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!

Fraser Island!

"Bang, bang, bang...rise and shine" Our tour guides knocked on our doors for our 6:30 am wake up call. We all rolled over not wanting to move, needless to say, none of us had been up this early since arriving in Australia. Finally we were able to open our eyes and get moving- as if we could complain during spring break in Australia. All 60 of us groggily loaded onto the tour bus while our guides made extreme efforts to rally everyone for the days events.

Today we headed to Fraser Island- the largest sand island in the world! The island is covered in tons of rain forests, sand dunes and fresh water lakes. The weather was beautiful and we were all pretty excited to start the days events. We started with a quick bus ride to the marina where we quickly transferred to a ferry. After a beautiful forty minute boat ride the ferry arrived to Fraser Island. Everyone climbed out off the ferry and onto ANOTHER bus (so much transportation.) Too distracted by the sites surrounding us, no one took notice of the huge tires attached to our new vehicle. We were in for quite the surprise. This was hands down the crazy bus ride I have ever been on. With narrow paths, monstrous sized bumps and extreme speeds I think it is safe to say that we are all luck to be alive. In the past few months norther Australia had experienced vast flooding, this mixed with an island made completely of sand resulted  in the largest road bumps I have ever seen. Because of this, it is crucial for the driver to excel at fast speeds in order for the bus to drive over the huge bumps. I actually found the ride to be really cool. Although it was a little dangerous it felt like we were on an actual safari surrounded completely by wildlife and rain forests.

Our first stop on Fraser Island was at Lake Mackenzie. This lake (and all of the other ones on the island) is composed of 100% freshwater. Meaning the lake was filled with natural rain water and nothing else. When it rained the lake would fill, the water would evaporate, cycle through and then fill more once it rained again. Not only is this concept fascinating the results also produced crystal clear water. The pH levels of the water are also well worth noting. Because the lake was composed completely of fresh water, the pH levels were very high and therefore incredibly beneficial for everyone's skin and hair. Our bus driver told us before we all jumped in that these levels are comparable to many of the hair and body products we use daily. Freshwater conditioner and body lotion! After a few hours of swimming and sun bathing we hopped back onto the bus for what we thought would be another bumpy bus ride. However the bus instead quickly emerged out onto the actual beach itself! We were riding right along the coast line, a few feet away from the ocean. it was absolutely beautiful (and much smoother.) Along the way we made a few stops. One of them included a viewing of a war wrecked ship that washed up onto the Fraser Island shore.

After another bumpy ride back to the ferry, we all began to prepare ourselves for the long night ahead. Our accommodation for the night- a thirteen hour bus ride to the next location...

Steve Irwin's Australian Zoo!

 Our first stop was the Australian zoo founded by Steve Irwin! Although it was pretty sad knowing that Steve Irwin was no longer around to continue working it was really neat to see everything that he had created. The zoo was massive and there was so much to see and do. First we lined up to feed the elephants. One of the workers placed fruit in my hand while I stood in front of the massive creature. I waited while the elephant’s huge trunk swept down to my hand, sucked the fruit off it just like a vacuum and placed the food its own mouth. The whole concept of how elephants eat is really cool. I guess there trunks are really just like human arms but without fingers. After feeding these guys we moved onto feeding and petting kangaroos! I know I have talked about kangaroos a lot before but regardless of how many times I see them I am still amazed. They are just different in comparison to any other American animal. These particular kangas were really relaxed and just laid there while we fed them. One of the moms was pregnant with a little joey in her pouch! We didn’t get to see the baby because it was still inside of her but knowing that she was pregnant was still pretty rewarding. After the kangaroos I finally got to hold a Koala! Just like all of the other times that I’ve seen them, it was adorable. We all got to take turns holding it. The koala wrapped its huge claws around each one of us and nuzzled its head into our chest. 

Last stop for us at the zoo was the Irwin Crocodile show! Usually Steve Irwin’s wife, Terri Irwin, does the show accompanied by some other Crocodile hunters. However, our group was especially lucky because it was Good Friday and their two children were off from school. So, we got to see the Crocodile show put on by not only Steve Irwin’s wife but also his two children, Bindi and Robert. It really brought everything even more to life. I was not expecting to be as amazed by this show as I was. The crocodiles were really, really cool. The hunters spent time teasing and playing tricks with the trained creatures and I have to admit it was a little scary. The crocodiles were huge and they take their food very seriously. I really enjoyed this part of the day especially because of the Steve Irwin aspect. He really invested in something he was passionate about and the Australian zoo exists because of his hard work. Although it was sad knowing he couldn’t be there to perform the show, it was really inspirational to see his entire family carry on the tradition. They are one brave group of people haha.

After the zoo we all climbed back onto the bus and headed towards our accommodations for the night. We were staying at a hostel in Hervey Bay equipped with a pool, welcome party and dinner. We spent the night beginning to meet everyone (including getting thrown into the pool a few times) but headed to bed early because of our 6:30 am wake up call the next morning.

Spring Break Begins!

The anticipation is finally over- spring break is here! I had been looking forward to this trip since the day that I was accepted into the Australian study abroad program. 10 days of sun, travel and life changing experiences awaited and I could not wait any longer to finally get started. Our flight was out at 9 am Thursday morning. We were headed to Brisbane to begin our guided tour up the east coast of northern Australia. Although I was very excited for all activities to start, I was even more pumped for the good weather. The second we walked off the airplane I was rewarded. Sunshine, sunshine and more sunshine! We spent the first day relaxing enjoying our free time before the real tour started the next morning. A little shopping, a little napping and of course eating was enough to fill us for our first day. It was probably a good thing that we decided to take it easy considering the absolute craziness that was soon to come...

Australia Rules Footy

I finally went to my first footy game! Footy is a sport completely native to Australia. The rules were first officially recorded during the year of 1859 but the game itself had started a few years before then. Although the game was first recorded quite some time ago, it took a little while to become popular. However using the word "popular" now to describe it would be a huge understatement. Australians are obsessed with it. Being that there are only a total of seventeen teams throughout the entire country (much, much less than the American baseball or football leagues) everyone gets pretty competitive over their team of choice. When I first arrived in Australia and started to learn about this sport I decided that I wanted to pick one team and support them throughout the time that I was here (and maybe even after if I really liked it!) I talked with a few different people about who they liked (everyone had very strong opinions) and decided on the Essendon Bombers! It sounded like they had a fairly good reputation and their colors were black and red which I really like (haha.)

We left pretty early in the afternoon Saturday and hopped on the train headed towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG.) This is the largest stadium in Melbourne holding enough seats for 90,000 people (40,000 more people than the new Yankee Stadium can hold!) Needless to say it was freaking huge. Even more exciting than that was how full the stadium was the day that we decided to go to! Around 70,000 people filled the stadium- an extraordinary amount for just a regular season again. The stadium was so full because the two teams playing, the Carlton Blues and Essendon Bombers, are both Melbourne teams and they both have similar records. 

I wish that I could explain the rules of the game but I think I would just end up leaving most people very confused (especially because I still do not know all of the rules myself.) The game is a cross between soccer, rugby and even a little bit of basketball. There are 4 posts at the end of each field. If you get the ball through the middle two posts, you have scored a “goal” which is worth 6 points. Kicking the ball through either one of the end posts gives you one point for what is called a “behind.” As for the rest of the game the details are a little blurry. Although I personally really enjoyed watching the game itself seemed a lot messier and more confusing than any American or European sport. Whoever has the ball runs with it in their hand but has to bounce it every 15 meters. When they want to pass the ball they can either “hand pass” it (punch the ball with one hand while holding it in the other one) or kick it in the air. Unlike soccer the ball is never kicked along the ground. There is also a lot of tackling involved. A proper tackle must take place between the player’s knees and shoulders. It’s similar to soccer with the kicking, American football with the goal posts, rugby with the tackling and basketball with the bouncing- quite the sport.

The outcome of the game we went to was actually incredibly exciting. The bombers had been up for the entire game. Eventually however, Carlton began to inch their way back and before we all even realized they had tied it up. The stadium filled with screams and cheers from both sets of fans for the next fifteen minutes while the bomber and blues battled back and forth. The bombers were ahead, the blues scored, the bombers came back and scored, the blues scored again! It was constant. Everyone was at the edge of their seats as the game ended in a tie. All the Americans looked around in excitement for overtime and were confused by the disappointed looks on all of the Australians faces. Apparently there is no such thing as over time in Australian footy. The two teams simply had to accept a tie.