Trekking Australia – Noah Black-Ocken

Hello! My name is Noah Black-Ocken. I am Currently a Junior at the University of Arkansas, studying Animal Science. This summer I had an amazing opportunity to accompany Dr. Kathy Jogan and a group of students to the land of Australia. This trip was an absolute blast. We were able to do so many things, such as see new animals, experience a new culture, and meet many interesting people. This trip gave me the opportunity to learn about so many cool animals that are not native to the United States. These animals included Dingos, Koalas, Platypuses, wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, and a few more. On this trip, we started out the journey in Brisbane, Australia and then went to Townsville. In Brisbane, we went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and had some free time to take in one of the three biggest cities in Australia. In Townsville, we went to another koala sanctuary and spent some time at the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium, Reef HQ. My favorite day of the trip was the last day. The last day we went back to Magnetic Island for a day of fun. We spent the first half of the day scuba diving the great barrier reef and the second half tubing and riding jet skis. Magnetic Island was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been (I attached some photos so you can see for yourself). One element that separates this trip from many others was that there was a great balance between work and play. We had the chance to learn from two prestigious universities: the University of Queensland and James Cook University. Here we heard some interesting lectures by some brilliant people. In all, this was an amazing trip full of education and adventure. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in animal science and wants to take a trip to Australia.