The Final Week

This past week or so has been so full of extremes- no matter if it was studying, or out having a good time, everything has been really full of emotion/ purposeful. I survived my last three finals, and still managed to have a great time this week. Sydney was my last trip, so I've just been revisiting some of my favorite parts around Townsville, and beginning to say our goodbyes.

I revisited the beach on The Strand- this is the first time I've been down there since they put the stinger nets in the water. On another interesting note, they found a salt water crocodile hanging out in the water at this beach on Halloween. Maybe those nets are a good idea.

We went back to the Ross River to swim and do rope swings again- I've finally come to terms that I had terrible kness, and I decided climbing the tree wasn't going to happen. It's still beautiful, even if I didn't get to swing from the trees.

On Sunday we went back to the town markets. We had some great times browsing the vendors and watching the crafts men. This guy was making didgeridoos by hand which is impressive to watch. A didgeridoo is an iconic Aboriginal instrument, made from wood that's been hollowed out by termites. Not sure about these particular ones though...

After my last final, my two good girl Australia friends and I went back to the free pools to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. It was so hot that day, but still really beautiful. Cip and Ellie made for great company in class, and in my lab. I'll miss them!

Today was another great day. We set off early for the beach, and spent the day on the hot sand, and walking around town and playing in the free water park they have set up on the beach. It's really great for kids (especially during the hot summer months when jellyfish have everyone scared!). But whose to say a bunch of college kids can't have a blast there too? Today was a celebration of water.

We had our farewell dinner with the Arcadia staff representative, Cat, and we've started to say goodbye to people as they trickle out. A lot of people are headed off for some more traveling, mostly to New Zealand it seems. Even if I had more money to continue traveling, I'm pretty excited that I'll be back for Thanksgiving. But it really is crazy how the time has flown. Tomorrow (Friday) is my last real day in Australia, and I leave at 6am on Saturday. November 21st will legitimately be the longest day of my life, seeing as I'll also be arrive in Los Angeles at 7am of the same day. It doesn't take an hour to get there, its just flying back in time. Weird.

I'll save the reflection for the next post, but I just want to allude to how much I'm going to miss this place. Apart from missing some of the great friends I made, and the endless beaches and perfect weather, I think I'll miss the flora and fauna most. Maybe it's lame to admit, but I'm going to miss the tropical birds, and the wallabies and everything that just roam all over campus. I guess I didn't realize that I won't get to see tons of cockatoos all over the place anymore, or randomly find feathers from parrots. It'll definitely take some getting used to once I get back. Anyway, I'm planning on spending my last day back at the beach for the last time, and then the school is having a giant party to celebrate post finals. We don't plan on sleeping until we get on the plane.

Thanks for reading about my adventures, and I'll catch up with everyone in the states! I'll be writing about the experience as a whole, and just get a chance to really think about what I've learned and how I've grown as a person. This has been an amazing adventure.

Adventures in Sydney

I'm pretty sure that a visit to Australia would not be complete without seeing Sydney. Australia's largest city provides some of the most iconic images this country has to offer, alongside eternal fame from Finding Nemo. I spent 4 nights getting to explore and experience the city life and have many pictures to go alongside it all. We spent most our time there just walking around. Our hostel was on Pitt St and the city is gorgeous by night.

We visited the Chinese Friendship Gardens



We went to the Sydney Aquarium! They had dugongs and amazing sea turtles. I loved being there so much, and I actually think I could have spent a few days there alone. Legend has it that dugongs are responsible for all the reports of mermaids, and that sailors would drown trying to follow them as they swam to the depths.

That night we had tickets to see a show at the Sydney Opera House (Ahh) to see God of a play called God of Carnage. We figured we should dress for the occassion, and we treated ourselves to a nice dinner in Darling Harbor ahead of time. The show turned out to be pretty funny, and we had a really good time.

But what's dinner without dessert? We hit up a Belgium chocolate bar for that one, and my fruit and chocolate dip was totally worth it.

The next we walked around a lot more- mostly just taking pictures of the Sydney Harbor bridge, the Opera house. We visited the Royal Botanical Gardens and The Rocks, Sydney's historical district. It was fun, but very tiring!

Later that night, we entered a drawing to win cheap tickets to see Wicked. Lucky for us, we scooped up front row seats for $30! It was SUCH an amazing show, and may have been my favorite thing in Sydney overall. I left the theater singing.

We bought souviner drinks called Ozmopolitans, and they were delicious. Our cups light up too, which made it even better

On our last full day we visited Paddy's markets, also known as a one stop shop for souvenirs and tourist goods. It was actually really overwhleming trying to fight the crowds of people. We didn't stay long, prefering to head off to the worlds largest Imax to catch a movie in 3-D. We saw A Christmas Carol, and it was pretty cool. The movie was just okay, but the 3-D effects were awesome. I enjoyed it a lot. I probably had too much fun.

I spent my last night in Sydney being kind of lame- I had my first final on Saturday, 2 hours after my plane landed. I stayed in a studied, which was actually a smart decision. Little did I know I was also at the beginning of catching a cold, which I still haven't been able to shake. Either way, I loved Sydney. It was a total different experience than everything else I had done. And who could resist such a sweet opera house?

The Daintree Rainforest

Last Thursday, I left for yet another trip with the Arcadia group. This trip was the one that I canceled (because of identity and lack of funds and whatnot) but I had a change of heart, and brought out the credit card. I'm sooo glad I did because it ended up being amazing.

Friday morning we set out for another day of scubaing and snorkeling out on the Great Barrier Reef. I was so excited for another trip back, especially since it was giving me a bit of a before and after kind of feeling. I saw the reef 2 weeks into the trip to Australia, and I returned 2 weeks before I leave. And after all my classes this semester, the reef really became that much better. Knowing more about the reef let me appreciate it even more.Although I still didn't see a sea turtle, a couple of sting rays and baby squids made it pretty exciting.

Our boat to the reef was also pretty sweet. It was bigger than the one last time (less sea sickness by all) and it came with a really nice lunch, and some complimentary sparkling wine. Very classy! This is one of the Arcadia leaders, Cam and I on the boat.


We also had some really fabulous sushi for dinner.

We got up early on Saturday and headed off for an animal sanctuary in the area. They ran a morning special called Breakfast with the Birds, and it was fabulous. The breakfast buffet was filled with so many different types of fresh fruit- all the usual grapes, strawberries, oranges and then some more aussie flavors like passion fruit, star fruit, jackfruit, blood oranges, kiwifruit, and so much more. It was delicious. And there were sooo many beautiful tropical birds flying around and hanging out trying to get some breakfast too. This little guy stole some cheese off my friends plate...

We walked around some more, fed some cute wallabies and saw a giant pelican and played with the ducks. I love the fauna here, and will probably miss it more than anything else. I've gotten so used to all the birds and marsupials that I sometime forget America lacks them. I really want to being home a wallaby.

We ventured further north into the Mossman Gorge area of the Daintree Rainforest. The Daintree itself is the worlds oldest rainforst, and it's really remarkable. We had another aboriginal cultural tour and it might just have been my favorite yet. Our guide is a healer for his family group, and was so incredibly wise about everything. I wish I could have spent more time there, especially since he offered to fix my knees. Ugh that would have been nice.

Anyway, saw some giant stranger fig trees

And some cave paintings


And the Gorge itself, among soo many other things. It's really just too much to try and even word. The shelters, and types of food, the cassowaries and the snakes. It was truly an amazing place. This place was right up my alley.

Oh, and of course the beautiful swimming it offered. The water was chilly, but really refreshing. If you climbed up river, you were able to slide down the currents pretty much the entire way. It was so much fun. Not a bad Halloween, if you ask me.


Sunday we woke up and went on a jungle surfing ziplining adventure. I loved it. We zipped right through the Daintree with an award winning eco-tourism organization. We all donned a new name, as chosen by the guides that we wore on our helmets. I was now Xena, the Warrior Princess. I was okay with that. We learned a lot about the area as we went from platform to platform, and heard some great birds. There was a bird of paradise that was calling for a while- I really wish we could have spotted him. Still fun though!

Later that day we headed off down the Daintree River, in search for some wild salt water Crocs. We got lucky, and spotted "Lizzy" sunning herself on the banks. Our guide was hoping to spot "Big Al", but something about seeing a 5 meter long wild male salt water crocodile kinda spooked me... Maybe Captain James Hook really was swallowed whole.

And then there was Cape Tribulation- where the rainforest comes right to the reef edge. The only spot where two World Heritage Areas meet each other. Quite beautiful, once you get over the thought that the wild crocs in the area can kill you, and the box jellyfish swarming in the water will also kill you.

Easily one of the best trips that I had here. This is the part of Australia that I absolutely love, and I know I'll miss it! I already took my first final, and I'll be home in just two weeks! Time has flown!