G'day Perth!

Maybe the only downside of heading off to Australia is the amount of time it takes to get there. After more than thirty hours of travel, we arrived in Perth and this group hit the ground running.

After some much-needed freshening up, we shook off the jetlag and headed straight out for a university tour, where our students learned their way around the campus buildings while getting their first glimpse (and smell) of native eucalyptus and banksia plants and hearing a lot of chatter from the local magpie and cockatoo birds.

The next day we got an even closer look at iconic Aussie animals with a visit to Caversham Wildlife Park, where we were able to meet kangaroos and kookaburras and pose for photos with a little koala joey named Ron, and everyone’s favorite resident wombat, Neil.

After all of that excitement, it was finally time to head back to campus – but not before stopping at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory for a few snacks and souvenirs for the bus ride home.