Day 6

We went on a hike to the top of Mt. Cargill, which was an hour walk through the streets and then a 3 hour roundtrip trail. The terrain was steep, but well kept and the scenery was breathtaking. Near the bottom of the trail head, there was a map of the single-track mountain biking in the area - which was significant. When I finally get my bike finished, I'll have to ride around that area. They have held several mountain biking national races there, so it's bound to be technical and tough. I'm pretty excited about it.

At the top of the hike, you could see the entire city, the bay, the peninsula, and several miles inland.




Orientation for University is starting this week, and it is HUGE! There are several bands playing each day, tents set up all across campus, and multiple events going on throughout the week. Most are pretty expensive (like $25), so I'll stick to the free stuff. Tomorrow is Clubs and Societies day, where I can sign up for the sports clubs. In addition to mountain biking, I'm going to sign up for the water polo tryouts. They select a team to participate in the National University Games later in the semester, and it would be a blast. Wish me luck!

Yesterday, we went on a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory, which was yummy. The whole place smelled so good, but I'm sure the workers get sick of it pretty quickly. At least we got lots of free samples. Thursday, we will be going to the beaches, as long as the weather holds out. The ozone layer is really thin here, so it's easy to burn. They even have 70spf here! Hopefully my 30 will hold out. Friday is when we attend "primary lectures", which will tell us where our classes will be held and who our professors are. Saturday, we will be taking a guided tour of the peninsula, where we should get to see albatross and penguins!

That's all I got right now, miss you all!