rain forest hike.

Today we traveled across the countryside to the rain forest where we hiked through the Rocky Creek Dam in the Big Scrub Reserve. The drive there was eventful because we were able to see a new side of Australia. We also drive through crops of macadamia nuts and were told that that region is the macadamia capital of the world so I'm definitely going to have to be on the hunt for some of those.

Can you see the koala?!

We had a tour guide who was a botany professor from Southern Cross University named Peter. When we picked him up at the "uni" he mentioned that there was a koala in the tree and naturally we all went running. It was so precious! So cute with furry little ears and kept looking down at us. New goal for the trip is to hug a koala. Once we arrived at the park, Peter mentioned that it was one of the first national parks in Australia and it was established in the late 70's/early 80's. Originally, it spanned from the eastern coast, but was cut down for timber once Europeans first arrived. The beginning of the hike was really pretty with views of the water, but once we got past that part, it was straight trees and leeches. I was looking forward to hiking through the rain forest and comparing the flora and fauna from other hikes. However, it wasn't that amazing and was really everything looked the same--there were not many points of distinction and I was ready to leave after a couple of hours. Only true highlight of the hike was the koala sighting!

When we finally arrived at the cabin, we had some group bonding and made breakfast for dinner! I stuck a bowl of oatmeal, but they made pancakes and scrambled eggs. We have gotten pretty close as a group--its hard to believe we have only known each other for less than a week!