula Kahumbu,
who also received a Buffet Award, spoke about WildlifeDirect, an
internet-based program that allows people to support rangers and
wildlife conservationists in the field. Kevin Hand studies life in
extreme habitats on Earth, to evaluate the possibility of
extraterrestrial life in places such as the massive ocean on Europa,
one of Jupiter’s moons.

Attending the Symposium was a great
experience, I learned a lot about how lots of people are exploring our
world and protecting its animals and their habitats. I felt honored to
be considered a part of the “National Geographic family” that helps
educate the public about nature and how to protect it. To quote Dr.
Sylvia Earle, “Nature is not optional.”

We even got to try octopus! Okay so that doesn’t sound so weird, but the catch is that the octopus still looked like an octopus! That’s right, tiny little purple octopi, dead of course, but possibly one of the most interesting meals ever!
 
Enough talk of life on Earth, let’s talk of the life we had in the sky. I had about 60 hours flying time in total from the whole trip! Luckily we had flight attendants that fed us and supplied us with the essentials for life in the air. We even had personal TV screens on the back of the seat in front of us! Of course we had our new friends for company as well! Going to Australia took 13 hours and 13 minutes, but it was exciting so that made it go by faster. If we slept that took a few more hours away.
 
Going back home wasn’t as exciting. We knew it was the end of the journey, and that we wouldn’t wake up to five-star meals and the bright shining faces of our friends. I didn’t shed a tear until I got home, because I knew that for spring break, all 15 of us and our parents would be meeting up with our Nat Geo friends for a reunion.
 
Here are some pictures from the trip that either my mom or I took!

A Tasmanian devil at the Bonorong Wildlife Conservation Centre

A kangaroo at the Bonorong Wildlife Conservation Centre

Abbie and friends at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

Australian saltwater crocodile at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures

Abbie and Mom with a koala at Kurana Koala Gardens

We are going to keep adding to  the blog and add new pictures too. We did have a fantastic time in Oz! Australia’s time difference from L.A. is about ten hours ahead-also, some of the kids were like me…they live on the eastern U.S., so add another 4 or 5 hours to that! And yes, the plane delays and layovers did make us VERY tired, but it also gave us time to get to know one another. The 13 hour flight was very long, but our flight attendants kept us supplied with food and meals, warm and comfy with pillows and blankets, and everybody had individual TV screens on the seat in front of them to keep entertained. We could watch TV shows, movies, or play games or listen to music. Thank goodness for that!

Videos
The videographers from Tourism Australia, Jeff and Chris, were very nice to all of us! Here is a  photo of me with them.

It was fun to be in the movies and to watch them! When we went to Taroona Primary they let us into their library, so we all crowded around the few computers to watch the movies!

Boomerangs
Throwing the boomerangs was very hard. It was sort of like throwing a baseball, except that you had to lean back, then hurl the boomerang forward, and we only got one try. My mom bought a boomerang while we were there, however, so I’m going to practice throwing it at my school’s football field (before summer ends). I am determined to throw it hard enough to make it come back to me! When the Aboriginal guides did it, it was amazing hearing the *WHOOSH* of the boomerang as it circled you, then dropped. They actually do come back! One even nailed one of the guys filming us for a video. He tried to catch it, but it whacked his equipment instead. It’s harder than it looks.

Crocodiles
The most exciting thing that I saw in Queensland would have to be watching (up close!) the crocodiles being fed. The sound of their jaws closing was amazing. Did you know that Australia has only crocodiles, not alligators, like the U.S. has?
The croc burgers are really crocodiles! They tasted like fishy turkey to me. And it was hard to eat the croc burgers with a couple of crocs swimming in the water just a few feet away! You are supposed to eat it with this mango-chutney stuff and a bun. If someone hadn’t told me what I was eating, I could have enjoyed it…

Taroona School
We did have LOTS of fun at Taroona Primary. Every one on the Expedition team was paired with a buddy from the Tasmanian school in Tasmania. It was so fun spending time with them!

Rainforest
The skyrail is a service that controlled the gondolas (sort of like ski lifts) that took us up over the rainforest and to the top of it. Talk about gorgeous! And, coincidently, it was raining in the rainforest that day!!

Butterflies
We went into this little netted room that had plants all over and butterflies flew around you everywhere. Some even landed on you! And it was great photographing them, too. Also, it must have been “birthing season” ’cause the butterflies were laying eggs everywhere! For some reason they were attracted to gold, and landed and hatched their eggs there. One Australian mom and her daughter were wearing gold jewelry- and butterflies kept landing on them and laying eggs! The eggs were teeny tiny, about the size of a freckle, or smaller! My glasses have a goldish tint to them, so one of the butterflies landed right on the lens, and laid three greenish eggs in the corner of my glasses! I didn’t realize that it had done that until after I was on the bus- I was astonished. It’s not everyday that that happens to you!

Koalas
Koalas were, well, they were the cutest things in the world! Their claws were a little sharp, and they were pretty heavy–you had to hold them against your chest. Their fur was not as soft as I suspected, however it was pretty soft! They smelled like cough drops ’cause the eucalyptus leaves that they eat are used in cough drops. We did not get to hold the mother and baby koalas. The mother was always sleeping or nursing the babies, and the babies were always running around and were too mischievous to hold. While we were at the Koala place, the people told us something pretty amazing. Koalas are the most useless animal in the world. They endanger the eucalyptus trees, they aren’t food for any animals, and all they do is sleep. The only thing that they do do, however, is bring in thousands of dollars from tourism!

Boats
The snorkeling boat  wasn’t too rough, and the glass bottom boat tour was pretty neat, and the boat that we went in for the crocodile feeding was very smooth. The entire boat was closed by glass so that the crocodile couldn’t decide to snack on you instead of the chicken!

Kangaroos
My favorite animal, so far, would have to be the kangaroos. They were so sweet and docile. You could pet, feed and be very close to them.

Food
Breakfasts- wow, they were all really, really, really good! Now that I’m back in the states I miss having it be already prepared! One thing that they had at all the breakfasts was vegemite packets.It is a yeast product that you are supposed to spread on toast. I was brave and decided to try a little. My mom took my camera and took a bunch of shots in a row and got all my reactions. IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!! Who’d want it for breakfast? But supposedly all Australians like it. Even our tour guide, Tracy, said she liked it, and grew up with it!

Winning the Hands-On Explorer Challenge
To win the contest, I would suggest that you spend LOTS of time on your entry, check, recheck, and check again that you are following all the rules–300 words max, one photo, you live in the U.S., etc. Some people don’t follow the rules, and are immediately eliminated! Also, work as long as possible on it to make sure that it’s really what you want. Don’t rush. Lastly, put all of your effort into it and make sure that it’s really genuine. I never thought that I’d actually win this contest, however I did all of the above and it worked. Make sure that it really means something to you.

Maybe some of my explorer buddies will log in and write, too. Thank you all for following along on our adventure!

Video courtesy of Tourism Australia

Video courtesy of Tourism Australia

Video courtesy of Tourism Australia

Adam DeSerio-
I never thought that I would have to say this so soon, the trip has gone by WAY TOO FAST! But it was an amazing journey that all 15 of us got to participate in!!!!

Veronica Wilson-
Today we went on a search for the last Tasmanian tiger. We drove up to the summit of Mt. Wellington. We all were pirates this afternoon as we learned how to sail a real old-fashioned ship. It seems just yesterday that we were snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, yet it seems so long ago that we all first met in the airport. We really are one big family!! And I’m glad we have another day to enjoy!!!

Maya Kobe-Rundio-
A while back I wrote a poem about Australia. This is it:
Down under is the place for me. I don’t ever want to come back up!

Zach Sherrod-
Our trip is nearing its end. I’ve gone through a life full of exiting adventures in just this small amount of time. I am sad to have to go home, but I will still treasure this time that I have had on this amazing expedition.

Abbie Olson-
A while back I wrote an essay out of boredom, and that simple essay became my ticket Down Under!  We’ve been here for 12 days and now it’s nearing its end. I heard a poem in my town newspaper about Australia that I really liked, and it went like this.  “Don’t worry about the world ending today, it’s already tomorrow in Australia!”  HAHA!  Yes but I’m oh so sad… See you all soon back in… America. WAAAAA!

Veronica Wilson-
“Give me a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees…”

Savanna Reid-
This has been the best trip of my entire life! I couldn’t have asked for anything more.  I will remember this for the rest of my life!

Kat Musen-
Wow! I can’t believe the trip is almost over! This has really been a life-changing experience. I am so sad we have to leave. Everyone here has been like a family to me. For example, Ben is like the little brother I never had, and Abbie has been like a big sister to me. I really hope all the friends I have made here will be friends for life.

Casey Densmore-
I will not only miss Australia and all the things I did there, I will also miss the people I have met. From Tracy and all the other guides and representatives, to all the kids, parents, teachers, and staff. Hopefully some of us will cross paths again.

Elisabeth Coons-
I can’t believe this trip is almost over! I’ve had so much fun with everybody from Nat Geo! It’s like having a whole bunch of new brothers and sisters. It’s exciting that we still have one more day to be together in Tasmania!!!

Mara Klecker-
This has been the most amazing experience of my life, and I have seen and learned things that I will treasure forever! I have made memories and friends to last a lifetime and everything has been absolutely perfect! I know going home will be hard, but I know that I will relive the whole trip through my journal, my pictures and the blogs!

I will miss all of the kids here; we have had so much fun together! Maybe we can start planning a reunion!

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged me, especially my mom! Love you! G’day to my grandma and Alyssa too!

Veronica Wilson-
WALZING MATILDA, WALZING MATILDA!…

Missy McDonough-
This is the last you will hear from me in Oz. Anywho, today we traveled to Mt. Wellington where we were on a search for the (long extinct) Tasmanian Tiger. It was WICKED fun! I am used to the flat land of Florida, but not mountains! I hiked until my legs felt like spaghetti!! When we arrived at the top of the mountain, I saw REAL SNOW!!! For the first time! I made a small snowman with a huge icicle hat, ate snow, and had snowball fights! When we left the mountain, we went to a river and learned how to sail a square-rigger called “The Windeward Bound!” We worked our fingers to the bone controlling the sails but it was very educational. To wrap it up, this whole trip has been an extraordinary experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. So, if you happen to hear on the news about a father and daughter on the run in the Land Down Under (great song by the way) refusing to return to the US, that would be my father and me.

P.S. I would like to say hello to all my family and thank them for supporting me on this amazing journey! (ESPECIALLY my mom!) I would also like to thank all of the staff for Nat Geo for holding this contest, and giving us this opportunity! And for putting all their effort forward to make this trip possible! (And my language arts teacher Mrs. Foster, who helped me edit my essay! So thank you! You are one of the best teachers that I have ever had!)

P.P.S. And I would like to thank my animals also because they have supported me as well by helping me pick the clothes that I brought my trip including: my dog Sweetie, my cat Tiger, my kitten Jerry, and my duck Aflac!

Grace Hubbard-
Well, looks like I’m here to wrap things up again! I know that many others have expressed their gratitude toward National Geographic, however there are not enough words to do it in this small amount of space! I think I’ll start with meeting with the Taroona Primary kids yesterday. We were each paired up with “buddies”. Mine was a nice girl named Celeste. The two of us actually made it into the Australian newspaper “Mercury”! (Woo-hoo, I’m famous here, too!) The picture as well as the article turned out great- for once my eyes were open and my smile wasn’t cheesy!! That will definitely make its way into my scrapbook once I’m at home. While we were at the school, we each brought tokens for the kids–I brought Girl Scout cookies and little American flags! The kids loved them–and all of us big kids enjoyed being a kid again on their awesome playground. I would have to say, however, that my favorite part would have to be the singing. We have learned so many new songs, such as “Walzing Matilda”, “Home among the Gum Trees”, etc. (With which we entertained our other fellow travelers in the airport, earning us $16 towards the Tassie Devil Fund.) Today we traveled to Mt. Wellington–can you imagine snow in July?–and hiked a little way’s up. It was so steep, however it felt great in the end. We even got to see an example of Tasmanian hospitality when, upon reaching a rest site, people BBQing offered us free hashbrowns–”just off the Barbie!” Our few orienteering skills came in handy when we were asked to specify the degrees of certain locations. Then, we used some skills to sail a boat across a river. (Johnny Depp makes it looks so easy in the movies!)
   To my family and friends: Thanks so much for all the encouragement, especially to my principal Michael Gauthier, my church family, and my very patient little brother Richie. I would also like to thank my father and mother for the skills they have taught me. And a special dedication to Danielle and her family for all the support you have given me and how proud you make me feel; you are the kind of friends I will always enjoy having around.
   I would just like to extend special thanks to our photographer Annie who has joined us on this amazing adventure. She has taught us so much about photography for so many different situations. I feel that I have grown not only as a person, but as a photographer, and hope to pursue both writing and photography in the near future, using Annie as a great example.
   Lastly, some advice to all of the readers: This adventure began as a simple essay. You may be the next explorers for National Geographic Society. I encourage you all to do your best and never give up hope just because the task at hand seems hard at first, just get through it. I never believed that I could actually win this contest; never in my wildest dreams have I imagined my summer vacation spent in Australia! So go out and explore your world–nothing’s stopping you! And always give 110%.
    

Video courtesy of Tourism Australia

In a classroom, we listened to the principal of the school, Grant Robinson, the teacher who taught the class of our friends, Carol Rue, and the one and only Boyd Matson of NGS. They talked about the success of our collaboration and how great it was that we finally met, and everyone agreed. We gave the Tassie school kids state quarters, postcards from where we’re from, sea glass, and other souvenirs.

After the kids got all their goodies we went outside to play. Before we ran wild through the playground, we experienced a special moment. All of us watched the many hands that patted the soil around the tree, closing the gap, encasing the plant in the ground.

At that moment I think we all felt as though we were united as one team. How could a small tree possibly cause all our hearts to swell with emotion? I bet it’s because we Americans worked side-by-side with the Tasmanian students to raise more than $10,000 for the Tasmanian devil. (We raised money to buy plants that were used to create new habitats for Tasmanian devils.) We made it happen, even though we had never met and lived on different sides of the Equator, we proved that a kid with hopes and dreams and passion could make difference.

There was a really long slide in the playground. All of us got in line to whoosh down the slide and any remaining shyness between the two groups of students disappeared. Errol, a Tassie devil mascot, joined in the fun. We all enjoyed a yummy lunch together and then it was time to say goodbye. We boarded the bus, sad to leave our new friends, but comforted by the idea that we’d always stay in touch.  

Hi peeps! This is Kat blogging for the second part of the day. So, after lunch we left on an hour-long bus ride up to Port Arthur. On the way we stopped at a wonderful lookout to take some photos and stretch our legs. The pullover gave us a view of a beautiful, crystal blue bay. Up on the ledge on which we stood there were what must have been at least two dozen types of trees and bushes. From the lookout, you could also start to see Port Arthur. We hopped back on the bus and we were back on track toward the prison at Port Arthur.

When we got to our destination, we split up into teams of three to five people in order to take part in a scavenger hunt to learn more about the history of Port Arthur. We went to the hospital, church, military base, lookout tower, penitentiary (a place with holding cells), separate prison, and the visitor center, where we got to learn more about the individual convicts. The scavenger hunt combined healthy competition and lots of interesting history. My team ended up in second-to-last place, but we still had a blast!

When it got dark, we went on a ghost hunt! I was really skeptical about paranormal activity, but this activity really opened my eyes. The stories told by our guide were absolutely amazing! There are two theories about why Port Arthur is haunted. First, all of the people who died there were buried on an island right across from Port Arthur. Second, it is thought to be haunted due to all of the suffering the convicts went through.

When it got really dark, I took a lamp-light picture of our guide. Either the lighting was weird, or I got a photo of a ghost because next to her head, there is an unexplained blur of a face. Everything is so different at night. After dark, Port Arthur became eerie and scary beyond belief! And on our way back to the starting point, Abbie and I saw a ghostly figure walking up on the roof of the penitentiary!

When we returned to the visitor center everyone shared their stories of paranormal activity. Alex had even caught a ghost on camera who was looking through a window and gripping the bars tightly. The picture was horrifying! According to Maya, Eric, who works for Purell, took a photo of a light. When he zoomed in on it, it looked like an angry, transluscent man. All in all, the experience really changed my mind about paranormal activity. Everyone on the team really had a blast!

Video courtesy of Tourism Australia

Alex entertained us by fake- tripping in front of people.  We sang our Australian theme song for Tassie devil donations, and made 16 dollars with Ben’s and Casey’s extra help.  We then transferred from Melbourne all the way down under to the island state of Tasmania.  

Hi, this is Abbie.  It’s my birthday today!! Being in Australia is birthday present enough, but it’s also the first day that we’re in Hobart!  We got up bright and early to eat a lovely breakfast, and then we were off to Mount Field National Park.  On the two-hour bus ride, I had Australians and Americans sing the happy birthday song to me!  On the bus we watched the world fly by in one of the most photogenic places on earth.  There was snow on the mountains because it’s winter here, and as I write this, we’re all wearing sweatshirts and long pants! 

We arrived at the park, where we were engulfed by gigantic swamp gum trees.  We were greeted by a friendly park ranger who told us all about animal tracks and scats (poo).  We even made our own tracks by looking at photos of tracks and recreating them in a plaster cast.  I made the hind foot of a Tasmanian devil.  The ranger gave us balls of clay which he had us make into different types of poo.  My favorite poops are the wombat scats, because they look like tiny squares!  Afterward, he took us on a hike through two miles of rain forest where we saw everything from tiny glow worms to the swamp gum, which is the third largest tree on Earth!  For our hike’s grand finale, a waterfall created a beautiful terrace up into the forested mountainside. 

After the hike, we warmed up with soup, sandwiches, and tea.  Now we were ready for our next adventure.

Hi, this is Mara. Luckily, I am writing about the part of the day where it was slightly warmer! The high was 12 degrees Celsius, which we figured out translated to about 54 degrees Fahrenheit. After the beautiful walk around Mt. Field National Park, we met some Tasmanian students, with whom we had corresponded before the trip. The class we met up with was also part of the contest, and they had won the opportunity to team up with us to help save the Tasmanian devils. We all started helping at  Bonorong, a wildlife conservation center. We split up into three groups: One to bring mulch to the new Tasmanian devil enclosures, and two to plant grasses in the enclosures.

The devils seemed to enjoy our efforts and the noises they made were warm thank you’s, or so we were told! We watched as the Tasmanian devils were released into their new home. They were very curious and surprisingly cute! We got to feed the kangaroos and wallabies and saw lots of joeys peeking out of their mommas’ pouches.

Bonorong  looked out over the beautiful city of Hobart and the mountains in the background made an incredible picture! Tasmania is gorgeous, and the plants and animals so diverse! Today was a wonderful day, and a great intro to the unique island of Tasmania!

Video courtesy Tourism Australia

Video courtesy Tourism Australia