Author: Matthew Wilson | Major: Environmental Science | Semester: Summer 2024
Picture from my underwater camera at the Great Barrier Reef
My name is Brody Wilson, and I am a junior in Dale Bumpers studying Environmental Science. This summer (August 2024), I had the privilege to attend a faculty led study abroad trip to Australia. I knew from a young age that I always wanted to study abroad while I was in college. When looking at different Environmental Science study abroad opportunities, Australia was the trip that stood out to me the most.
We started our trip at DFW in Dallas, where we began to board our nonstop 17 hour flight to Sydney. The flight was long, and once we got there, we realized that we had skipped a whole day in the air due to crossing the international date line, and it was currently 6:15am in Sydney. That same day, we went to the Sydney Opera House, where we had a tour of 6 out of the 7 theaters. Later that day, we went to a traditional Australian pub, where some people got Kangaroo and Emu pizza. The next day, we got to do service learning at Taronga Zoo, where we helped the zookeepers keep the animals, learned about different animals’ nutrition, and got to see tons of native Australian animals. The next day we went on an Aboriginal tour of Sydney, then boarded our flight to Townsville, where we would spend the remainder of our trip.
Once we got to Townsville, we drove 3 hours into the outback to a cattle farm called Wambiana station, where we stayed for 2 days. While at Wambiana station, we learned all about Australian cattle husbandry, learned how to trap for nocturnal animals, went spotlighting, and helped around the farm. We then drove back to Townsville, and the next day we did a tour of Magnetic Island, where we saw dolphins, a sea turtle, wild wallabies, and practiced our snorkeling for the Great Barrier Reef. On Magnetic Island, we did service learning with Wildlife Surrounds where we looked at microplastics on a popular beach at magnetic Island. The next day we went to the Great Barrier Reef, where we snorkeled. We saw lots of colorful fish, including clownfish, parrotfish, and lots of angelfish. On the boat ride back, we saw 3 migrating female humpback whales with their calves. We then went to Wildlife Surrounds again, where we learned about the education that they do, particularly about dingoes, and in our free time, some other students and I went back to Magnetic Island to do the Forts Walk hike, where we saw wild koalas. On our last day, we went to Billabong Sanctuary, where we got to see more native Australian animals, including a 17 foot saltwater crocodile. At Billabong, we also got to hold snakes, a baby saltwater crocodile, and a koala. Later that day, we went to James Cook University, where we visited the sea turtle lab and got to see all the sea turtle research that they do. The next day we left and departed for the United States.
Overall, this was the trip of a lifetime, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity the attend this faculty-led trip. I was surprised on how much the long flights to Australia did not affect me. I figured I would not be able to sleep on the flight, but I was able to easily. I would say not to let a long travel time detour you from taking a trip; it will be worth it once you get there.