Tuesday night I flew to Cairns (which is in the state of Queensland) with Brianna, Chris, Rachel, and Lindsay. It was quite a vacation.
The flight was almost 3 hours and we arrived at our hostel, Global Central, pretty late. It's in a great location, in the middle of the city. We were in a room of 6, and when we walked in we saw that someone's stuff was there, meaning we had a 6th roommate. We all went to bed but none of us were able to fall asleep, so we all heard when our roommate came in. He walked in and immediately cursed, so we all tried to pretend to be asleep and not laugh. We later found out that Axel (who is from Sweden) had been living in that room alone for 3 weeks and to suddenly find 5 roommates after having the place to himself for so long had been a surprise. He also later said that when we told him we were American, the last roommates he'd stayed with who were American were Mormons, so he thought he was living with 5 Mormons. Anyhow, by the end of the 5 days we were actually pretty good friends with him.
Anyway, so the first stop Gus brought us to was The Boulders.
The white at the top and blocking the hill are all the clouds
Brianna, Lindsay, Chris, Rachel
It was supposed to be the first of 4 swimming stops, and some people swam, but we were too cold and opted out. Instead we stuck with the juice and snacks. Then Cuz showed us a pretty big spider in the rain forest which was pretty cool. Also, he showed us these plants, which I sadly can't remember what he called it, but it's a vine and if you get caught in it you have to stop and back up to try to get out of the thorns.
The spider (I think it's called Golden silk orb-weaver)
Our second stop was at Josephine Falls. It's a natural water slide which looked like it would be cool, but it was raining (at least we got a true rain forest experience) and the water was pretty strong and cold so we opted out again and watched others slide down.
Brianna and Lindsay huddled and keeping dry
Onlookers
Sliding
Brianna, Rachel, Me, Lindsay, Chris
From there we went on to the Atherton Tablelands, where we had 3 stops. On the busride up Cuz made us play a game called "Where's Wallie?" Where each person has a match (don't worry they weren't lit) in their mouth and has to pass a lifesaver from one to the next until it reaches the back of the bus. It was pretty ridiculous.
We then went to lunch where they had a nice vegetarian option and a very filling dessert. From there, we went to Millaa Millaa Falls. Apparently they have filmed some waterfall scenes there for commercials. Anyway, they have a thing where they take pictures of people flipping their hair in the water and creating a sort of ring. Clearly none of us wanted to miss out, so despite the cold we all tried. I must admit, my feet, which were in the water, were much warmer than the rest of me which was in the rain. However, I was too cold to fully swim under the waterfall, though Brianna and Lindsay did. It was fun to splash though and get the picture.
Rachel, Lindsay, Chris, Brianna
Our next stop was Lake Eacham, a crater lake. It was pretty and we stuck our feet in and again I decided it was warmer than the rain outside.
Chris, Rachel, Me, Brianna, Lindsay clearly cold and trying to keep warm and dry (as seen by our fashionable outfits of raincoats and towels)
This time, I decided just to go for it, since I was already wet and cold. I could not have been happier. The water was so comfortable and I enjoyed a swim. For a while I was on my own as the people with me just watched.
Swimming alone in Lake Eacham
Finally some friends joined me (Anna, Jade, and Me)
Looking for the tiny little platypus (yes, they're only about a foot bit so they're not easy to spot)
Found him! Sorry it's a bit of a blurred picture it wasn't easy to capture and he kept going back under water.
From there we stopped at Uncle Brian's to hang out for a bit and then Gus and Cuz took us home. The ride back Cuz made us sing along the way, and while it was ridiculously silly it was actually quite fun. Mostly oldies but goodies. He also played us a funny song about the dangers in Australia:
I think if the weather had been nicer it may have been more exciting, but overall (and especially from lunch on) I really enjoyed the tour.We went out for food after but it was too late for any of our vouchers so we just got pizza across the way from our hostel since we were all hungry and just wanted something quick. We then met up with Jade, the British girl who was also staying in our hostel, and she introduced us to others, like Rich, also British, two German guys, Dimi (short for Dmitry) who looked like Orlando Bloom or Jesus, and Dennis, and some other people.
That night we went to bed early since we had another full day ahead of us.
The next morning we woke up bright and early for the Great Ocean Freedom boat. It took us out to the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, the water was quite choppy and despite taking Dramamine, I and everyone I was with except for Lindsay, got motion sickness. It was quite unpleasant for an hour long boat ride. When we finally stopped anyone who was going to go scuba diving went on the glass bottom boat first. Needless to say while feeling seasick it didn't really help much and I didn't look down very much. It was also cloudy though, so there wasn't quite as much to see anyway. I did, however, listen to all the fun facts the driver told us, though currently I can't say that I remember them. When we got back to the boat I still didn't feel well, so Rachel and I tried to rest as Lindsay and Brianna went out snorkeling. Finally, Chris and I decided to try swimming to see if that would help us feel better, and lo and behold it did the trick. Getting of the boat was the best thing I could have done, and I wish I'd realized earlier so I could've gone with Lindsay and Brianna.
Thankfully with me, generally once I'm over motion sickness it's done with for the time being, so the rest of the trip I was fine. Sadly it did not work so well for others, who felt great in the water, but were still very motion sick on the way back. (I don't want to say who but someone threw up 6 times that day, including once on the boat while trying to get to the side and falling and scraping their knee along their way).
Anyway soon we got to get all our gear on and go scuba diving! I think it was the highlight of my trip. We were supposed to on the boatride over learn about what to do and then take a quiz. I did all the learning but I wasn't able to do the quiz since I was focusing on not getting sick, and to be honest by the time we went in the water I still hadn't taken the quiz... oops.
Chris, Lindsay, and Brianna got in the water first, and it looked like Chris would have his own instructor, Lindsay and Brianna would go together, and Rachel and I would each have our own instructors. So I jumped in and this guy took me and had me do the test underwater to clear my goggles of water and to learn how to put the regulator back in your mouth if it falls out. I (and later I found out we all) figured that we would do the test, go back to the surface and then dive. We were all wrong. He brought me down to a bar at the back of the boat and I did the test and started popping my ears and THEN I saw Brianna, who was doing the test next to me, start freaking out. He took her back to the surface and I was just left there waiting and nervous. It turns out Lindsay was also freaking out and her goggles came off and her instructor couldn't figure out what to do with her and either she kicked him in the face or something she did made him hit his head on the bar so he was in pain and frustrated. And meanwhile Rachel's instructor had just taken her and they were gone. Finally my instructor, Matt, came back with Brianna and so the two of us went together. We went pretty gradually and I barely noticed us getting deeper, except that I had to keep popping my ears. We saw Nemo (well actually we saw a lot of Nemos), and a lot of other really cool fish and coral, though I don't know what they were called unfortunately. It was amazing though. Brianna saw a turtle but I missed it. We wanted to see a shark also but there were none sadly. We ran into Rachel and I also saw Chris, though I didn't see Lindsay. When we got back up we found out she had just been on the other side of the instructor that Chris was with, so we just missed her. I got confident enough to do some swimming without holding onto the instructor for a while, and I really enjoyed myself. On the way back up we also saw a barracuda which was pretty cool. I was surprised when we got to the surface and sort of sad since I wish we'd been down longer. To do a second dive was expensive, but some day I'll go again. I'm debating getting certified. Sadly I might not be able to go in the Great Barrier Reef again since it's dying.
Rachel and me
Me
Nemos!
See that big circle on the left? That's a turtle. Funny story about it, our instructor kept pointing to it and Brianna pointed and motioned for me to take a picture so I did (hence the name point and shoot), but honestly I couldn't tell what we were looking at, so back on the boat Brianna said we saw a turtle and I said I didn't but I guess I must have since I got the picture!
Back on the boat we had lunch and went to a second stop. There we took the glass bottom boat out to go snorkeling. She brought us to what was supposed to be a more shallow area for better snorkeling, and said that we would eventually end up back at the big boat, but with the current so strong by the time we got into the water we looked and we were almost back at the big boat and it was deep water so there wasn't much to see. It wasn't so easy swimming back to the boat and we all got a big banged up trying to get up the ladder but it was still fun.
Me and Lindsay
The boat ride back was quite choppy and the top deck kept getting splashed so we stayed down below but it wasn't very pleasant. Needless to say we were all pretty happy to get back on solid ground.
That night we decided to use one of our free meal vouchers, which again turned into an adventure. The street it was on was right around the corner, so we quickly found the street, but started walking the wrong way. We ran into the German guys who told us that they were going to beer pong that night and we should meet up with them, but due to their accents we didn't understand the name of the bar they said. Anyway we continued on walking, in the right direction this time, and realized that the place we needed to go was way out of town. We were at around 90, and the address of the dinner was around 350. Also, unlike in the states, here they actually go by two the whole time. It ended up taking us around 40 minutes to find the place, Serpent Bar and Grill (and hostel). We thought we were supposed to get a free drink too so we convinced them to give us one, but it's possible we were wrong... either way we got the free drinks. Then on our walk back we were walking by a tree with flowers and there was a bat just chilling in it and eating which was pretty cool so we stopped to look, but then it started flying and startled me and Chris since we thought it was coming at us.
As I said, we had no idea where the German guys were (we later learned it was Pier Bar, but we all heard Beer bar and other things so fail). Instead that night we went out to Woolshed with Rich, the British guy, and all our American friends from our program who were also in Cairns for break (speaking of spring break, everyone not from the US thinks of that as crazy American spring break, and they call it here school holiday).
The next morning we finally had a break and went to buy souvenirs and found a really good place for lunch, called Double Shot Cafe. Then it was time for white water rafting in the Barron River (around 5k) and ending in Lake Placid! There were 7 of us in the boat and Shawn, the instructor. I sat next to him in the back so I had to learn to hold on with two hands instead of one like everyone else to be sure I didn't fall out. I'm pretty sure we were the only boat not to capsize so I'm pretty proud of us. There were also points where we could get out and float down, which was a little bit scary, but pretty cool. I went under and drank a lot of water, but thankfully the floating position really saves you, with feet in front. When we got to the bottom though, Rachel's not the greatest swimmer so I half pushed half pulled her back to the boat. Some guys from another boat offered us a ride but we made it on our own! We also stopped along the way and Shawn had me get out and hold a rope attached to the boat to make sure that everyone else didn't float away, and there he found a little turtle and picked it up to show us. It was a cute little thing. No lies there were a few points I thought the water was just gonna pull the boat away from me, but I kept holding and we all survived it. Anyhow, it was a lot of fun, I just wish it was a bit longer. Shawn was really entertaining though so that was fun. Fun fact, he makes more money at Woolworths (the supermarket) stocking shelves than as a guide white water rafting where he's responsible for people's lives. On a sad note, he also said that he's sadly had 3 deaths in the 17 years he's been working. He kept freaking us Americans out and making fun of us. They also told us about how the crocodiles eat dogs, and there was one dumb tourist who saw a crocodile on the beach and thought it must be dead so she started petting it. Turns out it was alive and bit her and she's lucky it didn't kill her. Though we are also tourists, I think I can safely say we're not that dumb.
Holding on for dear life
On our bus ride back some of the instructors were talking about racing. I didn't realize people did that but I guess it makes sense. I could never but it sounds pretty cool.
For dinner we got our free meal at Woolsheds (dance there one night, eat there the next), which again was really good, though we had to buy a drink to get the meal so it wasn't completely free, but still inexpensive. It tasted like my mom's tuna noodle casserole only without the tuna. We then went back to our hostel and out to the balcony to hang out with our new friends there. Then we ended up back at Woolsheds (just us no new friends) to dance again, but we were all pretty tired so we went back pretty early.
The next morning we again slept in and then went up to the tiny pool just to relax and tan for a bit (though Rachel went out to buy a few things). We then headed to the Esplanade where there happened to be a market going on. There was some really nice artwork and handmade souvenirs, but I didn't buy anything (while handmade is great, it's also expensive). I'm pretty sure we also saw the All Blacks team there (New Zealand's rugby team). Rachel and I then headed off to the Cairns Regional Gallery (which had free entry that day) and the other three met us later. There was an awesome Aboriginal exhibit, a street art exhibit (which actually had a piece by Adam Hill, who I had presented on in my Aboriginal module and I immediately recognized the painting as his, but he was in the street art section not the Aboriginal), and a whole floor of stuff done by Adrian Wolf. That stuff was really cool and all had explanations with each piece of artwork. There was a really creepy one of different bones on wood, and the explanation was that there was a US judge who they found had dead bodies under the floorboards of his house. Another piece was of bones arranged into weapons, portraying how weapons kill people. It was really interesting and really made a statement.
We returned to the same place as the previous day for lunch (yes, we sat at the same table. We were essentially regulars.) Then we were off on our last adventure at AJ Hackett's. We had signed up just for the Minjin Swing. Rachel and I went first. They pull you into the air, you drop and then you swing like a pendulum (don't worry, Chris is working on a video and this will probably be in it so then you can see it). I had a lot of fun and wanted to pay for the second, but Rachel was going bungee jumping and I didn't want to go alone. It was awesome though (although towards the end you're just sort of swinging back and forth and want it to end already). Lindsay, Brianna and Chris then went.
Ready??
Swing!
Then Brianna, Lindsay and Rachel, all freaking out, went bungee jumping. I am glad I did not. I have zero interest in falling head first toward the ground. Anyway, Lindsay went first, which I think is good because she seemed the most nervous and I'm not sure she would've gone if she hadn't been first. It took a little while but finally she jumped. It seems like she's glad she did it but will probably never do it again. Then Rachel went. We were talking to Lindsay and looked away for a second and suddenly we looked back up and couldn't find Rachel because she'd already jumped! We found her midair. I think of the three she had the best time. She even clapped for herself. I have no doubt she's going bungee jumping again. Brianna also took a while to jump but she finally did and while she did cry some she says she loved it and might even go again. What a day.
After all that craziness we were all pretty wiped so we went to $5 dinner at P.J. Obrien's (again delicious) and then went to Melanie, Tiffany, Maddy and Leah's hostel to watch a movie with them. No lies probably one of the worst and most ridiculous movies I've ever seen (I think it was called Election with Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon). Regardless it was good to just relax. Then we went out to the Lagoon (by the Esplanade) to just chat a while, but I had to head back to book my shuttle to the airport, so Rachel and I went back and then went out to the balcony to meet up with Dimi, Dennis, Axel, Leah (a German girl), Ian (another German boy) and met a bunch more people out there. Leah had to get up early so she went to sleep, but Rachel and I went out with the three German guys and Axel to Gilligans (it's a hostel with a crazy club, which I'm glad we did not stay at since I think it would've been too much for me). We ran into some girls from our program there, but stayed with our new friends. After hanging out outside a while, Rachel and I ended up dancing mostly with Dimi and lost the others, and we went upstairs to the Attic, which is a club that's connected which had music that was more fun to dance to. We ran into Jade too, which was nice since I got to say goodbye. It was a fun last night hanging out with all our new friends.
Well, I know that wasn't short, but that's all I've got! Back to Sydney and ALMOST real life. But I'll start that off in my next post.
To see video footage of break watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSS1x7e49MQ (Hint: If you start at 5:36 that's where I join in)
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