More pics

After my last message, I felt a little silly that I hadn't done much yet since I'd been back so I went through the pictures from the first week I was in Australia.... There's still a ton, but if you have free time, feel free to check them out here. Otherwise, the photobucket link at the bottom of my last message is just a bunch of pictures from my entire trip! I'm waiting for my 2nd memory card to be salvage (I reformatted it half way through taking pictures... which means everything I had previously taken was deleted) So I'll have more pictures soon! xoxo

Back to reality....

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I left Australia. It seems like yesterday I was feeding kangaroos and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! Since getting back to the US, I've been working like crazy for my grad school assistantship and have hardly had time to unpack! I still haven't gone through my pictures either! But.. I did take the time to think of a few of the things I've missed the most from Oz, and thought I'd share:

1) Salad sandwiches. I was really confused at first, but it really is like a salad on your sandwich. So when you order a chicken salad sandwich, it's literally a salad with some chicken on bread. Not the chicken salad I was expecting, but good none the less.

2) Boots and bonnets, vegemite, tomato sauce, biscuits... really, all things weird and Australian.... I'd eat a Vegemite sandwich if it meant I could go back to Australia right now.

3) Espresso... everywhere. I never thought I'd say it, but I'd really like a Long Black or Flat White right now.

4) Sleeping in hostels. Who knew!?! I never got bedbugs (thankfully :) ) And met amazing people in the hostels, so despite the lack of creature comforts, a little part of me wishes I was back in the hostel.

5) Water. I miss driving along the ocean for hours, swimming in the ocean, surfing in the ocean, sunbathing by the ocean. Essentially anything to do with the water...

6) My backpack. Technically, Katie's backpack... but I do miss having an excuse for wearing the same shirt twice or not wearing any makeup... For some reason my 'I had to pack light' excuse just doesn't cut it any more...

and last but not least...

7) My friends. I met SO many amazing people and made some really good friends. The experiences I had there were incredible and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend such a large chunk of time in such a wonderful place.

Since I've been back, I've had so many people ask how my trip was. Some of those unlucky souls got 4 hours of blubbering about the land down under. If you were one of those, I'm sorry. But it can't be summed up into anything longer than a two day conversation.... it was absolutely indescribable.....

So, thank you for following me on this crazy adventure. It meant alot to know there were people back home who cared about what I was doing. And you saved yourself a long winded description of my trip ;) Stay tuned for my next adventure. I have 9 months of school and then nothing ahead of me but the open road..... money permitting, of course.

xoxo

http://s788.photobucket.com/albums/yy167/australiapics/

4 weeks ends in 2 hours...

G'day mates! I officially have 2 hours left in Australia... crazy. I got into Sydney at 11 last night and spent a luxurious evening in the airport. yes. We got locked into this area... kinda reminded me of The Langoliers (Stephen King movie where they're stuck in the airport). The main area was closed from 11p-4a, and then we were able to get in so people could start checking in. I hung out with a couple of Canadians for the evening (they're everywhere!) and offended them to start by asking if they were American... oops. It got really cold in the airport last night, so I was thankful to have my new boots to wear and the warm weather clothes I had bought when I started my trip.

The international terminal has showers too... which is AMAZING. They were way nicer than any of the hostel showers I've seen, and they even had soap for you. And now free internet. So I'm happy and smell-free, which I'm sure is greatly appreciated by everyone around me! Now I've just been browsing duty free and avoiding the newly creepy Canadian people... apparently 8 hours locked into the airport turns some people into mad hatters!

If anyone has a last minute souvenir order, text me :) I can still get Ugg boots at the Duty Free, as well as plenty of fine Australian liquor... which may come in handy if I get bored! I did my souvenir shopping yesterday, though, so I think I'll just read/nap before we board. 

I am still in awe that I have been here for 4 weeks. It seems like yesterday that I was stepping off the plane into the Sydney airport. I'm a little nervous about the nearly 30 hours of travel time ahead of me, and wish I could just snap my fingers and get home. And also not be jet lagged, but I don't think that's very likely!

Happy days and I'll talk to all of you soon :) xoxo

ps- I can also bring you home crocodile jerky if anyone's interested... think about it.... ;)

time flies when you're having fun

I can't believe today is my last day in Australia!!! It has been an amazing 4 weeks and I'm going to be really sad to leave all of the friends I've made. I don't have too much internet time, but I just wanted to do a quick update since I haven't been on here in ages!

Magnetic Island was very quiet and relaxing. My hostel was pretty much an animal preserve and we had all of these birds and wildlife all over. Holding a koala was awesome (but smelly) and I also held a lizard, snake, small crocodile, and had a cockatoo take a seed from between my lips... so it was a VERY eventful day as far as wildlife is concerned! I have also licked the butt of an ant... there are green ants here and when you lick or eat them (I licked... no ant eating for me) they taste like citrus... it's crazy! Jayne, Emma, Annette, and I rented a mini moke (open convertible car thing) and cruised the island and had a beachside picnic.

Then after a stop at a croc farm to watch the croc feeding and hand feed kanagroos (awesome!). It was up to Cairns for a night and then further north to Cape Tribulation the next morning! I snorkeled on the reef again, despite a very rocky boat trip (everyone was green...) and got to see Nemo!! Since I'm 5 years old and love Finding Nemo, it was a highlight of the trip. I also did Jungle Surfing 15m up in the canopy of the rainforest and went on a night walk in the rainforest. It was a bit disappointing because all we saw were rats... The weather was rainy up in Cape Trib aside from the day I went on the reef, so my kayak got cancelled and I got to spend some time reading, relaxing, and collecting shells on the beach.

Yesterday was an amazing day trip to swim in the waterfalls- which was freezing but SO worth it. Also did a little more rainforest walking with a much better guide. Last night I did a little shopping at the Night Markets in Cairns, got some cheap Australian Uggs, and hung out with two Dutch girls. I'm staying in the hostel with Tanja-one of the girls I met in Cape Trib- and we're shopping today and just bumming around on my last day here. We planned to go to the lagoon, but its overcast and misty :( Australia is clearly upset about my departure.

See you stateside!

I promise to upload pictures and more fun details when I get back! xoxo

Koala time!

Today was a nice relaxing day in Airlie Beach. Annette, Jayne, Emma, and I went to the Beachfront market and then wandered around the shops in town and had lunch by the lagoon. They have this awesome lagoon right on the beachfront- its a zerodepth pool that goes up to 4m and has sand around it so you can lay out. The beach here isn't good for swimming since its mainly the marina, so its a really nice place to chill out. And the water is less salty than the ocean :)

I don't know that I've even mentioned Annette, Jayne, or Emma before. Annette and I have had the same schedule since we started on the bus... she's also traveling alone, so we've been doing quite a bit together. Jayne and Emma are from Kent, England and we met them on Fraser Island. From Rainbow Beach we've had the same travel schedule, so its been nice to see familiar faces :) If I mentioned this all before, sorry... I can't remember what I've written here and what I've written in my journal! Anyway...

Last night was our boat after party, and it was funny to see everyone in normal clothes... We went to Phoenix- this bar really close to the hostel I'm staying at. Annette and I were on the same boat and are staying at the same hostel, so we headed to the bar together and then went to one of the hostels in town with some of the other people from our boat. We ran into another guy from the OzExperience bus... Andy- he's Scottish, and says fucking every other word. But with his accent it sounds like 'focking'.... which I find highly amusing, maybe because I'm 10 years old :) Anyway, the bar totally reminded me of home- it was all American music... which it pretty much has been all the time. I'm actually amazed at how Americanized it is here. They apparently have more McDonalds that the states... and all of our bus drivers point them out as the 'American Embassy' when we're on the road. Their McDonalds are actually way nicer (and more expensive!) but they have a bakery part with pastries and tons of desserts. Everything else tastes the same. The thing I've found most surprising has been the price of pop. It's crazy- $2.50-3.00 for a can of coke! There's also no gas stations with fountain pop!

My favorite difference so far has been the school uniforms- the kids look like they go to Hogwarts. The girls have long skirts, blazers, hats (yes- hats), and each school has a unique color scheme. When I see them I always wait for someone to pull out a wand!

Back on track, last night was fun- with the exception of my camera breaking. :( I'm heading to Townsville tomorrow and am hoping to catch a bus/taxi to the Target and get a camera.

The best part is I head to Magnetic Island tomorrow and get to cuddle a koala!!!!! They take the pictures for you, so even if I don't get a camera, I'll still have my koala pictures :)

I'm in Magnetic Island Sun-Tues and then head to Cairns on Tues and then Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest Wed-Sat, back to Cairns Sat, head to the Atherton Tablelands (amazing waterfalls west of Cairns) on Sun, and then fly to Sydney on Monday, then home on Tuesday. I can't believe I only have 10 days left in Australia!!!!!!!!! I'm really going to miss being here and 'living the dream'- it was the catch phrase of our dive instructor on the boat, but its pretty appropriate... anytime you can take a month vacation, I think it is a dream :)

Miss you. Love you. Sorry I haven't sent postcards yet-somehow time passed without me noticing.

xoxo

the good... the bad... and the ugly...

the good: I totally forgot to mention that we saw whales and dolphins while sailing. The dolphin jumped out of the water too! (the whales didn't breach, but it still was really cool to see them!)

the bad: the US dollar just got weaker, and the exchange rate is about even now... and prices here are pretty expensive

the ugly: my camera stopped working.... the lens won't extend... its happened once before, and the lens had to be replaced, which means I'll need to be buying a camera to take any more pictures :/

Ahoy matey!

Just got back from my sailing trip and it was amazing!!!!! There were 32 of us on the boat so it was pretty tight, but apparently it's one of the bigger boats you can get in the whitsundays! So I guess that's a plus!

The scenery was gorgeous, food was great, and we had an awesome group of people. Which was good considering there were 32 of us in two rooms... Think cruise ship room times two in size, plus 30 people.... which meant we definitely didn't spend much time in the bunks!

The first afternoon was just sailing, and then we anchored for the night and had dinner. We played some "social bonding activities with alcohol" (drinking games are illegal in establishments here in Australia, so you have to call them something else, which is weird). We were all drinking Goon... which is this really hideous box wine that's totally an Australian thing. It was my first and last experience, thats for sure.

We had an early morning the next day, with the engine starting at 6:30am. Then it was sailing to Whitehaven Beach, which is apparently the second most beautiful beach in the world (I forgot which one is the first!!). We spent two hours laying on the sand there... the sand is 98.9% pure silica- the purest anywhere. It was used to polish the lens of the Hubble telescope, and you can use it to exfoliate, clean your jewelry, and even whiten your teeth! I did the teeth thing (loved having sand with my lunch :) ) but we didn't have a mirror on the boat so I'm not sure if they were even whiter!

After lunch we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and had to wear these really cool stinger suits to get in the water. It's not stinger season right now, but they still make you wear them... one guy on our trip got stung on his foot, so apparently the stinger suits are a great idea!

Last nights sky was GORGEOUS. The amount of stars out here is ridiculous and you can see the Milky Way so clearly! We had bedtime at midnight (felt like I was in camp!) but I could have stayed on deck and watched the stars all night! Definitely one of the prettiest scenes of the trip!

Today was a little more snorkeling, which wasn't very good since the current was so strong you couldn't swim against it, which meant the fish were swept away- the coral was really pretty though!

We have a get together tonight for everyone and then I have a day to relax (yay!) before I head to Magnetic Island to cuddle a koala!!! I can't wait!