I left for Tasmania January 23, exactly a month after I decided to apply for the CSP program. It was a crazy couple days of traveling and time change and I arrived in Launceston Saturday morning January 25. The first day and a half gave me some time to settle in and get accustomed to the time change before 7/8 camp started. I was a little nervous going into the week but God showed up in so many ways throughout the entire camp. Through incredible staff members and leaders who made me feel apart of the team since day one to the wonderful campers who made me feel special by asking me every single question they could think of about Canada. The first week was incredible and it really set up a solid foundation for how the rest of my time here would go.
After I had been here for a few weeks and was settled in I got to go on my first hike! Leading up to the hike everyone was telling me that the walls of Jerusalem is one of the most beautiful hikes here in Tassie and I got to read up about it how it developed into the trail it is today. We left on Saturday morning and started on the trail at around 11:30. It was a steep hike to start off with but it was so worth it when we got to the opening looking into Dixon’s kingdom. It was an incredible hike in and I loved all of the vegetation and wildlife that I saw. The following day we hiked up a few mountain peaks and got to swim in the pools of Bathsheba which was so nice. My favourite part of the day thought was definitely the sunset hike up (I can’t remember the mountain peak) and seeing an echidna! It was a wonderful weekend relaxing in the wilderness and getting to experience God’s goodness and creativity in another part of the world.
Getting into the routine of camps and rental groups was a little bit different than crow and took a few days to get the hang of things. Right away I got trained on some activities and certified to lead the flying fox. Day to days look pretty similar, leading activities and helping Michelle in the office. It’s nice to have a routine and having things that I can just hop into and be useful.
This past weekend was my latest adventure and we went to Hobart. It was so fun going down with the camp staff and getting to see more of Tasmania’s culture. On our first day we went down to the Salamanca markets and wandered around looking at the different booths. Following the markets we went to the MONA art gallery which was incredible, the architecture was so unique and fun to explore. The following day we went to another market and went ice skating which was cool to get to skate with all of the Australians here. On our last day down south we packed up early and a few of us left the house at 5:30 to go big tuna fishing. It was so cool to go out on a boat in the middle of the ocean and experience the crazy waves. Although there were a few of us who got a little sea sick it was such an incredible experience.
Needless to say my time in Australia so far has been incredible. I have gotten to experience and learn so much already throughout my short time here. The people that I have gotten to meet and build relationships with so far have truly been the best part and I am looking forward to the rest of my time here.