The edge of the world

Although it was our Royal National Park field trip today we didn’t have to wake up too early since we had opted to go on the later trip since the size of the group was smaller. We met up with the other fifteen or so exchange students at the Fisher Library and headed about an hour south of Sydney. It seemed as if today was going to be a nice and easy day since we started the ride in an air-conditioned van which was a first. That idea soon went out of the window whenever we stepped out and hit a 95 degree Fahrenheit wall of air! But I don’t think we minded since we were dropped off at a lake with a mini waterfall!

Our first look at Royal National Park

The mini waterfall that Lauren wanted to swim under! Notice the guy climbing up the rock. 

Lauren doing the classic "look of into the distance" pose!

 The view was gorgeous and we were promised even more of these views, if not better, so we were more than ready to hit the bush all they call it. We hopped inside the van once again to go to the start of the trial and split into two smaller groups. We got placed with the tour guide that we wanted and quickly got to know the names of the other five people in the group as well as where they were from. So we had to start with the teacher and go through everyone’s name while repeating the information on the ones that have gone before. Sadly I, Riley, was at the end so I was stuck naming everybody! This was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be since we only had about eight people in our group. It seemed we had people from all over the world! Well, mainly the United States. When we were done with that exercise our tour guide, Wayne told us that we were going to start by having solo time looking out over the beautiful coast. It literally looked like we were on the edge of the world! 

Literally the end of the world!

We were supposed to reflect on what we wanted to get from the field trip and the connections that we could make with the nature that surrounded us. That only happened for a little bit until you began to think of other crazy things! I know I thought about cliff divers and that fact that I’m actually in Australia. I’m not sure what Lauren thought, maybe she could tell you. I, Lauren, thought about the other people in the group, where they had come from, what their life experiences could be, along with what the ships were doing along the horizon. Well, that’s obviously a little deeper than my cliff divers! 

Next we were off to start the real journey to walk about 6 miles down the coast line of Australia! Yea, we know, not too hard of a journey! However, with the weather close to that of North Carolina I think it was a bit harder than we had originally expected. I, Riley, volunteered to lead the group first since no one else was stepping up to the plate, so with a map in hand I took off, literally. Lauren kept telling me that I was a trailblazer since I just kept going. It was nice to meet people from all over the world. The first girl that I talked to was born in Singapore, has been to the United States, and goes to school in the U.K., or it was something like that. It seems that everyone here likes to travel before they come to Australia! Lauren met a couple of girls from the States, one from Wisconsin and another from Orange County. They talked more about Spring Break and what their plans were, both were actually heading the Cairnes to go to the Great Barrier Reef but on separate trips. All along the way Wayne kept stopping us to point out trees and plants as well as give us opportunities to take lots of pictures. Whenever someone would want a picture of themselves he would volunteer to take it but turn the camera around and jump in the picture also. Lauren and I found this hilarious considering he kept joking that he would get in trouble because of this. Our first stop for water came when we reached a small stream flowing off of a cliff. It was almost like another mini waterfall! The water was drinkable since it was just rain water from the day before or that’s what Wayne told us. We will let you know how our stomach is handling it. And with it being such a hot day, who couldn’t resist sticking their head under it? Well I knew I couldn’t! 

Waterfall that you could actually drink from!

We kept on bushwalking with our stomachs grumbling. Wayne didn’t seem as hungry since he kept pushing us along. With the easy conversation between the group members and the common goal in mind to get to end to swim in the swimming hole we followed along. We saw many other great views like one that is called cheesecake because of the sharp 90 degree corner that is so rare in a cliff rock.

This place was called Cheesecake rock because of the 90 degree corner that it had which is unusual!
You can see it clearly in the picture below.

 The coast line under this cliff was absolutely gorgeous! When I asked Lauren to take my picture on the view a fly/bee started to bother her, forcing her to try and swat it away but unfortunately one time her hand hit the camera strap and down it went. Wayne joked that he told us to be careful when handing our cameras off to someone else and that’s when he found out we were a couple since I replied that it was half mine. That did not take away the guilt that Lauren felt for dropping it but luckily it didn’t roll far like off the cliff or anything and also didn’t fall on the screen so there’s only a small nick on the side. Lauren was definitely grateful that I wasn’t mad especially when I said at the end of the day it was just a camera. With the day growing, Wayne said it was time to go since lunch time was approaching. Our destination for lunch was approximately 23 minutes away at Manley and Little Manley beach. We both think that his number was 23 because every time we asked him a question it would either be 23 minutes away or 23 yards away. We finally reached Manley beach and saw little blue jelly fish called blue bottles stranded on the beach from high tide. I always felt bad for the little jellyfish that drifted ashore, but Wayne thought otherwise. He seemed proud to mention that when you step on them they make a popping noise. He demonstrated that for us which was cool, but sad at the same time. Finally it time for lunch after a barefoot stroll down Manly beach.

Manly Beach where we had lunch.

The picture of the 'volcano' that Lauren spotted.. Lauren's family, please give her a hard time about this!

We ate on the cliff rocks between Manly beach and Little Manly beach which was a view to take in and capture. Wayne told us that we had to push on in order to make our arrival time at the end point as well as give us enough time to swim in the swimming hole. Right before we left little Manley, Wayne told us to put our arms on the shoulders of the person next to us and stare out into the ocean. He said take a deep breath in and take a mental image after we exhale, so we did, the whole group. It was a new experience to take the mental image with other people because it’s something I have never done, but I must say, I will remember that image forever! 

  

Riley tasting a flower and then wanting to spit it out!

We kept on with the bushwalk finally running into the first swimming hole with a lot of other people from our class. However, we thought it was a little too crowded so we persuaded Wayne to take us to the first swimming hole that had a waterfall! He took off through the bush, literally, sometimes we had to run to keep up with him. We didn’t mind getting sweaty once again to make the swim even more enjoyable. Within a short amount of time we had reached the swimming hole that wasn’t as crowded and much bigger. We had to wait for a few people to change, but gave us about ten minutes in the swimming hole which was long enough for us to swim to the waterfall and get the full experience. 

Our group doing the funny poses!

Our reward for finishing the bushwalk - jumping in freezing cold water, but also
getting to swim to the waterfall that we spotted at the beginning of the day!

We even have a video to hopefully show you guys what it was all about. An ice cream truck had appeared out of nowhere and we were able to share the best ice cream that we’ve had here so far! Our bus driver wanted to get back on the road so we even beat the other group out of the park. It was a very quiet but peaceful ride home since everyone was exhausted. Lauren and I really wanted to fall asleep but we decided to take on the scenery from the window instead. Starving by the time we got back we made our delicious barbeque sandwiches and quickly called it a night.

Random rock photo! But we learned that the rocks slant towards the Sydney Harbor.