Day 16 Sea Camp, San Diego, CA

Snorkelling and Whale watching

Arriving at the harbour, for a day's boating

Loading the boat

The boat...'Sea Watch'

A local dropped by to greet us

More locals

Enjoying the spray at the bow

San Diego

Common dolphins in our bow wave

Getting instructions prior to snorkeling the La Jolla cliffs and caves

Learning to enter the water correctly from a boat

Back at the boat

Playing around at the back of the boat

 ...we then went looking for whales.

...thar she blows!

A unbelievably huge Blue Whale

This is a different individual...there were dozens!

Another Blue Whale

Blue Whale flukes

Day 15 Sea Camp, San Diego, CA

Breakfast at Sea Camp

Some instruction prior to snorkeling

Ready for action

Putting on fins

Beach seining to find out what lives in these waters

Snorkeling in the harbour 

Examining marine creatures

Inspecting the seine net

It was a big morning!

Back at Sea Camp for evening Lab class to learn about marine plankton

The winners of the best plankton design - Ryley, Felicity and Jasmin.

Day 14 Sea Camp, San Diego, CA

Today began with a very early start, 3.30 am, to be precise, for a 4.00 am transfer to the airport.  After a bus ride to the airport, we flew to Houston, staying for less than an hour, then on to San Diego.

Reminiscent of a spy thriller, we were collected from the airport by a cavalcade of 5 large vans from Sea Camp.  After a quick lunch and orientation at Sea Camp's site on Fiesta Island, we visited the USS Midway Museum in San Diego.  The USS Midway was the USA's longest-serving aircraft carrier, from 1945 to 1992.  It is now a museum devoted to aircraft carriers and naval aviation, having around 29 restored aircraft on-board.

Sea Camp is located on Fiesta Island, San Diego

USS Midway

USS Midway

On the flight deck, the front row are helping the 'Shooter' (in yellow)

The Old - Corsair fighter from WWII and the Korean War.

The Newer - the 'Top Gun' F-14 Tomcat

F/A-18 Hornet

'Unconditional Surrender' (aka The Kiss), 8m tall statue adjacent to the USS Midway 

Back at Sea Camp, a friendly international/intergalactic card game

Day 13 Disney - Hollywood Studios Theme Park

Disney World Hollywood Studios

Breakfast was at a quarter to eight, we then caught a bus to Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. Upon our arrival we were met with the glitz and glamour of 1950’s Hollywood. Mickey Mouse’s Fantasia hat loomed in the distance as we gathered near retro gift shops and cafés. While the weather was cloudy it was still a vast improvement to Monday’s downpour. The thrill seekers flocked to the Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror to defy the forces of gravity in a climatic elevator ride. Next on the list was Aerosmith’s Rock’n’Rolla Coaster, a speedy ride that took us through darkness and ultraviolet light and set all hearts racing. The park was littered with many shows, detailing the wonders of Disney film making, animation and creativity, this included Pixar’s Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars. For the pyrotechnics at heart, stunt and special effect shows exploded with flames, water guns and fight scenes. Overall the group enjoyed themselves and we left at four to have an early dinner at the outlets and squeeze in a quick shopping session.

Sam, Brenton, Karl and Lachie 

Photos to come...

Day 12 Universal Studios - Islands of Adventure Theme Park, Orlando, Florida

Universal Studios – Islands of Adventure

 We had breakfast at around eight o’clock. After breakfast we boarded a bus to Universal Studios for an awesome day. The first ride we all can say we went on first was the Incredible Hulk. It was a rollercoaster that would go upside down seven times. Everyone loved that ride. Then Brenton, James D and James S went to the Amazing Spiderman 3D thrill ride. That was one of the rides many of us did multiple times. After Spiderman we went on the Jurassic Park water ride which was the first time all of us got wet. After that ride we met up with Isabel, Jodie and Felicity who came with us on the Jurassic Park ride. They then suggested we go on Rip Shore Falls which had a huge drop which would get you soaked. Next  we went to Harry Potter World where we tried Butterbeer, which tasted amazing. We also tried the Harry Potter simulation and the Dragon Challenge rollercoaster which was fast. After that James S, Brenton and James H went to the Poseidon’s temple tour which was mythologically incorrect, haha. After that James S and James H went to Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges ride, which got us soaked again. It was one of the best days and one of the best theme parks. The only bad thing is that we couldn’t stay longer!

By James Shotton, James Dempsey, Austen Knoles and Kyle Jackobsen

The Hogwarts Express

Hogsmeade

Hogwarts Castle

Kim at Seuss Land

The weather looked threatening again...but we were lucky this time

Kim and Things

There were plenty of  ways to get wet even when it didn't rain

'The Hulk' roller coaster - not for the feint hearted

Day 11 Epcot Theme Park, Orlando, Florida

Monday 13rd September
Today was a day of a lot or rain (about 2 inches of rain!). Disney Epcot was a place to see places around the world. We had fun going on the Mission Space ride (journey to Mars) and Test Track all together. Mr Smith on the other hand didn’t like the long wait. We then split into smaller groups to explore the park.The fireworks were the greatest thing at Epcot. They were amazing! All of us kids had an amazing time and slept well that night.

Jodie, Isabel, Jasmine, and Felicity

We caught the Disney monorail to complete our journey to the park.

The group at Epcot ...before the the downpour.

Lots of cool research happens at Epcot..bare rooted hydroponic crops on a conveyor

IllumiNations - the nightly fireworks spectacular