Last Friday, 8 Macquarie students loaded into a van for a weekend of volunteering. We drove along the southcoast of Australia and found our site on a dairy farm in the Kangaroo Valley. Our mission for the weekend: de-weed a section of the farm that had become overrun by the “wild tobacco” plant. Wild Tobacco is different from other well known tobacco products. Instead of getting the munchies, when cows eat this plant their insides rot from the inside-out until they die (sorry if too graphic). Thus, this is NOT the plant you want on a dairy farm.
First glimpse at the work site was overwhelming, but after 2 days I was proud of the work we accomplished. Plus, no one died from a snake or spider bite (always a good thing!). To add to the experience, we got to hang out with a lot of cows...that surprisingly smelled alright. Every afternoon at 2:30 came milking time for the cows. We watched hundreds of cows piling down the road. A few even stopped to stare me down (I may have lost this battle, but I will win the war).... Yet it was the calves (baby cows) that were my favorites. I was able to get close enough to hug a calf that was born only a few days prior. I call her Daisy. Here’s a picture of Daisy and a few others of the dairy volunteering experience.
Beyond volunteering, the second half of the weekend was its own experience. CVA (Conservation Volunteers Association) combines all of their volunteer opportunities with late afternoon sightseeing. Our bus driver Michael first took us to HYAMS BEACH. The beach is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the whitest sand in the world. I don’t know how this is verified, but it was very white and I filled my water bottle with the sand. Next, Michael led our group on a couple hikes around Morton National Park. We hiked high to see great views of some of Morton’s lakes, the dam, and a waterfall. It was so peaceful sitting high above the National Park and taking in the scenery. I could have stayed all day...
The final highlights of the weekend came at our accommodations. We stayed in a cabin in the woods and we were lucky enough to see native animals in the wild. We quickly spotted wild kangaroos and we also saw a few wombats and lyre birds. Nathan led the way to pet the wild wombat (maybe not the best idea, but it turned out really cool). Lastly, it was great to experience the weekend with an 8-person group. It really is the perfect small group number. We all got to know each other closely through van rides, group cooking sessions, and of course….we played several games of Mafia! (If you haven’t played before, it’s a game of deception that plays off people’s personalities) All in all, the weekend was arguably my favorite in Australia. We gave back to the community through volunteer work, lived with wildlife and nature, and spent time with an awesome group of 8. It even sparked an adventure that I want to embark on in the next 12 months (but that is for another time). Here are a few more photos to top of the weekend…
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