Spring Break Recap Part 1: Broome

So whoa.  I'm now back from the most exotic, exciting, and exhausting spring break I have ever experienced.  Just the thought of recapping it all is daunting, but I'm going to do my best.  Here goes...

Last Saturday morning was our plane ride to Broome, Western Australia.  My ticket was for a middle seat and my friend Kevin was supposed to be sitting in the window seat next to me, but since I got to the row first I stole his seat because I wanted to take pictures on the way into Broome (still kind of feel bad about it...oops lol).  I did sleep through lunch though, so I guess karma found a way to catch up to me.  I woke up before our descent to red dirt as far as the eye could see, which was fasciniating in and of itself, but the real show began when all of a sudden out of nowhere appeared the coastline with brilliant blue water and white sand beaches.  It was without a doubt the most amazing view from a plane I've ever seen.  (And actually this reminds me, I put pictures up from the trip on my Picasa site).  

After we landed, we walked through the airport (which looked more like a cabana than an airport) and boarded the bus for a 5-minute bus ride to the NDA Broome Campus.  It was tiny, and empty since they were on break as well that week, and we stayed at the student hostel on campus there the first night.  That afternoon they (being our trip leaders - 3 professors) took us to Cable Beach, which is supposed to be ranked one of the top 5 beaches in the world, and it definitely lived up to the hype.  The tide was out so it seemed like there was a mile of sand before the water even started.  After we walked around taking pictures, me, Katie, Andria, and Sam went on a 30-minute camel ride!  Katie and I were at the very back of the group on a camel named Aslan - the oldest of the group at 16, and the biggest at over one ton!  It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  

After the camel ride, we went back to hang out with the rest of the group and played in the water for a while just fighting with with waves, which was actually pretty exhausting.  Then we all took some sunset pictures before heading back to the campus.  That night we basically gorged ourselves on pizza since we were starving, then a bunch of us played Pictionary and a couple other games for a while before going to bed.  It was a ton of fun; I completely forgot how much I love that game!

The next day we met up with our Aboriginal guides (a husband and wife team, Colin and Maria, and two of their sons, Bruce and Phillip) and started the drive into the Kimberley (the Outback).  We made a couple stops along the way: at an Aboriginal church and at an Aboriginal community for lunch.  After about 4 hours of driving we ended up at camp, which had an amazing view of a bay.  We put our stuff in our tents and then just hung out until dinner, which was some kind of stew that Maria made.  After dinner once the sun went down we all sat around the campfire and had what Peta, our head professor, called "College of Knowledge," which basically entailed asking us thought-provoking questions and going around the circle and answering them.  What really stuck with me that first night though was just how incredible the night sky was; I've never seen so many stars in my life.  I just couldn't stop looking at them.

We got up with the sun the net morning (aka between 5:30 and 6), had breakfast, and then spent a few hours talking with Colin about Aboriginal culture, which turned out to be a really interesting discussion.  Then we packed lunches and loaded up in the trucks to drive to a site where we saw 7000-year-old Aboriginal footprints and one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen.  And after we ate we got to go in and swim.  The only bummer about the day was that my sunglasses broke :(  Not good for a vacation in the blazing heat.  Later we went back to camp to chill out for a while, then went to an overlook for the sunset.  The landscape looked like something out of Jurassic Park or a car commercial or something - huge red rocks and hills.

Day 3 consisted of going to another Aboriginal community to talk to one of the main elders named Uncle Bundy, who taught us how to make spears and let us get into groups and make our own spears.  Basically they gave us the branches and we had to heat them over the fire, straighten them, and sharpen one edge into a point.  What amazes me is that they still hunt with spears and boomerangs, not guns.  It really almost felt like stepping back in time.  He also showed us how to make and throw hunting boomerangs, which I think aren't actually supposed to come back to you.  Pretty much all the rest of the day was spent at camp practicing throwing the spears at a cardboard target.

On our last full day, they took us to an area that sort of reminded me of the marshes of Georgia.  I think it was a bay or something, except the tide was wayyy out, so basically we were trekking through mud.  They showed us how to grind up a certain root to mix with mud so that when you put it in a fishing hole, it makes the fish come close to the surface for air so it's easier to spear them or even catch the with your bare hands.  They guys of the group spend a while trying to catch the fish, and the girls watched and took pictures.  Then Phillip took some of us over to some rocks to learn how to collect the oysters that are embedded in them.  Eventually the tide started coming in (way in) and we left to go back to camp and eat lunch and try some of the fish they guys had caught.  After lunch we went to a hatchery where we saw a bunch of tanks where fish were being bred, then went to another beach to have a swim.  That night we had a BBQ and I tried kangaroo for the first time...it was actually really delicious.

Our last morning basically just consisted of getting up, packing up, and driving back to Broome to catch our flight back.  All in all it was an amazing trip and definitely one that I'll never forget.  I know I had some more things I wanted to say about it, but right now I'm really tired so I think I'll just leave this post as it is for now and maybe come back to it later.

Like I said, pictures are up on my Picasa page; enjoy!  Part 2 of my spring break will be posted within the next day or so hopefully :)