In addition, I am now in all main subjects in the academy class (the highest level). The only class in which I am still in the general class (the middle level) is Science, but this only because the academy class of science is full. Furthermore there was a massive festival which is called the “Cairns Show” and it was pretty exciting. In terms of my weekends, I did go with my friends and my host family to several different activities, such as going on a vintage train which drives through the rainforest to a village which is in the rainforest, called Kuranda. For this activity my friend and I got up early and we then went to the Cairns Central Railway Station, at which we got on the train. This was very nice, because the train drove very slowly on purpose, so that you could enjoy an incredible view in the rainforest and an amazing scenery. Furthermore I did go to a crocodile farm, in which I already have been but I haven´t with my host mum. This was also very nice to see again. As an addition I went with my host mum around a lake on a hike, which I also very enjoyed. After this hike, we went to a market in an little country town on the tablelands, on which we looked around and had lunch. Saturday, I went with a friend of mine, who is also an international student from Japan, to Green Island. Green Island is an island which is about 30 kilometer away from the Australian coast. It is a little island with a hotel resort on it. We got there by a ship which took us in about one and a half hour to Green Island. We went snorkeling and we walked around the island, which took us about 40 minutes. On the island are some bars and restaurants which are all located at the landing stage. As already said, is on the island a hotel resort and most (maybe all) shops are controlled by this hotel resort. There is also a crocodile zoo on there, but we didn´t go in there. After five hours on the island, our ship took us back to the mainland of Australia, to Cairns. Overall was the day absolutely awesome and it was a fantastic experience.
I now only have 14 days left, including today, which makes me think of all the things I learned and experienced here in Australia. I mean, I am really looking forward to go back to Germany, to see my family and friends, and to go back to the Benedictus Realschule Tutzing. On the other side, it is quite strange to know, that I probably won´t meet most of the people, which are now in my everyday life and which became my friends, again. With this known, I make plans to meet a few people, which I got to know in Australia, again. As an example will my host family visit us at Christmas next year at our place and stay for about one week in Tutzing. Also my friend Koki, who is also the person with which I went on the vintage train and to Green Island, I maybe will meet again because his plan is to go to university in Germany and we want to try to catch up one time. With this said, I hope everything starts good in the next school year and as already said, I am really looking forward to come back to Germany.

Take care
Laurens

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In the first day of the safari, I met the other students, which were also on this safari, in the hotel. I had to share the room with three other students. My roommates were quite friendly and they all came from different countries. One of my roommates was French another one was from Japan but there was also a German student in my room, who came from Berlin. In the first morning, after we had breakfast at the hotel and we checked out, we drove with a bus and a bus driver who was an aboriginal, to the tablelands. The tablelands are like mountains and rainforest but the temperature is not as high as in Cairns. The bus driver was also our tour guide and he showed us different, very interesting and magnificent places in the rainforest. For example he showed us beautiful waterfalls, huge trees and many special plants. We had lunch at a Hostel, in which we also stayed overnight. After lunch we went to some other waterfalls in the rainforest in which we could swim. In the evening we had dinner at the Hostel and we enjoyed ourselves by playing table tennis. In the next morning we first had breakfast and checked out. After this we drove to a lake in which we kayaked for about one and a half hours. After we returned to the hostel we had lunch and drove to a national park, in which you can feed and pat Wallabies. This was really nice. Afterwards we went back to our hotel in the city in which we stayed the first night. In the evening we drove to the “Nightmarkets”, markets which are only open at night. At the markets we had dinner and explored this special type of environment. The next morning we went diving in the Great Barrier Reef. I really enjoyed the diving because I was able to just dive where I wanted to and really enjoyed seeing the Reef another time. We had lunch at out ship, which was a cold and warm tropical buffet. After lunch I decided to do another dive which I also really enjoyed again. Then we went back to the mainland and our hotel. The next day we went to Kuranda, which is a tourist village with plenty of markets in the rainforest. We got there with the “Skyrail” which is a gondola as we know it from skiing. The difference is just that this gondola is going over the rainforest and you have a magnificent view! To get back, a bus picked us up and drove us to an open-air museum. At this museum a lot of aboriginal cultural things were showed. We learned how to throw a boomerang and we also painted our own boomerang, which we have taken home. Then we learned about the history of Australia, especially in relation to the aboriginals. After we had lunch at the restaurant, which is attached to the museum, in which I ate a typical Australian meat pie. In the evening we had dinner in our hotel and after we went to the “Nightmarkets” for another time. In the next and last morning we had breakfast and then went to a crocodile farm, which is like a zoo with hardly anything else than crocodiles. This was very interesting because although crocodiles are quit present in Cairns, I have never seen crocodiles before. We went on a boat to watch crocodiles and we watched a crocodile feeding. After this we went back to Cairns where we just walked around in the city and we could do whatever we wanted to. In the afternoon my host mother picked me up and we went back home. Overall it has been a very good experience to see all this very interesting things.

I wish all my classmates the best and a nice work experience at Compassion and Ökopassion.

Take care
Laurens

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I hiked with eleven other students and two teachers for four days (three nights) through the rainforest of Hinchinbrook Island, an Island which is about 10 kilometers away from the Australian mainland which is a national park. Therefore only fifty people have permission to be on the Island at the same time. We walked with big and heavy backpacks (15-25 kilograms) and we slept in tents in chosen campsites in which there were rat safe metal food boxes and “Hybrid” toilets provided. We also had to bring water purification tabs, to ensure fresh drinking water during our trip. In the second campsite we had to watch out for crocodiles, which was quite scary. The trip started at 5:45 in the morning and we drove with a bus about three to four hours from Cairns to a village near Hinchinbrook Island. With two speedboats we reached this particular Island. As we arrived, we had to watch out for crocodiles because we walked on a narrow footbridge, which lead us to a magnificent beach. After we walked a couple of hundred meters over the beach, we finally got into the real rainforest, which was very exciting for me. After a six kilometer hike we got to our first campsite. On this particular campsite we had an fire in the evening and we played some games. In the next morning we left at ten o’clock because we had to cross a creek and we had to be there at low tide. Otherwise this place can be inhabited by crocodiles which you can´t see because they lie under the water. This day was the longest trip with a distance of ten kilometers. The second campsite was the one in the middle of the mangroves, in which we had to watch out for crocodiles. At this campsite there was an incredible and beautiful looking lagoon, in which we swum. In the next morning we left the camp at about nine o´clock in the morning and we walked six kilometers to our last campsite. This campsite was in the middle of the rainforest, but there also was an wonderful lagoon, which made the afternoon very enjoyable. At the last day we left the camp at seven o`clock and we had to walk though the rainforest until we reached a beach. There we had to wait for about one hour because we had to wait until low-tide to cross another creek. After this we only had to walk over the beach which took us about thirty minutes. As we reached the meeting point, where we had to wait for the boat, which would come to bring us back to the mainland, it only took a few minutes until the boat arrived. Back on the mainland we drove back to our school where my host mother picked me up. Furthermore, I went in town nearly every weekend with some friends, especially one boy from Japan and one from New Guinea. We had an great time in the Cairns Lagoon and we went sightseeing. The rest of the time I studied and sometimes I went to the beach. Overall, this month was very nice.

Take care
Laurens Burth

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