Traveling to Australia and New Zealand

At an Australian zoo, Isabella Garcia was able to hold koalas and take pictures with them. The students had to hold the koalas on their bottoms because they lack nerves there, so it isn't painful for them to be held by many people throughout the day.

For two weeks, I was lucky enough to travel to the beautiful countries of Australia and New Zealand. I participated through the program EF Educational Tours, although the chaperone was a familiar person: the theater teacher, Mr. Savage, at Carnegie Vanguard High School. Although I attend Bellaire High School, I was encouraged to go through friends in the theater department at Carnegie who also went on the trip.

First we arrived in Los Angeles, where we transferred onto a nonstop 12-hour flight to New Zealand. Vic, an Australian citizen complete with a natural Aussie accent, was our tour guide for the entire trip. He was very knowledgeable about the history of both countries, and he made the entire trip an entertaining learning experience. While overseas, I got to try new cuisine, see famous sites, and meet people with different backgrounds.

As one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Australia really lives up to the hype. Vic explained to us that Australia actually started as a British colony for convicts. Now, it has some of the most famous must-see architectural structures worldwide, including the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge.

One of the most anticipated moments for me was actually being able to see and hold a koala, because they are such adorable animals. We traveled all along the east coast, visiting places like Fraser Island, Surfer’s Paradise, and Sydney. Australia is especially unique in that it is the only country that eats their coat-of-arms - Kangaroo and Emu - so it is very popular to order the “Coat-of-Arms pizza”. Contrary to my expectations, it was surprisingly really delicious.    

Right next door to Australia is the tiny island of New Zealand. It is popular today for its geothermal areas, just as appealing now to us as it was originally to the indigenous people, the Maori. 

From the moment you step off the plane you can hear the Maori language. “Kia Ora” is similar to the Hawaiian “Aloha” and serves as both a greeting and farewell. The Maori people are very open and they love to educate people about their culture. I had a wonderful evening with them when we were invited into their village for a performance and a meal. In addition, the town of Matamata which I visited in New Zealand is a popular attraction. It is known for the Lord of the Rings Hobbition Movie Set Tour that has remained the same since the filming of the last movie. Even I was amazed at how much detail each Hobbit house had and enjoyed the tour of the set, even though I’ve never been much of a fan of LOTR. 

This experience traveling was the best I could have imagined. I just hope that one day I can return and experience it all over again.