Okay... where to begin...
We started our journey on January 4, 2010 and finally made it to Australia January 6, 2010. It was a long "day" of traveling, to say the least. We first flew into Brisbane and then took another 2 hour flight to Cairns only to find that because we took 2 hours to get through customs our bags didn't make it on the flight with us and that they would be dropped off at the hotel later that night. Thankfully they made it on the trip from LAX to Brisbane. When we stepped outside in Cairns it was extremely humid but SO green! After getting our bag situation figured out we all got on the bus and headed to our hostel where we would be sleeping for the next few days. To be completely I didn't know what to expect when they said it was set up dorm style and that we would be rooming with 4 to 5 other people. I was a little nervous. It hasn't been bad at all minus living out of a suitcase. I'm ready to finally be settled in the Gold Coast! The first night was boring- after exploring the area around our hotel with Matt, Nanae, and Molly we headed to an informational meeting and dinner at a hotel in town. After we came back and Molly and I went to sleep. It had been a long day and I was extremely overwhelmed and homesick. Thankfully that feeling went away when I woke up the next day and got ready to go to the Great Barrier Reef!
Molly and I on the plane.
Cairns, Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef was phenomenal! Words and pictures won't do the sights here justice. The water was clear, blue blue blue, and warm. The boat driver/team said we had ideal conditions and that we were really lucky. After being in Australia for only a few hours I learned how hot the sun really is and sadly I got pretty burned on my face, back, and the tops of my feet. I have now become an expert at putting sun screen on and I have gotten some color :) After the reef we came back and met up with Molly who was put in a different group than Matt, Nanae, and I. We all got ready and decided to go explore the town since we had a free day the next day! After picking up some $1.30 water from the local grocery store, as well as a magazine with a map, we were ready to find our way around. We walked about 20 minutes into town to the local bar/food place called Woolsheds. It was ladies night so Nanae, Molly, and I all got pink bracelets that allowed us to get free champagne between 10-11. It was legit and the best night we've had here! After Woolsheds we headed over to Gilligans for the last hour and danced till it closed- then finally headed back home and slept.
Anti Stinger suits.
Ladies night at Woolsheds. They loved us.
On our free day we went to what we thought was a beach near our hostel, but instead it was a lagoon where there were "sparkling" crabs and other little creatures. We laid in the park for about 3 hours under the shade. A random rainstorm came while we were there, which was really refreshing since it was so humid. I love their weather here. One minute it's sunny and the next it's raining. After that we headed back to the hostel, got ready, and prepared for another night on the town. This was more of a fail, but still not too bad! We went to different bars- Vibe Rihno Bar-but they weren't as fun as Woolsheds. We decided to head back pretty early since we had to wake up early the next day and do community service.
Laying in the rain.
$1.30 water.
Jumping into the sand.
Lagoon.
Community service was fun! We went into the rain-forest and helped at a Cassowary Preservation place. We learned a lot from this awesome lady named Jax, who later became Molly and I's hero. While another group went to plant trees Molly, Matt, Nanae, and I stayed and potted plants/killed them I'm pretty sure. After we did a few we found out we were supposed to take out the worms and weed them... yeah, Molly and I didn't do that. After community service we headed back, took a naps, and headed out into the torrential rain to try and find food. It was kind of exciting being caught in an Australian storm! We ate at a fairly cheap place, which was a nice surprise, and decided to just stay at the hostel and play cards/swim. It was a very relaxing night. In the morning we were going to the rain-forest!
Giant Ants nest.
I hope this wasn't too long, I seriously could write for days and we've only been here less than a week!! I'll upload pictures when I get to better internet. It's taken me more than an hour to upload my facebook pictures. ugh. I hope everything is going well back home! Thanks for reading and just know I love and miss you all so much! :)
The rain-forest was absolutely breathtaking. It was so green and lush. It was one of my favorite days here by far. We did so many exciting things! After we broke off into groups and got our schedules for the day, our group headed to watch spear throwing, boomerang throwing, and aboriginal dances. I definitely sucked at throwing the boomerang. After we got to go on a duck tour through the rain-forest where our car turned into a boat and we learned about all the weird/crazy plants. We then went to get some amazing lunch and finally we got to hug and take a picture with a koala, as well as play, pet, and feed kangaroos! The koala was pretty heavy, and had sharp claws, but it was so soft and cute! When we were done at the rain-forest we headed back to home and now I'm here, on the crappy internet, blogging from Australia.... I couldn't be happier :)
I hope this wasn't too long, I seriously could write for days and we've only been here less than a week!! I'll upload pictures when I get to better internet. It's taken me more than an hour to upload my facebook pictures. ugh. I hope everything is going well back home! Thanks for reading and just know I love and miss you all so much! :)
My attempt at throwing a Boomerang.
Very cool Jenn it was not too long i enjoyed reading it
ReplyDeleteLove you Mom