39km north of the tip of mainland Australia, nestled within the Torres Strait Archipelago, is the tropical mecca of Thursday Island.

Sam O’Brien

Home to roughly 3000 people, Thursday Island is the economic hub of the Torres Strait, and the administrative home to the Torres Shire council.

Thursday Island is surrounded by crystal blue water providing a stunning backdrop for an island getaway

However, the island is so much more than just a central point for the Island group, with the Island providing a number of scenic experiences and tourist hotspots.

Upon visiting the island, one of the first things to strike tourists is sure to be the friendly nature of the people with a smile to be seen at every turn.

Nothing is too much for the people of the island, despite the region not actively promoting itself as a tourist destination

Surrounded with crystal blue water and scenic beaches, the island will stamp lasting memories into the minds of visitors.

Green Hill Fort was developed in 1891 to protect mainland Australia from potential Russian invasion

Watching the sunset over the Green Hill Forts is a must for visitors, as is catching a game of rugby league at Ken Brown Oval.

The Guns at Green Hill Fort are a stunning insight into the island’s military history

Ken Brown Oval on Thursday Island is one of the most picturesque football grounds in the country

Of a night, visitors can catch a drink at one of the Islands many local drinking holes with The Torres always a popular spot to have a beer and share a yarn with some of the locals.

A safe and enjoyable destination, Thursday Island is a must for any bucket list. For more information about visiting Thursday Island, or any of the Torres Straits other hidden gems, visit http://www.torres.qld.gov.au/tourism.

Watching the Sunset over the islands of the Torres Strait is a must for any visitors to Thursday Island

Rugby League in the Torres Strait is played with an unrivalled sense of passion and respect

In light of Leicester City winning the 2015/2016 English Premier League (EPL), JCNN Sport Writer Mitchell Carman has taken a look back into the archives at some of sport’s greatest upsets.

#1. Leicester winning EPL

This is without a doubt the greatest sporting upset ever. What makes this so remarkable, apart from the 5000-1 odds at the start of the season, is the fact that it was not a one-off game. An EPL season spans across 38 games and for a team like Leicester to defeat all the big guns of English football and stand alone at the top of the table after 38 games is remarkable. Also adding to the amazing story is the fact that Leicester were almost relegated last year. You will not see a bigger upset in your lifetime.

#2. Prince of Penzance wins 2015 Melbourne Cup

Prince of Penzance was always a handy horse but few pundits had him finishing in the top 10 in last year’s Melbourne Cup. However, he not only won but did so with relative ease- beating home the well fancied international runner Max Dynamite by half a length. With the win Michelle Payne became the first female jockey to win the most famous horse race in the world. Prince of Penzance had its first run back in Adelaide on the 21^st May and was ultra-impressive over the unsuitable distance of 1600 metres, suggesting that he will mount a sizeable challenge in anything he contests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RzTX9xnNDk

#3. Steven Bradbury winning gold medal at 2002 Winter Olympics

This probably belongs more to the greatest sporting flukes, but as it is part of Australian sporting folklore it must be mentioned. What people forget was that Bradbury had more than one stroke of luck. After winning his heat, he finished third in his quarter final which would have eliminated him if it wasn’t for one of the runners who finished in front of him to be disqualified, allowing Bradbury to advance. He then sat last in his semi-final but a three-way crash between medal favourites allowed him to finish second and advance to the final. Remarkably, in the final Bradbury was again way off the pace and destined to finish last when on the final lap his four competitors all crashed, allowing him to steal perhaps the luckiest gold medal of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAADWfJO2qM

#4. USAs ‘Miracle on Ice’

The USA had no business being in the rink with the USSR when they squared off in the 1980 ice hockey semi-final at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The college amateurs were given no chance against a Soviet Union team that had dominated the sport for years. Yet, the USA upset the sports powerhouses and went on to win gold in what would become known as the ‘Miracle on Ice’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88

#5. Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson

Fighting just weeks after his mother had died, James “Buster” Douglas was expected to become Tyson’s 11^th straight victim. Buster was given zero chance of stopping the undisputed champion of the world but did what many considered impossible and defeated Tyson in the 10^th round. In doing so he sent Tyson to the canvas for the first time in his career with a flurry of punches. Subsequently, Tyson was counted out and lost the match- one of only 6 losses in his professional career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r98snTvjrvA

After having battled depression most of her life and almost losing her son to the disease in 2014, Tracey Humphreys decided enough was enough.

Samuel Shaw

In September 2015, Tracey packed up her life and her dog Dexter into a 160kg kart and decided to walk solo around Australia for the Black Dog institute.

The institute is a non-for-profit organisation raising money and awareness for suicide and mental illness.

“I’ve had depression all my life and about the time my son tried to take his life the government took $50,000 funding away from the institute and I thought that was terrible,” Tracy told JCNN.

Tracey is completing her walk with Dexter, “The white dog walking for the Black Dog”

Tracey aims to raise $50,000 for Team Black Dog throughout her travels, continuing, “There’s just me and my white dog Dexter, he’s the white dog walking for the Black Dog.”

“Dex and I started in Byron Bay in September, although we’ve had about nine or ten weeks off the road due to a few hiccups.”

About the time Tracey had arrived in Ayr, the 160kg three-wheeled buggy she pushes along the way was struggling severely.

A local gentleman by the name of Keith not only offered Tracey and Dexter accommodation for the night, but also decided her struggling kart was in much need of an upgrade.

“Keith decided my other kart wasn’t going to make the distance through some of the more harsh Australian landscape,” she said.

“He rebuilt this in his shed in about a week out of the kindness of his heart.”

“It’s the Humdinger!”

Now paired with three motorcycle tyres, 160kg of essentials, best mate Dexter and a new and improved motor to assist when pushing uphill she is adamant it will go the distance.

Tracey estimates her solo walk around Australia will take another 18 months, but has no definite time for her journey set in stone.

“I’m averaging about 25km a day and have one day a week rest as I need find somewhere to charge the batteries that kick in for the motor when I walk uphill.”

Tracey has currently raised over $5,000 along her journey up the east coast and plans on walking to Charters Towers this week.

For more information visit: http://onewomanwandering.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/onewomanwandering/timeline

To donate to Tracey’s cause visit: https://createyourownevent.everydayhero.com/au/oww

Tracey Humphreys, pictured with her cart “The Humdinger”, is completing a solo walk around Australia to raise awareness and funds for the Black Dog Insitute

JCNN’s resident reviewer takes on Mad Max: Fury Road.

 By Nick Palmisano

“Where must we go, we who wander this wasteland in search of our better selves?” – First History Man

Sitting in the aftermath of Mad Max: Fury Road, it’s hard to recalibrate your senses after such a visceral viewing experience. I’ve seen the film three times now, and each time I am left in awe of George Miller’s directorial achievement.

Fury Road might be considered a re-imagining, or spiritual successor of the Mad Max universe, which began in 1979 with Mad Max, the cult classic Australian post-apocalyptic film, a seminal work which went on to influence the post-apocalyptic genre in many other mediums.

In the original film, Mel Gibson’s Max Rockatansky is a cop in a future Australia where life is decaying; shortages of critical resources push the world to the brink. A biker gang murders his wife and child, and Max takes bitter revenge. Without a reason for being, he wanders the desert ceaselessly, searching for redemption and the home that was taken.

THE ORIGINAL: Mel Gibson starred as Mad Max in Miller’s original trilogy, ending with Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. CREDIT: DigitalSpy

Fury Road’s Max is perhaps a lot darker than Gibson’s portrayal. Tom Hardy does an excellent job in this regard, coming off as brooding, and possibly psychotic. Suffering from hallucinations and vivid flashbacks of loved ones he could not save, Max tears through the wasteland in his V8 interceptor, the iconic vehicle from the first two Mad Max movies. I won’t reveal too much, because I would urge you to see the film for yourself, but safe to say, Max gets caught up in the struggle of certified badass Furiosa (Charlize Theron), in her attempt to smuggle a group of young women imprisoned by Machiavellian warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) to safety.

What follows is essentially a two hour vehicular chase sequence with a rewarding amount of character depth and emotion, not to mention a smorgasbord of explosions, gunfire, and practical effects. Every single car was constructed for the film, and according to Miller 80% of the effects are real.

NEW BLOOD: Tom Hardy’s Max is feral, dangerous, and very, very tetchy. CREDIT: DigitalSpy

While there are a few ‘you should be watching this in 3D’ moments, the fidelity of the film is breath-taking. Not a single shot feels out of a place, nor a single word of dialogue wasted. Make no mistake, this is a big budget Hollywood action film running on $150 million, but with Miller at the helm it’s as lean as can be, almost indie. Perhaps this is what is so refreshing, and invigorating. You just don’t see films like Fury Road every day. The argument that using CGI would be cheaper probably goes down well with studios looking for high return on low investment, but Fury Road does it old school, pouring the massive dollars into hundreds of stuntmen, real cars, real crashes, and real explosions.

It pays off in the end; Mad Max Fury Road is a visual eye-gasm, charged on high-octane crazy stunts, clever, even poignant direction, and an ensemble Australian cast wielding lean, mean dialogue. Namibia replaces Australia as the filming locale, but the vast expanse translates well to the universality of the wasteland, bringing it out of Australia and into the global stage. Tom Hardy might not be Australian, but I would happily line up another three times to watch him go mad, as long as Miller’s holding the leash.

JCNN has got you covered when it comes to seeing the world – here are our six essential tips for travelling on a student’s budget.

By Dominic Concar

Plan

Plan your trip ahead. Give yourself a clear goal to achieve within a reasonable time. Say you want to spend 3 weeks in Greece in 6 months time. Keep that goal in mind as you save money for your trip.

PLAN AHEAD: Give yourself a clear goal. CREDIT: Stocksnap

Have a specific idea of where you want to go and at what time of year you want to travel. It is best with a low income to give yourself at least 6-12 months to save up the full amount of funds you will need.

If you manage to put away $75 a week for a year, you’ll end up with about $3900 which is more than enough to do a 2 week stint somewhere on the cheap (you could probably do 3 weeks if you find cheap enough flights and accommodation).

Flights

So you’ve sat down, decided where you want to go and you have a rough idea of when. Now it is time to start looking at flights, the earlier you start looking the better.

UP SHE GOES: Plan your flights early. CREDIT: Stocksnap

This gives you a better chance of coming across a special sale or deal. Jetstar occasionally has really great flight sales, such as $199 each way from Cairns to Tokyo or $89 sales from Townsville to Bali.

The best way to come across these deals is to sign up for sales notifications from JetStar and they’ll send you emails with their latest offers. DON’T leave buying flights till the last minute. Don’t leave it any later than within 3 months of the time you’ll be leaving; otherwise the prices will rise closer to the date of the flight.

Accommodation

Cheap accommodation gets snapped up quickly. Get in and book your accommodation as early as you can, Just as with your flights, don’t leaving booking your accommodation to the last 3 months. Look for hostels or shared accommodation.

Some shared accommodation will have communal showers. If you’re really uncomfortable about it, but its super cheap, just buy a pack of wet-wipes. It’ll get you by for a few days!

Always check out what people are saying about the place you’re staying at, every booking website now has comments and ratings from previous customers, so you can tell if the price is too good to be true or not.

Suitcase

It’s not something everyone thinks about, but suitcases can be expensive and usually start around the $180-$200 mark for something decent. My tip for evading this is to borrow one. Yes. Borrow.

Now if you can’t borrow one, and you HAVE to buy a new one, I suggest a bag that has wheels, but also a backpack function. These hybrid bags will save you time and again, especially if you are going somewhere you’ll be using the subway a lot. Stairs aren’t fun with a big bag.

Shoes

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN': Take sensible shoes. CREDIT: Stocksnap

They are probably one of your most important assets for a good time when travelling. Surprisingly a lot of people don’t think about shoes much when travelling. Please, if you’re going somewhere cold and wet, DITCH THE CONVERSE SNEAKERS. Your feet will be cold and not well protected. Plus they have a flat sole, so you have no support.

Invest in one or two decent pairs of shoes that you will be comfortable walking in all day. The best combo is having a day pair for sightseeing, and a night pair incase you want to go to a restaurant or somewhere nice. Think about where you are going. If it’s going to be winter, invest in a good pair of boots and wear them in for a few weeks before you leave.

Currency, Cash and Cards

This is a hard one, because it can be situational. Personally, I don’t really like using travel cards or cash passports much. However, carrying around large wads of cash isn’t smart either.

After some research, a Commonwealth Travel Money Card seems to be the way to go if you need to store a large amount of currency in an account. You can stack multiple different currencies on the card, but they are difficult to organize if you have to change the currency you are using often. (They are set in a default order)

If you do take a travel card, get yourself out enough money to last you 5 days. On the 4^th day, keep an eye out for an ATM to get out money for the next 5 days or that you can come back to later if you need.

Only ever carry on your person enough cash for 2 days, store the rest in a safe place in your suitcase. I usually opt for my spare shoes and tuck it into the toe.

It can be hard to save your money for a trip when you’re a student, however it is doable! Even if you only manage to get to another country for 2 weeks, that’s still 14 WHOLE days! It works wonders on your academic results too! Just keep telling yourself that you cant go on any trips if you fail your subjects (works for me).

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) will protect your data, maintain your privacy, and keep you secure online. But just what is a VPN, and how do they work?

By Nick Palmisano

In an age of online surveillance, where legislation continues to mount against digital freedoms, net users are turning to VPNs to bypass restrictions, circumvent geo-blocking, and keep their data private.

To understand a VPN however, you’ve got to understand the Internet.

Understanding The Internet:

Imagine the Internet is an ocean.

This ocean is vast, and in it are endless individual islands.

These islands are known as LANs (Local Area Networks), and you live on one of them.

Some of these islands are close, while others are very far away. In order to reach these islands, you must take a ferry.

Using this ferry is like connecting to a web server or other device through the Internet.

You have no control over the wires or routers that make up this server, just as you cannot control the other people who are on the ferry with you.

This leaves you open to security and privacy risks when trying to connect two or more private networks (the LANs) using a public resource.

Wi-Fi is one of the most common LAN technologies available today, used widely in public areas where consumers now expect a connection, known as ‘hotspots’.

These ‘hotspots’, like those in coffee shops, are unsecured public networks, and while most have firewalls designed to protect your system from the Internet, they do not protect your system from other network users.

This is where VPNs come in

The Virtual Private Network:

Coming back to our island analogy, let’s frame VPNs as single person submarines, and everybody on your island owns one.

These submarines have amazing properties:

• They’re fast.
• You can take them with you anywhere you go.
• They can hide you from other boats, and even other submarines.
• They’re reliable.
• Once you’ve purchased your first submarine, it costs little to buy another.

Now that you have your submarine, you can travel between islands whenever you want with privacy and security.

HOW IT WORKS: a diagram illustrating how a VPN service works. CREDIT: Smartunblock.com

This is essentially how a VPN works, connecting you in a private, secure manner with another member of your network, using the Internet as the conduit.

The other key aspect is the way in which VPNs can send data from one network to another.

VPN Tutorial Guide

Packets, Packets, Packets:

Right now you are using your computer to access a web server, which contains the file for this article you are reading.

Your computer sends a request for a file (this article) and the server responds by sending it to you.

The file is sent as multiple ‘packets’, parts of the file between 1000-1500 bytes, that when joined together make up the whole, just like a jigsaw.

Packets contain headers and footers that tell computers what’s in a packet and how the information fits with other packets to form a complete file.

When the packets get to you, your device arranges them into a perfect symmetry, enabling you to read, watch, or understand what is on your screen.

Packets extend to other file types beyond web pages, such as emails, which are also broken down into packets.

VPNs work differently.

Packets are not broken down, rather, the entire packet is hidden inside another one, the way you might bubble wrap presents before sending them onwards.

This is known as tunnelling, a way to send the complete packet discreetly and securely without risking its security, while exposing only the surface packet.

Beyond their security and privacy value, individuals also employ VPNs to bypass geographical restrictions on content, especially in Australia, where streaming services like HBO are unavailable, and Netflix offers little compared to its US service.

VPNs And Geo-blocking

Your desktop and laptop computer, server, scanner, printer, modem, router, smartphone and tablet all have an IP address.

This is known as an Internet Protocol address, which identifies your system and its geographic location to the network you are using.

Geo-blocking is the practice of preventing a network user from accessing content, usually websites or downloading media, based on location.

Countries such as China use geo-blocking to insulate their own network from foreign material, while film and television companies like HBO, and Netflix, use geo-blocking to restrict their content to specific regions.

They do this by targeting specific IP addresses that geographically originate from outside their region.

GEOBLOCKING: The homepage of one of many VPN Websites: SOURCE: TorGuard

In this way, film, television, and entertainment companies can regionalize their content, setting prices dependent entirely on where you live.

Australian consumers often suffer from geo-blocking, with companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon charging higher prices via the $AUD than are advertised in the USA for the same product.

Piracy, Equal Access, The Film That Fuelled The Fire

Illegal downloading of the film Dallas Buyers Club has prompted Government to respond to calls by film companies to crack down on film piracy. CREDIT: CCTV America

VPNs have servers around the world, either digital or physical and in a multitude of countries.

When you access your VPN, you have the option to select which server you’d like your IP to operate from.

Most VPNs have servers in the USA, so even if you’re sitting on the steps of Darling Harbour, your IP address will register on the network as originating from the USA.

This allows you to bypass geo-restrictions and access content that would otherwise be inaccessible to Australian consumers.

So Are VPNs Legal?

In March, Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 to parliament.

NEW BILL: Communication’s Minister Malcom Turnbull says VPNs are safe, but it’s unclear how his amendments to the Copyright Act will affect their legal standing. CREDIT: Alex Ellinghausen

The bill, if passed, will require Internet service providers to block access to overseas websites found to facilitate copyright infringement.

Malcolm Turnbull’s own website has a stream of facts regarding the legal ramifications of the bill, and for the moment it seems, VPNs are safe.

“The Copyright Act does not make it illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content.” – Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

HBO in the last few days has cut off Australian consumers from accessing their services via geo-blocking methods, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald explains.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is equally concerned that the vagueness of definitions and terms within the Copyright Amendment Bill could leave VPN’s vulnerable.

With over 200,000 estimated Netflix users in Australia, and many of them VPN users, any law that restricts or blocks VPNs from doing their job may adversely impact streaming services rather than help them.

Regardless of whether you access geo-blocked content, there’s no denying that a VPN is an essential service, designed to protect your data, keep you secure, and maintain your privacy.

The only question now is how long they’ll be able to do that.

College of Arts, Society and Education (CASE) French Language students are holding a fundraiser next week to raise funds for the people of Vanuatu, after Tropical Cyclone Pam tore through the pacific region last month.

By Rachel Lang

Isolated island communities were left devastated when the category five cyclone ripped through the archipelago, displacing up to 70 per cent of Vanuatu’s population.

The small island nation has three official languages: English, Bislama and French.

JCU’s French lecturer, Florence Boulard, says that her third and fourth year language students have organised a charity dinner to raise funds for the Red Cross Vanuatu Appeal.

“The Language students at James Cook University have been moved by the devastation of Cyclone Pam and its impact on the life of the people of Vanuatu,” says Madame Boulard.

“When it made the front page of the news that Vanuatu was badly damaged with the cyclone, we talked about it… and then we thought ‘Okay, what can we do?’

DEVASTATION: A man in Vanuatu assesses the damage after TC Pam. SOURCE: Getty Images

“It fits in with the JCU’s strategic intent, which is to make a difference in the lives of people living in the tropics.”

In addition to raising much-needed donations for the people of Vanuatu, the students hope to raise awareness of this part of the world.

Third year language student, Toby Campbell, is one of the organisers of the charity dinner.

Toby says that it is essential for Australians to be aware of our pacific neighbours.

“People who choose to study at JCU are people of the tropics and, as a JCU student, there should be an awareness of the issues of those who live in the tropics,” Toby says.

“We organised [the charity dinner] with the help of the language coordinator in order to raise awareness of our smaller pacific neighbours, as it seems they only come into our view when something happens to them, such as Cyclone Pam.

“Hopefully the prizes we’ve obtained for the raffle can help with that awareness.”

Students have organised an assortment of raffle prizes for the dinner, including two return airfares to Port Villa, generously donated by Air Vanuatu.

The money raised for the Red Cross will help those trying to rebuild in the wake of the cyclone.

CEO of Vanuatu Red Cross, Jacqueline De Gaillande, says that the next step one month on from Cyclone Pam is to support community recovery.

“This will include helping people to build stronger houses, repairing community water sources and continuing to build on community resilience through health education, hygiene promotion and first aid training,” Ms De Galliande says.

The charity dinner will take place at the Townsville Yacht Club on Thursday 30^th April starting from 6:30pm. Register here by the 24^th of April to attend.

One month on from Tropical Cyclone Pam, the Red Cross has already provided significant aid for the disaster stricken communities of Vanuatu.  Video courtesy of the Red Cross.

James Cook University archaeology students visited Laos on a research trip to study the Plain of Jars, with funding from the New Colombo Plan.

By Nick Palmisano

Eight JCU College of Arts, Society and Education (CASE) archaeology students returned from a research trip to the Plain of Jars, an ancient site in Laos, with funding from the New Colombo Plan covering their travel costs.

Six of the eight students received grants from the New Colombo mobility grant to assist them with travel and research expenses.

The New Colombo Plan is an initiative from the Liberal Government, an evolution of Labour’s AsiaBound program, which was designed to provide opportunities for Australian tertiary students to visit South East Asia for study and research experience.

The NCP opens up scholarship options for both long and short term exchanges, including mobility grants designed for research trips like the Laos project.

Archaeology major Hollie Gill received $3000 to fund her journey to Laos which was essential for her to take part in the project.

“The grant covered all of my flights as well as some extra costs like part of my accommodation, says Hollie.

“Gaining experience in the field is an essential part of any degree, especially archaeology, and would not have been financially possible for me without this grant.”

Hollie hopes that the Laos project brings more awareness about the situation in Laos, and encourages discussion around its leftover explosives.

“I think archaeological work at the Plain of Jars will assist in developing and promoting tourism within the area, especially if it is eventually declared a World Heritage Site, says Hollie.

“This will hopefully bring funding for more extensive clearing of the UXO for the communities, as well as assisting the rehabilitation programs in place.”

ARTEFACT: Lan Xang Smoking Pipe found at the Plain of Jars

Plain of Jars Site

The Plain of Jars is a grassy plateau in central Laos’ Xieng Khouang province, surrounded by mountains, creating a bowl like valley that was once home to a Bronze Age culture.

This civilization is assumed to be responsible for the creation of hundreds of stone jars of various sizes, some only three feet high, with the larger ones measuring ten feet. Archaeologists don’t yet know their true purpose or origin but there are many theories.

JCU archaeology professor and research trip organizer, Dr Nigel Chang, offers one of the more accepted explanations.

“The jars may have something to do with people burying their dead, or filling them up with crematory remains.

“The problem is the jars were discovered a long time ago by international scientists, and they’ve been known about in the country for a lot longer.

“Most of the jars have been heavily looted and are now missing a lot of artefacts, so they’re a bit of a mystery to work out what they’re for, and we don’t know who the people who made them were,” he said.

During the Vietnam War, the US military dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Laos. Today it is estimated that there are 80 million unexploded bombs still remaining in the country.

Unexploded Ordinance Teams accompanied Nigel, his students, and other researchers, clearing areas of explosives before archaeological work could begin. The process is painstaking, as Nigel says.

“Every area we work has to be cleared one way or another, by people who know what they’re doing so we don’t find unexploded bombs when we’re excavating. We do a lot of traditional surveys, walking across the land very precisely, very carefully, and that becomes much harder to do,” says Nigel.

Have you completed a year of study at James Cook University?

Are you bored with your everyday routine here, and are looking to spice up your life?

You should consider applying to study overseas for a semester or two through the JCU Exchange Program.

By Tegan Neilsen

Here are some reasons you should think about applying:

1. You get to stay in another country for months at a time.

Okay, yes. You could always go backpacking after you finish school. But backpacking doesn’t always offer accommodation and the ease of living that staying on campus at a university does. Plus if you go on exchange, you will be surrounded by students in the same boat as you.

2. You gain independence you wouldn’t otherwise have had you stayed in your home country.

One of the best things people gain from being overseas and travelling is independence. Having to book your own flights, accommodation – not just to get there, but throughout the entire time you’re away – teaches you how to be more independent. Also, having your parents on the other side of the world means that mum and dad can’t help you out every time you have a problem.

3. Speaking of help…

There’s nothing worse than being alone in a foreign country and getting into some sort of trouble. Whether it’s financial or just something you’re unsure of, the university you’re attending will always have certain support systems in place specifically for their international students. Crisis averted!

4. You’ll gain Instagram followers. (Not super important, but it’s certainly a bonus.)

Posting beautiful photos of London, Paris and anything else you see is bound to get you noticed on the net. Before you know it you’ll have stacks more followers on Instagram. (Just remember to hashtag just about everything you can think of.)

EDINBURGH: University exchanges can take you almost anywhere. CREDIT: Tegan Neilsen

5. Most importantly, you’ll get to have fun and travel while still contributing to your degree.

Last but not least. YOU GET TO TRAVEL THE WORD AND MAKE FRIENDS WHILE STILL DOING YOUR DEGREE! Who wouldn’t want that?

The friendships and experiences you will gain studying abroad, although it sounds cheesy, will honestly last you a lifetime. When else in your lifetime are you going to get an opportunity to stay in another country for several months while still being provided with a home? What more could you want?

Though going on exchange can be scary, it is honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done. If you’re worried about money, you can apply for scholarships both from your home university and the university you’re applying to overseas.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

If you’re interested in going on exchange, contact the JCU Exchange office at exchange@jcu.edu.au or at Student Mobility Office, Building 8 on the Townsville campus.

“When I was 15 years old,my parents let me go off to Utah by myself with a team of geologists to camp in the desert for a month to study the rocks. If they hadn’t let me do that when I was quite young, maybe none of this would have happened the way it did.”

By Nick Palmisano

Perceptive and welcoming, Hannah Hilbert-Wolf is humbling to be around. A passion for earth sciences has led her into a fascinating career of travel, adventure, and new discoveries.

For Hannah, her inspiration and passion for the earth sciences also came from childhood encounters with teachers who shaped her outlook and opened her mind to the possibility of a career in geology. With the help of her science teacher’s husband, a geologist at a nearby university, Hannah performed well in her high school science fair, and travelled over 2000 kilometres from her Pennsylvanian home to Arizona for an international science competition.

“It was my first time traveling to the Western United States. I was absolutely amazed by the red rocks in Arizona, and I think the combination of having really amazing science mentors, seeing the Western United States landscape, doing well in science fair, and meeting other young scientists all of those things together made me think, ‘Alright I’m gonna keep pursuing science.’. Ever since then I’ve continued along that path.”

Hannah has since traded the rocks of North America for the rocks of a different continent. Tanzania, in Sub-Saharan Africa, is home to the Rukwa Rift Basin, one of the very few active continental rift systems in the world.

TANZANIA: Hannah Hilbert-Wolf checking out the scenery at a Tanzania Dig. CREDIT: Hannah Hilbert-Wolf

“The East African Rift is actively rifting right now. The crust is pulling apart. This happens under the ocean too, but this rift is so exciting to study because it’s happening to continental crust, and we can observe the processes right before our eyes.”

Hannah plays a role in the Rukwa Rift Basin Project that has been studying the Rukwa Rift Basin in Southern Tanzania for over 15 years. This area is still largely unexplored. With its sediments, fossils, geologic history, and bio geological data locked away in the ground. The Rukwa Rift Basin Project is the first team of researchers to explore the area and study the unique rock record there.

“The project is wide in its scope, for both paleontological and geological studies. The projects we develop and work on are significant, as they tell us about the flora and fauna, climate change, landscape evolution, and tectonic changes during important parts of Earth’s history, especially during times of major faunal evolution. It’s an active rift basin, which is really rare. The East African Rift System is the perfect archetypal rift basin, and it’s a rare glimpse into how continental rifting works on earth.”

The Rukwa Rift Basin Project team has made a number of significant geological and paleontological discoveries, dating the timing of the rifting, and finding new fauna, among them, a brand new dinosaur, Rukwatitan.

But for Hannah it’s not just about ancient bones, or making the big discoveries. She’s also interested in nature’s wild side, and what Tanzania’s geological history can tell us about future environmental change and natural hazards.

“I’m very interested in what sediments can tell us about seismicity. I explore patterns preserved in sedimentary rocks to study ancient earthquakes in an attempt to understand their magnitude and distribution, and how earthquakes can affect the ground we live on. Earthquakes can cause the ground to behave like a liquid, which can be really dangerous for buildings, and therefore for the people living in seismically active areas.”

Geology plays a central role in influencing environmental understanding, with its focus on the past giving an insight into what may happen in the future. Most earth scientists come from a geology background.

“Understanding ancient environments and how the earth changed in the past is how we can predict or understand how it’s changing now and in the future. The rock record can be an analogue for what’s going on now.

“The study of climate change and other related disciplines can benefit from geological understanding. For example, you can’t separate the influences water, the atmosphere, climate, or the Earth’s crust have on each other. All of these spheres overlap, and they’re all connected.”

Hannah feels fortunate that her geological journey has brought her to Australia.

Her experiences as a geologist are far removed from the stereotypes often levelled against scientists; nerds in white lab coats who never leave the lab.  Hannah is the epitome of the modern geologist, an adventure-seeking frontierswoman, passionately pushing boundaries in an effort to expand the parameters of our world. Geologists go where nobody has gone before, and take big leaps for mankind in the name of science.

Hannah cares about the role of geology in the community, and how important it is for science to form connections with mainstream society.

“I think it’s important to involve your community in some way with the research you’re doing, so that the support can go both ways. You have to try, and you have to put some effort into communication.”

“I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some local schools in Townsville, helping with science fair projects, and it doesn’t have anything to do with my research, but the point is just to get kids excited about science and to be an accessible scientist role model is important.

“I was lucky enough to go to Africa twice, as part of my undergraduate degree, and I fell in love with it. When I finished my degree I wanted to move overseas and study further. My mentors recommended Dr Eric Roberts. He’s a lecturer here at JCU, one of the best sedimentologists in the world, and it just so happened that he also studies African geology. I was also drawn to JCU and to Australia by the world-class lab facilities.

“I graduated on a Saturday in June, and was on the plane on Sunday. I’d never been to Australia before, but now I’ve been in Townsville just short of three years.”

Hannah’s love for Australia is evident in her voice. She knows she’s found a place where her craft is recognized, appreciated, and acknowledged. Geologists are, ultimately, explorers in the vein of Star Trek, going where no man (or woman) has gone before. It’s impossible not to be enthralled when she taps into the inner wanderer.

“I’ve gotten to see places in the world that nobody else has seen before. It’s hard to be an explorer these days, because a lot of remote, fascinating places have been reached, but we as geologists have this rare opportunity to really be frontier explorers. There’s still a lot left to find and study, which makes you just want to get out and do more.”

Hannah will be going back to Tanzania in June, before completing her PhD, after which she will continue to chase ancient earthquakes across Africa.