Sky Diving!

The next morning my mind exploded with different feelings. I felt really sad that the trip was coming to an end. I had been looking forward to it since arriving in Australia and I knew that the experience would be life changing. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for all of the amazing opportunities had during the trip but a part of me could not help but feel a little disappointed that the anticipation and excitement was over. I felt incredibly lucky. I still cannot believe that I was fortunate enough to take part in so many incredible experiences. There are so many people to thank and I do not know if my appreciation will ever be enough to express how blessed I feel. I felt relieved. I never wanted the trip to end (although my bank account screamed otherwise...) but I took comfort in knowing that everything that happened worked out perfectly. And lastly, I felt anxious. Today was sky diving day, the trip was not over yet.

I woke up with my stomach turning. Today was the day; I was going to sky dive. I heard two other cell phone alarms sound off as the three of us slowly climbed out of our bunk beds. We all stayed pretty quiet, it was very early and the other girls were still sleeping. I pulled on my sports bra, shorts and sneakers and we headed outside to meet with our instructors. It was convenient that the sky diving place was located right across the street from our hostel, but part of me couldn’t help but to wish that it was a little bit further away. More time to delay the inevitable. The next twenty minutes were a blur of paper work, safety instructions and waiting. My guide walked over, introduced himself and started to strap on my gear. Was I seriously about to jump out of plane from 9,000 feet in the air? We hopped onto the bus and headed towards our final destination. Once arriving at the airport we all made the slow climb onto the tiny airplane. I sat in the back tightly attached to the guide behind me. We took off flying upwards. “Wow this is so high!” One of my friends exclaimed. “How high up are we?” “3,000 feet” he responded. I thought he was joking around. How was it possible that we still had another 6,000 feet to go up!? Finally we reached our destination and one by one my friends disappeared over the side, tumbling into the air, into nothing. It was my turn. We inched forward and I dangled my legs over the edge of the plane. “Ready?” My instructor asked. I didn’t even have time to answer. He scooted us off and we somersaulted through the clouds.

The feeling of free falling is pretty indescribable. It is such a shocking and overwhelming experience that its hard to even remember exactly what you were thinking. The concept is so perplex and unbelievable, but for some reason the more I toss the idea around in my head the more normal it seems. People fall all the time; they slip on the ground, roll out of bed, fall off a chair and jump off a diving board. When you really put things into perspective is falling out of a plane that different? I wish I could remember my exact thoughts when I first tumbled out of the plane but they are completely gone from my memory. After a few more seconds of free falling (and continued blurred thoughts) the instructor tugged open our parachute and we shot back up into the sky. Now we were just drifting down, taking in all of the gorgeous views. Not only was I fortunate enough to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef but I was now sky diving over it. My instructor handed me the control straps and we turned from side to side as I pulled one down further than the other. Everything started to return to normal size as we drew closer and closer to the ground. 

After sky diving, Elizabeth, Nikki and I walked around town looking for something to eat. We found an adorable cafe and sat down for a delicious breakfast, chatting away about what we had just accomplished. The rest of the day was filled with rain forest exploration in the Crystal Cascades. We slipped over slimy rocks, swam down the river and slid down the waterfalls. Later that night was our farewell party where we said goodbye to all of our newly acquired friends. Everyone feasted on pizza, barbecue wings and french fries while cracking up into hysterics over the one fish two fish sideshow, showcasing hundreds of pictures and videos from the best ten days of our lives.

Scuba Diving in the Great Barrier Reef!

I used to think that I was a mermaid. Family vacations consisted of endless hours filled with underwater exploration. Swimming until my toes were past the point of pruned, I would explore the bottom of pools pretending that the broken pieces of cement were secret treasures. The doctors told me that I had abnormally large lunges; I could hold my breath forever. This wasn’t good enough though. I wanted to be breathe underwater.

In elementary school we spent a lot of time learning about other countries. Mrs. Sisson would have each student line up and we would all make plane noises, spread our arms and fly around the room. The day we landed in Australia was the day I fell in love with the Great Barrier Reef. I’m sure the fact that I spent every weekend of my childhood at swim meets contributed greatly to my passion for swimming. My pieces of pool cement treasures however, were nothing in comparison to Australia’s underwater world.

A two and half hour boat ride later and we had finally arrived at my dream destination- Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Miles of crystal blue water scattered with patches of dark where the reef was overwhelmed me. If the top of the water was this stunning I could not even imagine the beauty that existed below. I suited up in stinger wet suit, grabbed a snorkel, fins and pair of goggles and jumped in quicker than any of the other one hundred people on board. The current was strong but I pushed through determined to reach my final destination. 

It really was another world. There were colonies everywhere, filled with every color reef and every size fish. I couldn’t look fast enough. Red, orange, bright purple, blue, yellow, lime green- it was unbelievable. I never wanted to surface again. It is so fascinating that an entirely different world can exist somewhere underwater. The fish were breathtaking. Every one of them was more colorful then the next. The Reef itself is so beautiful because it is so drastically different than anything else that exists in the world. Nothing above ground looks anything like it.

We woke up early AGAIN and walked down to the Cairns marina where our gorgeous yacht awaited us- I really could get used to this kind of lifestyle. Everyone climbed on board, and headed immediately to the top of the boat in a hurry to land a prime tanning spot. The jets started up and the yacht took off over the water. I had been anticipating this day since the moment our plane touched down in Australia back in February. The boat ride was a little choppy but I didn't even notice. The water surrounding us was more beautiful than any site I had seen since being in Australia. After about two hours of looking around and sun tanning we all headed below deck for some safety scuba diving instructions. Our scuba diving group was assigned to one of the last spots leaving plenty of time for snorkeling beforehand. As soon as I could, I hopped into the water and took off towards the reef. It was unbelievable. Endless colors, reef, fish and water. I could not get enough of the other world that existed below the waters surface.

After a few hours of snorkeling I took a break from the water and headed back to the yacht. It was almost our turn to scuba dive! I grabbed some food and sat outside in the warm sun until it was our groups turn to go. The instructor quickly reviewed some of the rules again and then strapped the huge air tanks to each one of our backs. We looked just like real scuba drivers, wet suits, fins, snorkels and air tanks. Our instructor linked arms with us and we hopped down into the water ready to descend. The process of scuba diving took some time to get used to. Breathing into a mask was a little more difficult than I had imagined. Everyone in my group managed to master it, but some of the other groups did have trouble. Obviously, a human body is not naturally used to being able to breathe underwater and I think some people were a little freaked out by the process. I just kept reminding myself to breathe in and out as our group took off deeper under the water. It was amazing. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef is something that I have wanted to do for my entire life and I could not believe that the opportunity had actually presented itself. We finned around for awhile taking in all of the difference sites. Endless reef, fish and sea creatures consumed my attention. I did not want to surface again. We scubaed around a little bit more before heading back up to the talk. I took one more look around and promised myself to make it back here again one day. It is amazing that so many bright colors can exist underwater. We surfaced and spent the rest of boat ride home chatting about everything seen underwater.

That night the tour guides had arranged a bar hop throughout the city of Cairns with transport on a roof top party bus. We all loaded onto the top of the bus and headed to the first bar, music blasting.

Bungee jumping...

Every little girl is scared of heights but a couple years spent rough housing with my three brothers quickly vanquished any fears that I had. However, to say that you are fearless when peering up at the only bungee jump in Australia would be a lie. Every single one of my brothers would have been terrified; even more motivation for me. Countless doubts and excuses filled my mind as I began the slow 164 climb up to the bungee platform. I decided not to think about the plunge and instead encouraged my friends to start singing with me. They needed more encouragement then I did. “And I’m free, free falling…” How appropriate; everyone giggled. We finally reached the top of the unsteady stage and all the song lyrics slipped away. This was no concert venue. I peered over the edge of the platform and my heart instantly took off. For a second, I thought it had left my body and already taken the plunge back to solid ground. I turned around and couldn’t help but to laugh at my friend’s terrified pale white faces. “Look at how beautiful it is,” I reassured them. “Just keep your eyes on the horizon.” The site really was breath taking, you could see for miles. “Stevie Church,” the instructor announced my name and I slowly walked over to join him. I plopped down on the seat filling my mind with anything other than the jump itself. He tightened a towel around my ankles and I started laughing. What else could I do? I was about to jump head first off a 16 story platform, into a lake, with nothing more than a towel tied to my feet. “Ready?” he asked. I stood up just in time to see the girl in front of me disappear leaving nothing but her screaming echo behind. “Let’s do it!” I responded. Keeping my eyes on the horizon, I waddled to the edge of the podium and took one last big breathe. “One…two…three...” and I dove.

The next morning was pretty interesting, eight girls crammed into one tiny hostel room with four bunk beds and suitcases scattered everywhere. There was barely any walking room but we couldn't be bothered with that mess, the only thing anyone could focus on was the bungee plunge that was happening later that afternoon. Our destination today was the AJ Hackett bungee jumping center- the only one in all of Australia. The fact that there was only one location to bungee jump in the entire country of Australia made me pretty nervous, but I distracted myself with other thoughts and continued chatting with others. Besides bungee jumping our group also had the opportunity to take a ride on the Minjin Swing. Elizabeth, Ang and I grouped up for the swing ride and decided that it would be best to tackle it first. A swing ride does not sound intimidating when compared to a bungee jump but we soon learned that it was pretty comparable. The swing reached a height of about 147 feet (almost just as high as the bungee jump) and traveled at a speed of 74 miles per hour. The three of us laid down on the harness and the instructor hoisted us up into the air. I had no idea the swing ride was going to be that high. Elizabeth held the string, the light turned green and she yanked. We flew down the cord, past the instructor and right back into the air on the opposite side of the launch. The feeling was indescribable. We moved so fast together that it was hard to even tell what happened.

 

Next- the bungee. Feeling a little more confident from the thrilling swing launch, we walked over to the bungee stairs and started the 164 foot hike upwards. We were all really nervous but I tried my best to stay calm and confident and talk everyone else through it. Encouraging other people helped to take off my own edge. We finally reached the top and walked over the wobbly platform to join the other jumpers who were waiting for their turn. Wobbly platform, how safe I thought. The view was unbelievable, you could see everything for miles around. Even looking down below (which most other people refused to do) was really cool. The bungee jump was placed over a small little lagoon of water and after your jump, you dangled over the water until the motor boat raft came out and took you down. I continued encouraging everyone while waiting for my turn. To say I wasn't nervous would be a complete and utter lie but I can confidently admit that I felt much braver than everyone else. The instructor called me over and commended me on my cheer leading skills. I plopped down as he tightly wrapped a black towel around my ankles and fastened it on with a string. He hooked my feet to a giant cord and told me to stand up. I waddled slowly to the edge, heart racing, and kept my eyes locked into the horizon. A thousand excuses streamed through my mind but I pushed them away and took a deep breathe. You can do this, I told myself. Determined to make my drive graceful, I counted to three and plunged into the air.

It is really hard to describe the feeling that comes from free falling. At first you do not even realize what is happening, I actually think that your body enters into temporary shock. Once your mind grasps control of the situation again, you have a few seconds to access what is happening. "I am falling, head first, very quickly, through thin air..." It literally feels just like that, like you are falling through the air. Before your body can further determine how it feels, you reach the bottom and the cord yanks you up again. The process repeats itself for a few times before the momentum finally wears off and you stop moving. And then, thats it, your done. You bungee jumped.

Everyone was pretty amped up from their jump as we headed back to our hostel to get ready for the night. Some people were still wet because they had gotten dunked in the water during their bungee. I still cannot believe that I actually jumped, the feeling was unreal and I would do it again in a heartbeat. After some dinner, showers and makeup we all headed out back to the Woolshed for some more drinks and dancing.

White Water Rafting!

I still have no idea how any of us managed to sleep solidly throughout the majority of the night. My roommates and I were woken up early in the morning, not by the screaming voices of our tour guides, but by the monsoon like rain fall outside. Pouring is an understatement, you could not even see out the window. What a day for white water rafting!

We really should not have been that surprised. Our hostel was in Mission Beach- the rainiest place in all of Australia. Everyone filled out some quick paperwork, hopped back onto the bus (a recurrent theme of this trip) and we took off towards the river. After about an hour or so of traveling, the rained slowed down enough for us to make a stop for breakfast and gear pick up. Everyone grabbed a delicious bacon and egg sandwich and scarfed it down while waiting in line to pick out their water shoes, oars, life jackets and helmets. We broke into groups of seven and were assigned an instructor- Benny. Ben was quite the character, he spent the majority of our trip singing songs and teasing every passenger. After getting all geared up and reviewing some safety instructions, the seven of us hopped onto the small yellow raft and took off down the river. I think we were all a little bit nervous at first. It was still raining and the river was pretty choppy. Each white water rafting river throughout the world is rated on the same standard scale of one to five, one obviously being the calmest, and five being the most dangerous. We were on a four. Our boat weight was pretty evened out with four guys and four girls. At first everyone seemed a little bit tense, but once we got started excitement took over and no one remembered feeling nervous.

Everyone dug their oars into the water and pulled through quickly approaching the first rapid drop. Benny trained us well with a few basic instructions- forward, backward, rest and down. "Forward," he screamed and we paddled furiously trying to pick up speed. "Rest!" Everyone in the boat held their oars still and we plunged down the first rapid. It was exhilarating. The raft dropped and then bent, adjusting to the sudden change in elevation. Everyone got soaked but it didn't matter, the splashing was worth every second. One drop down and we all wanted more. "Forward!" Ben yelled and we kept on going. This went on for a few minutes before we got to take a break and jump into the water for a swim. The river water was actually warmer than the rainy air so we swam around for awhile before hopping back into the raft. We spent the rest of the day speeding down rapids, jumps and waterfalls. It was so much fun, our boat was really successful too! Unlike all of the other rafts, our boat didn't flip once and no one ever fell out. The other Loyola boat flipped a few times and lost a couple of people along the way too haha.

After a delicious river side lunch we hopped back in for a few more hours of rafting thrills. We stopped along the way and climbed up a giant 25 foot rock to jump off of. After rafting along a level four river all day I felt pretty fearless but the plunge was still very thrilling. Eventually the sun even started to peak out and everyone's rain and river soaked life jackets dried right off. Once we reached the end of the course, we floated around just chatting about the days activities. The river itself was absolutely gorgeous. The entire white water rafting course weaved throughout the Australian rain forest and included countless stone waterfalls and gorgeous blooming tropical flowers.

Eventually everyone climbed out of the river, finished drying off and got changed. Ben hugged each one of us goodbye and commended us on our superb rafting skills. Guess what we did next? Hopped right back onto the bus. Luckily  though, this was our last bus trip. We were headed even further north to Cairns where we would be staying for the rest of our break.

That night in Cairns we checked into our accommodations, showered and got ready for the night. Everyone met to walk down to the Woolshed for dinner, drinks and dancing. Dinner was delicious (a steak dinner- first one in Australia!) and the dancing was even better.

Sailing and Snorkeling!

Our tour guides ran into our room screaming excitedly in an effort to wake us up for our 7:30 am departure from the island. Although I was a little sad to leave the beautiful island I was confident that whatever activities were happening next would be equally amazing. Everyone climbed onto the large sail boat that we would be spending the rest of the day on and we took off along the crystal water. The weather was flawless of course, another beautiful day.

After cruising along for a little we stopped and the tour guides began to hand out snorkeling gear! Everyone dressed up in stinger suits and goggles and jumped off the boats edge and into the ocean water. Although this was not the main barrier reef, the sites were still incredible. Such beautiful coral and colorful fish. I specifically remember learning about the reefs of Australia in elementary school and hoping to one day visit. Looking back, it is still hard to believe that I was actually there swimming around right above it. I'm sure my love for swimming contributed greatly to this experience but regardless it was unbelievable. It is incredible to me that an entire other world exists below the one that we live in.

Once everyone finished up swimming around we climbed back onto the boat and sailed away. The rest of the afternoon was filled with boating around including some stops and opportunities to jump into the water. It was another pretty relaxing day which I took full advantage of because I had the feeling there was a lot more excitement to come soon...

 

 

Free Day in the Whitsunday Islands!

After a fun night it was really nice to have a day off to relax. (As if we need to relax on vacation?) A group of us still woke up pretty early to reserve lounge chairs by the pool (rough life) and this was where we spent the majority or our day. The pool overlooked the ocean and it was pretty difficult to tell which one was clearer. We ordered lunch poolside and tanned the day away : ) So lucky, I know. Later on in the afternoon one of our tour guides came by and asked if we wanted to watch and help him feed some of the tropical ocean fish. We walked out to the edge of the peer and fed bread to all of the angel fish swimming by. After walking around the peer some more, we all decided that it would be fun to jump off of its edge. Were you supposed to jump off the peer into possibly infested shark water? Definitely not but I absolutely loved every second of it. I stepped up in the first group because many of the others were a little bit nervous to jump. On the count of three we jumped off and plunged into the water below. It was so thrilling and the water was absolutely beautiful. We quickly swam to the ladder and tried to climb out fast in an effort to avoid any shark attacks ; )

We returned to the pool and sun bathed a little more before taking showers and getting ready for the night. At dinner we were informed that there would be yet another themed party and we were instructed to pick up these outfits once we finished eating. Tonight's theme- Jungle Fever. The island provided us with a few white clothes, body paint and leaves from various trees. We raced back to our room to begin the costume design and to prepare for the rest of the nights adventures.

Arrival to the Whitsunday Islands!

After easily the longest bus ride of our lives we could not be any happier to arrive at our next location. We all changed into bathing suits lathered up in sun screen and met with our tour guides to discuss the days activity's. First on the agenda a speed boat ride to Whitehaven beach. Again I do not think that any of us were quite prepared of the intense transportation that was to come.

We split up into two groups and loaded onto our assigned speed boat. There was no more room in the back, so my friends and I hopped onto the front and got comfortable and ready to relax and enjoy the ride. Ha! Relax on a speed boat- yeah right, who knows what we were thinking. At first the boat just cruised along at a decent speed allowing everyone to take in the gorgeous surrounding scenery. The sites around us were indescribable. Every single picture looks just like a post card. Not only was the water absolutely crystal blue but because we were entering the Whitsunday Islands, the surrounding mountains were also just as beautiful. Looking back, it is hard to believe that we were even there. After a few more minutes of casual cruising and observation the boat began to pick up some speed. Still not really not phased I kept a loose group and continued to gaze around. Before I knew it the speed accelerated and we took off over the water. It would be one thing if we were just cruising along quickly, glassing over the water, but the waves were HUGE. In a matter of seconds my friends and I were flying up in the air, bumping our butts back down on the seats and then flying up again. It was hilarious! We spent the next twenty minutes banging into one another and nearly falling over the boats edge. I still have bruises to show for it, but it was worth every single second. Finally, we arrived at Whitehaven beach. This particular beach has been showcased and displayed on many different travel television shows and is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. It definitely lived up to its reputation. We climbed off the boat into the water and lathered up in more sun screen. Everyone spent the rest of the day in the water, sun tanning and playing fun beach games. After lunch a group of us went on a walk up the mountain through the rain forest to see the beautiful islands, mountains and water from higher up. Sun burnt, exhausted and soaked we all climbed back onto the speed boats and cruised to South Molle Island where we would be staying at for the next three days.

Once we arrived at the absolutely beautiful island we were given our room assignments and instructions for the nights activity. Our tour guides instructed us to pick up our nights "outfits" at 5:00 and to be at dinner by 7:00. Outfits? Many of us were curious as to what exactly this meant. The nights party was themed and the costumes were supplied to us by the island but that was the only information that we were given at this time. After the instructions everyone raced for the showers. It was 5:00 before we knew it, and everyone headed to the beach bar to pick up what they would be wearing for the night. When we arrived and waited in line it was hard to see exactly what everyone was being handed. It didn't take long however, to realize what the theme of the night would be- plastic fantastic. Evey one was given two neon colored plastic garbage bags and told to design an outfit that was to be worn for the rest of the night. After dinner we all went back to our rooms and tried to be creative as possible! The outcome was pretty entertaining. Considering we had all spent the day together in our bathing suits, many of us just threw our bikinis back on and tried out best to work the plastic around them. The bar on the island where the plastic fantastic party was, overlooked the water and made for a really fun night!