Waterloo Girl Scout Katie Albert spent her summer touring New Zealand, Australia and Fiji through a trip hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA.

This was her fourth such experience. Previously, Albert hiked in the Swiss Alps, kayaked around the San Juan Islands in Washington and explored the wilds of Chile.

This summer’s journey, “Amazing Oz and the South Pacific,” started in Los Angeles for Albert and 22 other Girl Scouts taking the trip. From there they flew to visit the New Zealand regions of Auckland and Rotorura. In Rotorua, girls toured native Maori villages.  They also visited area attractions including the Agrodome, and Skyline Gondola and Skyline Luge.

“The countryside of New Zealand is stunningly beautiful,” Albert said.

Next, the travelers visited Sydney, Australia, where they saw Tasmanian devils, salt-water crocodiles, kangaroos and koalas at the zoo and aquarium. They also saw the Sydney Opera House. Outside the city, the girls visited the Blue Mountains of Katoomba, which Albert noted looked bluish due to the abundance of eucalyptus oil in the air.

The American teens socialized with global peers at a local Girl Guides meeting that included a troop from Australia as well as exchange students from Germany and Japan.

“I learned that even though all four of our countries have different cultures, we all connect through Girl Scouts and in some ways, that makes us the same,” Albert said.

Last on the trip was a visit to Fiji, where they relaxed at a beach resort and combed the Nadi shopping district. However, Albert noted that the girls also got a first-hand glimpse at issues of global poverty.

“Nadi seemed to be a middle-class city and the resort was very beautiful, but the area in between proved to be very poverty stricken,” Albert said. “It was amazing to see the beauty of the resort just a few minutes away from dire poverty.  It was an odd experience and made me appreciate all I have.”

Overall, Albert found the whirlwind trip an amazing experience.

“I made some very good friends whom I’m honored to know,” she said.  “The trip was so much fun, but it was also more educational than I had thought it would be.”