Outdoor Ed Trip and Race Day!

Greetings everyone!!

Well last week was definitely one to remember. Friday a bunch of my friends surprised me with an early birthday party because a lot of them willbe traveling over my actual birthday so they got me out of the apartment and I came back to an apartment full of decorations and cake and a ton of people I have met while I've been here. I really appreciate everything they have done to celebrate my big twenty first so far. My friend Scott and a few of his friends that are going to school in Brisbane also decided to stop by on Friday and they spent the night and we hung out all night and had fun just stayin in.

Saturday we woke up bright and early for Race Day and started the day off with Mamosas. It was a lot of fun. A bus picked us up from Orion and took us to the races where we got free drink tickets and got to place bets on horses if we wanted. They were a ton of people there and everyone was dressed to impress. A band played and we basically hung out on the grass all day and listened to music while we watched the races. It was probably one of the best days in Lismore thus far.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to go on our last Outdoor Education trip to Giraween National Park which was about three hours away from Lismore. The first day we walked with our huge 20lb packs and set up camp and then did a side trip up Mt. Norman to explore the caves. It was a lot of fun. I went through this one really small area that required you to squeeze through a tiny hole at the end to get out. I was pretty clostephobic but I made it and it was definitely worth it. Day two we walked again with our packs and had to do some navigation using the maps and compases to get to our next campsite. My group had a little trouble on the navigation part but we eventually made it even thought it was pitch dark. It was probably one of the most difficult things I've done in my life but I pushed through, and it proved to be worth it in the end. Day three we walked again to our next campsite (with our packs of course) and dropped them off and then climbed up South Bald Rock and Bald Rock. The views were awesome and the sunset was pretty sweet too! The climbs were really steep but the caves and view from the top made it all worth while.

Now I am back in Lismore ready to give a presentation for my Stress Management class tomorrow and then am hopefully headed to visit some friends in Brisbane for the weekend. I'm excited for our Frasier Island trip that is coming up next sunday but am even more excited for my BIRTHDAY!! Wish all of you were here to celebrate with me on the big day! We'll definitely make up for it when I get back! Love you guys!

Keegs