By La’Chattie Smith
Staff Writer
Senior Kierra Washington had an unforgettable summer. She and a few other students traveled to Australia with Bessie Burden, the moth
er of varsity Blue Jay Football and Wrestling Coach Vernon Burden.
The flight to Australia was 23 hours long, and Washington says that they all were accommodated with their own televisions which had movies, games and their own music station.
Between fighting the sand man and learning how to adapt to a time zone change, which was 14 hours ahead, Washington says that she spent most of her time on the plane sleeping. “I slept for 10 hours, and the ride was very uncomfortable,” says Washington.
Washington says her favorite place that they visited was Cairnes because of the Great Barrier Reef. According to Washington, it was quite an experience.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. According to Great Adventures of Australia, there are more species of animals and plants in a cubic meter of the Great Barrier Reef than in any other environment of the world, including tropical rainforests.
Washington says the most exciting experiences that she can remember were going snorkeling with turtles and clown fish in the Great Barrier Reef and visiting the Sydney Opera House. “I basically swam with the fish,” Washington said. “In a way, it was a little scary being that close to the fish.”
As for the Opera visit, “Going into the Opera House wasn’t actually on the schedule,” Washington said, “and I was a little disappointed, but the atmosphere around it was still very intriguing. There is so much history behind that place.”
“The scenery (in Australia) was absolutely beautiful,” Washington said. Their group visited Auckland, New Zealand, Rotorua, Sydney, Cairnes and Brisbane, and saw koala bears and kangaroos along the way.
“Australia is just like America” in some ways because Australians speak English, Washington said.
Before going to Australia, Washington says that her perspective of the continent was completely different. “When thinking of Australia, all I thought of was kangaroos, boomerangs and deserts, but now having been there, I finally know of the culture – not as much as I want to, but a little more than before.”