The Hamiltons

Being away from family on any holiday is hard...therefore when you are studying abroad you need to find yourself another one!

This Easter my friend Grace invited me to her beach house to spend the holiday with her family (Mom, Dad, Gran, Pop, and brother Harry). Her beach house is located about an hour North of Sydney so that meant another road trip! We left on Friday morning for the 4 hour long trip...it was good times. When we arrived at the beach, it was sunny and warm! We planned a weekend filled with tanning and chocolate eating.

MacMasters Beach

 

 

Sunset

The next day was raining. This unfortunately messed up our tanning plans, however it did not prevent us from going in the water for a swim. The temperature of the water was around 22 degrees and the waves were pretty decent. We body surfed all morning, and even though I was not that keen to do it, Mr. Hamilton taught me which waves were the best to catch (I was an epic fail at body surfing compared to the rest of the Hamilton family).

Easter morning, Grace and I woke up to a trail of eggs leading from our bedroom through the rest of the house. We collected them all within 5 minutes. After breakfast came the chocolate exchange. This is different from what I usually do at home. We all bought different chocolate for each other and exchanged them.

Just a little too excited for my chocolate

Grace is also way too excited about her bunny

That day, the Hamilton's and I spent the day at the beach. It was so sunny and warm that Grace and I put our tanning plan back into action. The water was just as warm as it was the day before and lying on the beach was so nice. The only thing that we had to do was take a few "family pictures". Since the Hamilton's were down 1 kid, I was the replacement...it helped that we had the same name!

Family portrait

I had such a good weekend with the Hamilton's. They really are an amazing family, and they made me feel right at home.

Road Trip

So far throughout my being in Australia I have done and seen so many things in many different parts of the country. One of the most beautiful places that I have seen is the Great Ocean Road. This is a stretch of highway that goes from Torquay to Worrnambool, just outisde of Melbourne. This road goes along the coast of Victoria and on a sunny day the views are amazing. There are viewing areas up and down the coast and stopping at all of them in highly recommended.

Must see things on the Great Ocean Road:

In no specific order...

1) Otway National Park and Lighthouse

2) 12 Apostles

 Fun Fact: there are only 7 out of the 12 Apostles still standing due to the disintegration of the rocks

3) Koala Cove

Koala

This small cafe on the side of the road is across the street from a popular koala hang out spot. Here you can have a break from driving and go for a walk amongst the eucalyptus trees in search of them.

4) Apollo: This is a small surf town about 100 km along the road.

The small town of Apollo

view of Apollo in the morning

All the towns along the Great Ocean Road were similar but also different in many ways. Stopping in them as opposed to driving right through them gives you the opportunity to a) see the town and b) to explore and find something you wouldn't have been able to see if you drove straight through.

  

Additionally, if you are driving this route and you realize that you have more time on your hands, continue your trip through to Adelaide. This drive has an entirely new views, and although it might not be as pretty as the ocean views, it does give you the chance to see what else Australia has to offer in terms of landscapes. While driving this road, you will eventually hit the Adelaide Valley. This is where Australia's finest wines are produced and it has the most spectacular views when you are on top of Mt. Lofty. 

View from Mt. Lofty

View from Mt. Lofty taken from another direction.

Vineyard in the Adelaide Valley

I went on this trip with my Dad who flew to Australia for my mid-semester break for a visit. If you are planning on studying overseas, try and get your parents to come for a visit. It takes away any homesickness (if you have any), it's heaps of fun, and it also gives you a chance to see more of the country without having to pay!

Surfs Up!

One of the must-do things here in Australia to try out would be surfing. The best surfing beaches that I have come across are here in Australia. The sand is amazing, the water is warm, and hopefully the sun will be shining, but if it isn't it's still good times! Just remember the motto: Surf, Eat, Sleep.

Activity Board. Note the surfer's motto!

To kick off mid-semester break, a surfing trip was organized for the study abroad/exchange students at my school. We all jumped in a bus and drove three hours to Seven Mile Beach in Gerroa. It was the longest beach I had ever seen, and was perfect for us beginning surfers. We left on Friday night and we ended up getting to Surf Camp at around 9pm. We had a quick orientation, we got our rooms and we pretty much fell asleep because we had an early call the next morning.

7 Mile Beach, Gerroa

Surf Camp dining area

Saturday morning was cold and wet and waking up at 7am was no easy task. First thing we did was eat breakfast. Nothing fancy, just some cereal and toast to get us going. Next thing we knew it was time to suit up....in our wet suits of course. They were cold and wet, but no one seemed to care because it meant we were that much closer to hitting the waves. After carrying our surf boards all the way to the beach, and getting a quick lesson on surfing techniques it was time to get in the water. Although it was pretty cold just standing on the beach, the water was a nice comfortable 22 degrees. After a couple more hours in the water and a few more lessons we all were starting to get the hang of standing on the board and riding the waves to the beach.

On shore lesson

Once the surf day ended, we headed back to the camp to eat a delicious BBQ and get ready for the Fisherman's Pub. This is a bar up the road from the camp where we were able to go and reminisce about the day, have a few drinks and watch a dude sing songs while playing the fake guitar. It was so much fun, and it was a great ending to an awesome day!

Rocking out at the Fisherman's Pub

The next morning was another early morning. Awake again at 7 for breakfast then back on the beach for 8:30. We were taught different things to do while you are actually standing up on the surf board. This included things such as speeding up and slowing down as well as changing directions. On this day we had the option to change the size of boards we used.
Fun Fact: the smaller the board the harder it is to surf.

At first using the smaller board caused some problems, but after a little while and a little bit of direction from the surf instructors I finally figured it out. By the end of every lesson everyone had pictures and movies of themselves surfing. Unfortunately, we had to pay to get these pictures and we were unable to bring our own cameras to the beach so if you wanted evidence of this adventure you had to pay for it.

Surf Camp was definitely one of my favorite Australian adventures to date!

Success!