The Royal National Park

G'day everyone!

So today's blog is special because I am writing a reflective blog for my Learning in Outdoor Education class, so it is going to be a little more formal than usual. However, still read, learn about the great things about outdoor education, and enjoy my day trip to the Royal National Park!

To begin, I was not looking forward to getting up at 7am on a Saturday to catch a bus to get to the Uni by 8:45 am and it potentially raining on the way to the Uni. Also, there was a chance it would rain during the hike. Even though I was born and raised in Florida, known for it's lightening and thunder storms, the rain in Sydney the past few weeks has been TERRIBLE! Well, I had to go on the trip, so I was off with my backpack, raincoat, 3.75 litres of water, 3 sandwiches, granola bars, a change of clothes, extra sweater, bus pass, and of course, my camera. Luckily, this attitude I began with did not last very long.

The Coast Track (10.2 km), the Royal National Park map, and the actual trail on the coast!

The Royal National Park was an hour bus ride from the Uni, so I was able to get a little nap in on the way. Then we got off the bus at the beginning of the Coast Track, which was a 10.2 km hike along the coast. I didn't think it was going to be too challenging because I have been on a few hikes before in the snow, in rain forests, and at night. The only challenge would be the weather. The first thing we did was take a selfie of course, which included Michelle, Britta, and Monique (all friends from my home uni), Jeann a and CeCe (new friends that are in the same study abroad program), and of course Ian (our lecturer).

Pre-hike selfie with some photo bombers…Ian and CeCe.

There was also no rain when we got off the bus, but lots of clouds and that is when we split up into 3 groups. I was in Nicki's group, which was starting up at the end of the hike! When we got there Wayne, another leader, told us to roll up a Eucalyptus leaf and put it up one of your nostrils. That was probably the strangest thing I have ever heard, but I did it anyway and got this great pic of my good friend Britta.

Britta taking on the Eucalyptus leaf in the nose challenge.

And we all looked like that. The aboriginals used this technique to clear the sinuses. My nose was a little tingly and uncomfortable. However, I was still willing to do this activity because I was all in for trying new things and learning about Australian nature. This example of my willingness to try new things is a great example of what was discussed in an article we read for this class. The article, "how adventure programs outcomes are achieved?" discusses what factors lead to a good outdoors experience and how it can differ for different individuals (McKenzie, 2000). According to McKenzie (2000), the willingness to go on such a trip and take on such challenges will lead to an impactful experience, which I would definitely agree with as I continued my trip in the Royal National Park.

So then we were off! After about 10 minutes, we got to the coast and that is when Nicki informed us of the challenges she will throw at us during the hike. Of course, I was all in. The first one was to take unique pictures throughout the trip and this is what I got:

Why do the typical hiking pose when you can do the Lion King, high kick, beetles, and ugly face poses??

I think we covered the iconic poses you take on a hike, but wait. Let's get a close up of my ugly face, Kelsey in our group was all for the ugly face selfie. 

UGLY SELFIE

Our group was very fun. There was a good mix of people I already knew and some who I had never seen in our class before. One of the cool things about this class is that students from all around the world take it. I might have come to study abroad in Sydney to meet some Aussies, but meeting people from Germany, Austria, France, Trinidad, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Brazil...all in one place is pretty awesome.


With that in mind, one of the activities Nicki had us do was pair up with someone we didn't know and ask them questions, which we had to tell the whole group what they answered later on. This is the typical ice breaker you play in some classes or group activities, but the fact that we were hiking while doing it and experiencing the national park together was an incredible experience. Also, this view was in the background.

Just a view from the trail and that is the beach where we ate a well deserved lunch.

Then we came up to the point I was looking forward to all day, the solo moment. A solo moment is a technique in experiential learning where you sit on your own, with no distractions, and just think for about 10 minutes. Another article we discussed in class proposes the idea that experiential education benefits your physical and mental state (Mackenzie et al., 2014). A lot of this changing of physical and mental health has to do with the completion of intrinsic goals while outdoors (Mackenzie et al., 2014). Another great thing about this kind of stuff is that it improves your learning ability too! During my solo moment, my mind was cluttered with school stresses and city stresses, but then I soon realised how fortunate I was to be sitting on a cliff on the coast of Australia for a class field trip. I was also impressed with myself for taking on the physical and mental challenges of this whole experience and was refreshed for the rest of the day, but really the week! The ideas shared in our lectures were really true and I was experiencing them during the hike. While in that spot, Monique was able to lead the group in some yoga for further relaxation. These moments were definitely the highlight of my trip.

Cheesecake rock, just the view from my solo spot and also the spot where a tragic event happened not too long ago. Lots of reflecting occurred here. 

We then continued our journey where more challenges were challenged, including drinking water from a stream and eating the devil's head, and to lunch on the beach!

Drinking drinkable water from a stream, it tasted a little metallic due to the rocks.

Lunch was a nice pause from our hike and it meant we were halfway through the day ): Of course, I took my shoes off to enjoy the Earth's energy and of course, Nicki had a challenging way for us to put our shoes back on. It involved my water bottle and 5 of us holding it with our feet while we tried to put one shoe on at a time. A very strange activity, but pretty fun to do with my new friends. The rest of the hike included getting to know more people and enjoying the views. We all stopped for a debriefing/reflective period at a giant rock where you could see the whole top of the cliff. There we shared facts about our new buddies and things we learned from the day. The location was just perfect for such,

The reflective rock

After our regroup, Nicki then informed us of the last challenge. She didn't tell us what it was and asked who would do it. Of course I said I would do it and she then said you can't back out once you know what it is. At the end of the track, there was a small creek that was filled with freezing water. The challenge was to go in. We couldn't back out now, so Monique, Kelsey, and I jumped in holding hands.

Before and after the challenge, SO COLD! But worth it.

Even though the water was the coldest I have ever been it, it was so worth it. It was also fine because I packed a change of clothes! Overall, our trip was fantastic. If you noticed I never mentioned rain. The weather turned around during the trip, lucky us. The group that hiked on Sunday had bad weather, but that doesn't mean they had a terrible time. Depending on the people you go with and your attitude, you can make good out of bad circumstances.

Looking back at the trip now, I have learned a lot and am practicing these new ideas in my daily life. This is where the experiential learning theory comes into place. It follows 4-stages:

1. Experiencing
2. Reviewing
3. Concluding
4. Planning

(Neill, 2010).  I can now apply my own experiences to this theory. I experienced the Royal National Park with my class and for the past two weeks I have been reviewing and recording these experiences through this blog. I then concluded such ideas after each experience with the support of theories within this blog. Finally, planning is the one I find most interesting. After the trip, some of my free time has changed. Since the hike, I participated in a 5K in Centennial Park and have been making efforts to spend more time outdoors before I do homework or study. Here is a video I took after the trip reflecting on how the hike changed my nightly habits.

Even though I haven't been hiking since this trip, I have been able to use my experience and new skills in my daily life. My attitude has also changed as shown in the video. I am currently preparing for a weekend trip to the Blue Mountains this coming weekend and look forward to applying the skills I learned from this trip to a more challenging adventure in the mountains. After the weekend in the mountains, I can't wait to see how my perspective on life will change, again. So with that, this concludes my reflective blog about my hike in the Royal National Park. Cheers!

References

Mackenzie, H., S., Son, J., & Hollenhorst, S. (2014). Unifying Psychology and Experiential Education: Toward an Integrated Understanding of Why it Works. Journal of Experiential Education. 1-14.

McKenzie, M. (2000). How are Adventure Education Program Outcomes Achieved?: A Review of the Literature. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 5(1), 19-28. 

Neill, J. (2010). Experiential Learning Cycles. Outdoor Education Research and Evaluation Center.