Hello Mates:

I just got back from a very fun and challenging weekend in Meebunn-Bia Outdoor Education Center. It was Melanie, Bailey and Me that were together this weekend. It was 3 day and 2 nights of outdoor activities.......and hard core camping....except we did have toilets:)

I first woke up at 6:00 in the morning the catch a bus....which was challenging enough.....and then rode the bus through some pretty curvy roads for 2.5 hours. After we finally arrived, we then played some getting to know you games and some team building activities. They were fun, but after that we got to start our first hike with our hiking backpacks and when I say hike........I mean hike. Our instructors told us that we were going to climb this ridge.......and it was like straight up to the sky........and everyone was like ok, sounds good because we all thought that we were going to take a road around the ridge and that they were kidding about actually climbing the ridge because it had no path or any signs that we were going to climb it. But no, we actually had to climb the ridge straight up and I would have to say that it was probably one of the most challenging things I've ever had to do in my life. Well after we made it to the top we did get to rest a little and then move on and around to our next activity which was the ropes course. The ropes course was fun but it was very hard because you need alot of upper body strength which I lacked but it was still fun to participate in. After that our whole group was very tired and we made it to our camp site for the night. It was a nice site with a kitchen/shelter and we also had to set up our tents for the night. Oh yea, did I mention that they were just tarps on the ground and around poles and that they were open on both ends. Yep, it was very interesting. After that we had dinner and I made some instant pasta and then went to bed. It was cool though because I got to see the Milky Way galaxy and I have never seen anything like that before in my life.

The next day we got to wake up at 6:00 in the morning and pack up and eat breakfast. Our first activity of the day was called the Flying Fox which is just like a zip line across the trees, it was fun to do and I did enjoy the ride. After that we got to do some navagating activities with a map and compass. That was very interesting but with some help from our professor we did manage to find 4 out of 15 landmarks.......a good record don't you think? ;) After that we had lunch and then got to hike again. This time it was for about 3-3.5 hours!!!! And it was still challenging because about half of this hike was also uphill and it seemed that right when the trail was about to level out......it just kept going up........very challening with a hiking backpack. After that we got to see the most beautiful sunset on top of a mountain in my life.......it was just nice to sit in silence and watch it set. After that we still had to put our tents up for the night.......in the dark.....only this time we had to tie a rope between 2 trees and hang a tarp over the rope.......pretty fun to try and do in the dark. After that I made dinner and tried to go to sleep. Only we were told about the possibility of possiums coming into our tent during the night and I was afraid to sleep cause I didn't want any possiums in my tent. Well, I stoped one from getting into our tent, but a few tents in our group did get some visitors in the night and we did hear about it.:)

The last day was pretty jammed packed. We again woke up very early and went to do this partner activity. I can't remember the name of it but it was very hard. You were connected to a partner and you had to climb up a ladder. But it was no ordinary ladder because it rungs were so far apart that you hard to use a rope to pull yourself up to the next rung. After you made it to the top of the ladder, then you had to navigate yourself and your partner across a bridge with plants and two wires and nothing else to hang on to. It was hard to get across but if that wasn't enough, then you had to pull yourself up a rope ladder on to a higher level and make your way across just 1 wire and you had rope hanging down to keep your balance. Then at the end you got to ring a bell. I have to say that I didn't think that I would be able to finish this activity but I did and I am glad that I tried it. After that was the free fall activity. This was when you got to climb a little ladder up to a platform and then just step off it and swing. It was kind of scary at the top but super fun once you stepped off!! After that it was back down to the bottom of the mountain and back on to the bus for the ride back to the university.

I was very glad to be able to take a shower but this weekend was alot of fun and I got to do activities that I don't think thatI would have been able to do again in my life.

This weekend I get to see my dad and I'm very excited to see him.........

Good Bye Mates:

Allison