Happy Thanksgiving & Updates From Down Under

Overdue for an update…like always.

So this past weekend we took a 5 day trip up north to Cairns. We left from Brisbane and it was about a 2 hour flight. This is where the Great Barrier Reef is and the area also attracts a lot of tourists to see the rainforests, parks and beautiful beaches. The first day we woke up and took a tour bus to the Kuranda Skyrail. It is a Gondola lift that takes you up through the rainforest over the mountain to the village of Kuranda. There are shops, restaurants and markets mostly there. We spent the afternoon walking around and shopping. At the end of the day there is a train that takes you back down the mountain. That was really beautiful too, although a bit nauseating…





The next day was our Cape Tribulation/Daintree National Park tour. The park and Cape Tribulation were about 3 hours drive north from us and the tour took you up there with lots of little stops along the way to break up the day. Our first stop was a zoo where we got to hold Koalas – yay! Queensland law permits you to hold them versus the zoo we went to in Sydney (That’s in New South Whales) where you can only pet them, not hold them. In the state of Victoria where Melbourne is located, you can’t touch them at all and can be heavily fined for it. I was told that Queensland allows it because they rely so heavily on tourism. They also had a petting zoo like they did in Sydney. I don’t think I could ever get sick of petting kangaroos and wallabies, so that was a lot of fun too.




Our next stop on the tour was a freshwater stream where we could go swimming. We didn’t really get the chance to swim on the beaches while were there because it is jellyfish season. They setup areas with nets, but one of our guides said that the stingers can still break off and get inside the net area and small jellyfish can float through sometimes. It was really hot and humid too, so it was nice to cool off and not worry about stingers.

After a quick lunch we went on a ferry ride down a river looking for crocodiles and other wildlife. We were warned me might not see any crocs because it wasn’t there season, but we did spot a couple hiding in the water by the bank. That was enough for me!




Our driver after that was through Daintree National Park, which was really beautiful and so was Cape Tribulation. The beach there reminded us a lot of Fiji because of the high tropical rainforest mountains that surrounded the area.



Next day was Great Barrier Reef day – which I had grown somewhat nervous for. In Fiji I had struggled with snorkeling and swimming when we had gone further out. I was worried I would be too busy defogging my goggles and trying to not breathe water to even enjoy my time on the Reef. Thankfully this was not the case at all and I had an awesome awesome time. We went on a boat of about 60 people who were all either snorkeling or diving (you had the option of either). The ride out to the Reef was about an hour and half but went quickly. We had to wear blue swimsuits that were sort of like lightweight dive suits. They were to protect you against jellyfish stings and they also helped keep you a little warmer in the water which I appreciated. The reef was absolutely gorgeous and HUGE. I swam around in circles and kept seeing new things and no spot looked the same twice. The coral itself was not as colorful and vibrant as I imagined it to be, but the fish definitely were. It was just like Finding Nemo but no sharks…thank goodness. I wish I had pictures to show from snorkeling but I didn’t think buying an underwater disposable camera was really worth it or would show how beautiful it was.



Sooooo that was a decent summery of Cairns, we also adventured around the shops and town on our non-tour days. They had a huge public saltwater pool in the park that was right across the street from our hostel that we went to a few times. It was a good trip but we were all ready to come home to the Gold Coast by the end and get away from that sticky humidity.

The weekend before we had gone on another mini trip that I had meant to update about – Moreton Island. It is just outside Brisbane. We went to the city Friday and stayed overnight in a hostel so we could wake up really early and take the ferry there. Our tour bus actually drove right onto the boat. I guess some people rent 4-wheel drive vehicles and take them there for the day to ride around, but I think we were smart in having someone else drive. We went to a few different places around the island. One really cool stop was for sand boarding in an area called the desert. It was huge sand dunes where you would lie on a wood board and go flying down a hill face first. You had to keep the front end of your board pulled up or you would be eating sand. We went up to where the lighthouse was and got to take some really beautiful pictures of the view.




Yesterday was the premiere of Australia the movie. My film class got presale tickets to go see it. I thought it was really good but maybe I was suckered in because I’m so crazy about Australia right now - not sure…haha Still thought it was pretty good. Thanksgiving is today and we decided to cook our own meal. There are 25 of us going. I’m in charge of mashed potatoes and my friend James is going to help me cook. I’m going to the store soon. Mom thinks I should recruit someone to help me carry all those potatoes. Turkey here is somewhat expensive. I noticed that awhile ago when I was looking for lunchmeat at the deli. We found a butcher in Burleigh who was willing to cook two turkeys for us though, so that will end up working out well. I’ll have to take pictures and let you know how everything turns out. Eat some American turkey for me at home please!!

Happy Thanksgiving :)

I love Melbourne

I just had an amazing last week and weekend!

I’ll start with Thursday morning…I went with my Aussie friends Leigh and Matty on a hike. We drove to Mount Warning which is about 40 mins from here. I had no clue how difficult or how long the climb was before I got there. It took just under two hours to reach the top and I took many breaks along the trail. I felt like I was slowing the guys down, but they didn’t give me too hard of a time about it. The view from the top was totally worth it too.

Thursday evening was my flight to Melbourne out of the Gold Coast. We flew with JetStar and had cheaper tickets that don’t allow you to check baggage. There was a one hour time difference, and we landed around midnight. It was even later by the time we took the shuttle to the city and cab to our hostel in St. Kilda for the night. The hostel ended up being really nice because our group (4 of us went) got our own bathroom. Usually you end up getting a community floor bathroom.

The next day we woke up early to go exploring and shop around the city. Melbourne is known for having good shopping and so we started in the vintage shops and boutiques around St. Kilda. We walked out along the boardwalk and beach too, it wasn’t the best weather. I guess Melbourne is pretty cloudy and rainy in general. It was overcast most of the weekend with on and off showers. It was cooler there than back on the Gold Coast where Bond is located.

We went to the city center and stopped in the visitor’s center in the afternoon. Our cab driver the night before had motioned a big soccer game happening Friday night. The game was Ireland vs. Australia International Rules Soccer. It is combination of Aussie Rules Football and Gaelic Soccer or something like that. Even after we bought the tickets we didn’t really know what we were going to see that night. We shopped for the rest of the afternoon and hung out until dinner so we could go straight to the game afterwards. It was Halloween night but you couldn’t really tell because not many people were dressed up. We just saw a few random people in costumes on the street, but that was about it. The game was a lot of fun even though Ireland won. They played with a soccer ball but could pick it up and throw it. You could also tackle and score not only in the soccer net, but also through the rugby posts at the end of the field. You can see how the filed was setup from the pictures.


The next day was Derby day. This was one of the main reasons we picked this weekend to visit Melbourne. Each year they host the Melbourne Cup and spring carnival which is a week of horse racing and the cup is the main day or most important day (from what I could figure). Derby day was another popular day to go watch the races at Flemington Track. We had a lot of fun getting dressed up and getting to see everyone elses outfits, but it was way too crowded to be an enjoyable day. There was no where to sit down for general admission (the only people who had seats were paying a couple thousand for them). We had to just keep walking around in the crowds and couldn’t get very close to the track. A lot of people had brought blankets and set up picnics on the lawn, but we didn’t know to do that. Even those people couldn’t see anything that was happening because everyone around them was standing blocking the view. We were glad we went, but it is definitely something you do once to see, not every year.


The next day we woke up extra early (7:20 pickup) for our Great Ocean Tour. A bus came to get us from the hostel and we went on a day long tour along the south coast outside of Melbourne. I will put up some pictures from the places we stopped, but the pictures hardly do it justice – it was so beautiful! We saw the rock formation of the 12 Apostles, the second most popular photographed image from Australia. They are giant rock formations that stand out along the coastline in a row (there are only 8 now though). We got to see a lot of other scenic spots and national parks along the coast. The Great Ocean Road itself is super winding and curvy. There are a lot of great surfing beaches along it too. Another cool stopping spot was an area with some wild koalas in the trees and colorful birds that would eat birdseed from your hand. We didn’t get back until after 8pm and then went to get churros and chocolate from a cute little shop in the city near our hostel.





We were pretty tired by Monday but our flight wasn’t until later and wanted to make the most of the day. We went to the Melbourne Aquarium in the morning which was smaller than I thought it would be, but still very neat to see. Then we went shopping on Chapel Street, a well known shopping hot spot in the city. I didn’t buy very much, I wasn’t really in the mood to shop by the end the trip, but there were lots of cute shops.

I thought after Monday when we got back that Tuesday would be my day to recover and rest. That changed when I got an invite from a new friend Amanda who is a nanny here on the Gold Coast to go to a fancy luncheon for the Melbourne Cup. It turns out that if you aren’t in Melbourne for the Cup on Tuesday you are getting dressed up to watch it anyway. The family she lives with owns a new club called EAST. I only made one bet, it was $5 to pick a horse name from a bucket and if your horse won you got the money from the bets (I lost).

So it has been a pretty crazy/fun week and in a couple weekends we are doing it all over again when we fly to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef – I can’t wait!

An Update in Pictures

My Birthday cake



Australian Money



My friend Nicole and I at the Indy 300 Race

Birthday Weekend

I am 21 years old – can you believe it??

I went out Thursday night with my friends to dinner at Melbas on the park. It’s a restaurant and club in Surfer’s Paradise. We had dinner and then hung out there. It was really nice and I’m glad that everyone came out! Friday was my actual birthday and we went to our friend’s apartment to bake a cake. Mom sent a package with mix, frosting, candles and sprinkles to decorate. We don’t have ovens in our apartment here, so we had to go there to make it and then brought it back. My friend Allison did most of the baking, she is always making cookies and banana bread. We went out Friday night too to celebrate in Surfers. I am feeling much much better from last week but unfortunately now everyone else is starting to feel sick.

The package from mom was great too because she put in candy saucers and also chips with salsa and cheese in little individual containers. I still have not had sit down Mexican food since we’ve been here. Just burritos a few times at one sort of fast food like place. I miss Jalapeño Loco nights!

Saturday night we went to the casino for a while. I actually didn’t gamble a single cent (thank goodness). It didn’t appeal to me much, but it was still really cool to see and hang out there. I don’t know if that’s normal to go hang out at a casino and not gamble…haha

Today we hung out at the beach all day and I think we’re going early tomorrow too before class. I am definitely not looking forward to coming home to Ohio’s December weather at the end of this trip.

Cough Cough

I have had a nagging cough and bad cold since mid last week so I finally went to the doctor on campus tonight. Turns out I have bronchitis, so he wrote me a couple prescriptions to help clear it up. I’m going to take it easy this week and hopefully I’ll be feeling better by my birthday this weekend. I think we are going out to dinner Thursday night to celebrate both mine and Ashley’s birthdays (hers is today). I still have my birthday card from Grandma to open on Friday too – I’ve been saving it since August when I left (that is some serious self-control if you ask me)!!

The concert last week was so awesome and the secret party was so much fun too. Turns out it wasn’t at Q1, but on an equally cool level it was at the Big Brother House. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched the American TV show, but Australia has their own version and the party was at the house they use for the reality show. It made me want to watch the series here, but obviously they are between seasons right now.


We are going to Melbourne Halloween weekend. I doubt we’ll get to dress up for any Halloween parties though. It’s more of an American holiday. It will still be fun, and we are planning on going to a day of the Melbourne Cup. It’s a huge horse race they host each year. I got a dress and I’m going to wear my roommate’s floppy white hat. She got it to wear for a race day they had around here earlier in the semester.

I have a huge midterm tomorrow for one my classes. Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t have a lot of homework and assignments in my classes because so much of our grade depends on the midterm and final. So off to study – more updates later this week!

Bondstock

I'm off to an exciting week! It's week 5 here at Bond and that means Bondstock is happening all this week. I have my ticket to see The Potbelleez and End of Fashion tonight on campus - yay :) Tomorrow night, Nicole, Brynn and I are going to a "secret location" party. We heard a rumor that it's on the top of Q1 which is the largest (or maybe second largest now) residential building in the world. It's right in surfers paradise. I really wanted to go up and see the view sometime this semester so if we got to go for this, that would be awesome.

This morning on campus I went to go hear John Howard speak. He was the Australian prime minister from 1996 to 2007. I thought it was really interesting and the US was brought up on several occasions. In the question and answer period he even started into his thoughts on the US elections and the candidates. So far from my experience here, Australians are far more politically and globally aware than most Americans. It's rather scary at times.

Last night, my friends and I did some trip planning as well. It's looking like Melbourne, Cairns/The Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand will be on my list. I wanted to visit Alice Springs and see Uluru, but it's really expensive to fly out there and then take a tour in the outback. I'm already so grateful that I've seen as much as I have on this trip, so I'm not too disappointed. There is still a ton to see around here too! We are planning on taking the train to the Steve Irwin Zoo on Sunday for a day trip.

Well that's all for now - I have my group tennis lesson soon and then one more class for the day. I'll update more later and let you know how Bondstock went.

What's cookin?

Sarah and I cooked Kangaroo for dinner tonight and then made wraps with it. It was pretty good but I'm not sure if she enjoyed it. There had been one night in Sydney she got really bad food poising, and thought maybe it was from eating roo. She doesn't know for sure, but I think it was on her mind.

The weekend went by way too quick, but it was a fun one. The weather was so nice, we had two good days at the beach. I put sunscreen on everywhere but my legs and of course I got burnt :(