San Diego to Sydney

Hola Mate! It's Maya and I am leaving to L.A in less than 2 hours. Including the waiting, driving and all that the total time to get to Sydney, Australia is 24 hours but my plane ride is about 14 hours. I have been back to Australia 2 times when I was a lot younger. I don't remember much but I heard I met a wild kangaroo.

I got moved to the new class though I still think of Sra. Robles' class as mine because, I don't know who will be in the new class yet. I can't wait to meet everyone in the new class including the new teacher. I will be posting photos of summer in Australia and more info! Yes I am not crazy, it is the opposite season in Australia and a day ahead of us.

Talk to you all soon! 

My mom made an optional little quiz to take just to see what you know about Australia. Use the knowledge you have to answer the questions below.

 If you were wondering about the meaning of "mate" it is Australian slang meaning "friend". Many of you already know this but if not "Hola" means "hello" in Spanish.

-Maya

Test your knowledge!

Q) How many miles away is Sydney, Australia from San Diego?

A) 7,508 miles Map San Diego to Sydney

Q) True or False?

More people live in our state of California than on the entire continent of Australia?

A) True! 38.8 million people live in CA, only 24 million live in Australia.

Q) Australia is home to many interesting and odd animals, what shape is wombat poop?

A) Cube shaped. Check out the interesting video: cube shaped

Q) Australia is also home to many dangerous insects, reptiles and fish. Can sharks be trained?

A) Yes, see #5 myths about sharks: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2009/06/10-myths-about-sharks-the-truth/

Safely home!

  We all made it safely home from the plane ride. Though we all got some kind of weird Jet lag because now we can't go to sleep at night and we wake up very late in the morning. I had such a great trip and a lot of people ask me what my favorite part was. It is the water park called Jamberoo and hanging out with family at my grandma's pool. Going to the beach was another favorite. Thank you all for following my blog I thought it was a really cool way to remember my trip to Australia. If you have any questions for me you can make a comment below. I made a little list for you of "Thing's That Are Different in Australia." Enjoy!!!!    -Maya :)    

                                                                         Things That Are Different in Australia

- The seasons:The seasons in Australia are opposite so when I went it was summer where the days are longer and the sunlight shows for a longer time. But when I came back home to San Diego it was winter and it is still summer in Australia. Here the days are shorter and the sun sets earlier in the day.

- Temperature: Since it's summer in Australia I have been going to the beach a lot and I have been wearing my bikini every day. I also thought it was a cool experience to have Christmas during summer. When in winter you are wearing cozy clothes, staying inside with the heater on,  with hot chocolate to warm your hands.

- Driving: People drive on the left side of the road but the steering wheel is on the right side.

- The metric system: In Australia they use millimeters, meters and Celsius (a different use measurement) not inches, feet and Fahrenheit (what we in the USA use to measure).
-The money$$$: Australian dollars are waterproof and you can't rip them. They have coins worth $2 and they no longer have pennies, 5cents is the smallest amount for a coin. If you buy something that costs 0.72, they round up or down so you will pay 0.70. $1 Australian is only worth about 70cents US.

- The animals: in Australia you see many animals that we don't usually have walking around. Instead of having crows it's magpies, they have crows called ravens. One of the birds that I really dislike is the Cockatoo. In the very early mornings ( like 6:00 when you are trying to sleep) it starts to squawk very loudly. Then suddenly there are 100 flocking birds flying over your house very loudly.

http://www.arkive.org/sulphur-crested-cockatoo/cacatua-galerita/

- Coriolis effect: When you take the plug out of the bath the water goes down the drain, spinning very fast in a spiral. It kind of looks like a hurricane. It is the same when you flush the toilet. This happens the opposite way in San Diego.

This is my final blog post I hope you have enjoyed my blog. If you have any other suggestions on things that are different in Australia please make a comment. Thanks, Maya

Woonona and Dapto

Woonona Pool
   On my first day in Dapto we went to a beach pool that is in Woonona. A beach pool is a pool that is enclosed but has the same temperature of the ocean and is very close to the ocean. The pool was so cold as it was actually seawater. It was shocking when you jumped in but OK after a while. After that we visited at my auntie Emma and  uncle Nigel's house for a little while, they have two cats Tito and Paco. After that we all went back to my grandma Rae's house were I am  staying. She has a pool which we go in any possible chance we have. We hung out around the pool ( and in) until dinner.

Car racing and swimming hole
   Today my dad's friend Paul invited us to come see him drive his race car (we stayed at his house earlier in the trip) it's called a "Formula 2". It was a very hot day so we decided to only stay for one race. First the car did not start so we waited for it to charge and watch some other racers go. Finally it was time for the race. We all waited for the man to swing the flag. Paul was going so fast it was very loud he beat every car in front of him (which was like three) ! After the race we went two a  waterfall that had a hike to see it ,the view was amazing! We were so high up. Then we went to a water hole which was really refreshing after the car race. Where we splashed around in the water and slide down natural water slides until it was time to go get some lunch. For lunch we went to a classic pie shop called Robertson Pie Shop. Honestly they weren't any better than the ones that we got after Mt. Wollumbin. I got the bacon and beef one. When we were driving home it started to rain. First just a sprinkle then it started getting very heavy. When we got home we decided to put up the Christmas tree. We put it up in the living room with the ornaments and the star. It looked very pretty once everything was done. We decorated the house as well. Then we went to the park down the street it was raining but it was pretty fun. There is a swing that looks like a big spider web. When me and my dad was swinging on it there was a spider at the top of the swing. When we swang a spider on top of the swing got lower and lower until it nearly touched us. We were so scared. Then finally we slowed the swing down and jumped up out quickly. After that we played on other things at the playground. Then we walked home.

Jamberoo

  Today we had to get ready fast but it was definitely worth it. We went to basically Dapto's water Disneyland called Jamberoo. They have a ton of cool water slides and other rides mostly involving water. First I went on this ride called Splash Out which is a water slide that goes really fast and then suddenly just ends into a huge splash. Then I went on the ride called "funnel web" (a funnel web known for it's funnel web is one of the most dangerous spiders in Australia). It is probably the scariest ride in Jamberoo i went with my uncle Nigel. So you get into a huge inner tube it is a smooth twisty ride until it suddenly just goes strait down drop off into this huge funnel shape. You just spin in it until the bottom, then you go into a pitch dark tube that has really cool lights,then it's over and get out off your inner tube. One of the other really cool things was jumping off a 5 meter (15 ft) cliff and landing in a pool. Also I went on a ride called the Taipan. So you are in a huge inner tube and you go strait down into a huge snake mouth into absolute darkness. And you just twist and turn until you see light again. I also went in a wave pool with DJ music and the DJ gave us a shout out (my uncle helped me arrange it). There was a chair lift to get to what was called a toboggan ride. You fly down a mountain on a slide on a toboggan with wheels and a hand-brake. We ended the day with a late lunch at Mc Donalds (yes they have Mc Donalds in Australia). 

  

 

Byron Bay

Cape Byron Lighthouse
Hola, mate!
I landed in Byron Bay after only a one hour plane ride from Sydney. On my first day there we walked up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse which is the Easternmost point on the whole continent of Australia. Meaning if I went any more east I would land in the ocean. At the lighthouse there was a swamp wallaby (it looks like a small kangaroo) which the aboriginals call "mani" . There were also magpies which seemed to be like cute little birds until my brother started feeding them. It turns out they are vicious. First I was eating a peanut butter granola bar when my parents wanted to take a picture so I put my bar down on top of my things. Then suddenly one of the magpies grabs the entire rest of my bar (which was about half, that is a lot for a small bird)! Then it ran away and bragged about it to the other birds. I was kind of disappointed about it all. But then my mom was eating a bar, holding it in her hand, about to take a bite when another magpie snatches it out of her hand! We thought these magpies were so mean and aggressive. My dad started to tell stories about when he was a kid riding his bike and a magpie  dove down and pecked vigorously at his neck. We decided to get out of there as soon as possible. We hiked back down to our car and drove home.
http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/historic-buildings-places/Cape-Byron-Lighthouse

Protester Falls
Hola, mate!
Today we had to drive a while to get to this place but it was definitely worth it. This place is called Protestor Falls because in 1989 logging industries wanted to turn the entire rainforest into logging (chopping down wood). Some people called protesters were against it, they wanted to keep it a rainforest. It is home to endangered frogs and other species. In many different ways the protesters helped save the rainforest such as staying over night, singing and holding hands at Protester Falls for many months. It was a very peaceful protest and it definitely worked. Now people like me and my family can come and hike here and it's just the same as it was millions of years ago, during the time of dinosaurs! According to the Lonely Planet guide, "In evolutionary terms it's a time capsule, representing ecosystems that have existed since before the breakup of Gondwana, the ancient super-continent that once included Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, South America, Africa and India. It's thought that Gondwana started to break up around 80 million years ago."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana
On our hike we saw a lot of wildlife like palm trees and rocks that had plants living on top of them there was also many prehistoric trees like the fern. When we finally got to the waterfall it was so big . My brother, my dad and myself hiked up behind the waterfall. It was so cool you could feel the droplets of water with so much power coming all the way down from the top. This was an amazing experience for me.

Mt. Wollumbin/Mt. Warning
Hola, mate!
Today my family decided to hike up on a mountain. There was a lot of wildlife such as palm trees, biting ants, dangerous plants to look out for but there is also really cool cures for these things that grew close together. We thought it would be fun to go all the way to the top but it's hard when you have a 4 year old brother that needs his nap. So we decided to only go a little more than half of the way though it was still challenging and had an amazing view as well.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Warning
After our hike we got some lunch. We got meat pies and cold drinks. My favorite meat pie was the one with beef and a egg and cheese (the one in the picture is potato flavor). They were really good. My brother was trying to get some ketchup for his and messed up and it went all over himself he looked like a ketchup monster. After that we drove home and went to the beach.

Sydney

Hola Mate!

I just got to the Los Angeles Airport (LAX). After a lot of lines and waiting, we finally boarded the plane at almost 11pm. On the plane I watched a lot of movies (Minions, Despicable Me 2, Girl Meets World...) and I ate a lot of food, it's not the best food ever but it's ok. After 14 hours on the plane, I got off in Sydney, Australia!

At the airport, waiting for me and my family, was my Grandma Rae and my parents' friend Paul. After dropping off our luggage at Paul's house, we went to the beach. The beach was sunny and warm. Remember, it's summertime in Australia. There was a café at the beach, we got milkshakes and chips ("chips" are french fries in Australia). We jumped into the water and I saw a shadow that looked like a jellyfish. Then, when I got closer, it was a jellyfish! I kept looking and the whole beach was full of them. I asked my parents if they were poisonous and they said they were harmless. I caught one and held it in my hand, it felt like a little piece of clear jelly. Also in the water were very slow and small fish. Slow enough to catch! There are sharks in Sydney Harbour so there are shark nets to keep them away from people.
We met a friendly couple with a speed boat and they invited us on a ride. We went SO fast my hair was blowing in all sorts of ways! I got pushed back against my seat and I felt like I was going to fly off the boat! We went to a little beach were we jumped off the boat and swam with a sea turtle. It was so cool and the turtle was super-cute! After the beach we went back to Paul's house. His two sons were home from school and we went in the pool and jumped on the trampoline for hours. We finished the day with a "barbie" (that's a BBQ).

This morning I went on a ferry. The wind was blowing so hard that my brother kept his eyes closed tight. We walked past the famous Sydney Opera House. We continued walking to the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens that are 200 years old! I saw my first aborigine, he was playing the didgeridoo.

To see more, check out these links:

Take a video tour of Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens

Sydney Opera House

Australian Aboriginals

Adios, mate!

Australia, here I come!

Hola Mate! It's Maya and I am leaving to L.A in less than 2 hours. Including the waiting, driving and all that the total time to get to Sydney, Australia is 24 hours but my plane ride is about 14 hours. I have been back to Australia 2 times when I was a lot younger. I don't remember much but I heard I met a wild kangaroo.

  

I will be posting photos of summer in Australia and more info! Yes I am not crazy, it is the opposite season in Australia and a day ahead of us.

Talk to you all soon, please post a comment and I will reply. Also, my mom made an optional little quiz to take just to see what you know about Australia. Use the knowledge you have to answer the questions below.

 If you were wondering about the meaning of "mate" it is Australian slang meaning "friend". Many of you already know this but if not "Hola" means "hello" in Spanish. That is where I got the idea of Hola Mate.

Test your knowledge!
Q) How many miles away is Sydney, Australia from San Diego?
A) 7,508 miles Map San Diego to Sydney

Q) True or False?
More people live in our state of California than on the entire continent of Australia?
A) True! 38.8 million people live in CA, only 24 million live in Australia.

Q) Australia is home to many interesting and odd animals, what shape is wombat poop?
A) Cube shaped. Check out the interesting video: cube shaped

Q) Australia is also home to many dangerous insects, reptiles and fish. Can sharks be trained?
A) Yes, see #5 myths about sharks: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2009/06/10-myths-about-sharks-the-truth/