Day Four was a Score!

Last night was an interesting hotel/motel experience. When you pulled up to it, it looked very different from our last hotel. But the rooms were REALLY nice. The mattress even had a heating pad! I’m forming my Christmas list when I’m over here, if anyone needs any ideas! ;)

This morning I was THIS close to getting my blog posted at McDonald’s. BUT I was about 30 seconds too late because the Internet was overloaded with all of us. (I feel as though, every time I miss a blogging day I lose a reader.) The whole 2 readers I have... To start the morning we went to Lawson Angus Ranch. Here we were able to see some Angus bulls and talk to Mr. Lawson about how he runs his operation. After the tour he and his wife then took us to a local winery for hot chocolate and biscuits (cookies). Yummy!

On the way to the winery we saw a dead kangaroo on the side of the road. This was pretty exciting because it gave us hope that we might see one! Needless to say, I’ve missed all the ones we’ve passed. BUT we’ve decided that if our bus hits a kangaroo we should bring it back with us and put it in Weber. (As a souvenir of course!) 

We went to Bonnie Doon for lunch and had a choice of chicken Parmesan, schnitzel, or the classic fish and chips. I chose the chicken Parmesan thinking the pasta sounded good. I was in for a surprise when it came out with chips on the bottom of the chicken. It was yummy, just a different take on the dish than I expected! Then we had key lime cheesecake to go!

After lunch we had the chance to visit Lima Park which runs a Hereford cattle and sheep operation. Mr. McMillan showed us around the operation he manages and shared with us his philosophy for making the best product possible. He runs 3000 head of sheep and 500 head of cattle. The cattle were larger than what we were used to. It was a nice operation.

One thing I have noticed around Australia is the difference between their trucks and ours. Some of their “trucks” look like a car in front with a pickup bed behind. And their working trucks look like miniatures! Needless to say there aren’t any F-350’s to be seen!

One of their working trucks

Tonight we are headed to Albury and we’re planning to visit a sheep operation, Shorthorn Cattle operation, along with an emu farm! Needless to say I’m pretty excited for the emus!!

Tune in tomorrow for the emus!!

The beautiful scenery 

-MaryAnn 

Day 3: The rainy day

This morning started out with a look out the window and seeing pouring rain. What a way to start the day! No time could be wasted admiring it though as we needed to be out at 7:30 am. The first stop on the itinerary was the JBS packing facility. All I can say is, WOW! After donning our white smocks, rain boots, hairnets and earplugs we were all set to go to the floor to look at the meat production process. When switching from the all the different rooms, varying from the floors to the processing rooms we washed our hands and boots every time. All I can say is I washed my hands more in the couple hours than I probably had the past 2 days combined! This was a very eye opening experience, as I had never had the opportunity to go to a meat processing plant before. We truly were able to see almost the whole process from the beginning to the packaged product.

After lunch we were able to go to Webb Black Simmental, they are trying to spread the word to farmers through Australia about the benefits of Black Simmental. They were excited to see us and had a very impressive operation. Their barn was one of the cleanest I have ever been in! We were able to share some food and drink (carbonated lemonade and snacks) with them before we headed on our way to Seymour, where we are currently!

Upon our arrival in Seymour we checked into our motel. It’s in walking distance of a McDonalds!! (That means free WiFi!) Then we were able to go to eat in a local restaurant, called the Seymour Club. This was a very nice meal. I had roast beef with squash and mixed veggies. One wouldn’t think that roast beef would be that different from the US to Australia, but for some reason it had a different flavor. Nothing like our meat back at home! Then for dessert they served a fruit cocktail with ice cream on top. I had never heard of this before and it was quite,…different? Overall, the eating experience has been different from what we are used to.

Fruit salad and ice cream anyone? 

Before leaving for Australia I got a lot of advice on what to take, etc. Everyone said, it’s going to be chillier so dress for the weather. Well, when it’s almost summer back home it’s hard to revert back to fall clothes so I brought a hoodie and jacket and thought, “I’ll be plenty warm.” Well, needless to say, it’s colder than I thought and bus heaters are VERY slow to warm up.

That’s all for now!

-MaryAnn

What a day!

Today began the intensive tours of the agriculture industry in Australia. This included everything from city tours to a speaker talking about ID systems in cattle. We started the morning off with a speaker talking to us about the system Australia has adopted to identify all their cattle. This is a fascinating system where all the cattle receive electronic ID tags in their ears. Then, whenever the animal is moved off the property they are scanned. This way the slaughterhouse can trace the animal through its’ entire life. This allows for easy identification, in case of disease outbreak. This was a system that was adopted in 1999 and the state of Victoria is leading the way.

The next activity for the day was a city tour of Melbourne. Here we had the opportunity to visit the Shrine of Remembrance, which is a monument to honor World War I. This was a special part of Australia’s history and was very informative. The bus driver, Ritchie, has a great sense of humor and knows his Melbourne facts VERY well.

This is a view from the Shrine of Remembrance

The next stop we had was the brewery. They are capable of making 2 million liters of beer in a 24 hour time period. That is a lot of beer! There were several large vats where the beer is malted, etc. The bottling line was the most impressive part of the brewery. The bottles move SO fast. It reminded me of Laverne and Shirley (I think they worked in a beer factory) only these bottles moved 10 times faster. The tour was followed by sampling of the different types of beer produced in the factory. I discovered beer is an acquired taste and I have definitely not acquired it.

The front of Carlton United Brewery

To conclude the evening we went to a buffet in the heart of a shopping mall. (Keep in mind this mall or building, really had stores like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Rolex, get the picture?) When told I was going to a buffet I was expecting something similar to the Golden Corral or Ryan’s. However, this was the nicest buffet I have ever been to! I didn’t think that the food here would be that different from the food back home, but so far it has been substantially different. (Or at least different than what I am used to eating.) While at the buffet I was stopped by two men wondering why there was a mass of people wearing shirts about something called “Kansas State.” As soon as I spoke, he asked if I was from the states. (I think they bet on whether we were) I guess this means Americans do have an accent…

'Til tomorrow! 

MaryAnn 

Day 1/2/3 I'm not really sure what day it is...

Tuesday was probably the shortest/longest days of my life. It was short according to the clock but long according to my body. When we arrived in Melbourne we had the opportunity to visit the Healesville Nature Sanctuary. This was a lovely experience because it gave us the chance to see native wildlife up close! I really wanted to try and sneak a kangaroo home with me. (a koala wouldn't work since we don't have eucalyptus trees...) but since I don't want to be forced to stay in Australia I decided against the plan. While we were at the nature sanctuary a parrot came flying at me and tried to bite my face. Apparently he was flying slowly at me but I was looking at other birds around the sanctuary. He looked a bit like this:

To organize my first impressions about Australia I've organized a top 5 list, so here we go!

5. Australia's very similar to the U.S.A. It would be easy to forget you weren't in the US except when you listen to people talk or see a fish and chips sign.

4. Melbourne is absolutely gorgeous.

3. McDonald's has leaner sausage here and more variety.

2. WiFi is not automatically included with hotels, etc.

I am very glad I'm not driving. You wouldn't think driving on the opposite side of the road would be too different but it gives me a headache thinking about it!

That's all for today, time for bed!

'Til tomorrow!
MaryAnn

500 Hours

In 1.8 million seconds, 30K minutes, 500 hours or basically 3 weeks we will be boarding a plane to Australia. We will be able to put into perspective all the things we have talked about and discover how this relates to Australia. In preparation for the trip we have listened to various presentations over varying topics from the currency in Australia to feedlots to emu production in Australia. We’ve also shared a couple meals together and tried to get to know each other a bit better before setting off halfway around the world with each other. The presentations have been informative and also humorous at times while we are learning about life in Australia.

 Here are some quick facts that have been presented to us:

• In Australia there are 27.9 million head of beef cattle.
• 4% of the world’s beef supply is produced in Australia.
• There is a 95% voter turnout and if you fail to vote you could receive a $20 fine.
• There are 72.74 million head of sheep in Australia. (I guess that’s why there are so many Ugg boots)
• Australians eat 27.3 lbs of lamb a year whereas, only 40% of Americans have reported trying lamb.
• Australia consists of 6 states and 2 territories
• The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space.
• There are over 1500 kinds of fish throughout the Reef.        

So, as the departure date looms my to do list is a mile and a half long but I am so excited for the new experiences that lie ahead. It will be exciting to experience the culture I have heard about. It will also be a once in a lifetime experience to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. I also hope run into a few kangaroos or koalas while we're over there.(I'm not as big of a fan of crocodiles, but if we see a few it could be interesting.)

Needless to say, I am super excited to travel overseas for the first time and learn more about agriculture in Australia. Stay tuned for daily updates!

Until next time

-MaryAnn 

Northern and Outback Queensland

Northern Queensland 

During our trip to Australia we will be visiting Cairns. Cairns is located in Northern Queensland. Here's some background on Cairns and the area surrounding it! 


This area of Australia was first visited by Europeans when Captain Cook and his crew were forced to stop here due to their damaged ship. They didn't stay very long and never found out what was really there. In the early days of civilization people in Northern Queensland relied on gold. Today, the area thrives off of the tourism industry. The Outback area of Queensland relies on agriculture and mining for their main industries. 


The main city in Northern Queensland is Cairns. It is a well-connected city with transportation to other states in Australia as well as, an international airport. The city of Cairns is home to approximately 130,000 people and is home to the Flecker Botanic Gardens. These gardens are home to many tropical plants and over 100 species of palm trees. 

While this is all fine and dandy, the real attraction in Northern Queensland happens to be one of Australia's main attractions, as well. I'll give you some hints: Queensland does have an ocean on one side...and this attraction can be seen from space. Ding, ding, ding. You guessed correctly! The Great Barrier Reef 

Now, many towns near the beach primarily exist because of the tourism brought in by the Great Barrier Reef. This includes Port Douglas and Green Island. There are luxurious resorts around these towns and Port Douglas is actually the main departing point for Quicksilver tours. (I'm assuming this is the same as the beach clothes brand.) Green Island is actually a Coral Cay and it is one of the only inhabited ones in the Great Barrier Reef. This is a tiny tiny island. It only takes 15 minutes to walk around the entire island! Green Island is popular because of the nearness to the mainland and also, having a five-star resort sitting on it doesn't hurt. 

Queensland's Outback 

The largest town in the Outback region is Normanton. This is a desert for most of the year, however, once the rains come in during November it turns into a wetland. The northwesterly region of Queensland is considered Gulf Savannah. Here there are savannah grasses and large bird and wildlife populations. This happens to be one of the most remote areas of Australia. The main industries here are the fishing and cattle industries. 

Mount Isa is a town in the western Outback. It is home to the world's largest silver and lead mine. The main attraction is the rodeo which is held annually here. The prizes total more than $100,000 and many people come from all over the world to participate. About 75 miles east of Mount Isa is actually where QANTAS (Queensland and Northern Territorial Aerial Services) first flight departed from. Today, QANTAS is Australia's national airline. 

This is just some of the high points on the chapter regarding Northern and Outback Queensland. 

                                           -MaryAnn