Day 6

Jan. 25, 2012

           We're leaving the beautiful Hamilton's for Adelaide! I'm not completely sure what Adelaide is like, but everyone seems to be happy for more adventure. The Hamilton Islands were fantastic and full of the entertaining things to do; it's actually kind of sad that we're leaving. I'm hoping that we will find some of the same enjoyment in Adelaide. The city is known for the Australia Day Parade, which is actually what we're going there for. Australia Day is in celebration of the day in which the British 'First Fleet' came in at Sydney Cove. A sad piece of history that goes along with this day has to do with the natives. Some natives even call it "Invasion Day," because of how they probably felt when they saw these strange new people. Despite the fact we are not Australian, all of us are going to celebrate right along the citizens! We hear that the annual parade is super fun and goes all the way down three streets. Each year they have activities, booths are set up, and performers are scattered all along the parade pathway. It sounds like an awesome time, we're looking forward to it. 


             Our day has been quite a rush and everyone has been a little bit flustered. We woke up a little bit late and rushed to get in as much breakfast as we could before the cab came to pick us up and take us to the airport. The bungalow hotel was a whole lot of fun and a brand new experience for us all, though. Everyone rushed out of our bungalow and into the taxi. 

             I'm guessing the airport was crowded because everyone wanted to travel and go to the parade. The whole place, especially our gate, was full to the brim with people. Somehow we managed to squeeze through and get our seats even though we were almost late. The plane ride wasn't very pleasant, thanks to the fact that we were packed like sardines in our little cushioned seats. The only redeeming feature of the flight was the fact we got a yummy snack of Tim Tams(chocolate-covered biscuits) that are popular in Australia.

              As we were flying, Breielle and David, who got the window seats, noticed a lot of rugged terrain and farmland outside. It was bright red and looked a lot like a desert. Some of the things on the ground that were moving looked like ants to us. Among the moving sights Breielle thinks she saw one of Australia's iconic animals, the kangaroo. She probably couldn't actually see anything, though, since we're so high up. A local, who thought it was funny that we'd never seen a 'roo,' told us that the east of Australia does not have much of the 'Outback'. All of the intense desert and mountains are located more to the west, which we haven't gotten the chance to see yet. 
             
            A voice came over and told us we were going to be stopping in Sydney. The plane landed after flying about 4 hours straight for a 30 minute layover. Our group got out to stretch their legs and get some fresh air after sitting in one place for so long. No one had enough time to run over and grab any food because before we knew, it was already time to leave again.


             We finally landed permanently after an hour and a half or so. Everyone was completely famished and exhausted. Justin looked around for awhile on a map until he spotted a hotel called Adelaide Meridien Hotel & Apartments. We booked two rooms and then made our way to the dinner hall. The food there was great and we couldn't wait to actually enjoy it the next time we ate. The whole group was way too tired to actually process it. We made our way to our rooms and everyone pretty much passed out upon entering.