Well hello friends! It has been awhile since I have posted anything because I have been gone since the beginning of September! Where has the time gone?!
I am going to now attempt to recount the past month, which happen to include the best 18 days of my life. I have been keeping a journal along the way, so hopefully this won't be too difficult. Here goes nothing...
September 2 Canberra to Byron Bay
Woo! This has been a long day. It is 10:45 and I am about to head to bed. We left UC this morning at 7:30 and caught a bus to Civic. Our bus to Sydney left Civic at 9 and we arrived at the airport around 12-ish. We had to take another bus to the domestic terminal because the airport is so dang big! This day has been ALL about some transportation! We then flew from Sydney to Ballina and thanks to Drammamine, I was practically comatose the entire time. Ah one flight down and 3 to go! THEN we had to get a shuttle from the airport to Byron and over the 20ish minute ride, the driver told us the entire Ballina/Byron history which was pretty cool. We are staying at Aquarius Backpackers, which is only about a 2 minute walk to the beach AND we get free dinner every night! Niiiiiiice.
We walked on the beach and saw the most gorgeous pink and purple sunset. It's a little chilly today and we are hoping for sunshine tomorrow! We had dinner and then Samara, Ayla and I played some cards with the Italians staying in our room. It's starting to quiet down and I'm hoping to get some sleep soon. Made it through Day 1 without getting sick, lost or losing any of my belongings!
September 3 Byron Bay
If the rest of this trip totally bombs for some reason, today will be worth it all. This morning Bridget, Amanda and I got up early and walked to the lighthouse at Cape Byron. The view was absolutely breathtaking and it felt SO good to get moving and sweat! It is whale-watching season, which means the humpbacks are all headed north so we were hoping to see some, but they all seemed to be underwater this particular morning.
The better part of today was spent drifting in and out of consciousness while laying on the beach. We got some fruit from a market and lazed the day away. Incredible. No complaints at all. Got a little too much sun but today has been GREAT!
September 6 Cairns
Ayla, Samara and I are now in Far North Queensland! The rest of the Byron trip was fantastic. The weather seemed to get a little more cloudy, but that was okay because it gave us the chance to do some shopping in all the quirky and exotic little stores! I probably got a little too excited in the Byron Bazaar, where there was a whole room filled with all things tye-dye. SO much fun. We also went to a really great cafe and had yummy organic eggs and coffee for breakfast. I also went into a grocery store barefoot...I could get used to this.
Now Cairns! The flight was bearable; once again I was knocked out the entire time and only remember landing vaguely. We got here yesterday and spent most of the day getting settled, getting groceries and meeting friends. We are staying with a friend-of-a-friend of Ayla's, who is in law school at James Cook University. His apartment is about 20 minutes outside of actual Cairns, but is closer to the beaches-win!
We spent all of today at Trinity Beach, which was gorgeous and tropical. I wandered around a trail for awhile and took pictures until my feet got too hot. We drove over to Palm Cove, which is more resort-y and is supposedly the cleanest beach in Oz. It was super nice. We walked out onto the pier where lots of people were fishing. Off in the distance was a weird shaped island, and they informed us that there was a tiger shark breeding ground that way...no thanks!
Tomorrow we are going to the Great Barrier Reef! I am looking forward to being outside all day and seeing some amazing sights!
September 7 Cairns
Today we woke up early to go to the Reef! The views were absolutely AMAZING. We took a giant catamaran about an hour and a half out into the ocean to go to the first of 2 reefs. Snorkeling was so so cool! There were so many amazing colors and fish as big as my head! It was incredibly peaceful to be in water that clear with the sun shining down and to see nothing but you and a bunch of fish! The coral was stunning. I literally was swimming through schools of fish! We saw a giant sea turtle swimming around and I saw 2 stingray while I was snorkeling.
At the second reef, we took a submarine-type boat and got to see further underwater. It was there we saw a reef shark! They are vegetarian, so no worries! We also saw a bunch of clown fish, or Nemos, hovering over their anemone homes. Crazy! There is also this giant fish that the dive instructors have named Wally, and he will come right up to the boat and let people touch him.
Today has been a dream. I saw one of the 7 wonders of the Natural World. Amazing.
September 8 Cairns
Today we decided to journey into the city via bus for some sunning and shopping. There are no actual beaches inside of Cairns, only smelly mudflats, so the city built a giant lagoon-type pool on the Esplanade that overlooks the ocean. There are plenty of trees and grassy areas to lie by the water, so that is exactly what we did. I fell asleep in the shade of a palm tree, only to wake up NOT in the shade and with an unfortunate burn across my stomach. Nice
I got some amazing banana gelato because it felt like 100 degrees. Still haven't quite figured out the Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion. We spent the afternoon laying around, looking in shops and exploring the little city. We ended the day with some $5 pizzas and a movie back at Jordan's apartment and now I am about to collapse onto the air mattress. We are getting up tomorrow for a trip further up the coast and into the Rain forest! Woo!
September 8 Cairns
Today we went to Daintree Rain forest and Cape Tribulation! Our first stop was Port Douglas, which is one of the top scenic drives to do in Australia and it was indeed wonderful. Port Douglas looked like a nice little vacation spot, but we didn't have much time there because our bus was a bit late this morning. After looking into a few stores, we hopped back onto the bus and went into Daintree National Park, where we walked to Mossman Gorge. It was fantastic! Picture a giant, clear swimming hole in the middle of a rain forest clearing. The water felt amazing and so we climbed around on the rocks and took pictures of the scenery.
The next stop was Cape Tribulation-which gets its name from Captain Cook, who said that everything past that point on his voyage in the 1700s went wrong. I just don't see it, because the whole time we were there I felt like I was living a Jimmy Buffett song. If you know me, you know that's a big deal! It was almost deserted, only the odd person every now and then with their dog, clear, warm water and green, green trees. The rainforest literally runs into the coastline and it is breathtaking.
BEST PART OF THE DAY! We legitimately cracked a coconut open on a rock, ripped it open and ate the meat on the beach. Highlight of the trip so far.
We also went on a botanical walk through another part of the forest and saw where the Daintree River meets the forest, and we saw never ending mangroves. Mangroves are trees that grow in the water, but since the roots can't root in the bottom, they grow back up towards the surface and earned the name "snorkel roots." Neat.
The last stop was a ferry cruise down the Daintree River where we were on CROC watch! We saw 4 salties (saltwater crocodiles) and as luck would have it, my camera battery died, BUT I got the first one on camera! The biggest one, a 20-metre (AHHHHHH!) male named Scarface never did turn up, but knowing he was there lurking under the water was enough for me. Crikey!
September 10 Cairns
Today has been pretty low-key. I woke up early and went for a long run on the beach and am now having a little trouble walking. We have just been lounging by the pool today, which is in fact, REALLY nice for an apartment pool and has all sorts of little fountains and waterfalls and such. Not too much out of the ordinary today. Ayla and I went and picked up Thai food for us all and then we watched Role Models. Ahhh vacation.
September 12 Cairns
It is 5:17 am and I am sitting at the Cairns airport. I woke up this morning at 3:15 (yes, a.m.) to catch a 3:55 shuttle to the airport, Yikes!
Yesterday I left Jordan's and took a bus into the city with all my stuff where I met up with Bridget and Amanda! We talked about our separate weeks (they had been in Brisbane and Fraser Island since splitting with us in Byron) at the Esplanade lagoon and then we checked ourselves into hostel #2, Gilligans. It was MASSIVE; literally a backpacker resort. We spent the afternoon napping and laying at the pool (seems to be a trend, eh?). I had a great conversation with Amanda; I just love that girl!
I finally got the Mexican food I had been craving for weeks and weeks, although it couldn't hold a candle to El Charro! It was weird in that there was tomato sauce and parmesan cheese over my enchiladas? Que? Oh well. We wandered around the Night Markets for awhile where I had to pick up a touristy tote bag to store the stuff I have accumulated up to this point. Ooooh and we got some great gelato! Apple pie and dark chocolate! It was so great to see Bridget and Amanda because they move at my slower speed,
Bad thing about Gilligans: you cannot stay there and expect to sleep. At all. All the rooms have conjoing porches and there was literally a party raging allllll night and was still going on when I got up at 3:15. I'm looking forward to napping on the plane and hopefully crash landing on the beach as soon as I arrive in the Gold Coast at 8:35. This hot weather has gotten me spoiled! I hope it's nice in Surfer's Paradise, although I have heard that it is a crowded and touristy place, I'm only there for one night so I should be able to bear it.
I am so looking forward to being on my own agenda for the next week! It will be nice to make decisions that only concern me as far as where I want to go, eat, see, etc. More from the Gold Coast!
September 13 Surfer's Paradise
Yesterday in Surfer's was one of the most relaxing and chilled out days I have had so far. After checking into my hostel, I found out that I got a room ALL to myself. Great news! It was about a 15 minute walk from the centre of Surfer's, so I threw on a swimsuit and headed into town. It was definitely crowded alright. I had visions of Panama City or Destin at spring break time as I pushed my way through crowds of families and strollers and jean shorts...yes, jorts are really big over here for some reason, I found a reasonably un-crowded piece of sand, lay down on my towel and slept for 2 hours. I LOVE napping on the beach.
After showering and re-arranging my ever expanding backpack, I walked back into town for dinner. I got blueberry pancakes at Pancakes in Paradise, sat by myself and read. I honestly don't mind the whole stigma of eating alone, and it was nice to sit and be with just my thoughts. Some more reading back at the hostel and I was asleep by 9. I slept SO GOOD which was a nice change from the 4-or so hours I had gotten at Gilligans.
This morning I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach, which was lovely when it's not packed with people. Now I am sitting at the Gold Coast Greyhound station, about to catch a bus to Brisbane and then onto Noosa!
(later) September 13 Noosa
I LOVE NOOSA! I have only been here about 5 hours and I already kind of want to move here, The YHA I am staying at is fantastic. It is a big, historical house that has been converted into a sweet hostel with a massive porch. I'm in a big, open room with 5 other girls. 2 English, 1 Canadian, 1 Finnish, 1 Chinese and me!
This afternoon after I arrived I walked into the Noosa National Park for a bushwalk! I went on the Palm Grove trail which was only about 2km. There were insanely huge trees and I looked and looked for a koala but never saw one. I did see and hear a couple of kookaburras, which are much nicer to encounter when they aren't waking you up in the morning with their strange call. Then I walked down the coastal walking path which was AMAZING. I had been walking for about half an hour when I saw a few people gathered around the base of a tree. It was...A KOALA! It was sleeping on a tree branch that was pretty low, and I got some pictures of it's furry little face! I am so excited!
I walked for a little bit longer until I found a cove with some rocks to sit on and watch the sunset. I have been using all my adjectives up, so I'm really not sure how to describe it. I never want to forget that moment. Could this get any better?
I walked back to town and bought a few groceries and sat on the aforementioned massive porch at my hostel and read and ate. Tomorrow I am going kayaking! I'm pumped! I honestly kind of wish now that I had skipped Surfer's and come straight here. I hate that I only have 2 days here because this place is just so naturally beautiful. I would really like to come back here.
September 14 Noosa
I am so exhausted but I will attempt to cover this great day! This morning I got picked up from my hostel by Kayak Noosa! (Side note: I had some CRAZY dreams last night about a flood of Evan Almighty proportions. Weird)
It's run by a couple with 2 adorable little sons and is located a little bit outside of Noosa Heads, where I am staying. We had a short intro and we were off! It was only me and a lady named Chan, and our instructor Rod. They said typically they only run the tour with 4 people, but since today was such a nice day that they wanted to do it for the 2 of us! So lucky!
Ahhh it was so cool to kayak over the waves! I was in the back and had to operate the rudder, which proved to be more challenging that I thought, After going completely sideways and off course a few times I finally got the hang of it. We paddled out for about an hour and a half before stopping at a bay for morning tea, how lovely! Haha
We then paddled to Granite Bay, which is HUUUUUGGGGE cliff and some super scary rocks, which we stayed very far away from. The waves rebounded off the cliffs, making it super choppy and hard to paddle through.
We started seeing FINS off in the distance and tails flipping about! We followed this "pod" of bottle nose dolphins around for about 20 minutes! It was incredible! They were making all kinds of neat noises and spraying water and being so playful with each other.
After lunch on the beach at Tea Tree Bay, we put the sails up and lounged our way back into shore, It was a great way to spend a day. My feet are so sunburned and I am all freckled. It was about 4 when we got back so I looked around for a few hours with no real destination, before finding myself at my ultimate vice: a bakery. I don't know what it is about Turkish bread, but it seems to be so much better than almost any bread I have ever had before. So of course I had to buy a loaf and I ate it on the beach with some hummus and watched another beautiful sunset. Living the dream. So sad to leave in the morning :(
September 15 Brisbane
Well, I'm in Brisbane. It was unduly stressful getting here. But after almost 2 weeks of smooth sailing, something was bound to happen.
First, I missed the bus at Noosa Heads (where I was staying) that would take me up the giant hill and down the other side to Noosa Junction (where I was supposed to be picked up). Grrrr. So carrying 15kg on my back, my day pack on my front and my souvenir-tourist bag from Cairns over my shoulder I walked. Yikes, major back sweat.
When I got there, I wasn't sure at which stop I should be waiting...so I ended up wandering around and eventually asking someone where Greyhounds normally picked up. I was supposed to be picked up at 8:13 (random) and when it got to be 8:20 I was sure I had been forgotten, or I was at the wrong stop. The bus showed up about 3 minutes later. Whew!
We made a few stops along the Sunshine Coast before getting on our way to Brisbane. When I got off the bus in Brisbane I set off to find my hostel. 30 minutes and some crappy directions from a cab driver later, I showed up sweaty and irritated. They then informed me I couldn't check in for 3 more hours and this was not good news considering all I wanted to do was shower or sit and cool down.
So I store my stuff and grumbled inside about being gross all day long. I walked back into the city and am currently sitting on a bench in the Queen's Mall. I just devoured a little pizza, which I had to fight my way for when I made the mistake of going into the food court.
First impressions? Too crowded. I have already gotten pushed around and I don't like feeling "herded" by crowds, which has happened a lot, For Sydney being a bigger city, this one sure seems busier and more packed. And I actually like Sydney a lot, which helps. It could also be the fact that I am ending 2 weeks of beaches with one of Australia's top 3 biggest cities.
(later) September 15
This has been the most random day ever. I'm finding myself really wishing I had stayed in Noosa longer instead of coming to a big, smoky city. This afternoon, I wandered around and eventually found the Botanic Gardens by one of the universities. I laid by a pond and read for awhile before heading back to check in. I just didn't have it in me to explore that much today.
When I got back to my hostel to check in I had another rude awakening. Turns out that this building was once a school, and by the looks of it it's pretty ancient...complete with creepy lifts with the doors you open and close yourself. So creepy! I opened the door to my room and was immediately met with a lady babbling something indecipherable about there being one bathroom for 16 people, or something like that. It was a massive room of 16 girls and it took me forever to figure out which beds were occupied and which were not. Meanwhile, I still cannot figure out what this lady is saying to me and still all I want to do is shower. That also turned out to be a chore, as the shower was built for someone about 5 foot tall with very small arms. Oh dear.
I didn't want to go out and spend any more money, so I finished the book mom had sent me (about Julia Child...so good!) and don't really have anything else to do...hopefully Moreton Island tomorrow will shake off this weird mood I am in.
September 17 Brisbane
I'm about to head out of Brisbane for SYDNEY! I LOVE that city! A little backtrack: yesterday's adventure to Moreton Island! It turned out to be a group of 10 people:
-me
-a Canadian
-2 German girls
-2 Turkish brothers
-a couple from Denmark
-a girl from Austria
and our guide, Logan.
We all piled into a LandCruiser and headed off to the Port of Brisbane to get the ferry to Moreton Island! MI is the 3rd largest all-sand island in the world! The top 2 are also Australian: Fraser and Stradbroke. We drove onto this giant catamaran and dispersed until we reached the shore. I found a spot on the top deck and had a great conversation with Celine and Mikkel from Denmark. They are in Brisbane until Celine finishes this semester of school and then they are travelling Asia. Mikkel had been to Tennessee! He went to Memphis last year! It was so crazy to sit and talk about the US with him! He said he would rather go back to Tennessee than Denmark :)
When we got to MI, about an hour and a half later, we got back into the LandCruiser and began the day of being bumped and banged around the backseat. It was NUTS! It was like being in a theme park ride where you are strapped into a chair that moves and you watch a screen...only we were actually doing all the things you watch on the screen.
Our first stop was the Desert, which was a massive stretch of the whitest sand ever! I thought it would be scalding hot to step on, but it was surprisingly cool and so so soft. There were patches where the sand was even whiter, and that was because it was pure silica. There were also hard pebbles all around, which are formed when lightning strikes the sand. Amazing.
The wind forms massive sand dunes, which look more like sand hills if you ask me, but we used them to go sandboarding! Which is exactly what it sounds like!
There were 3 variations: standing up like a snowboard, sitting down like a sled, ot laying on your belly. I sat down first and got some serious friction burns on my hands, yikes! The trek back up the hill was SO INTENSE! Everyone ended up stopping about halfway just to sit and rest! Then I went down on my belly and got sand positively everywhere! My ears are still itching!
We hopped back onto the LandCruiser and set off to the East Beach to snorkel! There were several sand-mining ships that had been purposely sunk and we snorkeled right up to them! We also fed some fish, which was alllllmost as cool as the Reef. We had lunch and drove to the Lighthouse where we saw WHALES! We didn't see them breach (think Free Willy, coming up on his side and splashing back down into the water) but we did see them spouting and flipping their tails, which was so neat.
Back in Brisbane I went to bed early again and then caught the train to the airport this morning. I am at the gate in the Brisbane airport and I'll be in Sydney in 2 1/2 hours! No more planes for awhile after this, 4 in 3 weeks is plenty in my opinion.
This is the end of my fabulous solo adventure and it has been great! I love that I have been on my own time and done exactly what I felt like doing. It's been nice to sort of "process" my time in Australia this far and think about the things I still want to do. I've also had a ton of time to sit and wonder what I will do with myself when I get back. I have been through so many scenarios on my head but only time will tell. More from Sydney!
September 19 Sydney
This weekend in Sydney has absolutely flown by! I took me awhile to get from the airport to Bondi, via train then a 40 minute bus. Our hostel ended up being pretty basic, but right across from the beach with an ocean view from our room! I met back up with Ayla on the beach and that is where we spent most of the afternoon. After the sun went down, we got dinner at this yummy place called Moo's Gourmet Burgers. I got a spicy red kidney bean burger and we split "chips" (fries) and this place had actual Heinz ketchup! I don't even like ketchup that much and I was excited! And I also found Dr Pepper in a convenience store, so needless to say I was set! After dinner, I used my power of persuasion when it comes to desserts (I am verrrrry good) and so we got waaaaaay-too chocolaty brownies and sat outside and talked for several hours. It was a great night to just sit and talk.
On Friday morning I woke up extra early for some reason and looked (well, squinted) out the window and saw the sun coming up over the ocean! Epic! I couldn't go back to sleep, so at 7am I was ready to get up and do something! Ayla was still sleeping and informed me that I was very annoying in the mornings, so I set off to do the 5km walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. It was a warm and beautiful morning and the views were spectacular. Gordon's Bay was especially pretty and I took so many pictures of the cliff views.
After another beach day, I went into town to see...WICKED! It was sosososo good! It made me miss Bethany so much because I kept wanting to look over and singalong. It was an amazing show, nonetheless. I would love to see it again!
This morning we slept in a bit and went back to the beach for the last time. Ayla left for Canberra around 2 and I took the bus downtown and went to the Rocks markets. And talk about amazing timing! I was there so long that some of the vendors started packing up and closing up shop. When I heard "2 for 1 chocolate covered strawberries and bananas" I was sold. Dinner! Woo!
The sun was starting to go down so I walked towards Circular Quay to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House at sunset. It just doesn't get old! I love Sydney!
I'm starting to feel a little sluggish and just worn out from all of this back and forth and travelling, so it will be nice to get back and be stationary for awhile. I cannot believe how much I've seen and done in the past 18 days. This is truly a gorgeous and unique country. I have definitely had my moments since I have been here, but this trip is exactly what I wanted to do the whole time: get out and see things I've never seen before and get out of my comfort zone and routines.
I'm looking forward to nicer weather in Canberra, the Floriade festival, Res Ball and visiting the South Coast next month with some of our friends who live there! School won't be challenging by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have something due every week from here on out. I'm excited about long runs around the lake and getting to be outside more. This trip has been great for my motivation and has made me even more happy to be here,
September 20 back to Canberra
Well today is the last day of my fabulous vacation. This has been the best experience of my life. I will say this though: the life of a backpacker is DIRTY. I have loved it for the past month, but I am probably not cut out for multiple months or years. It's nice to have my room at UC as kind of a home base, where I know I can do laundry and keep stuff safe. Being a nomad for a little and getting a taste of life on the road (and air) has been so so fun. I'm not picky about accommodations or showers and such, but having a little privacy every once in awhile is nice. Its also nice to be able to spread my stuff out and not worry about lockers and losing things.
I've definitely covered the highlights extensively, and I am happy to say there were very few bad moments:
-feeling the effects of travelling with the same people for 2 weeks and getting irritated with each other in Cairns
-the night at Gilligan's. Never again.
I'm on a bus back right now! First order of business: laundry! Then mail and attempting to put up pictures and blog.
Eh, and getting back into the school groove...haha
