The Best Day of My Life
I can honestly say
that I had the best, if not the second best day, of my life. We
packed up our gear and headed to Chillagoe for a 3-day camping trip.
Chillagoe is an old mining town just on the outskirts of the
outback, which means searing sun and lots of kangaroos! I woke up at
6am on the second day of our adventure there for a bird watching
hike with Siggy, our ecology professor. I climbed out of my sleeping
bag after a night under the stars, a little groggy-eyed and clumsy,
and began rummaging around for a light fleece and socks until the
sunrise stopped me cold in my tracks. It was gorgeous. It was as if
someone was drawing blue and pink cotton candy strips across the sky
with native acacia trees in the foreground. I stood barefoot in the
cold, dew-wet grass, admiring the swirling early morning welcome in
front of me and listening to the bird calls gradually drown out the
nocturnal insect buzzing. The moment was abruptly halted though as
my camping buddy, Kaitlin, staggered out of her sleeping bag to grab
her hiking boots. We left to join the bird watching group
accumulating at the top of the hill and meandered down a trail that
cut through the dry savannah -- binoculars ready for the abundant
sulphur-crested cockatoos, galabs, honeyeaters, magpies and apostle
birds. The best part of the morning was when I found myself
overlooking a vast savannah, watching as families of kangaroos
bounded away or quietly grazed the delicious vegetative delicacies
of the area. I think it may have finally dawned on me that I was
actually in Australia.
We spent the rest
of the morning in field lectures hiking trails through the Chillaoe
limestone formations, learning about the different dry-adaptive tree
species and how the economic history of the landscape has changed
with the boom and bust mining cycle. Although degraded, we were able
to see some aboriginal art painting dating back thousands of years.
After re-energizing with some lunch, we headed to the Chillagoe
caves for the afternoon where I found myself guided by a headlamp up
vertical tunnels that spiraled up several meters. Sometimes our
ventures through the caves were cut short in the face of giant
spiders. I didn’t mind the bats that flew over my head though and
would continue on in search of deeper and darker spaces to climb
into. The caves had almost 100% humidity and we were covered in
sweat and mud by the time we crawled back out. Diving into a nearby
swimming hole to cool off and “shower” felt amazing before we played
an intense game of water polo (where I scored a few goals -
Awesome!). By the time we got back to the campsite, we changed
clothes and headed in town to a local pub that generously hosted us
for dinner. It was the most exhausting day, but by far, one of the
greatest days of my 21 years here on earth.
Back at the Center,
we all had to finally clamp down and finish some assignments, study
for upcoming exams, etc. We have a very busy week ahead of us as far
as mid-term exams and presentations. Plans changed fairly quickly
though once we arrived as news came of a large, possibly Category 3,
cyclone (aka hurricane) coming our way down the coast. After
scarfing down some dinner, students and faculty spent the rest of
the night cyclone-proofing the center and cabins. My job involved
making sure the kitchen stuff was all set up and stored away. I
plugged my ipod into our kitchen speakers and blasted some good
oldies tunes. Lizze, our Student Affairs Manager, was trying to
explain other duties to students outside the kitchen window while
Sam and I danced and made funny impressions behind her. Everyone
laughed and started to join in on the dancing and Lizzie said she
had the best crew yet! And we would constantly break from organizing
supplies to enjoy singing and dancing. The nervous jitters about the
cyclone were running rampid, and even though cyclones should be
taken very seriously, we had an absolutely wonderful time. I have
gotten back to a childhood state that I thought I once lost – a
mental state and simple relaxation with letting life unfold as it
comes that can only be expressed as pure happiness. Or as the
Aussies put it: no worries, mates!
