*TAKES A MOMENT TO RECAP*
"WHAT??!?!" is definitely the first thought that springs to mind. Massive insurance scandals, the extinction bus, children-adults-mature age students, ROCKS, cliff faces, steeeeep slopes, stairs that go on forever....... and dot dot dot.
For me, who wasn't actually oh-so-keen to go in the first place, the best parts of the trip were the numerous bus rides... ahhh, rest. HAHA... but in all seriousness, it is true! I do believe - sleeping knocks off any fear of nausea/motion sickness - keep that one in mind peoples, next time your on a rollercoaster? ... Anyway - our bus, labelled EXTINCTION (as opposed to ALBEDO and GREENHOUSE) .... actually did die along the way.... just 100m from the campsite!... And sooo... *lug lug, grumble, grumble* ... walking the last 100m to the campsite meant less bed selection. (and yes, the joke can be thrown in here; "the extinction bus finally got extinct")
Ok... so then aside from my favourite being the bus ride - the geological favourite - which actually turned out to be my biggest "WHAT!?!" (2nd biggest was to the HALF A CHICKEN EACH they served us for dinner) was the massive insurance looophole the uni managed to pull off! ... Ok, so to check out the quarry @ Carrikalinga Beach... of course, the rocks are @ the bottom of beach cliff and we are parked at the top. so, in all true nature (there is no such thing as flat ground in geology) the herd of 140 geo students hiked down to the beach - BUT this beach (and hence the reason why we're there) is filled with massive boulder sized rocks along the seashore.... and in order to get to "those rocks" @ the bottom - we SHUFFLED along cliff faces, JUMPED from one rock crevasse to another sloped rock below, CLIMBED LIKE SPIDERMAN up and down the thousands of massive rocks, SCALED almost vertical mounds of dirt? (haha, where the fella in front of me was climbing and u could actually SEE the rocks eroding and crumbling off as he stepped) and PRETENDED it didnt hurt when we landed funny. and some how - in a crazy miracle - there were no injuries *disappointment jk*.... but ... HOW ON EARTH WAS THE TRIP INSURANCE OK WITH 140STUDENTS JUMPING UP AND OFF ROCKS, SHUFFLING CLIFF FACES AND SINKING IN WET SAND!?! ( i guess insurance people never did geology?)
Stop 1: Torrens Park Quarry - see how far down we are = how far we have to get back up.
Ok so then aside from the rock jump and cliff shuffling - there was also the stair climbing (and mind u, geologists also dont seem to understand a normal staircase like the rest of us do) .... when there was a structure that did resemble stairs - they were STEEEP as, and WENT ON FOREVER... ahhhh... the StairMaster has NOTHING on the "stairs" on Petrel Cove !!
Stop 3: One mother of an epic hike up.... INCLINE much?
Oh yeah and lastly - WEIRD MUCH.... but mature age students - DONT U FEEL KINDA AWKWARD WHEN THE DEMONSTRATOR IS YOUNGER THAN U?!.... our demonstrator was like 24ish.... and then like the older fellas in our group have PASSED PUBERTY A LONG TIME AGO... reaching balding and like in their 30's to 40's.... ... errr.... AWKWARD no?
Stop 5: Rocks and walking mush-mush thru the sand.
okies - enough for now from your non-geologist friend.
first commentator!
ReplyDeleteI want to go on camps and jump on rocks and climb up cliffs! Remember how much I wanted to go cliff jumping?/not that they would approve of my jumping of a cliff at an uni geology field camp trip. haha
Look forward to your next blog babe.
http://im-your-daily-cuppa-tea.blogspot.com/
i wrote more first time but computer failed on me before i finished! PWNED*
always, t X
haha... some how i reckon u might have liked this camp - minus the theory side ( i dont kno anyone who did like this side) ... but man - the hardest thing is to try and NOT be clumsy in front of everyone else... like of the group of 140ppl... u DO NOT want to be the one-that-falls.
ReplyDeletexx.. gd job finding me btw :P