My Australian

Adventures

Katy Dean

IDH 4400

Section 009

Blue Mountains

On our first day of vacation, my

family flew in a helicopter to this

mountain range, only 104 km

west of Sydney. They are

located in New South Wales.

When we arrived in the

mountains, we were greeted by

deep gorges and went

canyoneering and rock climbing.

On the second day of our trip,

we went horseback riding

through the Megalog Valley.

Horseback Riding

Adventures

While horseback riding through the Megalog Valley I saw a Green and Golden Bell Frog and a Blue Mountain Water skink perched on a tree. I even got to see a koala. While riding through the beautiful mountains, my father’s horse was startled by a tiny Tiger Quoll that jumped into its path. The horse bucked and then darted off with my father still on its back. Our tour guide had to chase down the frightened horse. My dad was not hurt, but I have never seen him more scared. Needless to say, he hasn’t ridden a horse

Grassland Sights

On the second week of our trip, we rented a Jeep, and headed for the grassland in the Eastern part of New South Wales. Lucky for us, it was not the rainy season while we were there, so we did not get soaked, but we were scorching hot. We didn’t see a single frilled lizard, but we did see many birds, one wombat, and many Red Wallabies, but these are the most prevalent animals in the grassland.

Grassland Facts

While in the grasslands, we met a group of native Australians exploring the area. They taught and showed us much about the area. We learned that the Grasslands contain the most plant species in all of Australia and that many of them are disappearing. We saw much grass of course, but also the low trees, bushes, and flowers that grow in the area. Farming and development has caused the disappearance that has occurred and today less than 1% of the grasslands are still present.

New South Wales

When I arrived in New South Wales, I was surprised to see how similar the fashion and the homes were to those I have seen in America. We visited the capital of Sydney, and toured the most famous sights including the Sydney Opera House, and the zoo, which is the largest open plain zoo! My family and I attended a Cricket match which lasted for two days! After our long days of hiking in the Blue Mountains, we relaxed on the famous North Coast and even tried to surf! I only got in the water a few times, because I was afraid of the box jellyfish, but my brother turned out to be

More About Sydney

Another similarity I noticed between

Australia and United States was the

push toward becoming a “green”

community. A popular goal is to make

Sydney more sustainable by doing

things including new forms of

transportation that are more

environmentally friendly and also by

powering the city in a more

environmentally friendly way. Much of

this probably results from the hole in

the Ozone layer that is positioned

above Australia. It was surprising to see

children slathered in sunscreen,

wearing school uniforms and hats to go

Map of Australia

Here is a map of the

beautiful Australia. We

stayed in New South

Wales during our

vacation. It is south of

Queensland and east of

South Australia and

North of Victoria. On our

next trip, both my family

and myself hope to visit

Queensland.

Conclusion

The map of Australia was found at: http://www.vbmap.org/australia-maps-8/map-australia-63/

Information on the grasslands was found at: http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/grass.htm

Information about the Megalog Valley and Blue Mountains was found using Wikipedia

Information about Sydney was found at: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/