bismillahirrahmanirrahim..
haven't been writing for quite a while because i was away in aussie for 8 days=) so...my naqibah asked me to write a report and here it is..there's a lot to tell actually. maybe i won't be telling everything but just the simple details of the journey.
10th julywe departed from auckland to sydney in a 2-hour flight. upon reaching sydney, we went to newcastle to meet our friends. it was a 2-hour drive from sydney airport to newie. we met at the university of newcastle and from there we board a bus towards riverwoods lodge.
there was actually a winter gathering going on, organised by FAMSY-NUIMS the islamic society in newcastle university.
winter gathering in newie =)
kayaking at riverwoods lodge
sandboardingthe winter gathering ended on 12th of july and we headed back to university of newcastle. ad-duha (me, alia, aida, fiza, and kak tiqa) planned to have a night stay in newcastle before going back to sydney the day after. the next day, 12th july our newie friends brought us sandboarding (yup, surfing on sand =)
it was a hilarious experience because i never seemed to get through all teh way down the slope...haha..unlike aida and aliaa. but it was fun, but aida and aliaa got some abrasions, because they attempted to surf while standing =p it was tiring when going up the slope, and also 'sandy' because we have sand all over. haha.. next, we took some pics at the beach nearby.
the waves were tremendous, Subhanallah.. and then we left and went to the university of newcastle. newie uni was actually where i'd like to go when i was in taylors college, because it is situated in a reserved area. so you could imagine seeing greens everywhere when in uni site. it was just lovely and i have to say, the air was fresh and clean =) next stop: city centre in newcastle. the city was not as lively as in auckland. the buildings are quite old and faded, but they have nice beaches =) we walked along the beach for a while, snapping pictures here and there. the breeze was soft, and cold too..
it was already in the evening, and we had to catch a train to sydney at 6.
we left our newie friends with a heavy heart and we were hoping to see each other again soon..huhu..we reached sydney at 9.30 pm and took a bus heading to kak tiqa's friend's house in macquarie. it was a uni residence.
13 july
unilodge in canberrawe spent the night in macquarie and the next day we planned to head to canberra, by coach. but before that we went to visit macquarie university. it was very uni-like,on a large site and something like the university of auckland. then we board the 3-hour coach towards canberra. fast forward...we reached canberra 3 hours later, kak tiqa's friend came to meet us at the station (kak lina) and she took us to the Unilodge where another of kak tiqa's friend is residing (kak sapura) we ate lunch and ate the cake baked by kak sapura...haha, sedap2.. =)
Australian National Universtity (ANU). It was a large building, and there were lots of Islamic books in its library. i was quite envious, because there isn't any Islamic Centre in Auckland..yet..huhu..So, after saying our goodbyes to the Melbourne sisters, we went back to Unilodge. It was a long bus ride home and that night was very cold, and windy. I recalled feeling really exhausted and sleepy. Haura, nina and farah (our James Cook University friends) spent the night at Unilodge. Ad-Duha spent the night at kak lina's house. from unilodge, we had to take a 5-minute bus.
everyone didn't say anything much in the bus, all we had in mind was to reach our destination and get some rrest.14-15 july
cockington gardenswe woke up early in the morning to catch the 7 am bus going back to unilodge.
after everyone was all ready, we head to the cockington green gardens. it was a garden with miniatures of famous buildings around the world, like Borobudur Temple, Mosques in Jordan and Turkey. There were also miniatures of English houses. i bought a postcard and a fridge magnet. =D it was definitely an interesting place to visit. =)
old parliament houselater on,
we took a bus to the Parliament House. there were the old parliament house and the current one. the bus dropped us at the old parliament house. So from there we had to walk to the current parliament house which was not far away. here is where the Senates and the States Representatives assemble for meetings. before entering we had to have our bags screened and stuff like that. in the building we went in to see the Great Hall, the and Parliament Halls. there were two, one for Senate Assembly and the other for the State Reps Assembly. we posed and took some pictures.
After that, we took a bus to the Australian War Memorial. it was built in remembrance of the Australian soldiers who served in wars, the most significant is the Anzac Hall, where respect was paid for the soldiers engaged.
we left and head for the National Museum of Australia. there wasn't much time actually, because it was already 5 pm and we had to catch a coach back to sydney at 6 pm. so we went in there and briefly passing the exhibitions, took some photos and catch a bus back to unilodge, before going to the station to catch our 6 pm coach.
we said our goodbyes to kak lina and kak sapura. they helped us a lot during our stay in canberra. we hoped to see them again InsyaAllah..we reached sydney at 9.30 pm at the station. kak murni was there to take us back to macquarie, where we initially stayed while we were in sydney. fatigued.. exhausted.. zzz
16 julythe next morning we were planning to go to Auburn to visit the Gallipolli Mosque.
Auburn is said to be where most Muslims in Aussie reside. but we planned to go to Paddy's Market in Sydney first, before going to Auburn.
Paddy's Market is like a heaven for shopping souvenirs. there were lots of cheap stuff there, like key chains, t-shirts, fridge magnets, decorations, lots!! and they were very very cheap. i bought quite a lot of stuff, for everyone back home. i got myself this really cute bag, it's black and there's a kangaroo on it =) later, we took a train to Auburn.
the Gallipolli Mosque was really big and beautiful. there were unique carvings of khat on the walls...breathtaking, Subhanallah..Kak tiqa was saying it looked bit like the Sultan Salehuddin al-Ayyubi Mosque. we prayed there and after that we dined at a thai restaurant. =) right after that we went back home, macquarie and settled for the day
17 july
featherdale wildlife park
t was quite a large park and there were many other animals besides kangaroo and koala, like crocodiles, lizards, birds, goats, sheeps..we posed with the koalas and kangaroos..they're such cuties =)
opera house
university of sydney i was wondering how the inside looked like but we had no time actually, because we had to catch a ferry back to macquarie to get our luggage bags and head straight to the airport.
Our flights were scheduled next morning, and we were planning to have the night in airport. At the airport we had usrah from 12 till morning at around 5.15am, before we check-in our bags.
we reached Auckland at 3 pm, safe and sound, and glad to be home again =)What i personally gain from this trip was it taught me a lot about being courageous in confronting everyday problems. There isn't a need to fear when we know that Allah is with us at all times to help us in our affairs.
i could somehow feel that we were being given tarbiyyah by Allah throughout this journey. every problems and difficulties have their solutions, we just have to be strong and have faith in His Help.
there were times when i felt physically and mentally challenged as well, but Alhamdulillah, He gave me strength to endure such situations, Allah is Most Giving =) the first-rated buildings and places i visited in Aussie opened my eyes to how humans could be multi-talented and shrewd in making and designing them...but the Creator of humans, He is much more talented and more brilliant in designing the human minds to be creative in progressing technology, now THAT IS GREAT =)
