Aussie Slang Lesson Week 6: Buck/Hen party = bachelor/bachelorette party
I’m not sure whether to believe it or not, but this wraps up my 6th week on the Gold Coast. It’s been a full week here with multiple people celebrating birthdays, so we planned some parties as a group for them!
October 4th was World Taco Day, so we went to Surfers Paradise to try a taco place called El Camino for one dollar tacos! Surfers Paradise is a great part of the city for food, nightlife, shopping and beaches. I enjoy exploring Surfers as there is plenty to try there, and there is always something going on.
The next day our program went to a pre-season professional cricket match. Australia played the West Indies. All I knew going in was that cricket had some similarities to baseball, so the beginning of the match was like watching something in another language. As the match went on, I began to learn the rules and understand why the fans cheered when they did, haha.
A few of my friends took an opportunity to go to Springbrook National Park since none of us had classes on Friday. We rented a car to drive the hour and a half up the mountain. My friend did a great job driving, considering the cars here have the driver on the right side of the car and they drive on the left side of the road. I do not trust myself in any regard to attempt to drive a car here, though I am quite curious what that would feel like. The grass was a lush green, sprawling miles throughout the mountain. Farms and fences followed the road with cows of various colours grazing without a thought.
Sadly, the weather did not cooperate with us at all as it said it would be sunny and hot. Based on the photo below, I think you can come to the conclusion it was neither of those things, rather frigid, windy, and rainy. Those of us that wore shorts and didn’t bring jackets were using beach towels to keep warm as we hiked.
To warm up, we found a lovely cafe that is a home and the seating area for the cafe was their second story porch. There were blankets for us to wrap up in, and we had the best toasties I’ve had in Australia (a toasty is a warm sandwich/little panini that is had for brekky or lunch, often at coffee shops or cafes). After a nice coffee and toasty break, we were ready to brave the weather to find the glow worm cave we had come to see.
This cave has glow worms and micro-bats in it. We were not there after sunset, so we couldn’t see the glow worms, unfortunately; however, there were some lovely views on the paths that were open.
On Saturday, we traveled to North Stradbroke Island for the day. It was just over a 2 hour boat ride from the Goldie to the island. We were there to look for wild kangaroos, koalas, and other animals as well as explore the island. The water was incredibly blue and teal, crystal clear too. Unlike in Lake Michigan, if you put your hand under the water, you could still see everything. Most of the water around the island is too dangerous to swim in due to sharks and the current. While we were there, we saw a kangaroo and her joey outside of her pouch as well as whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and koalas! My personal favourite was seeing a baby koala with its mother! To see these creatures in their natural habitat, simply existing, was a beauty I can’t quite explain. Yet again, I am blown away by the sights I’m experiencing.
Overall, I spent a fair amount of time this week beyond where the bus takes us. It was enjoyable to leave the city and see some of the country side of Australia. I think it was good for my mental health to be surrounded my nature and to bask in God’s creativity.
I look forward to writing again next week! Thank you for continuing to follow my travels.
Blessings,
Maddy B