So when going abroad I was first very sad that I wasn't going to be able to celebrate my 21st birthday in the USA, but my Australian birthday definitely made up for it.
The weekend of the 27th-29th was a "Martin Trip." Basically Notre Dame hires out a UWA professor to drive us around Australia for the weekend and we get to do awesome things and learn more about the area, all while having it paid for (especially the food, we eat so well on these trips).
This particular weekend we went down to Margaret River, which is a surfing and winery region of SW Australia about 3 hours south of Perth. It has some of the best wines in the world apparently.
On Friday we drove a lot of the day, visited an aboriginal conservation area, which was basically just this aboriginal guy walking around and talking about the land he owns and manages as wild area. We also talked to a town planner of Margaret River about how they are trying to protect the coastline and resources while still allowing for the expansion and tourist industry which is really large there.
That night we cooked dinner all together and were able to try some Margaret River wine. Delicious. It was also really great to have a home cooked meal with the Notre Dame kids. I really love all of them and its great when just the 10 of us are able to get together and hang out, as that isn't always possible at Tommy when we are all busy.
Saturday we did a Bushtucker tour which is was so much fun. Basically we went canoeing up the Margaret River and were told a lot of the history of the area. It was great to canoe again. Then we tried lots of food, including emu, kangaroo, and saltwater crocodile (tastes like ham). There were also lots of little bush fruits and things we were able to taste. Some of them were really good, others not so much, but it was good to try it all.
There was also a race at the end of the tour and my canoe won. It helps that Reid was in the back and paddling is a varsity sport in Hawaii. We won a bottle of wine!
That night we were going to eat at a pub, but SOMEONE (suzanna) forgot their Proof of Age card and they wouldn't let us in. Instead we went to an Asian restaurant across the street and I got Laksa and it was the best meal of my life. Then we just went back to our hostel and shared the bottle of wine we won that day.
The next day we woke up super early to go surfing. The only problem? It was pouring rain. Luckily, with a good sense of humor and really nice surfing instructors the morning was still wonderful. I did much better at surfing than I did the first time I tried here. As well, at the end of the lesson, the sun came out and there was a rainbow over the beach. A great start to a birthday. :) We followed up surfing with a trip to a winery and lunch there, accompanied with a wine tasting. This was the classiest 21st birthday on record without a doubt. Plus Martin surprised us all by buying cake for everyone and I got sung happy birthday. Always embarrassing but it made me feel very loved. I could not have spent my birthday with any better people.
Now for pictures!
Me on my birthday, drinking wine like the classy lady I am.
Fried Mushroom appetizer at the Asian place we ate at Saturday night.
All ten of us after surfing.
The girls at dinner Friday night. <3 these girlies.
Martin's attempt to get a picture of us surfing.
All ten of us again at the bushtucker tour.
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