Class field trip--aborigine sites, naval & maritime museum, tea tree, lighthouse, breakfast for dinner

This morning I tried out the new gym with Abby. It is a small room but gets the job done. Then is was back to the cabins for breakfast and off to class for the day. Mondays are always with Lyn Lockery and he is a superb historian and educator on Australia history and life. He talked about the Aborigine culture and how Australia started.
Aborigines were the first settlers among the land and were there more than 60,000 years ago. Then the Europeans came over and started to make many changes and rule over the land.The native people were treated very poorly and often murdered. Many were hanged, shot, or killed in mass amounts.
Australia is made up of 5 states and 2 territories and is a mixture of many different culture influences.
Lyn also shared a couple of videos of the "First Australians" or the Aborigine people. One which stuck with me was one how these three little girls were taken away from their mom and grandmother because they were considered "half cast" and would be used to shut out the Aborigine race. It was hard to watch and see what these individuals were facing as their people and children were disappearing.
Today, there is a government representing the Aborigine people and protecting them from any further culture extinction.
After Lyn's lecture it was lunch time and then field trip time. The first stop--an Aborigine preserve close to where we were staying. This circle of land was dedicated to these people for their ceremonies. Next, Lyn took us to the Naval and Maritime Museum. This is a memorial museum of all the ships, crew, and artifacts from many wars and adventures.
The third stop was a Tea Tree shop called Thursday Plantation where I learned about the medicinal plant and got to test the different lotions, cremes, oils, and washes that were there. This is a natural mineral from Tea trees providing a relief, soothing feeling for many different uses.
The last stop on the field trip is the Lighthouse in Byron Bay. We drove up to the landing and then hiked the remaining way up to the huge lighthouse. When we got to the top we all peered over and saw some dark shadows in the water. We found out these were sharks and also sea turtles. What an amazing sights from here---beautiful ocean, rushing water on rocks, and a cool breeze. We hiked down a little path along the edge of the cliff and got some beautiful views. Then it was back to the cabins for dinner.
Breakfast for dinner was on the group meal menu---french toast, bacon, sausage, and assorted muffins!! Mmmmmmm! Dinner was delicious and then I researched places to go over Spring Break for the rest of the evening.
The guys in two of the cabins decided to play a prank on each other and placed about 30 toads in one of the cabins. I heard a loud commotion from across the volleyball court and realized the guys were tossing the toads just poured into their cabins. The guys started to smack the toads with cricket sticks--I was really disappointed in how inhumane these guys were. What a shame!