Unintentional Adventure!

So Campus East had a "walk up Mt. Kiera" today and I was so excited to get out and be active for once! Plus it was a great way to explore some Australian vegetation and maybe critters. Our two guides turned out to be a little "under the weather" due to some alcoholic beverages from the night before haha so we were ushered up the mountain with volunteer RA's (one being my roommate, yay!) The first 400 meters was a straight incline which makes you think that you got into something a lot more difficult than you expected but then it thinned out and was a great little hike. We got up what seemed 3/4 of the way when we hit a point in the trail where there was a slight beaten path upwards or a more defined one that sloped downwards. As a group we voted to either go upwards or attempt downwards. We decided since the path went down, it probably would take us to the bottom and the up trail looked a little muddy but not bad. So we started climbing up, winding through trees and deciphering the best way to get to the top. We zig zagged through about a half hour of bushwhacking but felt like we had done no progress because the top seemed like meters away. My encountering of creatures also occurred but they weren't the kind you cuddle up and take pictures with - they were leeches. Yes, who knew leeches were in mountains!? They were in the moist mud we were hiking and the suckers would cling to your shoes and work their way up to your ankles. They could also be on tree leaves and end up on your arm or backpack. Every hiker pulled about six or seven leeches off by the end of the hike. It also turned out that the path we decided not to take because it went downwards only does that for a bit and then loops you around the mountain to the top. Bushwhacking, although it was an adventure, led us to a wall of straight up rock about 20 feet tall. We then had to proceed to go back from the path we had just attempted to make going up. I actually really liked this better than a beaten trial because we were able truly "hike" an australian mountain even if we didn't get to the top.

Later on this evening, a group of us decided to have a bonfire on the beach (which apparently is illegal) We roasted some marshmellows - which were the flavors of vanilla and cherry - very different. My roommate Pat is quite the outdoors man and was able to get a great fire going with just one match (we had put wagers on this attempt prior). The fire lasted a good several hours and was fabulous. A couple of us decided to go for a night swim which probably isn't the best idea but hey, you're in Australia and you only live once. The waves were great and the water was quite refreshing - probably in the 60's temperature wise. I have yet to buy a boogey board like the cool kid that I am, so I have been attempting body surfing - it is not going well haha. The waves just take me up in their whirling motion and I almost feel like a rock in a rock polisher getting jumbled all over the place. But the bonfire was great and now I am quite tired from the whole series of events and there's always tomorrow!