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!

Cattle Station!

The trip to Kroombit Cattle Station was tons of fun... I got to ride a horse and muster the goats... which involved riding around and moving the goats into a pen. There were about 300 goats... so it was a lot harder than I expected! My horse was 'Snip'- he was old and pretty hornery , so riding was interesting at first. We became friends and then riding was a lot better after that!

We had a goat rodeo next (I skipped out on the goat wrestling), lasso lessons, circle of fire (I skipped out again... everyone stood in a circle and then two people touched the cattle prod and the shock went through everyone... no thanks). Dinner was goat (sick) and then we had face painting, a limbo contest (I won!!!), whip cracking (almost lost an eye), and mechanical bull riding! It was a fun night, but not really what I expected from a cattle station!

I don't have much time because my sailing trip around the Whitsundays leaves soon, but I just wanted to say hi! Please let me know what's going on in your life... I feel so isolated out here! xoxo

Surfing :)

Found the disc of pictures and thought I'd upload a few as proof!

and again....

A few more Fraser Island, and the sunset from tonight!!!

More pictures :)

Just a few more pics... from Sydney, surfing, and Fraser Island. The top two are Fraser Island... the rainforest and Lake Mackenzie.

Pictures!

Just a few pictures from my trip so far... the top left is Carlo Sandblow in Rainbow Beach, top right in Brisbane, and the bottom two are in Sydney!

Today was an early morning bus ride to 1770 and then a scooteroo trip. The scooters are made to look like mini harleys. Most of you know that things with two wheels and I don't get along well (fell off my bike 2 years ago and haven't been back on since...) but I gave it a shot and actually was pretty successful! (Ry.... I'm headed for your scooter when I get home :) ) BUT I still was a chicken and decided the three hour ride was going to be a little much (hills and more importantly corners are not my friend!!) so I rode on the back of the tour guides's motorcycle! Much better idea! It was $35 less and I got to pay attention to the scenery instead of worry about falling off the scooter :)

We watched the sun set into the beach... it reminded me of Mallory Square in Key West and SB 06! Back at the hostel we've just been hanging out and watching movies...there's 20 of us from the scooter tour staying at the same hostel. Tomorrow is the cattle station and horse back riding!!

Fraser Island.

Amazing. Beautiful. Cold.

Fraser Island was fabulous. We had an all terrain bus filled with 40 people, and had a driver/tour guide. It was a slow start getting picked up and then waiting on the island for the people from up north at Hervey Bay, but it was well worth the wait.

A little bit about Fraser Island, it's 128km long, made only of sand, and home to dingos- ferile dog like animals, that are notoriously unfriendly. The unique thing about Fraser is everything that grows there, we saw rainforest areas, trees, shrubs, etc. all in the sand. It also has a large network of fresh water lakes and creeks- they're from the water table underneath the sand. When it rains, the rain water filters through the sand into the water table and then when there are cracks in the surface, the water exits as creeks or forms lakes.

Day one started by seeing Lake Wabby. It was a 2.3km walk through the sand (my shoes are now disgusting and I walked most of the time with a cup of sand in my shoes). There was a beautiful sand dune and then at the bottom a fresh water lake full of marine life. I got in and waded, but it was too cold to swim! We also went on a rainforest walk along a freshwater creek that you could drink from. Very different from anything I'd seen before.

Day two we went to the champagne pools. They're large pools of water created by the waves that crash over the rocks and fill the crevices. Then a hike up to Indian Head rock- 80m up- for a goregous view of the ocean and some whale watching. We went to another freshwater creek- Eli Creek. And ended the day at Lake Mackenzie. The neat thing about Lake Mackenzie is that its an acid lake. Its pH is 4.5 and it makes your skin and hair super smooth- the aboriginals say it makes you younger too- so I definitely got in here! The craziest thing is that its crystal clear and you could see your feet no matter how deep you were!

It was a really fun trip with lots of bumpy sand driving. I met a few more girls from England who have the same itinerary and are on the same buses- so it should be a good time as I head up north!

How are all of you!?! Send me emails- I want life updates! Miss you all!!!!! xoxo

True life.... I'm a Japanese tourist.

We've all seen them. In front of the Chinese theatre in LA. On the top of the Sears tower. Wherever they are, their camera's not far behind. They take pictures at every opportunity, and like to throw up a peace sign. They're happy and embrace being a tourist.

Today I realized I'm a Japanese tourist. I snap pictures like it's going out of style.... the same scenery in 50 different angles. Me in front of 50 different coast lines. Whatever I've seen in Australia, I bet I have 10 pictures of it.

In their defense, they bring a lot of revenue to the states (and many other places too). In my defense, I want a really great scrapbook :)

Lions and Tigers and Tsunamis... Oh My!!

There was an earthquake in New Zealand, and now there's a tsunami warning for the east coast of Australia and much of the south pacific..... That was a fun fact to wake up to this morning :) I'm not really worried.... I don't even know if I should be, but the only person who seemed really worried about it was our bus driver, Binks.

I guess I haven't really talked much about the OzExperience bus. It's been fine, not much different than the Greyhound except that we'll stop places to take pictures/see things... which is nice. Today on the way to Noosa we stopped at the Glasshouse Mountains. The drivers all have funny names... first was Thunder (an old man with an overbite and big belly), then Shrek (long blonde dreads.... and got lost going EVERYWHERE) and now Binks (a girl... which the Irish boys were swearing about the whole time). The reviews online made it seem like they did a lot of get to know you activities and other stuff, but there hasn't been anything like that. Pretty much just get on, ride along, and the driver shares some interesting info along the way (like this morning's Tsunami warning!). I met Annette, this German girl who is pretty much following the same path up the coast, so its been nice to have familiar faces along the way.

I've also learned some fun things about Australia.... like they have more McDonalds than America. And American cheese is called Old English cheese. And Target here does not equal Target at home.... not even close. But Hungry Jacks here is Burger King at home. Things are pretty expensive... especially soda. I still don't have the hang of celsius temperatures, but I'm working on it.... the only one I care to remember is 30 degrees... because that's the temperature I want it to be :)

I just got to Rainbow Beach this afternoon and will be heading to Fraser Island tomorrow morning... everyone I've met has said it's amazing. Brisbane was great to walk around... I went to QUT (Katie's old stomping ground!) and meandered through the botanic gardens... after calling home and complaining about being sick and not being able to find anything other than herbal medications! (sorry mom!) There isn't much in Rainbow Beach, and everything closes at 7pm, so I'm glad that I'm not staying long at all... next two stops are 1770 and the cattle station! I won't have internet until next Tuesday probably... so have a fabulous weekend and I'll write again soon as long as I don't get eaten by a dingo!!!

xxoo

Reality sets in....

Up until now I've been pretty lucky with the hostels I've stayed at. WakeUp! in Sydney was huge and had cheap food and great city walking tours, the surf camp was,well, a camp, and Byron Bay was really really nice. Brisbane, on the other hand, gave me a wake up call and reminded me that I'm backpacking, not staying in hotels. I'm staying at TinBilly Travellers, which had great reviews on the internet, but in reality, is not so great. The room I'm in is 1/3 the size of our 10 person room at WakeUp! and still has 10 people. There's an ensuite bathroom, which seemed nice at first, but is annoying if you need to go to the bathroom and someone is in there... which happens most of the time. The best part of the night was the 1am wakeup to people coming home from the bars and then getting 'friendly'.... awwwkkkkkkwaaardddd. Thankfully, I had my Ipod easily accessible... and they left this morning.....


I'm off to check out the city! Hope everyone's having a fabulous night at home and enjoying the warm weather- I'm jealous :)

xoxo

Surfing and Byron Bay

Good news: surfing was AWESOME... I was able to get up on my board a few times and never wiped out too terribly! We were at Spot X surf camp which is directly on Arrawarra Beach. There were dolphins in the water (which was great because dolphins= no sharks!) and the water was actually warmer than the air.

Bad news: It was freezing the night we stayed at Spot X, our cabin door didn't close all the way and we didn't have heat.... and now I'm sick :( Fever, chills, etc. The bummer is I'm in Byron Bay, which is this really cool hippie town and don't get to enjoy it since I spent all day in bed.

My hostel in Byron Bay is fabulous... they're actually guest houses, but have a few 4 person rooms. Last night I only shared the room with 1 other girl, and I think tonight I'm on my own (she may have moved out since I was up half the night coughing... ooopsss). There's an amazing porch and you can sit and listen to the ocean. Theres a few English guys staying there and a few couples from Australia. Very much an older crowd compared to a normal hostel, but its so relaxing and peaceful- which has been great since I'm not feeling well. I'm hoping to beat this bug so I can go to the Cape Byron lighthouse and see a little bit of the town tomorrow before I catch the bus to Brisbane.

The free internet at my travel agency doesn't allow you to upload pictures from camera or disk, but I'll try to find someplace to do it soon... I have some really cool pictures from surfing (they were a total rip off, but I wanted documentation that I was actually successful!)

Brisbane is next and is my last stop before all of the excursions start. I have 2 nights 1 day there and then head to a guided Fraser Island trip, sailing trip, 2 nights in a wildlife preserve and then the rainforest... ah! Send healthy vibes my way... I'm going to need them!!!

Sydney and Wine Tasting

Yesterday ended up being a fabulous day... the rain stopped and gave way to 65 and sunny weather. (Although I never really have an idea what the exact temp is since everything here is in celsius... I really need to work on that!). I walked around the city all day and saw Hyde Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the New South Wales art museum (free...yay!), the Harbour Bridge and Opera House (so pretty.. the girls I met from Denver did a bridge climb.. and said the view of the city was amazing). I saw Darling Harbour, the Paddys Market which is like canal street in Australia, and a bunch of other touristy things. It's such a beautiful city and I can't believe it's the dead of winter here. Other than the fact that it's rained every morning, it's always been fabulous in the afternoon. So, if I don't make it back to the states, you know where to find me!!!

I went out last night with two other girls that I met in the hostel- Sheena (from London... on a RTW trip right now) and Julia (here for school from Germany).. It was this Scottish boys 21st birthday so we went out with him and his friends to celebrate- he wore his kilt out- which was amazing, and the bar played American 80's music, so we had our own dance party. :) It was a pretty late night and I had to be up at 5:45am for my Hunter Valley trip- thankfully there's a cafe nearby so I grabbed a coffee on my way to the OzExperience office! The wine tour was great and the wine country was so beautiful. The only bummer of the trip was that driving on the wrong side of the road kind of made me car sick! Once I got used to it, it was much better!

Tomorrow is a realllly early morning... the bus leaves for surf camp at 6:30am! We have a 9 hour drive and then a bonfire at night and surf lessons in the morning... It's going to be bloody cold but I am really excited!!!!!

I've taken a billion pictures already and need to figure out how to post them here... I'll work on that!!!

Syndey day 2= rain!!!

It's pouring right now, so I stopped into the supermarket to get an umbrella before heading to get on the internet at PeterPans (my travel agency... they give you free internet if you've booked with them!). I'm hoping the rain will let up because it's really the only day I have in Sydney... tomorrow I have a day trip to Hunter Valley- we go to a national park and the vineyards in Hunter Valley.. I'm pretty excited :)

Keep your fingers crossed for better weather!!! Miss you guys- if anyone wants to come to Australia for a few days I'd love visitors :)

Day 1 continued

My post from yesterday doesn't make a ton of sense and has terrible grammar... sorry :) Apparently I was more jet lagged than I thought.

I also don't think I made it clear how GORGEOUS the beaches are here. They're small, but there's a bunch of them and the water is this crazy blue and there are whales migrating north right now.. I didn't see any, but some of the other people did. We put our feet in at Bondi beach and the water was surprisingly warm. If I would have had my suit on I definitely would have hopped in!

Being outside for the beach walk helped get on Sydney time, but when we came back we got a free beer and chips and wedges (aka fries and potato wedges) in the bar downstairs. But it was so dark that we got really tired- the alcohol didn't help either. The other Americans were going to see Bruno at the theatre (really branching out and seeing Sydney, I know) but Katie, Brielle, and I went and showered and then passed out at 9:30. Not too bad for not having slept much on the plane. I woke up early in the morning, and am hoping that today I'll have a little more energy!

SYDNEY!!!!

I landed in Sydney at 6:45am today (Wednesday). It was a looonnngggg flight, but I got to watch 'New In Town' and read some of my guidebooks. And attempt to sleep. They kept feeding us (three meals... they weren't bad either) which was great except that meant I kept getting woken up. There were two girls in the row behind me who are staying at the same hostel so I made fast friends.. which was nice for transport from the airport and figuring out customs. Customs was the easy part, but exiting the airport was tricky because they are so careful about foreign foods and other items that may carry parasites and want to keep the island safe. We made it to the hostel after a very interesting shuttle ride (the driver looped back to the airport after leaving and left us in the van while he got more passengers). But we went on a fabulous 6 hour beach walk and got to see the famous Bondi Beach.... it rained part of the time, but we got to see a rainbow so it was definitely worth it! I'll try to post pictures sometime soon... it was so gorgeous and made me wonder why you would ever want to leave (because I certainly don't!!!). I'm running out of internet time (so ridiculously expensive) but just wanted to let everyone know I'm safe and sound!!!

xoxo

Finally.... an itinerary!!!!

So, I leave in 5 days.... and I have officially finalized my itinerary and booked all of my tours!

I'm going through a local travel agency called PeterPans. No clue what the deal with the name is, but they've been pretty funny to deal with. My travel agent, Natalie, is not an Australian, nor is she a native English speaker. We communicate mainly through email and Skype (thank god for my new iPhone.... skype to skype is always free- even when calling Australia!!). They're definitely not used to overbearing Americans that want to confirm every last detail, so most times they act like I'm crazy. I've gotten a lot of itinerary help from a travel agent with Cheap AZ Travel, and felt like a cheater for booking with PeterPans, but in the end PeterPans has way more stores, gives you a half hour of free internet per day in their stores (perfect for blogging!) and I know people who have gone through them. By people, I mean Katie- my resident Australia expert, of course.

I had my first credit card issue last night,which I assume will become common. Even though I put a travel notice on my card, the security center blocked my transaction with PeterPans last night. So after my card being denied 4 times, and Natalie thinking I was a liar and didn't really have enough money, I called my credit card company and had them reset my card and made them promise not to block the transaction. They held good to their word and it went through when I skyped Australia again. Thank god... I was beginning to have a mini heart attack.

I have a fabulous line up of things to do while in Australia:
-Hunter Valley Wine Tour (outside of Sydney)
-Surf Lesson at a private surf camp north of Sydney (it's gonna be cold!!!)
-Fraser Island 2 day tour (it's the largest sand island in the world... and full of dingos)
-2 days and 2 nights on a sailboat around the Whitsundays Islands
-1 night at an Outback Ranch- spending time learning how to lasso a goat!!!
- 4 days in Cape Tribulation exploring the rainforest including: ziplining, sea kayaking, and a nightime guided rainforest walk (potentially scary... they tell you not to wear skirts or dresses... which I clearly was planning on wearing :) )

and last but not least...
-1 day trip to the Great Barrier Reef- on the Rum Runner where I'll get to find Nemo!!!

Needless to say, I think I'll be needing a vacation when I get back from Australia!

first follower :)

Just a little shoutout to Brianna for being my first follower :) Love you B!

2 weeks!?!?!

I leave in two weeks..... and still have SO much to do! Ahhhhhhhhhh. But I'm getting even more excited!!!!! I'm trying to decide how my itinerary will work out and what things I'll be able to do, but then I realized that I need to decide what I'm bringing with me (thanks Katie!). So I figured I'd turn to the internet since I could surely find a packing list that would fit the bill. I definitely found a lot of packing lists, but some of them had interesting items.

Like this one. At the bottom it lists 'jumpers' as an item to pack and says ' Definitely take one or two.' YES. definitely take one or two jumpers..... riiiigggghhhhtttt. So maybe I'll be making my own packing list... taking ideas from all the lists I've found.

Or maybe I'll just take two jumpers and call it a day.....

It's finally official!

I did it... I officially booked my trip!!! There's no backing out now :) I'm going through a company called Oz Experience (www.ozexperience.com). They're a backpacker tour company and it's a hop on hop off bus from Sydney to Cairns. I have 21 days to use my pass (Perfect, since I won't be there for much longer!). With it I get a free day trip to Hunter Valley (http://www.winecountry.com.au/)- complete with wine tasting tour and a stop at Kuringai-Chase National Park. I'll only have a short time in Sydney, since I can't leave the US any earlier, but that just means I'll have to make the most of it! I'll also be spending the night at a cattle ranch (where I'll learn how to lasso a goat... love it!) and a surf camp. Add in an afternoon stop to play barefoot Aussie lawn bowling- some random Aussie activity- and a trip to the crocodile farm, and it'll be a pretty authentic Australian experience.

I'll be planning my itinerary here pretty soon and will be booking all my buses way ahead of time. Sometimes they get so busy that you'll get stuck for a few days if you haven't booked ahead- since I have limited time that's not really something I'm okay with, although getting stranded on a beach isn't too bad either :)

Off to Australia!

I've randomly decided to take a 3 1/2 week trip to the land down under. I'm heading there solo- but not without much help from planner extraordinare Katie (who not only is an excellent bachelorette party planner and inspirational speaker, but happens to be a fabulous travel agent too!). I owe her big time for the countless hours I've made her go over the travel options with me.

I don't really have firm plans right now, other than that I'll be leaving the US on July 7th and heading to Sydney. On the way over, you lose a day because they're 18 hours ahead, so I actually won't be in Australia until July 9th. Which means I'll never have a Wednesday that week. But on the way back August 4th will be a 48hr day... weird, huh?

Over the 26 days that I'm there, I'll be heading from Sydney to Cairns (pronounced Canns.... I didn't know either). And I'll be stopping off in Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Noosa, Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island, Airlie Beach, The Whitsunday Islands, The town of 1770, Magnetic Island, Mission Beach, Cairns, Cape Tribulation, and Daintree.

I can't even begin to explain how excited I am!!!! It started out as me going on a Contiki tour (they do the planning, you just show up) and has become a full-blown backpacking adventure!! I'll be using this blog to update you on my adventures in Oz and post the millions of pictures I'll be taking! (I'm buying a memory card that can hold 32,000 pictures... no joke!)