Last one week countdown.
12/2
Yesterday was the first day for me as an official turtle tracker. Unfortunately, I only found two nests. Maybe the nesting season has not already begun. Maybe turtles are still enjoying their orgy near the shore. I hope I can see the hatching before I leave Exmouth. It takes about 4 to 6 weeks for the eggs to incubate. If I am lucky enough, I may see the hatchings emerge form the sand and crawl to the sea. That will be very cool. I think I should make a wish when I see a shooting star next time. Another advantage to live in Exmouth is that you can always see some shooting stars at night for you to make wishes.
We went hiking after lunch. Tristan drove us to a national park where was a short mountain. The place is called Charles Knife Canyon. I thought this mountain must have been in the sea millions of years ago. The landscape looks like the mountain won-saw（萬壽）in Kaochiung in Taiwan. There were lots of holes on the surface of the rocks. It must been corroded by seawater for a very long time. But the most fascinating thing is the river had eroded the whole mountain when it emerged from the sea. So the view here was similar to the Grand Canyon in America. I thought I could only see the beautiful beaches when I stayed in Exmouth, but this attractive view really changed my mind.
I was awed by the view when we walked on the mountain ridge. I could hardly describe the view I saw yesterday. It feels like you were walking on the Great Wall. But it was more terrified because there was no protections. If you were not careful, you might not been able to see the sun again. Although it was a little dangerous, it is a place you must visit when you come to Exmouth.
After hiking, we were going to have a BBQ at the town beach. And best of all, we were going to have a little ceremony. Everyone would get a hat and two T-shirts to represent them as official turtle trackers. We took photos of everyone wearing their hat and T-shirt. Damian and I even posed as the turtles when they are mating. That was really funny. We also got a certificate, which says the volunteer was qualified by the DEC. I will keep it carefully and show it to my parent.
I also played cricket. It is a sport from England. It is kind of like baseball. You hit the ball and you run and you get points. But the rules and the bat are very different from baseball. You have to throw the ball with your arm straight. The ball must bounce on the ground one time. When the ball jumps up, hit it as hard as you can. After you hit it, you have to run to a set of ‘stumps’ and back again. You will get one point when you run back to the beginning place. You can run as much times as you can as long as the ball doesn’t hit the stick which is located in the batting place. And if you swing and miss the ball and the ball hits the stick, you are out. If other players catch the ball you hit, you’re also out. It is a really interesting sport. I had never played it before. I had only seen it on television.
Natalie terminated the game. She hit it so hard that the ball disappeared into the bushes. It was too dark for us to find the ball. I commended Natalie to run for one hundred times as a punishment and she also did some push ups. But she still had to find the ball next morning. HA! HA!