Friday March 5th---Day One

Northwest here I come!Today the group of 40 international exchange students loaded into 3 four-wheelers and headed off on a 4,000km roundtrip outback adventure.Let me repeat 4,000km in ten days!Today we covered about 580km passing through a town called Geraldton.We didn't do much sight seeing as we really needed to cover as much ground as possible.We did however make a quick stop in Geraldton to check out the HMAS Sydney memorial placed in honour of those who were lost on the ship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Sydney_(D48)#Search_and_rediscovery).

Another stretch break was taken at a 25-hour diner. Yup, 25 is right… no typo here! After our breaks we clambered back into our bus, eventually reaching our final destination for the night—North Hampton.We stayed at Northbrook Farmstay, which is basically a farmer's land that has been adapted to allow travelers the enjoyment of a more unique and cultural stay.We supplied our own tents and the farmers supply shower and toilet facilities, space and even food if you wish!I really enjoyed staying here and definitely plan on doing some more farmstays while I'm downunder.Once we all arrived we pitched out tents and set up camp.Man did I feel Canadian!I think it may have been the first time camping for the majority of the students as it took them a good 30 minutes to set up 2 and 4 men tents!I just sat back and enjoyed their "learning experience".For dinner we had lamb stew with rice and fresh rock melon (aka cantaloupe) and watermelon for dessert.Dinner was served around 8pm so by the time I was finished I was pretty pooped.After watching the absolutely stunning stars (with a drink in hand), Lucy and I decided to call it a night.We had been warned about our early start the next morning, so we decided to play it safe and get a nice night's sleep.Sleeping was interesting to say the least.It was calm when we went to bed and an hour later it was like we were in a tornado! The wind was so strong that the tent kept blowing into my face! Man… I can't even begin to imagine what the winds on Everest must feel like!