Day 2

An example of one of the carpets produced by the antique loom.

Day two was a day filled with adventure. We began the day by going to the National Wool Museum in Geelong, Australia. Here we learned about the process of converting fleece to fabric. The highlight of the museum was seeing the carpet loom which is over 100 years old. It is only one of two working looms, and is in the top 100 man-made machines in the world. There also was a bale of wool on display which back in the day sold for over one million dollars. It was bought in a bidding war by a Japanese company. The Italian representative who was bidding against him ended up being fired for losing the bidding war, and not upping the bid. Many students bought one-of-a-kind carpets made by the antique carpet loom.

A sample of the cities Australia exports wool to across the decades.

The dyed yarn is used in the loom that makes carpets at the national wool museum.

The majority of our day was then spent driving along the Great Ocean Road. Along this drive, we got to view epic coastal scenery. For lunch, we stopped at the beautiful Apollo Bay to eat on the beach. This was the first time for four of the students to experience the ocean. After lunch, we continued our journey along the very windy Great Ocean Road which led us to the 12 Apostles National Park. Here we saw the breathtaking eight remaining apostle islands, which have been carved over time by wind and water.

For these 4 students this is the first time they have ever seen or touched the ocean water before.

Apollo Bay pier.

We ended the evening in Warrnambool at a dinner with local area producers. We had great conversations with the farmers about their operations. We heard from a beef producer, two dairy producers, and a veterinarian who is originally from Iowa. Mr. Walsh shared some words of wisdom with us by saying “[People] wrongly think that agriculture is yesterday’s industry, but that is not the case.” He also talked about how women are not commonly involved in these industry, but he commended us for having so many passionate young women on this trip promoting agriculture.

Becky, Tammy and Shianne

One of the great snapshots of our Great Ocean Road tour.

A view from the 12 Apostles National Park.