This quote I found is pretty self-explanatory and sums up the past 3 and a half months of my life. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Not Your Average Thanksgiving
Today was Thanksgiving. It wasn’t your typical turkey-eating, football-watching, cozy up in a sweater and jeans kind of Thanksgiving we were all used to. In my 20 years of life I have never missed a Thanksgiving with my family. That holds true for this year as well. Although they may not be my real family, they have come to stand in for and act as my family. My study abroad group of friends are the most wonderful people I could have ever imagined meeting. We have truly become a family. As we shared our thanksgiving dinner together at a local restaurant eating chicken, salmon, or veal we all reminisced about family traditions of thanksgiving and our memories we have shared here. I feel like I just got to Australia yesterday and yet I’m leaving in just about three weeks. As Maz’s Dad gave us an inspirational speech this evening it made realize what a wonderful and truly amazing experience this has been. If you would have asked me in high school if I ever thought I could study abroad in Australia, literally on the other side of the world, I would have laughed and said “No way!”. But now, I look back at my time here and I can’t imagine life without this experience and all the incredible people I have met. Maz’s Dad’s speech was all about our journey in life and how this is only the beginning. We have traveled so far away from our families and been through so many different experiences and we are only 20 years old. We sill have the rest of our lives to live and go on more outstanding journeys. Listening to his speech made me teary eyed to think that this time has to come to and end, but it makes me hopeful because I do know, this IS only the beginning. There are so many more journeys I will go on in life. This chapter in my life is soon ending but I can’t wait to see where the new one will take me.
This quote I found is pretty self-explanatory and sums up the past 3 and a half months of my life. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
This quote I found is pretty self-explanatory and sums up the past 3 and a half months of my life. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Lamington National Park & Brisbane
Friday November 13th at 830 we walked over to the bus stop and Maz & Cat, our study abroad coordinators, picked up 16 of us and we headed out to Lamington National park for a hike in the rainforest. It was about an hour and 45 min drive up a curvy road around some very tight switchbacks. The view from the top was so pretty. It reminded me of Northern California and Utah. The lush green mountains and the valleys full of grapes were so pretty. The air was so fresh and crisp and the temperature was just right. When we got to the park we loaded up our backpacks with lunch food and started our 5k hike down to a watering hole. When we hopped off the bus we were swarmed by tons of red parakeets!
They came over and landed right on our shoulders and heads, they were definitely not afraid of humans. They were trying to steal our food and we were trying to have a peaceful walk. Even when we started walking they would stay on us and follow us wherever we went. Finally when we got to the entrance the birds left us and we started walking into the thick forest. 
It was nice and cool so we didn’t get hot, but the entire way down was up hill….which meant that the entire way up would be up hill.
The walk was pretty and we stopped at a waterfall then kept walking and by the time we got down to the watering hole we were all so tired and hungry that we dug into the delicious food Cat and Maz prepared for us. We were all so hesitant to sit by the water because there were leaches everywhere! By the end of the hike I had plucked off 5 leaches. There were tons in the water and some small fish, and oh yeah and a giant eel!!
The eel was huge and very friendly so naturally we fed it the food we had which were some tortillas, cheese and some veggies…it didn’t go for the veggies. After lunch we packed up and headed out on the long walk all up hill back to the bus. It took what seemed like forever to walk out of the forest! It had warmed up quite a bit since we arrived so that made it even more difficult. 
Thankfully the boys were all walking behind me so they kept my spirits high and talked the whole way out which made it go by a little faster. When we reached the top of the hike all we wanted was water and snacks, but no, we had another little hike to go do. It was a tree top hike, basically a swinging bridge 70 ft off the ground, so we were mid-tree level. 
There was a very sketchy vertical ladder you could walk up and get an even higher view of the actual treetops, but I was too tired and decided I probably wouldn’t see anything anyways. Instead I just walked on the bridge admired the trees and the fresh air. When we finally made it back to the bus Maz had some yummy biscuits (cookies) for us that we all devoured in 2 minutes!
The drive back was just as pretty as the drive in, except we were all so tired that we couldn’t stay awake for the whole thing. We stopped at a winery on the way down and did a wine tasting of O’Reillys wine. I bought some delicious desert wine that is super sweet! I am saving it for Christmas, so hopefully everyone likes it ☺
The rest of the ride home I slept a little and socialized for a while with the remaining people who were awake. We got home around 530 so I jumped in the shower real quick, ate dinner and went to bed by 8! I was sooo worn out from the hike. It was so intense but good!!
Saturday I woke up and made my way to the bus stop to catch the bus to the train station, then took a train up to Brisbane to visit one of my friends I met while I was in Cairns. When I got off the train I called my friend, Katie, who I was supposed to meet around 130 but I took an earlier train so I was an hour early. She was still in her final so I just wandered around and followed the big crowds of people until I found my self on Queens Street. Queens street is a huge street that is dedicated to shopping, whatever you want you could easily find there!! I walked into a mall and went to some stores and found that everything was very expensive, so I just window-shopped for the rest of the day. I met up with Katie and we had lunch a cute café just out of the city and then we walked over to South Bank. There was a man made beach and more little shops filled with trinkets. These shops were cheaper so I bought some good souvenirs to bring home to everyone!!
Saturday night we went to O’Malley’s Irish pub and had some drinks then went out for delicious pancakes at Pancake Manor! I got Belgium waffles that were to die for!! We took the bus back to Katie’s apartment and went to sleep. I woke up at 9 on Sunday and wondered down to the local coffee shop with Katie’s roommate Kelly and we grabbed a quick bite to eat and some coffee. I stayed for a while and watched some TV, oh how much I miss TV!!!! Then decided to trek back down to bond around 1 pm. I almost made it to the train station without any problems, but of course, I took the bus two too many stops and had to get off, and take another one back in the opposite direction. I finally got to the train station and made it back on the train and was down at Bond by 430. I was exhausted but had a very fun weekend! It was so nice to see the city, its small so spending one day is plenty!!
My next big excursion is New Zealand, and shortly after that I am going home…This has gone by way too fast, but has been the time of my life!!
They came over and landed right on our shoulders and heads, they were definitely not afraid of humans. They were trying to steal our food and we were trying to have a peaceful walk. Even when we started walking they would stay on us and follow us wherever we went. Finally when we got to the entrance the birds left us and we started walking into the thick forest. 
It was nice and cool so we didn’t get hot, but the entire way down was up hill….which meant that the entire way up would be up hill.The walk was pretty and we stopped at a waterfall then kept walking and by the time we got down to the watering hole we were all so tired and hungry that we dug into the delicious food Cat and Maz prepared for us. We were all so hesitant to sit by the water because there were leaches everywhere! By the end of the hike I had plucked off 5 leaches. There were tons in the water and some small fish, and oh yeah and a giant eel!!
The eel was huge and very friendly so naturally we fed it the food we had which were some tortillas, cheese and some veggies…it didn’t go for the veggies. After lunch we packed up and headed out on the long walk all up hill back to the bus. It took what seemed like forever to walk out of the forest! It had warmed up quite a bit since we arrived so that made it even more difficult. 
Thankfully the boys were all walking behind me so they kept my spirits high and talked the whole way out which made it go by a little faster. When we reached the top of the hike all we wanted was water and snacks, but no, we had another little hike to go do. It was a tree top hike, basically a swinging bridge 70 ft off the ground, so we were mid-tree level. 
There was a very sketchy vertical ladder you could walk up and get an even higher view of the actual treetops, but I was too tired and decided I probably wouldn’t see anything anyways. Instead I just walked on the bridge admired the trees and the fresh air. When we finally made it back to the bus Maz had some yummy biscuits (cookies) for us that we all devoured in 2 minutes!The drive back was just as pretty as the drive in, except we were all so tired that we couldn’t stay awake for the whole thing. We stopped at a winery on the way down and did a wine tasting of O’Reillys wine. I bought some delicious desert wine that is super sweet! I am saving it for Christmas, so hopefully everyone likes it ☺
The rest of the ride home I slept a little and socialized for a while with the remaining people who were awake. We got home around 530 so I jumped in the shower real quick, ate dinner and went to bed by 8! I was sooo worn out from the hike. It was so intense but good!!
Saturday I woke up and made my way to the bus stop to catch the bus to the train station, then took a train up to Brisbane to visit one of my friends I met while I was in Cairns. When I got off the train I called my friend, Katie, who I was supposed to meet around 130 but I took an earlier train so I was an hour early. She was still in her final so I just wandered around and followed the big crowds of people until I found my self on Queens Street. Queens street is a huge street that is dedicated to shopping, whatever you want you could easily find there!! I walked into a mall and went to some stores and found that everything was very expensive, so I just window-shopped for the rest of the day. I met up with Katie and we had lunch a cute café just out of the city and then we walked over to South Bank. There was a man made beach and more little shops filled with trinkets. These shops were cheaper so I bought some good souvenirs to bring home to everyone!!
Saturday night we went to O’Malley’s Irish pub and had some drinks then went out for delicious pancakes at Pancake Manor! I got Belgium waffles that were to die for!! We took the bus back to Katie’s apartment and went to sleep. I woke up at 9 on Sunday and wondered down to the local coffee shop with Katie’s roommate Kelly and we grabbed a quick bite to eat and some coffee. I stayed for a while and watched some TV, oh how much I miss TV!!!! Then decided to trek back down to bond around 1 pm. I almost made it to the train station without any problems, but of course, I took the bus two too many stops and had to get off, and take another one back in the opposite direction. I finally got to the train station and made it back on the train and was down at Bond by 430. I was exhausted but had a very fun weekend! It was so nice to see the city, its small so spending one day is plenty!!
My next big excursion is New Zealand, and shortly after that I am going home…This has gone by way too fast, but has been the time of my life!!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sydney Weekend!
Sydney November 5th-8th
Thursday 4 pm was the beginning of our journey to Sydney. There were 7 of us traveling; we met the other 8 at Base, our hostel in downtown Darling Harbour. Base was a quick walk away from shops, restaurants and the biggest indoor market I have seen.
(I didn't take this picture, I stole if from one of the boys, same with the last one on this page :) ) By the time we made it to our hostel we were so tired from traveling and hungry and didn’t want to wait for dinner so we grabbed McDonalds. It was actually delicious and nice to have American food. Everything in Australian is quite expensive compared to the US so anywhere we wanted to eat would have been between 15-25 dollars a plate, not including a drink. We kept our food on the cheap side all weekend but still some how managed to spend more than wanted. We stopped at the grocery store and bought food for breakfast for the next 3 days and snacks for our hike that we would be doing on Friday. Thursday night we spent exploring the city nightlife. We walked a couple blocks until we were right on the water.
It was so beautifully lit up with lights I tried to take pictures and then my camera battery died and I didn’t have extra batteries with me. We walked around stopping in the local bars and stopped to listen to live music and have a drink. We didn’t stay out too late because we had a long day ahead of us.
Friday the girls and I woke up at 715, met the boys around 730 and headed off to Oz touring Experience, which was a 15-minute walk from our hostel. It was chilly and misting rain outside, I was prepared and wore my rain jacket, but some of our group wasn’t so smart and just wore t-shirts and hoped that the weather would clear up, which it didn’t. We met our tour guide for the day, Shrek,
then headed off on the “long” bus ride to the Blue Mountains. Shrek told us this was a “long” ride because Australia is so big that long really means driving for 6+ hours. Thankfully we were only going about 2 hours away. After 45 min of driving we found ourselves on a very curvy road at the bottom of the mountains. We stopped to stretch our legs and look for some Kangaroos. We only spotted two but they were very social and didn’t hop away when our big group came stomping into their territory. After the short walk we got back into the bus and made our way to a cute little town for some breakfast and coffee. We were all so cold from the rain that we got some nice hot coffee and a snack. It was only 930 and we were already tired, but the coffee helped to wake us up. Getting back onto the bus to finish the ride up to the mountains I noticed a donkey around the rear view mirror, it was perfectly fitting that Shrek wouldn’t travel without his faithful donkey! The ride up to the mountains was so beautiful. Even though it was foggy, cloudy and still raining it was still one of the most beautiful places. It reminded me so much of home, the crisp fresh air smelled like wintertime in Utah. When we got to the top of the mountain the cold air hit us like a cold wave from the ocean. We were all so antsy to start hiking just to warm up! After a quick group picture we started our hike into what looked like an opening scene of a scary movie. 
The mist was surrounding the trees and the visibility was very limited. We hiked through the mud and into the rainforest we went! As soon as the canopy of trees covered us the temperature dropped a good 5 degrees. We kept moving briskly to stay warm and avoid getting to wet from the rain dripping off the treetops. We stopped along the way under overhanging cliffs and Shrek told us all about the Blue Mountains. 
He told us that when the clouds weren’t covering the surrounding mountains that it was the most breath taking view of lush green trees and beautiful red, orange, gray and white rocks. At times it was hard to Shrek because of the wind hollowing and the birds calls echoing through the canyon. We hiked until 1 then stopped to have some lunch. 
We had sandwiches, pasta salad and fruit. It was a pretty descent meal and even better because it was included in the price of the tour! After chowing down the food we piled back onto the bus and drove to a new hiking spot. 
We climbed down what seemed like 500 hundred stairs and found ourselves at the bottom of the steepest railroad in the world. It was used for miners back in the day, but it was now turned into a tourist attraction. You sit, or actually half lay down in a cart with a cage all around you and then the cable pulls you up. Riding the train made you feel like you are going to fall forward off the train, but the surrounding cage helped to prevent that. On the way up there is a sign on the canyon wall that says 52-degree incline!! 
At the top of the railway was the gift shop. We stopped in and bought some trinkets then jumped back into the bus and drove back to the city. We were so exhausted that we all took a nap on the drive home. Shrek was so surprised we were sleeping; he said he thought Americans were supposed to be loud all the time, and since there were 15 of us he thought it would be none stop chatter. We were the biggest group of Americans he had ever had. Shrek dropped us off at our hostel and even arranged for us to have free dinner at a local pub. We were all so excited that we showered right away and made our way to the restaurant. When we arrived we realized why it was free. It was very small, didn’t look to clean, but hey it was free, so we ate it. The pasta sauce tasted like it was watered down to stretch its life span and the salad was a tad wilty. After our dinner we decided to check out another local bar that was suggested to us by people who had traveled to Sydney before us. Little did we know that suits and ridiculously high heels was the popular dress code. I felt like I was inside a prestigious bar in New York or LA, but then was quickly reminded I was in Sydney when I noticed the local dialect of the people around me. We only stayed for an hour or so because it was so crowed and it was still raining and half of the bar was outdoors with a canopy that dripped down with rainwater even now and then.
Saturday the boys decided to get up early again and explore the city without the girls. So we woke up casually and had a nice breakfast, well a muffin and cereal then made our way to the Harbour and market for some shopping and explorations! Paddy’s Market is a huge warehouse that is filled with vendors from all over selling trinkets, clothes, and pretty much anything you could ask for. We weaved in and out of the endless isles for hours. After buying some souvenirs and grabbing a quick bite to eat we tried to find our way over
to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the infamous Opera House. After asking the train ticket salesman, studying a map for way too long, we finally figured out that there was a free bus that took us right where we wanted to go. As soon as we got off the bus and turned the corner there it was in all its beauty, the Sydney Opera house. Across from the Opera House is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was cloudy out so the pictures don’t do the two beauties justice! 
It was weird to be standing next to both massive landmarks. It hit me then that I was really in Australia and seeing something I have only imagined I would ever get to see. After staring in amazement for a while and taking a quick rest from all the walking we had been doing, we headed back to the hostel for a nap. We had to be back down by the bridge in a little over an hour to get ready for the bridge climb. When we arrived at the bridge climb we sat and watched a video about all the things we had to do to prepare us, get in a suit, put on all the gear and practice walking while being connected to the railing. 
After we were all suited and geared up with rain pants, jackets, hats and gloves if it was cold, and a radio so we could hear our tour guide tell us all the wonders of the city, we made our way out on the bridge and started climbing. There were only four ladders that went straight up, each had about 12 stairs, and then the rest was a gentle incline with wider stairs. We had to climb up the ladder one person at a time because they were so steep and if you fell it would not be good!! The first ladder we climbed up led up to the level of the cars. They were zooming by us with only a small fenced in area to protect us if something were to happen. It was crazy to be next to the cars. I didn’t want to fall so I just kept looking up in order to not get distracted. After the ladders we took a quick rest then started to climb to the top. The bridge is exactly half as high as the opera house, 450 or so feet off the ground. The architect didn’t want to take away from the beauty of the opera house so he tried to make the bridge spectacular but not over the top! We climbed the bridge at dusk and it was completely dark when we reached the top. It wasn’t too cold which was nice and the weather had cleared up so you could see some stars, the city lights were very bright so only a few stars shown through. The climb took 3 hours round trip, so by the time we got off it was 10 pm. We were all so exhausted and hungry so we rushed back to our hostel ate a snack and showered to get the bridge climbing gear smell off of us. We decided to go out and try another local bar. This one was much more laid back and people weren’t dressed to the nines. It was called argyle and it was two stories with a very log cabin-y feel. We stayed for a while and mingled with the locals then headed back to the hostel for a good night sleep.
Sunday morning we had to check out by 10 so I got up early, packed, showered, and then woke the other girls up. They were all moving pretty slow in the morning so another girl and I hung out with the boys for the day. We started walking around and made our way to the botanical gardens, which are right behind the opera house. After that the boys went to the market, and since the weather was iffy and had been on an off raining all morning the girls and I decided to go to see an Imax movie. We watched Dinosaurs Alive in 3D. After the movie we walked around the Darling Harbour and found ourselves in a mall with cute stores and a massive food court.
We sat and ate some lunch then decided to head back to the hostel grab our things and head to the airport. Two other girls and I decided to go a different way to the train station than the boys and figure we knew where we were going. I was pretty exhausted from the weekend and when I saw the train about to leave I hurried everyone and got on. As soon as the door closed one of my friends realized we had gotten on the wrong train, going the wrong direction. We had plenty of time so we weren’t too worried. We got off at the next stop, waited for a train to take us back to the station we were just at. Once we got back to the original station we had to take two escalators and a bunch of stairs before we were back on the correct platform. We waited for the train for another 10 mins and dodging calls from the boys asking where we were and why it had taken us so long. We finally made it to the airport and flew through security. We were at the gate just in time to board but it was delayed so we had 10 minutes to sit and relax and laugh like crazy about what we had just did. It was a long weekend and we were all so glad we went but were tired and ready to be back at bond and get some sleep. We got home at 9 and everyone was in bed by 10. My next adventure is this coming Friday. I am spending the day at Lamington National park. I’m not sure what to expect so it should be fun!!
Thursday 4 pm was the beginning of our journey to Sydney. There were 7 of us traveling; we met the other 8 at Base, our hostel in downtown Darling Harbour. Base was a quick walk away from shops, restaurants and the biggest indoor market I have seen.
(I didn't take this picture, I stole if from one of the boys, same with the last one on this page :) ) By the time we made it to our hostel we were so tired from traveling and hungry and didn’t want to wait for dinner so we grabbed McDonalds. It was actually delicious and nice to have American food. Everything in Australian is quite expensive compared to the US so anywhere we wanted to eat would have been between 15-25 dollars a plate, not including a drink. We kept our food on the cheap side all weekend but still some how managed to spend more than wanted. We stopped at the grocery store and bought food for breakfast for the next 3 days and snacks for our hike that we would be doing on Friday. Thursday night we spent exploring the city nightlife. We walked a couple blocks until we were right on the water.
It was so beautifully lit up with lights I tried to take pictures and then my camera battery died and I didn’t have extra batteries with me. We walked around stopping in the local bars and stopped to listen to live music and have a drink. We didn’t stay out too late because we had a long day ahead of us.Friday the girls and I woke up at 715, met the boys around 730 and headed off to Oz touring Experience, which was a 15-minute walk from our hostel. It was chilly and misting rain outside, I was prepared and wore my rain jacket, but some of our group wasn’t so smart and just wore t-shirts and hoped that the weather would clear up, which it didn’t. We met our tour guide for the day, Shrek,
then headed off on the “long” bus ride to the Blue Mountains. Shrek told us this was a “long” ride because Australia is so big that long really means driving for 6+ hours. Thankfully we were only going about 2 hours away. After 45 min of driving we found ourselves on a very curvy road at the bottom of the mountains. We stopped to stretch our legs and look for some Kangaroos. We only spotted two but they were very social and didn’t hop away when our big group came stomping into their territory. After the short walk we got back into the bus and made our way to a cute little town for some breakfast and coffee. We were all so cold from the rain that we got some nice hot coffee and a snack. It was only 930 and we were already tired, but the coffee helped to wake us up. Getting back onto the bus to finish the ride up to the mountains I noticed a donkey around the rear view mirror, it was perfectly fitting that Shrek wouldn’t travel without his faithful donkey! The ride up to the mountains was so beautiful. Even though it was foggy, cloudy and still raining it was still one of the most beautiful places. It reminded me so much of home, the crisp fresh air smelled like wintertime in Utah. When we got to the top of the mountain the cold air hit us like a cold wave from the ocean. We were all so antsy to start hiking just to warm up! After a quick group picture we started our hike into what looked like an opening scene of a scary movie. 
The mist was surrounding the trees and the visibility was very limited. We hiked through the mud and into the rainforest we went! As soon as the canopy of trees covered us the temperature dropped a good 5 degrees. We kept moving briskly to stay warm and avoid getting to wet from the rain dripping off the treetops. We stopped along the way under overhanging cliffs and Shrek told us all about the Blue Mountains. 
He told us that when the clouds weren’t covering the surrounding mountains that it was the most breath taking view of lush green trees and beautiful red, orange, gray and white rocks. At times it was hard to Shrek because of the wind hollowing and the birds calls echoing through the canyon. We hiked until 1 then stopped to have some lunch. 
We had sandwiches, pasta salad and fruit. It was a pretty descent meal and even better because it was included in the price of the tour! After chowing down the food we piled back onto the bus and drove to a new hiking spot. 
We climbed down what seemed like 500 hundred stairs and found ourselves at the bottom of the steepest railroad in the world. It was used for miners back in the day, but it was now turned into a tourist attraction. You sit, or actually half lay down in a cart with a cage all around you and then the cable pulls you up. Riding the train made you feel like you are going to fall forward off the train, but the surrounding cage helped to prevent that. On the way up there is a sign on the canyon wall that says 52-degree incline!! 
At the top of the railway was the gift shop. We stopped in and bought some trinkets then jumped back into the bus and drove back to the city. We were so exhausted that we all took a nap on the drive home. Shrek was so surprised we were sleeping; he said he thought Americans were supposed to be loud all the time, and since there were 15 of us he thought it would be none stop chatter. We were the biggest group of Americans he had ever had. Shrek dropped us off at our hostel and even arranged for us to have free dinner at a local pub. We were all so excited that we showered right away and made our way to the restaurant. When we arrived we realized why it was free. It was very small, didn’t look to clean, but hey it was free, so we ate it. The pasta sauce tasted like it was watered down to stretch its life span and the salad was a tad wilty. After our dinner we decided to check out another local bar that was suggested to us by people who had traveled to Sydney before us. Little did we know that suits and ridiculously high heels was the popular dress code. I felt like I was inside a prestigious bar in New York or LA, but then was quickly reminded I was in Sydney when I noticed the local dialect of the people around me. We only stayed for an hour or so because it was so crowed and it was still raining and half of the bar was outdoors with a canopy that dripped down with rainwater even now and then.Saturday the boys decided to get up early again and explore the city without the girls. So we woke up casually and had a nice breakfast, well a muffin and cereal then made our way to the Harbour and market for some shopping and explorations! Paddy’s Market is a huge warehouse that is filled with vendors from all over selling trinkets, clothes, and pretty much anything you could ask for. We weaved in and out of the endless isles for hours. After buying some souvenirs and grabbing a quick bite to eat we tried to find our way over
to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the infamous Opera House. After asking the train ticket salesman, studying a map for way too long, we finally figured out that there was a free bus that took us right where we wanted to go. As soon as we got off the bus and turned the corner there it was in all its beauty, the Sydney Opera house. Across from the Opera House is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was cloudy out so the pictures don’t do the two beauties justice! 
It was weird to be standing next to both massive landmarks. It hit me then that I was really in Australia and seeing something I have only imagined I would ever get to see. After staring in amazement for a while and taking a quick rest from all the walking we had been doing, we headed back to the hostel for a nap. We had to be back down by the bridge in a little over an hour to get ready for the bridge climb. When we arrived at the bridge climb we sat and watched a video about all the things we had to do to prepare us, get in a suit, put on all the gear and practice walking while being connected to the railing. 
After we were all suited and geared up with rain pants, jackets, hats and gloves if it was cold, and a radio so we could hear our tour guide tell us all the wonders of the city, we made our way out on the bridge and started climbing. There were only four ladders that went straight up, each had about 12 stairs, and then the rest was a gentle incline with wider stairs. We had to climb up the ladder one person at a time because they were so steep and if you fell it would not be good!! The first ladder we climbed up led up to the level of the cars. They were zooming by us with only a small fenced in area to protect us if something were to happen. It was crazy to be next to the cars. I didn’t want to fall so I just kept looking up in order to not get distracted. After the ladders we took a quick rest then started to climb to the top. The bridge is exactly half as high as the opera house, 450 or so feet off the ground. The architect didn’t want to take away from the beauty of the opera house so he tried to make the bridge spectacular but not over the top! We climbed the bridge at dusk and it was completely dark when we reached the top. It wasn’t too cold which was nice and the weather had cleared up so you could see some stars, the city lights were very bright so only a few stars shown through. The climb took 3 hours round trip, so by the time we got off it was 10 pm. We were all so exhausted and hungry so we rushed back to our hostel ate a snack and showered to get the bridge climbing gear smell off of us. We decided to go out and try another local bar. This one was much more laid back and people weren’t dressed to the nines. It was called argyle and it was two stories with a very log cabin-y feel. We stayed for a while and mingled with the locals then headed back to the hostel for a good night sleep.Sunday morning we had to check out by 10 so I got up early, packed, showered, and then woke the other girls up. They were all moving pretty slow in the morning so another girl and I hung out with the boys for the day. We started walking around and made our way to the botanical gardens, which are right behind the opera house. After that the boys went to the market, and since the weather was iffy and had been on an off raining all morning the girls and I decided to go to see an Imax movie. We watched Dinosaurs Alive in 3D. After the movie we walked around the Darling Harbour and found ourselves in a mall with cute stores and a massive food court.
We sat and ate some lunch then decided to head back to the hostel grab our things and head to the airport. Two other girls and I decided to go a different way to the train station than the boys and figure we knew where we were going. I was pretty exhausted from the weekend and when I saw the train about to leave I hurried everyone and got on. As soon as the door closed one of my friends realized we had gotten on the wrong train, going the wrong direction. We had plenty of time so we weren’t too worried. We got off at the next stop, waited for a train to take us back to the station we were just at. Once we got back to the original station we had to take two escalators and a bunch of stairs before we were back on the correct platform. We waited for the train for another 10 mins and dodging calls from the boys asking where we were and why it had taken us so long. We finally made it to the airport and flew through security. We were at the gate just in time to board but it was delayed so we had 10 minutes to sit and relax and laugh like crazy about what we had just did. It was a long weekend and we were all so glad we went but were tired and ready to be back at bond and get some sleep. We got home at 9 and everyone was in bed by 10. My next adventure is this coming Friday. I am spending the day at Lamington National park. I’m not sure what to expect so it should be fun!!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Cairns
October 29th – November 2nd
On Thursday morning we flew out to Cairns. We had to take a cab, train, and airplane to make it up there. I was lucky enough to sit in the window seat and had the view of the ocean the entire way up. It was so beautiful outside. There were a lot of clouds but every now and then the islands would break through. I got bored after an hour of the flight so I got my camera out and took around 20 pictures of the ocean and outer reef. The ocean was an unreal blue color, like nothing I had seen before. When we got close to the airport I peered out my window to see mountains meeting the water. It looked like Jurassic park! It was so pretty, but also very cloudy. It started sprinkling rain when we landed, and we had to walk outside to get off the plane. It was so humid; it was almost difficult to breath. We made our way to the hostel, Gilligan’s Backpackers resort, and got all checked in then laid out at the pool. We walked around the small town and went to the grocery store to stock up on lunches for the next three days.
Friday morning started early. We met downstairs with our whole group at 7:15 and walked to the bay where our boat, Ocean Sprit III, was waiting for us to board. There were around 50-60 people on the boat and a crew of about 10. The weather looked iffy and we all were wondering how bad the ride out to the reef was going to be. Just to be safe, we all took ginger pills to help ease the sea-sickness. The ride was around 2 hours and it was very chopping and windy. We sat on the top deck outside and still got splashed by the waves. Even though the weather wasn’t the best the scenery was still very beautiful. Off in the distance we could see the mountains and on the horizon the ocean continued to rise and fall with current. We jumped right in the water to snorkel as soon as we got to Oyster reef. The water was so warm! It was really rough but we could still see relatively well. We rented an under water camera and snapped a ton of photos while we snorkeled along. Too bad we forgot to charge the battery so the camera pretty much died by the end of the snorkel experience. After swimming as hard as we could against the waves we finally made it back to the boat just in time for lunch. So many people were sick and couldn’t eat lunch. I lucked out and didn’t get sick. Sitting outside on the top deck was really relaxing and a lot easier on the stomach. Our group of 4 was scheduled to scuba at 130. We made our way to the back of the boat around 120 and the crew loaded us up with the scuba gear. After putting on what seemed like 20 lbs of gear we face planted into the water and started to learn how to scuba. Our instructor led us to the side of the boat and told us to hold onto the bar. We had two tests we had to complete before we could go off onto the reef. We had to breathe underwater, take out the regulator and then put it back in and blow out the excess water. When it was mine turn to do this I left the regulator out of my mouth too long and had to go back to the surface to take a breath. The instructor was not too happy with me and asked why I was laughing. I couldn’t help it, it was weird to be breathing underwater! I was able to successfully complete the task the second time and then we were on our way down the ocean floor. We went down a meter at a time and then eventually we were on the sandy bottom. We were in open water and there was nothing to be seen. I was so scared that a shark wasn’t going to come out of the murky blue-ness of the surrounding ocean.
Thankfully we started swimming and within a minute we were at the reef. There were so many fish and different types of coral. I felt like I was in a movie, or watching planet earth. It was the coolest thing I have ever done by far! We had to stay linked to our instructor the whole time so we didn’t get lost which was a good thing. He dragged us over the one edge of the reef where we found Nemo! 
There were three clown fish swaying with the water and moving in and around the sea anemone. After swimming around and seeing giant coral that could snap off your hand and all sorts of colorful fish we made our way back on the surface. Scuba diving was such a fun experience! We managed to get a little more life out of the camera and got some pictures of Nemo and the giant clam. After returning all the gear to the boat crew and having afternoon tea, we started our journey back to land. It took a good 2 hours again to get back. We were all so worn out that we laid out on the top deck again and took a nap. It started raining just as we were about to pull into port so we rummaged all our things together and made it inside just in time for the crew to bid us farewell. It was still raining when we got off the boat so we had to run to get back the hostel. We were all so tried and hungry that we bought whatever we could find, I got subway, and then returned our camera then showered and went to sleep!
Saturday was again another early morning. We met downstairs at 745 and drove off the mountains to have breakfast with the birds. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, breads, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I stuffed myself full of the freshest fruit and then went on a tour of the wildlife sanctuary.
We saw a bunch of different animals including kangaroos, wallabies, crocodiles and a ton of birds. I got so many pictures of all the animals but we were rushed around so some of them turned out blurry.
After hurrying through the wildlife we sat outside and waited for our bus to take us the rest of the way up the mountain and to the rain forest. Along the way we stopped and had a tour of the rain forest with an aboriginal native to the area. We saw all sorts of poisonous plants and tons of other cool green plants. The guide showed us the aboriginal version of soap, which is a plant that you rub together with water and it turns into a soapy mess. We finished walking through the rain forest and saw a snake and a strangler fig tree that was over 500 years old,
maybe even older than that! After the tour they gave us a small aboriginal snack and we were off to our place for the night. It was a cute group of cabin like houses. The ones our group stayed in were very basic, 4 beds and a bathroom, but there were nicer ones that were legit cabins. We ate at the only place in the town and it was a small café that was all outdoors. It was on the property were our little cabin like houses were so it was a nice short walk. We got to sit outside and enjoy the scenery and rain forest noises. Again we were all so tired that it was an early night.
Sunday morning wasn’t too early for me, it was just right. I woke up at 9 and had some breakfast and at 1045 was off to jungle surfing (zip-lining through the rain forest). We got harnessed in and walked up a path for about 15 mins to the first plat form. After hooking us onto the wires we swung from one platform to the next.
We were 90 feet off the ground, one with nature and swinging through the trees. All you could hear were birds and the ocean in the background. It was so beautiful being up so high. The whole zip lining experience took an hour but there was a lot of waiting around because we had a group of 12 of us and we could only go one at a time. 
When we finished the tour guides drove us back down to meet up with the rest of our group. We stopped at a watering hole for lunch and a crocodile cruise and then drove back to cairns, about 2 and a half hours away, in time for some people to catch a flight back home. A group of 10 of us were scheduled to fly out on Monday morning at 6 am so we booked a hostel and tried to get some sleep. We were in bed by 930 but I feel like I didn’t even get sleep. I finally woke up at 415 called a cab to come get us from the hostel and take us to the airport. From there we took a flight back to Brisbane and then a train to Robina and then a bus back to Bond. I was so exhausted from the weekend that I showered got a huge coffee and tried to stay awake for the rest of the day. I was thankfully able to get a nap in before my late afternoon class and slept like a baby that night! I had such a fun action packed weekend! 
It was definitely a unique experience seeing the Great Barrier Reef and the rain forest, two of the most eco-diverse areas in the world. I plan on going back someday and hopefully the weather will be better and I will get a chance to scuba again!!! I’m off to Sydney tomorrow, Thursday, and will have so many more adventures to write about when I get back.
On Thursday morning we flew out to Cairns. We had to take a cab, train, and airplane to make it up there. I was lucky enough to sit in the window seat and had the view of the ocean the entire way up. It was so beautiful outside. There were a lot of clouds but every now and then the islands would break through. I got bored after an hour of the flight so I got my camera out and took around 20 pictures of the ocean and outer reef. The ocean was an unreal blue color, like nothing I had seen before. When we got close to the airport I peered out my window to see mountains meeting the water. It looked like Jurassic park! It was so pretty, but also very cloudy. It started sprinkling rain when we landed, and we had to walk outside to get off the plane. It was so humid; it was almost difficult to breath. We made our way to the hostel, Gilligan’s Backpackers resort, and got all checked in then laid out at the pool. We walked around the small town and went to the grocery store to stock up on lunches for the next three days.
Friday morning started early. We met downstairs with our whole group at 7:15 and walked to the bay where our boat, Ocean Sprit III, was waiting for us to board. There were around 50-60 people on the boat and a crew of about 10. The weather looked iffy and we all were wondering how bad the ride out to the reef was going to be. Just to be safe, we all took ginger pills to help ease the sea-sickness. The ride was around 2 hours and it was very chopping and windy. We sat on the top deck outside and still got splashed by the waves. Even though the weather wasn’t the best the scenery was still very beautiful. Off in the distance we could see the mountains and on the horizon the ocean continued to rise and fall with current. We jumped right in the water to snorkel as soon as we got to Oyster reef. The water was so warm! It was really rough but we could still see relatively well. We rented an under water camera and snapped a ton of photos while we snorkeled along. Too bad we forgot to charge the battery so the camera pretty much died by the end of the snorkel experience. After swimming as hard as we could against the waves we finally made it back to the boat just in time for lunch. So many people were sick and couldn’t eat lunch. I lucked out and didn’t get sick. Sitting outside on the top deck was really relaxing and a lot easier on the stomach. Our group of 4 was scheduled to scuba at 130. We made our way to the back of the boat around 120 and the crew loaded us up with the scuba gear. After putting on what seemed like 20 lbs of gear we face planted into the water and started to learn how to scuba. Our instructor led us to the side of the boat and told us to hold onto the bar. We had two tests we had to complete before we could go off onto the reef. We had to breathe underwater, take out the regulator and then put it back in and blow out the excess water. When it was mine turn to do this I left the regulator out of my mouth too long and had to go back to the surface to take a breath. The instructor was not too happy with me and asked why I was laughing. I couldn’t help it, it was weird to be breathing underwater! I was able to successfully complete the task the second time and then we were on our way down the ocean floor. We went down a meter at a time and then eventually we were on the sandy bottom. We were in open water and there was nothing to be seen. I was so scared that a shark wasn’t going to come out of the murky blue-ness of the surrounding ocean.
Thankfully we started swimming and within a minute we were at the reef. There were so many fish and different types of coral. I felt like I was in a movie, or watching planet earth. It was the coolest thing I have ever done by far! We had to stay linked to our instructor the whole time so we didn’t get lost which was a good thing. He dragged us over the one edge of the reef where we found Nemo! 
There were three clown fish swaying with the water and moving in and around the sea anemone. After swimming around and seeing giant coral that could snap off your hand and all sorts of colorful fish we made our way back on the surface. Scuba diving was such a fun experience! We managed to get a little more life out of the camera and got some pictures of Nemo and the giant clam. After returning all the gear to the boat crew and having afternoon tea, we started our journey back to land. It took a good 2 hours again to get back. We were all so worn out that we laid out on the top deck again and took a nap. It started raining just as we were about to pull into port so we rummaged all our things together and made it inside just in time for the crew to bid us farewell. It was still raining when we got off the boat so we had to run to get back the hostel. We were all so tried and hungry that we bought whatever we could find, I got subway, and then returned our camera then showered and went to sleep!Saturday was again another early morning. We met downstairs at 745 and drove off the mountains to have breakfast with the birds. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, breads, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I stuffed myself full of the freshest fruit and then went on a tour of the wildlife sanctuary.
We saw a bunch of different animals including kangaroos, wallabies, crocodiles and a ton of birds. I got so many pictures of all the animals but we were rushed around so some of them turned out blurry.
After hurrying through the wildlife we sat outside and waited for our bus to take us the rest of the way up the mountain and to the rain forest. Along the way we stopped and had a tour of the rain forest with an aboriginal native to the area. We saw all sorts of poisonous plants and tons of other cool green plants. The guide showed us the aboriginal version of soap, which is a plant that you rub together with water and it turns into a soapy mess. We finished walking through the rain forest and saw a snake and a strangler fig tree that was over 500 years old,
maybe even older than that! After the tour they gave us a small aboriginal snack and we were off to our place for the night. It was a cute group of cabin like houses. The ones our group stayed in were very basic, 4 beds and a bathroom, but there were nicer ones that were legit cabins. We ate at the only place in the town and it was a small café that was all outdoors. It was on the property were our little cabin like houses were so it was a nice short walk. We got to sit outside and enjoy the scenery and rain forest noises. Again we were all so tired that it was an early night.Sunday morning wasn’t too early for me, it was just right. I woke up at 9 and had some breakfast and at 1045 was off to jungle surfing (zip-lining through the rain forest). We got harnessed in and walked up a path for about 15 mins to the first plat form. After hooking us onto the wires we swung from one platform to the next.
We were 90 feet off the ground, one with nature and swinging through the trees. All you could hear were birds and the ocean in the background. It was so beautiful being up so high. The whole zip lining experience took an hour but there was a lot of waiting around because we had a group of 12 of us and we could only go one at a time. 
When we finished the tour guides drove us back down to meet up with the rest of our group. We stopped at a watering hole for lunch and a crocodile cruise and then drove back to cairns, about 2 and a half hours away, in time for some people to catch a flight back home. A group of 10 of us were scheduled to fly out on Monday morning at 6 am so we booked a hostel and tried to get some sleep. We were in bed by 930 but I feel like I didn’t even get sleep. I finally woke up at 415 called a cab to come get us from the hostel and take us to the airport. From there we took a flight back to Brisbane and then a train to Robina and then a bus back to Bond. I was so exhausted from the weekend that I showered got a huge coffee and tried to stay awake for the rest of the day. I was thankfully able to get a nap in before my late afternoon class and slept like a baby that night! I had such a fun action packed weekend! 
It was definitely a unique experience seeing the Great Barrier Reef and the rain forest, two of the most eco-diverse areas in the world. I plan on going back someday and hopefully the weather will be better and I will get a chance to scuba again!!! I’m off to Sydney tomorrow, Thursday, and will have so many more adventures to write about when I get back.
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