Vacation Within a Vacation

So I'm not technically on vacation, but this whole experience has felt like one, so it counts, right??

Holding a koala at the Australia Zoo

I spent the last three weeks touring the Eastern Coast of Queensland, from the Gold Coast all the way to Cairns, with stops at some of the most magical places I've ever been. I'm so grateful for the opportunity, and I'm still trying to process the magnanimity of a trip like this one. In order to not drone on about how wonderful it was, I'll give just a quick snippet of what I did each day. If you have any further questions about my experience, I can probably go on for days talking about it. So go ahead and contact me!

Day 1: First stop was the Australia Zoo, the zoo made famous by Steve Irwin and his family. In addition to seeing Bindi and Robert, I got to lay in the grass with some kangaroos and even hold a koala! I've been waiting 20 years to hold a koala, so this was an excellent start to my trip!

Whitehaven Beach

Day 2: We then went to Fraser Island, which is the largest sand island in the world. We went off-roading down the beach, and then up to Lake McKenzie, which is a freshwater lake made on top of a mountain of sand. The sand here is so clean that you can brush your teeth with it!! This was probably my favorite part of the trip, mostly because I was so surprised by the beauty of the lake.

Day 3: We sped around the Whitsunday Islands, which is a group of 74 islands located about 900 km north of Brisbane. The beautiful Whitehaven Beach is situated in the Whitsundays, with sand as white as sugar. It is usually seen in tourism commercials about Australia, and is one of the most photographed places in the country. It was awesome to see, but due to the tides, we only had a short time there. If we didn't leave quickly, we never would have made it to our private island!

Bungy Jumping

Day 4: We spent the whole next day cruising around the Whitsundays on a much larger, and slower, yacht. It was nice to just relax, but I got sunburned spending that much time on the water! Aloe to the rescue!

Day 5: Another day of relaxing, we got to spend the fifth day shopping and using free Wi-Fi from McDonald's to update everyone about our trip!

Day 6: Now the adventure begins! Day 6 of our trip brought us to the Tully River in the middle of the oldest rainforest in the world. We did some whitewater rafting, which is a lot more work than I was expecting. Between pushing the boat through rocks, sliding down waterfalls, and jumping off cliffs, I was more than happy to get to bed that night.

Day 7: This was the day I plunged 164 feet through the rainforest into a small tropical pool. Thanks to AJ Hackett, it was my first (and probably last!) bungy jumping adventure. We also got to soar on a bungy swing through the forest in the dark, which was a lot less scary after plummeting all that way down!

Great Barrier Reef

Day 8: An Australian icon, we finally got to visit the Great Barrier Reef. We sailed two hours to
the Outer Great Barrier Reef ("the drop-off" as Finding Nemo puts it), and it was incredible. I had the option to scuba dive, but I realized very quickly that it wasn't for me. Snorkeling around, feet from the colorful coral and array of fish, is one experience that I will definitely remember for a lifetime.

Day 9: Our final day was spent relaxing in the Crystal Cascades, which is a freshwater waterfall with a rock pool in the middle of the rainforest. It was a wonderful way to say goodbye to all of the friends I made, and get ready for the next part of vacation.

Story Bridge with the Brisbane skyline

The rest of my trip was spent in Brisbane, staying with a friend from the area. It was great to have a personal tour guide, who showed me everything from City Hall to the Brisbane Eye. We spent a day in South Bank, which is the city's cultural center. We visited the Queensland Museum and the Gallery of Modern Art, got food from a "real American diner", and even took a ferry up the Brisbane River. We also took a day trip to the famous Gold Coast, which was a real treat. Laying on the gorgeous beach definitely prepared me for heading back to school for my final six weeks!!

I've included several pictures in this post, but here's a link for all of the pictures I took on my trip!!

Let's Get Orientated

Orientation at Macquarie University

Well, after two weeks of orientations, I would like to say that I'm done. And I mostly am. I attended Arcadia University's Orientation in Melbourne, and I attended Dunmore Lang's orientation at my college. ("College" is the style of dorms that I'm living in.) I sat through a lot of lectures that all pretty much told me the same thing; what to do in the city, cultural differences, sun and water safety. I did all of the tourist-y events; Amazing Race through Sydney, Sydney Harbor Cruise complete with fireworks over the bridge, walking around as a giant group of "freshers". I've successfully completed two O-Weeks, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The more important things I've learned though haven't been from the lectures, or the scheduled events, or even all of the paperwork I've gotten. I've learned more than just how to get into the city, or that you need to swim between the yellow and red flags. By interacting with people (mostly native Australians), and figuring stuff out on my own, I've learned a lot more than I thought I ever could in two weeks....

• It's really easy to tell who is an American, and everyone wants to talk to you
• Aboriginal culture is very prevalent here, and it's really interesting to learn about.
• Peanut butter and jelly do not go together on a sandwich here. Also, Vegemite does not go on bread as thick as peanut butter. 
• Feeling hot and sweaty is a thing that will happen every day for at least another month. 
• I really need to learn Celsius.... 
• Theme nights at bars can get very expensive, very quickly. (Think: paint night, bright night, back to school night. Each one requires a different outfit.) 
• You tap on AND tap off when you ride public transportation, or you will be charged for the entire route. 
• Internet is not always available. So I may need a bigger data plan....
• It's okay to ask questions. No one assumes that you know all the right answers. 

In other news, I just bought my Easter break trip package last night! I'll be starting in Brisbane and traveling up the East Coast to Cairns, stopping at the Great Barrier Reef, Fraser Island, some waterfalls, and even bungee jumping! I also bought my ticket for surf camp, which will be coming up soon in May!!

For all my friends back home, I hope the weather starts treating you better soon. I'll be sending some sunshine your way!!

Fireworks display over the Sydney Harbor Bridge