PeachMonster

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Last summer I traveled from Taiwan to Australia and stayed for five days
with my family and my mother’s friends.
Prior to leaving for Australia, we were told to bring winter clothes for the trip
since the Australia country is in the southern atmosphere,
and it was about winter time when we planned to visit.
There were twenty people in the tour and most people did not know each other at first.
It was funny that some people actually thought my brother and I were a couple.
I was so excited to visit Australia,
because I had always wanted to see real koalas and kangaroos.

After the nine hour flight, we finally arrived in Brisbane, Australia.
Brisbane is the most northern capital city on Australia’s eastern seaboard,
lying approximately halfway between Sydney in New South Wales
and the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Queensland.
I quickly found that everything was different from Taiwan:
the people, the roads, the tour buses, and of course, the weather.
When we left Taiwan, it was a very hot day;
when we arrived in Australia it was a chilly day.
So everyone immediately pulled out his or her coats before stepping out the airport building.
We waited ten minutes for the tour bus; as it was approaching,
I noticed something interesting just behind it.
When the bus finally came to a stop,
I realized it was a little baggage car that had been trailing the bus.
I had never seen this kind of car before in Taiwan.

Our first stop was Kuo-Sha Mountain.
There were bleachers on the mountain for people to sit on and look down
and admire the scenery of the city while enjoying a cup of coffee.
We felt relaxed and laid-back that first day.

The second day, we visited the old civic center which was not in business anymore
but was open just for visiting.
In front of the city hall was a park which exhibited some art works
about the story of “The Prince of Revenge.”
There, we took some pictures while browsing the art works.
Across from civic center stood a two-hundred-year-old church to which was famous for its blessings on every couple who married there stay happily together ever after.
That sounded amazing. I hope one day I can get married at that church.

The next day, we went to a zoo.
There were lots of sheep, horses, koalas and kangaroos in the zoo.
At first, we watched a demonstration on Sheep- Shearing.
The man shearing was so funny that he made us laugh the whole time.
And then we went to a courtyard where there were lots of kangaroos.
In front of the entrance, visitors would find food in a basket to give the kangaroos.
People could take the food inside and enjoy the bonding experience
when the kangaroos took food from their hands.
That was the most interesting experience I had.
I really enjoyed the moment like a little child.

On the last day of our trip, we went to a place called Dream World
with exciting rides and cute animals.
In the park, there was a place where we could take pictures with real koalas.
My mom was taking pictures ahead of me while holding a koala when suddenly;
the koala peed on her arm. It was an amusing accident.
Although the koalas were cute, they smelled not very good.

I had an unforgettable time and so much fun in Australia as if I was a child again.
As an added bonus, I found the ties between members of my family grew stronger
and have continued ever since.
That is the best of happy things from that trip.