Hello all! 
It's been about a week, and it's been crazy to say the least. I arrived on Thursday, and then that Sunday started all my orientation activities,continuing all week until Saturday when I went away to Port Stephens for the weekend for an adventured packed trip. 
We left at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to then sit on the bus for about 2 hours before arriving at the Australian Reptile Park. My dreams of seeing a koala bear in the flesh came true as well as the pressing desire to take a selfie with a kangaroo. We only had an hour at this park so unfortunately everything felt really rushed and I'm already planning my next trip to a zoo where I can hopefully hold a koala bear (although as I learned, that is getting less and less common as many popular zoos are taking away that option due to animal stress). 
Next we hopped on the bus for about another hour until we arrived at our first winery and tasted some Australian grown wine. I must say, no matter how many wines I taste, I still have no desire to drink any red wines and Moscato still stands as my #1 favorite.
A brewery was next on the agenda. You may be surprised just like my mother was when she found out I actually enjoy drinking beer. That being said, I liked the brewery better than the winery. 
Around 6pm we arrived at our accommodations for the night which was similar to a campsite, and just a quick walk from the beach where we went to see the sunrise the next morning. The best part about the accommodation was that there was a super friendly kangaroo who just roamed the yard at all times. The owners say that the kangaroo's mother died when it was just a baby so the owner took it in and bottle fed it, therefore making the roo feel right at home for the rest of its life. Kangaroo's are basically like deer to us, they just roam and can be spotted on the side of the roads occasionally. 
After the sun rise we took off to go on a dolphin cruise where we spotted dozens of dolphins just frolicking in the ocean. It was cool, but kinda lame when compared to swimming with dolphins years ago...
A big fish n chips lunch and a short nap on the bus, we then arrived at a nearby beach that had mountain high sand dunes as far as the eye could see. The last part of this weekend trip was labeled as sand boarding, which i thought would be a little something like snow boarding, and therefore I was looking forward to it. What I wasn't expecting was the HIKE up the dune in the 85 degree beating sun to then get to the top and only sit on the board, and basically sled down the hill. Since I have snow back home and plenty of opportunities to sled, three hikes up that super steep dune was enough for me and then i headed to the gorgeous beach right next to the dunes. 
By the end of the day (more like middle of the day if I'm being honest) I was done with this trip and all the activity and just wanted to head back to campus to get into my bed. If 3 hours of sleep and two days in the sun doesn't make you wanna pass out standing up, I don't know what will.
All in all, it was a good weekend and I am very excited I got to see and experience all that I did. Now, to get ready for the first week of classes....(finally!)