Semester Down Under

I am starting the process of applying for study abroad as well as scholarships. My hope is to go to Australia for the fall semester of 2011. Looking for any advice that I could receive. Not sure which University I will be attending. Not even sure what city but Sydney is where my interests are as of right now. Hoping to board while I'm there as well..

I go to Florida State and just this past summer I spent 2 months in Oz. I did a study abroad program through my school that was one week in Sydney then 5 weeks in Cairns (up in QLD), then traveled for another 2 weeks. It was honestly the best time of my life. No words can describe how much fun it was, it couldn't possibly have been any better. I could rant and rave and say how much this trip exceeded my expectations for hours, literally. I took my shred with me because the Cairns Cable was only like 2 km away from where I was studying (at James Cook Uni in Cairns). It's a pain in the ass, and really expensive, to fly with your own gear but I think it was worth it. I just bought a month pass at the cable and went out there 2 or 3 days a week. Honestly man I could talk to you for days about all the details so just PM me if you're interested and have any specific questions.

Also, no matter what, make absolutely SURE that you go ride the Cairns cable. The guys who work and ride there couldn't possibly be any more friendly and helpful. They were super patient with teaching me air tricks and they're just really cool in general. You gota go there.

as i type this i'm finishing up a semester abroad in New Zealand, as Jason said it is totally worth all the work, papers, deadlines, money, time, etc, etc that you have to do for you the application process, been having one of the best times in my life easy, i went for the endless winter instead of the endless summer, such sick riding here in the land of the long white cloud. recommend hopping on over to nz if you have a study break/time off

Just wondering if either of you went through ISEP or Australearn. These are just two programs that my study abroad advisor introduced me to today.

Nah I did mine through my school's program.

You need to go to University of Queensland in Brisbane. I studied there spring semester 2003. The campus is right on the river, the school has their own wakeboard club, and owns two Malibu Responses (not the best wake boat I know, but gets the job done) Club operates every Sunday, so you're guaranteed at least two/three pulls a week there, plus a hell of a lot of fun.

There is at least one cable not too far from there too. Plus you're close to both the good surf spots just north and south (Surfers Paradise).

Aside from accessible riding, Brisbane is a kick ass town. Not too big, not too small (a shade over 1M if I remember right). There are like 5 universities there, so lots of young people all over town. Plus, the weather there is great. I was there from Feb through Aug (through the Aussie winter) and don't recall a single day under 65 in Brisbane.

If you have any other questions, let me know. There is a former club member here on WW, her name is Alice and user name is aliwake (I think). Guessing she'll respond when seeing this post, but she might be able to hook you up with someone in the club so you can figure things out. Also, you might check University of Queensland website, there used to be a link to the wake club on there somewhere, they might have current contact info there as well.

Oh, and I'd travel with your stick, cause wake gear in Aus is crazy expensive compared to what we're used to paying here.

yeah i did my through australearn, there are def cheaper options out there, and huge word of advice- really think about the date you are putting down for return flight to the states because if you try and change it once you get over here (you'll end up wanting to stay as long as possible atleast i do rite now), STA travel rapes you with flight change fees (couple hundred extra dollars), if you got any other questions post it and i'll get back to ya

http://www.uqsport.com.au/waterskiing-wakeboarding

Found contact info

I lived on the Gold Coast for 6 months and it was amazing. We were in Surfers Paradise. Its a pretty touristy town but it was great living there. We surfed just about every day. There is a cable park between that and Brisbane. I would recommend going up to Port Douglas its super nice up there. We also rented an RV and took 10 days and surfed down the coast to Sydney. Dont worry about bringing a surfboard because there are tons of places to buy one for the time you are there and then they will buy it back from you for 100 bucks less then you bought it for.
I went to Griffith Uni which was really nice cause it was just a short bus ride to get from our house to the school. Sydney is a great city and I am trying to figure out how to move there in the next couple years. I heard from a friend that they just put a cable park in down there outside of the city.
Sydney its self is super cool cause there is surfing and other activities but you are in a larger city. Its nice because you can take ferrys to lots of different suburbs of the main city.
Oh and like Dustin said bring your wakeboard cause that stuff isnt cheap there.
Sorry Im kinda rambling but PM me if you want any more info.

Finally back on the computer....burned up my old hard drive. Thanks a lot for all the advice. Univeristy of Queensland looks awesome. I know the is for academic reasons so I have to take that into account as well as the courses offered in my field ( computer information systems) but wakeboarding is a must. Currently starting to apply for scholarships to help fund this trip. Any good scholarships you might recommend?

If you need courses specific to your program, you could also look at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). It's a good school as well and is also located in Brisbane. Perhaps the UQ Wake club could hook you up with a non-student membership or something, would be worth asking.

At a minimum you'd be in a good location, and have surfing and cable not too far. Your best bet for consistent weekly riding is the UQ club I'd think...

If you got to UQ then u will have 2 cables pretty close by. Logan is about 30 mins away and Bli Bli is about 2 hours.

Bli Bli is way better but is a bit more of a drive.

get it done. do it for sure

So I've been accepted into the University of Sydney. Leaving the U.S. on July 9th and returning sometime at the end of November! Still have a ton of forms and what not to complete. Super stoked about getting in!! Also have a good friend going to another university is Sydney at the same time. I'm looking for any advise I can get. How much to back? Should I take my board? Has anyone been scuba diving in that area? Whats hot spot at night? Banking recommendations? Cell phone recommendations? Anything will help.

Hey Dustin. Thanks for talking up the UQ club. The club is still going strong although are having a bit of a slow Semester as the river flooded in January. Still we just picked up another new Response so everyone is mad keen and we've been running weekend trips to the lakes.
www.uqski.com

Sydney Uni has a good club. They just picked up a new X2 so I would say yes to taking your board.
http://www.usydwake.com/

Is it better to fly with it or have it shipped over seas once I arrive??

I went through Australearn to University of Queensland. With Australearn you start up in Carins for a week or so for orientation. You'll get to ride Carins Cable Ski that week. Then you go down to Brisbane for school. Cable Ski Logan is super close, Bli Bli is a bit further but a great park. You should join UQ's club if you go to Brisbane. I did that and met some guys there who were always down to drive to Logan or Bli Bli. And the club has a competition each semester for riders of all levels. There boats are water ski boats but it is better than not riding at all.

If you make it down to Sydney you have to check out Penrith Cable. When I was there they had a full counter clockwise cable and two system 2.0s set up. But I believe they have now put in another full size cable that is clockwise.

I spoke to the Wake Park Project rep in Orlando in the fall and he said they are building a new cable on the Gold Coast, its supposed to be the best one in OZ when they are finished.

If you want to ride either make friends with boats, use UQs club or go to Uni close to one of the cables. And yes bring your own board and buy a few month cable pass... Prices are crazy in OZ!

Keep in mind that the further north you are in Australia, the warmer it will be. So if you choose to go to school in Carins, weather will never be an issue. But Carins is a smaller city, Brisbane and Sydney get colder but they are like a New York or Chicago.

The Aussie wake scene is awesome. Australia as a country is awesome. I wish I was going back for another semester!

Oh and if you go to UQ and join the club, watch our for Xavier Keary... He is trouble! haha

JB, yeah I saw a lot of the pics from the flood. I'm still on the UQ Wake email newsletter list. Crazy how high the water got, and I heard you lost the dock?