Ever since we arrived here, I have heard from multiple people about how they only travelled to Sydney for a short amount of time, fell in love with it, and then moved here. Up until Saturday, I just really didn't understand why.
We walked from Coogee Beach to Maroubra Beach along a beautiful Coastal path. Although sometimes this path was climbing over rocks, it was an adventure. I love the houses by the beach. And this is where I decided that if I moved to Sydney, I just wouldn't live in the city. Living in the city has had its perks, but I have learned that a big city isn't really for me.. at least not one this big. Chicago even looks dinky compared to Sydney, and Sydney is very hard to become acquainted with. If I were to move here, I would live in the suburbs by the beach. In fact, I picked out a few houses I liked on Saturday.
I can officially see why people fall in love with this place. It's not always the city they fall in love with but the surrounding areas.
Oh, and Happy ANZAC *let's get totally fucked* Day!
PS- I'm not getting totally fucked, if you were wondering.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Spotted: Largest Cockroach in the History of Cockroaches
My four day weekend has already begun with a bang! After a strenuous week of papers and presentations, I decided to surround myself with good people and fun last night. Let's just say, a few virginities have been stripped away. (That really isn't meant to sound as raunchy as it does.)
Today, I did absolutely nothing of importance. I slept in until 12:30PM. That was crazy, and then I spent all day watching movies and TV shows. Hey, I deserved a relaxing day.
Courtney, Cait and I had already made plans to have a nice dinner together. We ventured out to buy some nicer wine than the $10 goon that is supposedly made of fish eggs. *Barf* And headed to one of our favorite Chinese places to eat. Only this time we did the unthinkable, we ate there! I don't think the wait staff knew how to handle us, seeing as we always just get take away. The dinner was delicious and relaxing. Sometimes I just get bored with going out and partying. I like to kick back and drink, but not feel the need to be drunk.
After we finished, we indulged ourselves in some gelato. This was acceptable because we walked quite far to get this gelato. Can't you just see how our minds work? The evening air was pleasant, and I had missed the sounds of bats flying overhead since I have not walked through the park at night in a few weeks.
Once we got home, we decided to watch The Girl Next Door. I had never seen it, or so I thought. I came to the conclusion that I saw it once upon a blue moon, but just did not remember seeing it.
The three of us were just enjoying a wonderful scene when all of a sudden a cockroach the size of my wallet went crawling across the wall! At first we thought it had gone out the window and we were just going to close it. Wrong! It was crawling up the side of the window. Cait quickly grabbed the insect spray (which was almost empty!) and attempted to spray the giant roach. Instead it fell on Cait and the three of us went screaming and running around the living room. As we attempted to find its location, it came crawling out from under the couch.
Cait: KIM! GRAB THE SPRAY!
Me: Where the hell is the spray?!
Cait: I don't know! I threw it over there somewhere! *points in the direction of the window*
Me: *scrambling to find the spray bottle and finds it next to the couch that I have to climb over to get* YOU THREW IT THE FARTHEST AWAY POSSIBLE!
Cait: Just kill it!!
I chased the cockroach in circles with the spray as Courtney and Cait screamed some more. Finally, Courtney convinces me that he is dying. I didn't notice even though he was drowning in a puddle of insect spray.
After about 5 minutes, one of their flat mates came out of his room. I asked him why he didn't come out to help us when he heard us screaming. His response: "Oh, I just thought you guys were drunk."
I deserve the award for killing the largest cockroach in the history of cockroaches.
Today, I did absolutely nothing of importance. I slept in until 12:30PM. That was crazy, and then I spent all day watching movies and TV shows. Hey, I deserved a relaxing day.
Courtney, Cait and I had already made plans to have a nice dinner together. We ventured out to buy some nicer wine than the $10 goon that is supposedly made of fish eggs. *Barf* And headed to one of our favorite Chinese places to eat. Only this time we did the unthinkable, we ate there! I don't think the wait staff knew how to handle us, seeing as we always just get take away. The dinner was delicious and relaxing. Sometimes I just get bored with going out and partying. I like to kick back and drink, but not feel the need to be drunk.
After we finished, we indulged ourselves in some gelato. This was acceptable because we walked quite far to get this gelato. Can't you just see how our minds work? The evening air was pleasant, and I had missed the sounds of bats flying overhead since I have not walked through the park at night in a few weeks.
Once we got home, we decided to watch The Girl Next Door. I had never seen it, or so I thought. I came to the conclusion that I saw it once upon a blue moon, but just did not remember seeing it.
The three of us were just enjoying a wonderful scene when all of a sudden a cockroach the size of my wallet went crawling across the wall! At first we thought it had gone out the window and we were just going to close it. Wrong! It was crawling up the side of the window. Cait quickly grabbed the insect spray (which was almost empty!) and attempted to spray the giant roach. Instead it fell on Cait and the three of us went screaming and running around the living room. As we attempted to find its location, it came crawling out from under the couch.
Cait: KIM! GRAB THE SPRAY!
Me: Where the hell is the spray?!
Cait: I don't know! I threw it over there somewhere! *points in the direction of the window*
Me: *scrambling to find the spray bottle and finds it next to the couch that I have to climb over to get* YOU THREW IT THE FARTHEST AWAY POSSIBLE!
Cait: Just kill it!!
I chased the cockroach in circles with the spray as Courtney and Cait screamed some more. Finally, Courtney convinces me that he is dying. I didn't notice even though he was drowning in a puddle of insect spray.
After about 5 minutes, one of their flat mates came out of his room. I asked him why he didn't come out to help us when he heard us screaming. His response: "Oh, I just thought you guys were drunk."
I deserve the award for killing the largest cockroach in the history of cockroaches.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Week in Review
Nothing much to say. Sometimes I just feel like I should blog more. So here is a bit of Kim's life in Sydney:
*I haven't done much work all week. The "network" is the greatest invention ever.
*I started working out with Courtney. Sometimes we walk together or go to a class at a local gym. It feels great.
*I slowly have started cutting meat out of my diet. I began right after New Zealand, but then I got a little sidetracked in Cairns. Now, I'm back on schedule. I have been eating a lot healthier, and it feels great.
*I have watched a lot of Gossip Girl and The Big Bang Theory.
*We went to a "Football Pros and Tennis Hoes" party. Angelica and I went as hoes and left as pros. (That was a fun sentence!)
*I am tan- partially real, partially fake. I just bought a lotion with a subtle tanner, but it works and doesn't look awkward like some lotions.
*I learned that Australians are beginning to change their prejudices against Americans because of the awesome types of people, like yours truly, that have started coming to study here for semesters and years.
*I no longer have a yucky ear.
*OH! I almost singed off a guy's eyebrow.
Seriously, that's about all the semi-interesting information that I have to offer for this week. I just need to get past next week, aka devil week for me, and then I will be set.
*I haven't done much work all week. The "network" is the greatest invention ever.
*I started working out with Courtney. Sometimes we walk together or go to a class at a local gym. It feels great.
*I slowly have started cutting meat out of my diet. I began right after New Zealand, but then I got a little sidetracked in Cairns. Now, I'm back on schedule. I have been eating a lot healthier, and it feels great.
*I have watched a lot of Gossip Girl and The Big Bang Theory.
*We went to a "Football Pros and Tennis Hoes" party. Angelica and I went as hoes and left as pros. (That was a fun sentence!)
*I am tan- partially real, partially fake. I just bought a lotion with a subtle tanner, but it works and doesn't look awkward like some lotions.
*I learned that Australians are beginning to change their prejudices against Americans because of the awesome types of people, like yours truly, that have started coming to study here for semesters and years.
*I no longer have a yucky ear.
*OH! I almost singed off a guy's eyebrow.
Seriously, that's about all the semi-interesting information that I have to offer for this week. I just need to get past next week, aka devil week for me, and then I will be set.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Cairns & The Great Barrier Reef
Disclaimer: Even longer entry than New Zealand. A week is a long time, people!
Well folks, it is that time again for a super duper long entry about fall break/mid semester break/our equivalent of spring break. I really have no idea what to call this past week. Some of us are referring to it as "celebrating Easter for 8 days". In essence, that is what Australians like to do. Believe it or not, Easter Sunday was a huge let's go out and drink night. Crazy.
I'll start from the beginning.. way way long ago last Saturday.
SATURDAY
We had to get up bright and early aka 6AM and arrived in Cairns before noon. We checked into our super sweet hostel called Gilligans and then had free time until dinner. A group of us made our way to some food, and then ended up at these really awesome markets. They had tons of produce and jewelry. I spent money on presents for people.. perhaps too much money. Gah, I don't want to think about that really. Saturday was the longest day of all of our lives since we had gotten up so incredibly early. Some of us ended up napping for a bit before dinner.
Dinner was one of my favorite parts of the trip. On our schedule it said "Aboriginal Culture Dinner". We were all expecting to have an authentic dinner with some Aboriginals, get our faces painted, dance a little and listen to the didgeridoo. Wrong. Instead, we had an hour bus ride through the windiest roads in the world to this restaurant. We had to hike a little along a path guided by torches. When we arrived, there was a large open pavillion with fancy tables set up, candles, and chandeliers. This was the second (or perhaps first) most expensive meal that I have ever eaten. (The other meal being the fine dining experience Sissy & Naz provided me for my 21st birthday.) The only thing "Aboriginal" about this dinner was the type of food we ate. We had kangaroo (taste like bacon), crocodile (taste like chicken), lobster, trout, and steak. Words cannot even describe how delicious this meal was! My favorite was the kangaroo. Yum yum! Best part of the dinner? Open bar! All the wine and beer you could drink. As you can imagine, give 50 American college students free alcohol during dinner, everyone is going to get a little buzzed. The bus ride back was torture for some of those people who drank a little too much.
When we returned, Angelica and I went out briefly to see some Coyote Ugly dancers at a pub. Everyone else bailed on us because of being tired. Pfft, what's up with that?
SUNDAY
This is where the trip began to take a turn for the worse. We were scheduled to leave for the Daintree Rainforest. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Cairns had been experience constant rain for almost a month. All the roads to the rainforest were flooded and we were not going to be able to make it there. We even heard about a bus that had to get rescued from the flood waters when the driver tried to drive through it. Everyone was super depressed; honestly, I'm still really sad that I did not get to see the Daintree. Instead, I almost died.. multiple times.
Instead, we spent the morning in Kuranda village visiting more markets with cheap goods. Kuranda does have a rainforest, just not the one we were expecting. But that story is for tomorrow. After our brief visit to Kuranda, Lee (our guide) had scheduled us for white water rafting. Lee was truly awesome. She was only our chaperone because the group of us was split in two. Thais, who usually coordinates everything, was with the other group on the boat. We all felt really bad for Lee because she had to work her ass off to find things for 20 of us to do for two days (when things were booked up because of Easter break) since the rainforest was out of the question. She was stellar though!
Al, Courtney, Cait and I were like "cool, we are going white water rafting again". It was no biggie to us. We were going on grade 3 rapids, and us being skilled rafters had already done grade 5 in New Zealand just a few days prior. Angelica was freaking out a bit, so all of us were trying to calm her down saying it was no big deal. At one point, Cait said "Watch all of us fall out of the raft and you end up staying in." As we began the journey down the river, we all realized this was a little bit rougher than NZ. The river almost got closed down because it was too high. The rapids were crazy with lots of rocks jutting out, unlike NZ that just had some waterfalls but no rocks at the bottom. We got through a couple of rapids unscathed, but then the trip quickly became scary. There was one rapid that we all had to walk around because it was just too dangerous. We were slipping and sliding along the rocks for a little hike. I have lots of bruises from this. So we finally jump back in the rafts, watch a few go down the rapid and then it is our turn. I bet you can all guess what happened.. Our boat hit the rapid at the wrong angle, forcing us over a large rock and making Al, Courtney, Cait, our guide, and myself all fall out. Guess who stayed in? Angelica! Cait predicted that one! Cait and I took a very long time to come up. I swear to god I thought I was going to drown. IT WAS NOT FUN AT ALL. After I finally came up, I looked around and saw the boat. Our guide is yelling at us to swim. I'm swimming. Nothing is happening! I'm just quickly approaching the next rapid. I start freaking out!! Luckily, another guide threw out an oar and I just grabbed onto it with all my life. Eventually, Al dragged me into the raft. I was shaking. I literally thought I was going to die. Our guide just kept saying how fucking awesome it was and blah blah blah. NO IT WASN'T. Cait and I were legitimately scared for the rest of the time. At one rapid, Angelica and Cait got out because a previous boat had flipped and they lost the boat down the river. I stayed in, and I told them if we went in again, I was going to cry. We made it out... me still shaking in my water shoes. The next rapid, we got stuck on a rock! Our guide told us to quickly get to the front of the boat. I couldn't really move. We start sinking. The only thought in my head is that we are going in again, and I just wanted to cry. Thankfully, we got loose without falling in. By this point, I was ready for our trip to be over. Once we got to land, the rest of our group was saying how awesome and fun that was. Cait and I are still shaking.. not really finding the whole ordeal very fun. This may have scared me away from white water rafting forever now. I have now renamed the Barron River as DEVIL RIVER.
After such an eventful day, Cait and I went out. We met up with one of the rafting guides; thankfully not ours, or I might have hit him. We had come to the conclusion that he knew what he was doing on that rapid, and did it on purpose. Tom, the guide we met up with, told us Jizz (yes, that was his nickname) always went into the river. If someone would have told me that, I never would have gotten into a boat with him. Better yet, remind me to never get into a boat with someone named Jizz again! We ended up getting about 15 people to go out with us that night. Tom got all of us in for free at The Woolshed. Omg, so much fun! We were all dancing on tables and just having a blast. I took a few tequila shots. Hey, I deserved it after that day!
MONDAY
Another awful day. Seriously, most of this trip was just a little less than fun. Ron, our sexist and racist bus driver, dropped us off in Kuranda so that we could do an 800 metre walk to the Barron Falls. This 800 metre walk turned into an hour hike through the jungle and flooded river. Did I mention that we were all dressed for wine country? We start the hike, and it wasn't bad. Until we came to a part of the path that was flooded. After much debate, we all agreed (some more reluctantly than others) to go through the water. Leeches and crocodiles were the only things on my mind. The girls in dresses hiked up their skirts and we all strode our way through the water. It wasn't too bad.. until we had to do it a total of 5 different times. We finally get to the end of the walk. Guess what? We are at the opposite end of the Barron Falls! We have no way to contact Ron because Lee forgot her cell phone. We ended up at a cute little train station. Oh wait, the trains are not running because of WEATHER CONDITIONS. Seriously?! After about an hour more of a debacle, we finally find Ron and get back in the bus. Everyone is pretty peeved at this point. We go to this little town in the middle of nowhere for lunch. Ron's famous words: "The Aboriginals around here hang out at the hotels (bars) too much, so I wouldn't start up any conversations with them." Oh dear. After lunch, we go to a distillery for a tour and free tasting. Lame. The best part were the cats roaming around. On the way home, we actually stop at Barron Falls, only to find it is too foggy to even see anything! What a waste of a day! That night, we went to some more markets. HA. Go figure, eh! OH, and we got CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH from Baskin Robbins! This is the only place that we have found in Australia that sells it! The grocery stores don't even have it. SO GOOD!
TUESDAY
We transferred to the boat for a 3 day, 2 night cruise on the Great Barrier Reef. All of us woke up ready to go and were hoping that we would get to our boat and be able to hop into bed for a nap, seeing as it was 7:30AM. Wrong, again! No one told us that we would be on a DAY boat until about 4:30 before transferring to our regular boat. On the day boat, we would be snorkeling and diving.. but we would have more opportunities too. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who wore their swimsuit on board. Everyone was just a little pissed that we didn't know what was going on. In addition, this boat was the worst boat ride in the history of boat rides! Multiple people got sick. I, fortunately, was wearing a patch for seasickness and it helped a lot. I only went snorkeling this day. Oh, and I got sunburnt. There is just something about me and boats and the sun. Thankfully, all is well with the burn.. I haven't even peeled!
The Great Barrier Reef was amazing! I can't believe I was actually there. Although, I almost cried when I would see dead parts. It takes about 10 years for one centimetre of the reef to grow. Therefore, it is going to die before it can rebuild itself. How depressing! At least I can say that I saw it once in my lifetime. And not only did I see it, but I snorkeled and dived in it and lived on a boat for three days! Oh, and I saw Nemo!! Unfortunately, I didn't take my underwater camera the day that I saw him, but oh well. We all know what he looks like.
Living on a boat, however, is not for me. I never got sick, thanks to the patch. But I HATED the feeling of always rocking back and forth. Tuesday night was a rough night for me. I could not get comfortable. It was bad. Remind me never to take a really really long cruise. Bleh.
WEDNESDAY
I woke up at 6:30AM to take a dive with Al, Abbey, and Fraser. The dive was awesome!! I am very happy that I paid the extra money to do it. Luckily, I didn't freak out like I did the first time I went scuba-diving. (Thanks Sissy for prepping me!) I did have problems popping my ears. I saw so many neon colored fish and just amazing sea life. I can't wait to get my pictures back, but we all know how crappy underwater cameras are. After my dive though, I felt nauseous so I went back to bed. Happy to say that I still didn't get sick and was better after more sleep. We laid out for awhile too. I was careful not to burn my back anymore, but instead I just burnt the front of my body. Ha, life as a ginger. Never fear, it still isn't the worst burn I have ever gotten.
On the boat, I did a lot of sleeping. I couldn't read because I always felt blaaaah from all the rocking. So I basically would dive, lay out a little, and sleep. It was nice and relaxing. We watched the sunset on Wednesday night and it was GORGEOUS. Later on, Al and I watched the stars for awhile too. Two of the most perfect things to do while you are on a boat. It was a spectacular end to the day.
THURSDAY
This time, I voluntarily woke up early to watch the sunrise! Also beautiful, but the sunset was better. Al and I hoped to see some dolphins like they did the morning before, but no such luck. I didn't get to see dolphins, sharks, sea turtles or jelly fish on this trip! Many many people got stung by jellies, so I guess I should feel special that I never even saw one. I escaped death this time! We were transferring back to the smaller boat that would take us back to Cairns around 3, so we all just laid around and hung out a lot on this day. From Justin to Kelly was on TV, and I made everyone watch it. They all hate me now, but I still *love* that movie! The ride back to Cairns, luckily, was not as bad as the ride out there. Hardly anyone got sick that time. I was very happy once we reached land! No more boats for me!
FRIDAY
We had a "free" day in Cairns. We just went to the lagoon to swim and then revisited the markets for those who wanted to pick up a few more souvenirs. The day was kind of lame. By this time, though, most of us were ready to head back to Sydney. Traveling is fun, but it takes a lot out of you. Also, when your plans don't go as you plan, you get a little fed up. I was a little fed up by the end.
All in all, the trip was fun but it didn't live up to its expectations. My hair is really light now, though, and my skin is a little darker. Yay! I look like a person and not a ghost! (On my way to being black, Amber!) Unfortunately, my return to Sydney hasn't been that great either. I currently have an ear infection, or so I think. My equilibrium is still way off. I am still swaying like I am on a boat, and it's not just occasionally- it's constant. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we will see what they say. Also, I had to fork out some money to buy an external hard drive because my computer literally had 0 bytes left. Oh money, how I loathe thee.
Next time, I am going to make Cait write my blogs. Hers are funnier. Also, I hate that I ALWAYS feel like I have left something out. Until my next near death experiences, cheers!
Well folks, it is that time again for a super duper long entry about fall break/mid semester break/our equivalent of spring break. I really have no idea what to call this past week. Some of us are referring to it as "celebrating Easter for 8 days". In essence, that is what Australians like to do. Believe it or not, Easter Sunday was a huge let's go out and drink night. Crazy.
I'll start from the beginning.. way way long ago last Saturday.
SATURDAY
We had to get up bright and early aka 6AM and arrived in Cairns before noon. We checked into our super sweet hostel called Gilligans and then had free time until dinner. A group of us made our way to some food, and then ended up at these really awesome markets. They had tons of produce and jewelry. I spent money on presents for people.. perhaps too much money. Gah, I don't want to think about that really. Saturday was the longest day of all of our lives since we had gotten up so incredibly early. Some of us ended up napping for a bit before dinner.
Dinner was one of my favorite parts of the trip. On our schedule it said "Aboriginal Culture Dinner". We were all expecting to have an authentic dinner with some Aboriginals, get our faces painted, dance a little and listen to the didgeridoo. Wrong. Instead, we had an hour bus ride through the windiest roads in the world to this restaurant. We had to hike a little along a path guided by torches. When we arrived, there was a large open pavillion with fancy tables set up, candles, and chandeliers. This was the second (or perhaps first) most expensive meal that I have ever eaten. (The other meal being the fine dining experience Sissy & Naz provided me for my 21st birthday.) The only thing "Aboriginal" about this dinner was the type of food we ate. We had kangaroo (taste like bacon), crocodile (taste like chicken), lobster, trout, and steak. Words cannot even describe how delicious this meal was! My favorite was the kangaroo. Yum yum! Best part of the dinner? Open bar! All the wine and beer you could drink. As you can imagine, give 50 American college students free alcohol during dinner, everyone is going to get a little buzzed. The bus ride back was torture for some of those people who drank a little too much.
When we returned, Angelica and I went out briefly to see some Coyote Ugly dancers at a pub. Everyone else bailed on us because of being tired. Pfft, what's up with that?
SUNDAY
This is where the trip began to take a turn for the worse. We were scheduled to leave for the Daintree Rainforest. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Cairns had been experience constant rain for almost a month. All the roads to the rainforest were flooded and we were not going to be able to make it there. We even heard about a bus that had to get rescued from the flood waters when the driver tried to drive through it. Everyone was super depressed; honestly, I'm still really sad that I did not get to see the Daintree. Instead, I almost died.. multiple times.
Instead, we spent the morning in Kuranda village visiting more markets with cheap goods. Kuranda does have a rainforest, just not the one we were expecting. But that story is for tomorrow. After our brief visit to Kuranda, Lee (our guide) had scheduled us for white water rafting. Lee was truly awesome. She was only our chaperone because the group of us was split in two. Thais, who usually coordinates everything, was with the other group on the boat. We all felt really bad for Lee because she had to work her ass off to find things for 20 of us to do for two days (when things were booked up because of Easter break) since the rainforest was out of the question. She was stellar though!
Al, Courtney, Cait and I were like "cool, we are going white water rafting again". It was no biggie to us. We were going on grade 3 rapids, and us being skilled rafters had already done grade 5 in New Zealand just a few days prior. Angelica was freaking out a bit, so all of us were trying to calm her down saying it was no big deal. At one point, Cait said "Watch all of us fall out of the raft and you end up staying in." As we began the journey down the river, we all realized this was a little bit rougher than NZ. The river almost got closed down because it was too high. The rapids were crazy with lots of rocks jutting out, unlike NZ that just had some waterfalls but no rocks at the bottom. We got through a couple of rapids unscathed, but then the trip quickly became scary. There was one rapid that we all had to walk around because it was just too dangerous. We were slipping and sliding along the rocks for a little hike. I have lots of bruises from this. So we finally jump back in the rafts, watch a few go down the rapid and then it is our turn. I bet you can all guess what happened.. Our boat hit the rapid at the wrong angle, forcing us over a large rock and making Al, Courtney, Cait, our guide, and myself all fall out. Guess who stayed in? Angelica! Cait predicted that one! Cait and I took a very long time to come up. I swear to god I thought I was going to drown. IT WAS NOT FUN AT ALL. After I finally came up, I looked around and saw the boat. Our guide is yelling at us to swim. I'm swimming. Nothing is happening! I'm just quickly approaching the next rapid. I start freaking out!! Luckily, another guide threw out an oar and I just grabbed onto it with all my life. Eventually, Al dragged me into the raft. I was shaking. I literally thought I was going to die. Our guide just kept saying how fucking awesome it was and blah blah blah. NO IT WASN'T. Cait and I were legitimately scared for the rest of the time. At one rapid, Angelica and Cait got out because a previous boat had flipped and they lost the boat down the river. I stayed in, and I told them if we went in again, I was going to cry. We made it out... me still shaking in my water shoes. The next rapid, we got stuck on a rock! Our guide told us to quickly get to the front of the boat. I couldn't really move. We start sinking. The only thought in my head is that we are going in again, and I just wanted to cry. Thankfully, we got loose without falling in. By this point, I was ready for our trip to be over. Once we got to land, the rest of our group was saying how awesome and fun that was. Cait and I are still shaking.. not really finding the whole ordeal very fun. This may have scared me away from white water rafting forever now. I have now renamed the Barron River as DEVIL RIVER.
After such an eventful day, Cait and I went out. We met up with one of the rafting guides; thankfully not ours, or I might have hit him. We had come to the conclusion that he knew what he was doing on that rapid, and did it on purpose. Tom, the guide we met up with, told us Jizz (yes, that was his nickname) always went into the river. If someone would have told me that, I never would have gotten into a boat with him. Better yet, remind me to never get into a boat with someone named Jizz again! We ended up getting about 15 people to go out with us that night. Tom got all of us in for free at The Woolshed. Omg, so much fun! We were all dancing on tables and just having a blast. I took a few tequila shots. Hey, I deserved it after that day!
MONDAY
Another awful day. Seriously, most of this trip was just a little less than fun. Ron, our sexist and racist bus driver, dropped us off in Kuranda so that we could do an 800 metre walk to the Barron Falls. This 800 metre walk turned into an hour hike through the jungle and flooded river. Did I mention that we were all dressed for wine country? We start the hike, and it wasn't bad. Until we came to a part of the path that was flooded. After much debate, we all agreed (some more reluctantly than others) to go through the water. Leeches and crocodiles were the only things on my mind. The girls in dresses hiked up their skirts and we all strode our way through the water. It wasn't too bad.. until we had to do it a total of 5 different times. We finally get to the end of the walk. Guess what? We are at the opposite end of the Barron Falls! We have no way to contact Ron because Lee forgot her cell phone. We ended up at a cute little train station. Oh wait, the trains are not running because of WEATHER CONDITIONS. Seriously?! After about an hour more of a debacle, we finally find Ron and get back in the bus. Everyone is pretty peeved at this point. We go to this little town in the middle of nowhere for lunch. Ron's famous words: "The Aboriginals around here hang out at the hotels (bars) too much, so I wouldn't start up any conversations with them." Oh dear. After lunch, we go to a distillery for a tour and free tasting. Lame. The best part were the cats roaming around. On the way home, we actually stop at Barron Falls, only to find it is too foggy to even see anything! What a waste of a day! That night, we went to some more markets. HA. Go figure, eh! OH, and we got CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH from Baskin Robbins! This is the only place that we have found in Australia that sells it! The grocery stores don't even have it. SO GOOD!
TUESDAY
We transferred to the boat for a 3 day, 2 night cruise on the Great Barrier Reef. All of us woke up ready to go and were hoping that we would get to our boat and be able to hop into bed for a nap, seeing as it was 7:30AM. Wrong, again! No one told us that we would be on a DAY boat until about 4:30 before transferring to our regular boat. On the day boat, we would be snorkeling and diving.. but we would have more opportunities too. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who wore their swimsuit on board. Everyone was just a little pissed that we didn't know what was going on. In addition, this boat was the worst boat ride in the history of boat rides! Multiple people got sick. I, fortunately, was wearing a patch for seasickness and it helped a lot. I only went snorkeling this day. Oh, and I got sunburnt. There is just something about me and boats and the sun. Thankfully, all is well with the burn.. I haven't even peeled!
The Great Barrier Reef was amazing! I can't believe I was actually there. Although, I almost cried when I would see dead parts. It takes about 10 years for one centimetre of the reef to grow. Therefore, it is going to die before it can rebuild itself. How depressing! At least I can say that I saw it once in my lifetime. And not only did I see it, but I snorkeled and dived in it and lived on a boat for three days! Oh, and I saw Nemo!! Unfortunately, I didn't take my underwater camera the day that I saw him, but oh well. We all know what he looks like.
Living on a boat, however, is not for me. I never got sick, thanks to the patch. But I HATED the feeling of always rocking back and forth. Tuesday night was a rough night for me. I could not get comfortable. It was bad. Remind me never to take a really really long cruise. Bleh.
WEDNESDAY
I woke up at 6:30AM to take a dive with Al, Abbey, and Fraser. The dive was awesome!! I am very happy that I paid the extra money to do it. Luckily, I didn't freak out like I did the first time I went scuba-diving. (Thanks Sissy for prepping me!) I did have problems popping my ears. I saw so many neon colored fish and just amazing sea life. I can't wait to get my pictures back, but we all know how crappy underwater cameras are. After my dive though, I felt nauseous so I went back to bed. Happy to say that I still didn't get sick and was better after more sleep. We laid out for awhile too. I was careful not to burn my back anymore, but instead I just burnt the front of my body. Ha, life as a ginger. Never fear, it still isn't the worst burn I have ever gotten.
On the boat, I did a lot of sleeping. I couldn't read because I always felt blaaaah from all the rocking. So I basically would dive, lay out a little, and sleep. It was nice and relaxing. We watched the sunset on Wednesday night and it was GORGEOUS. Later on, Al and I watched the stars for awhile too. Two of the most perfect things to do while you are on a boat. It was a spectacular end to the day.
THURSDAY
This time, I voluntarily woke up early to watch the sunrise! Also beautiful, but the sunset was better. Al and I hoped to see some dolphins like they did the morning before, but no such luck. I didn't get to see dolphins, sharks, sea turtles or jelly fish on this trip! Many many people got stung by jellies, so I guess I should feel special that I never even saw one. I escaped death this time! We were transferring back to the smaller boat that would take us back to Cairns around 3, so we all just laid around and hung out a lot on this day. From Justin to Kelly was on TV, and I made everyone watch it. They all hate me now, but I still *love* that movie! The ride back to Cairns, luckily, was not as bad as the ride out there. Hardly anyone got sick that time. I was very happy once we reached land! No more boats for me!
FRIDAY
We had a "free" day in Cairns. We just went to the lagoon to swim and then revisited the markets for those who wanted to pick up a few more souvenirs. The day was kind of lame. By this time, though, most of us were ready to head back to Sydney. Traveling is fun, but it takes a lot out of you. Also, when your plans don't go as you plan, you get a little fed up. I was a little fed up by the end.
All in all, the trip was fun but it didn't live up to its expectations. My hair is really light now, though, and my skin is a little darker. Yay! I look like a person and not a ghost! (On my way to being black, Amber!) Unfortunately, my return to Sydney hasn't been that great either. I currently have an ear infection, or so I think. My equilibrium is still way off. I am still swaying like I am on a boat, and it's not just occasionally- it's constant. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we will see what they say. Also, I had to fork out some money to buy an external hard drive because my computer literally had 0 bytes left. Oh money, how I loathe thee.
Next time, I am going to make Cait write my blogs. Hers are funnier. Also, I hate that I ALWAYS feel like I have left something out. Until my next near death experiences, cheers!
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