Blue Mountains

One of my favorite experiences I have had in Australia has been my weekend in the Blue Mountains. When I first came to Sydney it was quite tough for me to adjust and meet friends at first. I was very homesick. This trip to the Blue Mountains was absolutely breathtaking and really fun. I was glad to have met so many new people and made new friends on our journey in the Blue Mountains. All three days were very memorable – but the second day was my favorite of all of them. Going into the second day, we were told by our instructors that our hike was going to be rather difficult. After the 900 steps from the first day, I was ready to take on the next challenge. The hike we went was not filled with many tourists, and it took all day. It was very grueling at points, and I just wanted to sit down and give up on hiking. But, all the hard work made seeing the incredible views even more meaningful.

It was very difficult deciding between the many pictures I captured over that weekend. The first picture I chose from this weekend was a panoramic shot of our second day hike. As I was saying before, it was very difficult hiking that day. But, the view from the top of the mountain after hours and hours of hiking was worth it. I can relate my experience from that day to a quote from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day off”, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. This statement was very true. Hiking through the trails, I would just stop to capture the moment of the beautiful nature around me. My friend Kelly and I, who are both from the Midwest (where we are used to flat fields of corn and wheat) , were discussing that we should really take in every moment in this beautiful setting and appreciate where we were.

The second picture I chose from this trip was a go-pro shot of my cabin group eating lunch together on the last day. I knew Mandy pretty well from my building and I sort of knew Veronica, Zoe, and Kelly. I was so glad that I shared a cabin with these girls all weekend. We had such a blast together hiking through the mountains, taking many pictures, roasting s'mores, and talking to each other in our bunk beds. I was glad to get to know these girls better and I felt very comfortable being myself around them. We all got along so well and some of us plan on travelling together for the remaining of the semester. It was also great getting to know other cabins of people who I never knew before this trip. I really enjoyed the whole social experience of this trip. The outdoor environment also invites and requires that people work together and support each other, T.A Loeffler (2004). I felt that in order to climb the mountain successfully the second day everyone had to work together as a team to complete this challenge.

The last image I chose was a shot of me by the waterfalls on the second hike. On this trip I really got to know myself more just from hiking in the mountains. I have always enjoyed the outdoors, but now I have a much greater appreciation for nature. As I was saying from before, I felt comfortable with the other people that I was with and with myself to act like my normal goofy self. Rubbing dirt all over my face from diving in the water for yabbies and from crawling through a very narrow tunnel were all things that made me gain more confidence in myself. I felt that this picture clearly represented my self confidence that I gained from this trip.

I made a montage video of our hikes during the Blue Mountains with my gopro and I feel like that this really captures the essence of the weekend and it brings back the amazing memories that I have from this experience. I also have another video of my friend Kelly talking about me from the weekend.

Overall, this trip in the Blue Mountains was a fantastic experience and has been one of my favorite weekends in Australia. It was nice to leave the city of Sydney and to experience nature completely. I was also really glad that we were cut off from our cell phones all weekend – it added a more authentic feel of being in the mountains. I really have a new fond appreciation for nature and hiking. Completing a very difficult hike has been one of the more rewarding feelings I have had in my life. It is amazing to see what our planet offers and I have really appreciated the outdoors more during my time in Australia. I also made new friends from this weekend who have made me feel very comfortable in my own skin. I am so ready to take on the next challenge that’s ahead and my weekend in the Blue Mountains helped me gain more self-confidence. 

References

T.A Loeffler (2004) ‘A Picture is Worth... Capturing Meaning and Facilitating Connections: Using Outdoor Education Students' Photographs’: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/education/downloads/2004_conference_loeffler.pdf