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