By Victoria Warne, Troop 1436, Girl Scout

A once in a lifetime vacation is what describes the summer of 2015, where my best friend, Kalikonani Dailey and I took a Journey Down Under to the beautiful countries of Australia and New Zealand. This particular trip took over 4 years to plan and save for. Constant cookie booths, fall product sales, and saving up “cookie dough” throughout the years are what made this dream trip possible. Kaliko and I were very excited about going to these particular countries because they offer so many areas that very well suit our interests.

The Great Barrier Reef, which is home to over 600 types of coral, countless species of colorful fish, mollusks, starfish, turtles, dolphins and sharks is of great interest to us because as young, aspiring marine biologists we got a sneak peek at an aspect of our future career . Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef was the experience of a lifetime! Not only did we meet new people and see new rare, species of animals, we learned more about the environment and the aquatic life that live deep beneath our oceans.

New Zealand is home to the fascinating Maori people and it was a wonderful experience to learn about different cultures around the world. New Zealand is also famous for its great Hobbiton movie set which was used to film all “Lord of The Rings” and “The Hobbit” films. Kaliko and I, being huge fans of these movies, were very interested in visiting this set. To get the chance to directly visualize where these Oscar nominated films took place was a very rare and entertaining experience.

We are very grateful that through Girl Scouts we have had the opportunity to experience many different life changing events. From getting a fresh look at the largest living thing on Earth, to learning about other cultures around the world, or even viewing famous movie sets, this trip was truly once in a lifetime. This experience has not only expanded our knowledge but has made us more aware about the opportunities we have as young adults.