Two weeks ago, we flew from Sydney to Adelaide where we met up with our contact from the Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA). After a quick orientation where we met our group leader Hamish, we discovered that we would be doing work on Kangaroo Island. The work we did consisted of building boardwalks on four of Australia’s most beautiful beaches. We were also pleasantly surprised to find out that we would be staying in a beach house owned by our group leader’s friend. Throughout the week, each of us got one day off during which we could relax and explore the island. During our down time after work, our group enjoyed spending time with Hamish, attempting to complete a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle, cooking meals, and watching movies. After 5 days we returned to the mainland by ferry and said goodbye to Hamish at our next destination Adelaide. Here, we spent several days exploring the city. Nick, Catherine, Laura, Alex W, Michelle, and Stefan learned how to surf while the rest of the group enjoyed wandering around the city. On the final night in Adelaide, the whole group saw the new Harry Potter movie. The following morning we got picked up by our Groovy Grape tour guide Leith. Highlights of the Groovy Grape trip included meeting people from France, Germany, and Denmark, sleeping in caves in Coober Pedy, touring Opal mines, visiting Uluru and walking around Ayers Rock, sleeping in swags, and saying goodbye to the Groovy Grape group in the lovely city of Alice Springs. In Alice Springs, we stayed in our first motel and flew to Cairns in preparation for scuba diving. Although we are excited to scuba dive and see the Great Barrier Reef, we had to say goodbye to our group member Catherine who is heading off to college orientation back in LA. Good luck to you Catherine and we love you.
