Start Off the New Year in Australia

If you were thinking that you wanted to do something different to start your life in year 2008, maybe you should head to Australia!

There is an opportunity to spend two weeks in Queensland, Australia starting a week and a half after New Years Day working with adorable koalas. The current study offered by Global Vision International wants to find out about koalas and how we can keep their habitat healthy so we can keep them around for years to come.

During your stay you will be examining the different species of trees that are most likable to koalas. This is important because researchers need to know what kind of tree species are most important to the koalas' lifestyle.You will be doing a lot of observation at night.

According to the Global Vision International Web site, "very little research exists at present about nocturnal koala behaviors so this is a great opportunity to monitor first-hand these amazing creatures at night."

Along with studying the types of trees Koalas like to lounge in, you also need to find about what Koalas like to eat so we can make sure we keep that stuff around. I'm not going to lie this part is pretty gross because you will be collecting and analyzing the Koalas' droppings to figure out what they are mostly eating.

"I don't think I would have a problem with it," said 24-year-old Kyle Crick. "You're using solar showers with no electricity, I think Koala poo is the least of your worries. Crick has looked into the project while he was searching for camping sites.

The two weeks are going to be a bit rough for those of you who may not be into the outdoors. You will be sleeping in tents and eating by campfire. All the food is provided for you, but it is all vegan food, which means no animal products. The showers are warmed with the sun and electricy will not be readily available to volunteers.

As rough as that sounds, you will be learning about conservation, working closely with Koalas, taking tours, night walks, and the volunteer group is usually only five people. I think that is awesome because it forces you to get really close with you fellow volunteers.

"I think its good because you don't want to scare aways the animals and leave a massive dent," said Crick.

Crick explained that he would want to go but he does not know if he is physically fit enough for this journey.

"Volunteers must be in excellent physical condition. This landscape is extremely steep, and the local climate is rather difficult for first timers to acclimatise to, according to the Web site.

If you are physically fit, or you are planning on getting in shape before you head out, you will arrive the first day and start an intensive training program.

In the training sessions you will be learning about first aid procedures,snake bite treatments, adequate water intake and dehydration signs,collection of rainfall, collection of fecal matter, and training with nocturnal examination equipment.