May 11th-May13th: Day 1

These flowers reminded of the happiness and beauty that our mothers bring to our lives.  We are sending our love to the most important women in our lives, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.

As we prepared to land the sun was rising over the Tasmanian Sea and a warm welcome to the country.

During the long flight we were able to track our location on the maps in the plane.  The maps showed how fast our ground speed was, how far we had flown, and how much longer was left.

Our group of 19 South Dakota State University students have all arrived in Melbourne, Australia.  For many of us, the final flight (15 hours) was the first time big step in starting our adventure. 

A view of the city overlooking the Eureka River.

 Sleeping was a major key to help prevent jet lag when coming to this country because of the time change (15 hours ahead), yet you have to get up and walk around, and stretch throughout the flight.  As we arrived in Australia, we exchanged for Australian currency and were met with a tour bus with our tour guide Bill Dunlop who led us around the city showing us many key government buildings with many interesting facts.  We got to see and hear so much about these historical features of this city.  

Before cellphones the clocks where the common meeting place for most people, now days they are a reminder of a past time.

These poles are a reminder and tribute to the aboriginals of the land.

We also got to stop at a very cool market place for lunch and did some shopping, I wonder how many souvenirs were bought. There was a wide variety of fresh fruits, eggs and other agricultural products.    

While at the market we had the opportunity to see a verity of eggs brought in by the “Eggsperts”. 

Some of the more modern architecture in Melbourne.

 After the short stop, we continued on the bus tour around the city.  We made one more, quick stop at the local Coles (a market store) for some breakfast food for the next couple of days.  After completing our purchases we made it to our hotel with a few hours before dinner.  Some students enjoyed some down time at the hotel while others went out around the town to explore.  We all met up for dinner at 7:00 (4:00 am central standard time) at the hotel restaurant enjoying a meal before our first night of sleep in Melbourne. 

Every country that had a plate at the immigration wall.  

 

The first night we enjoyed a fine dining experience before heading to a well needed rest for the evening.

Dinner before a night's rest

Kacy and Brittany