Discovering the Natural Beauty of Australia

Hello! My name is Miranda Maassen, and I went on a semester exchange to James Cook University (JCU) in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. My major is marine science, but I did a variety of classes at JCU. The most interesting class for me was the Coastal, Estuarine and Mangrove Ecosystems class. I took the first picture during an all day field trip with this class to Blacksoil Creek. This area had tidal streams, intertidal mudflat, mangrove and saltmarsh habitats. During the field trip we did fish surveys, invertebrate quadrat surveys, water quality testing, and mangrove and saltmarsh cover transects. I really enjoyed doing some field work in different habitats that I haven't been able to work hands-on in before. Blacksoil Creek

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

The second photo is me (looking up at the camera) getting ready to jump into the wonderful underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef. I took a 3 day 3 night scuba dive live-aboard trip to the outer reef in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. We visited several spots within the reef including the shipwreck of the SS Yongala and some night dives. I was also able to get my Advanced Open Water SCUBA Certification onboard. Some of the exciting marine life that we encountered included sharks, rays, sea snakes, a variety of beautiful corals, and many species of fish including anemone fish. Being able to experience this underwater world was truly a breathtaking experience.