It took until the very last weekend I had to spare in Australia, but I finally went to one of the natural wonders of the world: the Great Barrier Reef! Tara and I decided to take a road trip to the small town of Seventeen Seventy (1770) to go on a day cruise to explore a small portion of the reef. The reef actually goes all the way up the east coast of Australia starting just north of the Sunshine Coast going all the way up to Cairns. 1770 was in driving distance, so it was nice to save a little money. We booked a day cruise with Lady Musgrave Cruises in 1770. It was affordable and it was an entire day that included: a 90 minute boat ride out to Lady Musgrave Island, a tour of the island, morning and afternoon tea, a lunch buffet, a semi-submersible tour of the reef, and over 4 hours of free time to snorkel.
The driving time was about 6 hours one way, so to break it up a little we decided to stop a few places. We went to Maryborough and stayed the night at Reuben and Nicole's (Tara's brother and his wife) house. They were nice enough to let us stay the night and they even gave us dinner. I got to know them pretty well the week before when we spent the night and watched about 8 movies! They were really cool people and we got along great, it wasn't long before they took me in as a new family member. They made sure to let me know that I would always have a place in their home if I came back to the country. The next morning we left around 7:30 to head to Bundaberg: the small town known for the well known Australian Bundaberg Rum. We planned on going to the distillery and getting a tour. It was really cool to see how much rum they made since it was the only distillery that made it to supply Australia. They had over 250 giant vats of rum sitting on the property... aging for about two years for the perfect taste (if you ask me...it was Captain Jack Sparrow's heaven). Every vat contains about 6 million dollars worth of rum, that is over $1,500,000,000...which would explain the electrical fence that surrounds the distillery. For about $25, we got a guided tour of the distillery, a look at the museum, a free taste test of molasses, and two free taste tests of rum. Oh yes....we really enjoyed ourselves :)
The tour at the distillery took about an hour and we were done by 10:30am, so we drove to 1770 to hang out and explore for the rest of the day. We quickly found out that it wasn't much of a town...it probably wouldn't exist if it weren't right on the ocean. Tara and I got bored pretty quickly, we just had a picnic lunch on the beach, watched the sunset, and then watched Pirates 3 out my laptop before going to bed. We decided to take a risk and sleep in the car to get out of paying for accommodation, which turned out to be pretty luxurious. With nothing really to do and it being dark out by 7pm, we had no choice but to go to sleep by 9pm. The early night was fine though since we had to get up at 6:30 for the cruise the next morning.
We woke up easily with the sunrise and got ready for the cruise. We met our group at wharf at 8am and left for the island at 8:30. Tara had never been on a boat before so she was pretty excited. The trip to the island took an hour and a half...the water was pretty smooth at first, but as we got further out into open water it got more intense. There were 'just in case' bags on the boat in case anyone had problems with motion sickness (which a few did...it was quite pleasant). I was beginning to feel a bit queasy myself, so I forced my self to fall asleep to avoid any further sickness. We got to our destination and hooked up our boat to a permanent platform near the island. Here they had picnic tables, changing rooms, wetsuits and snorkelling gear, and a downstairs underwater viewing area. Tara and I were assigned to be in group 1 of two groups, so we got to go the the island for a tour first thing. We got there by a pontoon, which had a glass bottom so we could see the reef below us on our way. It was amazing! We went right over turtle beds :)
We got a 45 min tour of the island, which was formed entirely by coral reef pieces that built up over time. It was called Lady Musgrave Island. There were these really cool trees that could quickly regenerate, they were all over the island. The tour guide told us that if you cut of a limb of the tree and place it on the ground, it would begin growing into the ground and forming new limbs within months! Pretty cool! It also had many types of birds and insects, no snakes thank goodness! This one type of bird would travel to the island to nest every year, over 60,000 of them. Unfortunately because of the sticky sap that the trees produced, about one-third of those birds died every year. Seeing all the pieces of coral everywhere was pretty awesome, I took plenty of photos :)
We went back to the platform and then went on a semi-submersible boat for a 20 min tour of the reef. We sat below which was under the water. We got a view of the reef through glass windows which was really neat! We returned and had some lunch before going out snorkelling. Tara and I got our wetsuits on after we were done eating and got our snorkel gear ready to go out on the reef. I was SO EXCITED! We went out there and the water had luckily warmed up a lot since the morning...it was nice to be in group 1 so we could swim later in the day. The wetsuits made it extremely easy to float which was nice, and the water was a gorgeous blue-green color! It was so clear, which made it really simple to see all kinds of fish and coral from the surface. I brought out an underwater camera to take photos :) Tara and I made our way around the edge of the reef, it was SO beautiful! We got to see tons of cool fish, colorful coral, and even turtles! We saw a small one swim by right in front of us and saw two more that were a lot bigger on the turtle beds. It was a wonderful experience, I felt like I could have explored it all day :)
By about 3pm we had to head back to 1770, the waves were a lot bigger this time so I had to make myself go to sleep again... The day was over so fast, but it was well worth it! Tara and I were so happy we got the opportunity to see the reef and spend some more time together before I had to go back to America. I only had one week left with my best friend, and it was really nice to experience something so amazing with her. I am excited to return home after all this time being away. I will be able to tell plenty of stories and share the Aussie culture with my family and friends, but it is hard knowing that I will have to leave this wonderful country...and say goodbye to one of the greatest friends I have ever made. I may be counting down days to go home, but I am also counting down days to when my Aussie twin comes to Wisconsin to visit me in December! Sadly, this is my last Australia blog (hopefully just for this trip), and I can proudly say that the country of Australia is now and will forever be my home away from home! G'day mate!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Camping Down Under
For weeks Tara had been talking about bringing me camping. We finally planned it for one weekend when it fit our schedule, we decided to go the weekend after the last week of classes. Here in Australia we get a week of after classes end and before finals begin, it is called a “study break” (not that anyone actually studies). We were planning on going to Inskip point to camp, which was apparently located right on the coast near Rainbow Beach. I was pretty excited to spend a few relaxing days doing absolutely nothing with a great view of the ocean. Because I would be going back home to Wisconsin in a few weeks, it was also nice to get to spend some quality time with Tara.
All week we were planning our menu and our packing list since Inskip provided nothing but a campsite and a great view. Tara also thought it would be a good idea for there to be a second driver just in case, so I needed to practice beforehand. One night after spending the day at Tara’s place, she thought it would be a good idea to drive us back to my place. So I got in the car (on the opposite side) and drove for the first time while over here. It was quite an experience! I have to say that I thought the most difficult thing would be sitting on the opposite side in the car or driving on the other side of the road…but the weirdest thing for me was having the gear shifter on the left side and the blinker on the right side of the steering wheel (let’s just say it took a few ‘turning on the windshield wipers before every turn’ before getting used to it).We practiced a couple more times that week, and that was all I really needed.
Our plan was to leave on Saturday morning, stop at her parents’ place to get some of the camping gear, and head to Inskip point so we could set up camp before it got dark. Because of a few delays that were bound to happen, we didn’t get to leave town until 11:30am, plus we had to make our stops and drop off Tara’s friend Nadine along the way…we most likely weren’t going to make it to camp before sunset (5:30pm). Tara drove the way there…we stopped to get some Hungry Jacks for lunch and we also had to do our grocery shopping for the weekend We also had to bu a couple bags of firewood ($17.50AUD each) because it was apparently huge fines to collect firewood in the woods/bush for burning—which kind of bothered me. We finally got to the campsite and found the most perfect spot to camp. It was beneath some trees, but there was an open area that revealed the vast ocean. I knew I would be enjoying every moment of that view. We set up camp and made a fire in the dark…but because we were still full from Hungry Jacks, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for s’mores! One flaw that Australians have is that they have never heard of s’mores…what is that?? For once an American gets to take the reins and share something amazing as crafting the perfect s’more (which is, in my opinion, a necessary life skill). She loved it!!...which I knew she would It had been a long day, so it was an early night for us.
The following morning we made scrambled eggs, but went classy and added some zucchini and cheese…it was delicious! We also had a huge case of sausages to last us the weekend, so we fried up a couple of those. We drove into town to get some more ice just about every morning, and was also a good excuse to use an actual bathroom once a day :P The rest of the day we pretty much just sat around, enjoyed the view and the campfire, and talked. It was just as relaxing as we intended…apart from the fact that Tara was still not accustomed to the idea of being lazy and sitting still—she of course decided to tidy up the camp (by that I mean picking up sticks and vines and putting them into a pile). I told her to sit down and relax. So far there was no sign of any treacherous Aussie insects/deadly creatures…and I was happy with it staying that way. We took a nice nap in the evening, but when we got up Tara seemed to have come in contact with our first visiting creature while trying to move her chair. It was the biggest spider I had ever come across (apart from the ones behind glass)…we both screamed and I stood there quaking and staring at her attempt to smash it then throw it in the fire (I was such a big help—I will always stick to the cheerleading when it comes to killing spiders) For dinner we made a chicken and cheese pasta bake….sounds like luxury camping food but it was actually really simple to make, and tasty. We enjoyed the campfire a litter longer that night and we had a great time just kicking back, getting a little crazy, and occasionally dancing :P I even shared a few traditional camp songs with Tara, something else she had never heard of! (how do these people camp??)
The next day we had the best pancakes ever! They were the $2 shake and pour pancakes, but they already had syrup in the batter…yum, they hit the spot! We found a second spider in the firewood bag that morning, and the third spider near our garbage bag—both which were removed by Tara. We were also becoming shower deprived by this point, so we both decided to wash our hair and get refreshed with the help of a bucket of cold water—it was better than nothing. I learned quickly that when camping on the beach, one has to expect that almost anything will come with a side of sand. Whether you have a little crunch in your pancakes, have an extra exfoliate in your shampoo, or it becomes routine to shake out your clothes and empty your shoes before bed...a forced friendship is formed with the sand. It was a gorgeous day so we decided to lay out on the beach and get some sun. It was pretty warm, so my ‘Wisconsin-ness’ didn’t last long before I had to jump in the ocean. The rest of the day was spent reading, cooking lunch, reading, napping, munching on snacks, and reading some more…talk about the life. That afternoon, three wild horses walked up on the beach! I got really excited and took tons of pictures because I had never seen horses in the wild before, plus they were beautiful with the ocean in the background. I also got to see a Goanna, which was a sly lizard that circled our campsite in the hopes of stealing our food. All I could think of was the rescuers down under and the quote “Those are NOT Joanna eggs!” haha
Tuesday was our last day camping, so we spent the morning cleaning up and packing stuff. We made some lunch and relaxed for the last couple hours we had. I decided to teach Tara how to play Rummy 500, a skill to have if she was planning on coming to America to visit. I have a feeling she hustled me though, because she totally beat me at my own game…all I said was that she was now prepared to face my father in a game…I couldn’t wait for that day! We packed everything in the car and left camp around 1pm. I was going to drive a good portion of the way home, I was excited! We drove back eager to take a real shower and sleep in a bed, but we had so much fun we planned to possibly do it again the next weekend (but with more people and at a different location). Tara enjoyed being the passenger in the car for once, and I was happy driving. We got back home and couldn’t believe that the weekend had already come and gone.
Spending the weekend with Tara was amazing! Our camping skills were, dare I say, superb. People were impressed that two girls would be able to camp on their own….but did them one better. We had the best campfire in our area, so good in fact other people came to join ours. We had plenty of food, and we made every meal seem like restaurant quality. We took care of anything and everything we needed to, and we had the best time. The weekend with Tara is something I would never give back! I was already aware of how much we have in common, and we have grown really close over the last few months…but camping made me truly realize that she was most definitely my best friend. She is a best friend that I didn’t grow up with, one that I found on my own…and I went all the way across the world to find her. It is the most special friendship I have ever had, and I hope to never lose it!
Wisconsin Girls in Aussieland!
Before I left for Australia, one of my best friends from home promised that she would try her best to come and visit my while I was in Australia. Excited for the idea of this, we had already planned on her coming with her fiancé a couple weeks into the semester. I was eager for them to arrive in March, but it didn’t work out since they had standby tickets and it was during Spring Break. I was pretty bummed, but a few weeks later she informed me that she would try again after graduation in May. A couple months passed by and it turned out that she was planning on coming to visit with her cousin Hannah on May 18th! I was so excited!!! They had standby tickets again, which made it difficult to guarantee their arrival, but it was a less busy travel time….so chances were really good!
It was the week for Roberta and Hannah to visit, and I was getting extremely anxious, making it very difficult for me to concentrate on the essay I had due that week. I tried to focus, but could only think of them. It was terrible because the only way I could be informed if they made it on the plane or not was by an email from Mrs. Vickroy. Constantly refreshing my inbox, I finally got an email, and it was an itinerary of their flight plans…meaning that they were both on their way!!! I couldn’t wait for them to get to Australia! They would only be able to visit for a few short days, but I had so much planned for them so they would have a great time!
The day they were meant to arrive in the country, I last minute decided to meet them in Brisbane that morning. I emailed them numerous times hoping that Hannah would check her inbox along the trip (and hopefully before leaving the airport—or else they would have gone all the way to the Sunshine Coast and I would have been stuck in Brisbane waiting for no one :/). After waiting at the train station for a couple hours, worried I would not be able to find them…they appeared at the gates! I was so excited to see their faces and to have my best friend in Australia with me!
From the train station we caught a bus to the Koala Sanctuary just out of Brisbane. Here Berta and Hannah would be able to see Koalas, possible hold one, and see other indigenous Australian animals while they were here. We got there and did our exploring for a couple hours. We all got to hold a Koala, unfortunately couldn’t take pictures unless we wanted to pay about $60, so we enjoyed the experience We also saw dingoes, Tasmanian devils, a platypus, a crocodile, and plenty of kangaroos. They were excited that we could walk around with the kangaroos, walk up to them, and pet them! After capturing tons of photos, we headed back to Brisbane to catch a train back to the Sunshine Coast and relax for the night (since they were so jet lagged). We got back to my apartment…I quickly introduced them to my roommates. But in no time we were settled and Roberta and Hannah were passed out on my bed by 9pm.
The following day we headed to Mooloolaba Beach so they could experience the ocean in Australia. Unfortunately when we arrived, the weather dramatically changed and it was a bit rainy. It wasn’t the best beach weather, so we just explored the nearby shops and had a picnic lunch. We left from there to go to the Sunshine Plaza so they could experience a little Aussie shopping—they wanted to check out dresses and such. We shopped for a couple hours and then went to the cinema to see the Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3D. I made sure that we got some lollies…and of course Berta could not resist some popcorn The movie was amazing and we had a great time. The girls were already getting exhausted on the bus ride back to the University. I tried to entertain them with the different terms and Aussie slang I had learned over the last few months. We were planning on going out to the clubs in Maroochydore that night, so I told them to take a short nap beforehand. We went out to Fridays with Tara around 10pm . We had a lot of fun dancing and I was glad to share the night life with them. There were quite a few strange people out that night, but we stuck to ourselves and had fun. We headed back to my place around 12:30…..and passed out.
The next day we slept in a little later, but decided to try the beach again and relax all day. On our way to the bus, I showed them the USC campus. While we were walking around I warned them that they would definitely see kangaroos…and wouldn’t you know it one showed up. We were about to take a picture when I realized that it was a pretty fat kangaroo. With a second glance I realized it wasn’t fat, it was a baby roo in the pouch!!! It was the coolest thing ever! We got to see the mom hop around with the roo in her pouch, and we saw the roo hop out of the pouch and hop away on its own! It was the most magical experience, and I was so glad to share it with Berta and Hannah! It was a perfect day for the beach this time. We laid out in the sun and explored the tide pools and rocky areas where little creatures usually like to hang out. Earlier I had asked Berta and Hannah if they wanted to be involved in a photo shoot for my photography project. I had to take 20 pictures and put them in a sequence to tell a story. They were excite4d and willing to participate, so we spent a lot of the day doing that. We had a lot of fun (and the pics can be seen in my photography album on facebook by the way) After getting plenty of sun, we went back to my place to make some dinner. First we walked to Wooly’s grocery store to get the ingredients we needed for our meal, we also got a movie to watch—Burlesque!
On Monday we woke up and went to Caloundra for our most extreme experience of the weekend—SKYDIVING! We were all pretty nervous, but it was something we all felt we had to do, and I know that I wasn’t leaving Australia without doing it We all went up in the plane together, and we were tandem jumping with professionals, to slightly lessen the risks :P From how we were sitting on the plane, Hannah would be the first to jump, then Berta, then me. It was honestly scarier for me to watch them leave the plane…it kind of hit me in the face like “Whoa! After that there is DEFINITELY NO TURNING BACK! It was my turn to jump…I thought I would cry, but I just screamed and laughed….it was the most AMAZING experience I have ever had!!!! I had so much fun and it gave me such a feeling of freedom! The view was beautiful and I never wanted it to end. I got to steer my parachute which was cool…and as soon as the jump was over I just wanted to do it again! I would LOVE that job. If you ever get the chance to skydive, DO IT! I was scared to do it, but it wasn’t scary at all and it was worth every penny!
All in all we had an amazing time! Making sure they tried TimTams and Vegemite, and telling them about Aussie traditions and their slang, I would like to say that I successfully gave them a true Australian experience in a mere four days. I was so happy that they could make it!!! Having them in Australia with me made me all the more excited to be back home to see them this summer…at Berta’s wedding!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Australian Outback
Leaving Sydney at 9 in the morning, I was on a plane to the center of Australia: Alice Springs. Here I would begin my 6 day adventure tour through the outback. It was something I knew I had to do before I left Australia, so I made sure to book the trip ahead of time :) I arrived in Alice Springs and took a shuttle from the airport to my hostel. It would be my first of four experiences of staying in a hostel while in the outback. If you don't know what a hostel is, it is basically a hotel for students: it is much like a dorm, you stay with anywhere from 4 to 12 other random people depending on what room you get, and it is REALLY affordable ($5-$40 per night). It is also a bit risky because you have no idea who you will be staying with. Anytime I was staying overnight in one, I didn't want to take my chances, so I often slept with my luggage at the foot of my bed and made sure I left nothing valuable in the room. It was quite interesting to say the least, I would do it again to save money but that would be the only reason.
Alice Springs: I was going to be in this town for the rest of the day and overnight because my tour picked me up in the morning, so I decided to explore. Basically any town or city in the outback is going to have a large percentage of the population being aboriginal. It was a little bit of a culture shock walking around town. I probably made the mistake of walking by myself at night trying to find a mail box to send my postcard, lets just say I didn't get very far before I turned around and gave up looking. During the day I went downtown, to a few souvenir shops and aboriginal art galleries. I went to Anzac hill (easily comparable to a Veteran memorial/icon) and climbed up it to see a different perspective of the town. I also went to the reptile center and held my first python which I was hesitant to do but it was actually pretty cool! :) Then went back to my room, I took a shower and went to bed because I had to be up at 5:00 in the morning.
Uluru/Kata Tjuta-3 day tour: Adventure Tours Australia picked me up at 5:45 in the morning and I started my tour to the Red Centre. There were a total of 25 people on the bus, from all over the world (Czech Republic, Poland, England, Chicago, Germany, and more). It was so cool to meet so many people and I ended up becoming close with a few of them because they were with me for the whole six days. We had 2 tour guides because one was in training: Chuck and Jerry (both women). They were very entertaining the entire trip, and I learned a lot from them. Jerry was in the passenger seat, so she made an effort to make sure we had a good time on the bus. We passed around the microphone to introduce ourselves as well as had a couple different contests on the bus. I will not go into detail because I plan on challenging my family and friends to participate in them once I get home...muah ha ha. Jerry also played music to make the time go by, and I was right up front so a lot of the time we ended up singing along with the music together :) We did tons of things within the three days which can be revealed in my pictures on facebook: like see a bunch of animals, and brilliant landscape. We stayed at a different camp every night, and I slept in a swag which I swear by!!! Anytime I go camping from now on, I want to sleep in a swag, they are the most amazing invention ever! It is basically a mattress inside a thick sleeping bag, then you have another sleeping bag around you. I got to gaze upon the beautiful stars before I went to sleep, and I was extremely comfortable and warm. Other people who stayed in tents complained about bugs and being cold, but I never once had that problem. I also got to try camel sausages and kangaroo steaks for dinner, they were both very tasty :) Our group did a lot of walking and hiking up and down steep rocky trails, although it was a lot of energy exerted in the hot sun, the reward was totally worth it. I hiked through Kata Tjuta, around Uluru, and up King's canyon. I saw breathtaking views I could never have seen anywhere else! I learned a ton of things about the aboriginal people of Australia, got to see the sun rise and set over Uluru (Ayer's Rock), and got to meet some extraordinary people. It was the experience of a lifetime :)
We went back to Alice Springs after three days and spent a night in another hostel before continuing the tour. Some people from our tour weren't coming all the way to Darwin, so they had to say goodbye, and sadly we were getting a new tour guide. So we all met up for dinner and drinks that night as a farewell and whatnot. The next morning was also an early one (I was used to it by now).
Alice Springs to Darwin-3 day tour: Our new tour guide was Jason. He was very experienced and a great tour guide. We learned a lot from him but he didn't go above and beyond like Chuck and Jerry (but no one could top them!) He listened to a lot a 90s music and chick music (if you ask me) but I wasn't complaining, it was great! haha We had a lot more driving to do on this tour since it was about a 15 hour drive. We drove about 5 hrs each day, stopping about every hour or so at different places. We saw many different animals again, like wallabies, emus, camels, crocodiles, exotic birds, snakes, and kangaroos of course. One place we stopped I actually got a chance to feed a croc, which was pretty much amazing!!! There were a couple of these really cool pubs along the way that tourists would just leave different items, so there was collections of stuff from all over the world, it was pretty impressive. When I asked the bartender if he had anything from Wisconsin, he didn't, so I felt it was necessary to change that. Unfortunately all I had was a bank business card from Ashland, WI but it was all he needed. I got to see Devil's Marbles, swim in natural thermal pools, hike through Katherine Gorge and swim in the waterhole there (not to mention jump off a really huge rock!!! what a rush!!)
Mandakini: So I met the COOLEST old lady in the entire world!!! Here name is Mandakini and she was also on the 6 day tour with me. Originally from England, she moved to Australia to live about 40 years ago, and she is a performer. I am not joking when I say this either: she is a rapper! She raps with her son and calls herself "The Granny Rapper," or more formally "Resurrection Mary and the Prodigal Son" She has youtube videos and everything! NO JOKE! Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tqOr0KU-S8 She was also on Australia's got talent, but unfortunately didn't make it past the first round. She is about 72 years old and she has SO MUCH energy. She did everything on the tour that I did, and she did it with spunk! Whenever she introduced herself it often began with "Yo yo yo whats up?" and ended with "Peace out!" I loved her!! We became good friends and she is officially my Aussie Grandma, I can't believe I spent an whole week with this incredibly kooky woman!
Darwin: I got spend a whole day in Darwin after the tour was over because my travel agent kind of screwed up my dates, but I was fine with it because I had a day to spare and I kind of wanted to check out the largest city in the Northern Territory. The were a couple people left from our tour that were staying in the same hostel as me including Vit from the Czech Republic, Mosh from Poland, Bridget from Liverpool (Mandakini's daughter), and Mandkini. We all had a free day to do whatever in Darwin, so we decided to spend the day together. We went to the botanical gardens and walked along the shoreline of the city. It was very hot out, about 35 degrees C, witch is like 95 degrees F. Vit and I were hanging out together most of the day, he was a pretty cool guy and we got to know each other...I was mostly teaching him how to correctly pronounce words in English (which was something I hadn't done here at all since the Aussies usually think I am the one saying things wrong). We went to the Sunday night markets that evening and we both wanted to try Crocodile, so we went looking for it and had success. It basically tasted like a fishy chicken, it was alright.We all watched to sunset, and once the sun was down the temperature was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day to relax before flying back to school the next day.
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better experience of the outback. I met wonderful people, saw once in a lifetime sights, and had a great time! It was a lot of driving, and a lot of camping....but I recommend it to anyone! If you want to see the outback, ATA is the way to go!
Alice Springs: I was going to be in this town for the rest of the day and overnight because my tour picked me up in the morning, so I decided to explore. Basically any town or city in the outback is going to have a large percentage of the population being aboriginal. It was a little bit of a culture shock walking around town. I probably made the mistake of walking by myself at night trying to find a mail box to send my postcard, lets just say I didn't get very far before I turned around and gave up looking. During the day I went downtown, to a few souvenir shops and aboriginal art galleries. I went to Anzac hill (easily comparable to a Veteran memorial/icon) and climbed up it to see a different perspective of the town. I also went to the reptile center and held my first python which I was hesitant to do but it was actually pretty cool! :) Then went back to my room, I took a shower and went to bed because I had to be up at 5:00 in the morning.
Uluru/Kata Tjuta-3 day tour: Adventure Tours Australia picked me up at 5:45 in the morning and I started my tour to the Red Centre. There were a total of 25 people on the bus, from all over the world (Czech Republic, Poland, England, Chicago, Germany, and more). It was so cool to meet so many people and I ended up becoming close with a few of them because they were with me for the whole six days. We had 2 tour guides because one was in training: Chuck and Jerry (both women). They were very entertaining the entire trip, and I learned a lot from them. Jerry was in the passenger seat, so she made an effort to make sure we had a good time on the bus. We passed around the microphone to introduce ourselves as well as had a couple different contests on the bus. I will not go into detail because I plan on challenging my family and friends to participate in them once I get home...muah ha ha. Jerry also played music to make the time go by, and I was right up front so a lot of the time we ended up singing along with the music together :) We did tons of things within the three days which can be revealed in my pictures on facebook: like see a bunch of animals, and brilliant landscape. We stayed at a different camp every night, and I slept in a swag which I swear by!!! Anytime I go camping from now on, I want to sleep in a swag, they are the most amazing invention ever! It is basically a mattress inside a thick sleeping bag, then you have another sleeping bag around you. I got to gaze upon the beautiful stars before I went to sleep, and I was extremely comfortable and warm. Other people who stayed in tents complained about bugs and being cold, but I never once had that problem. I also got to try camel sausages and kangaroo steaks for dinner, they were both very tasty :) Our group did a lot of walking and hiking up and down steep rocky trails, although it was a lot of energy exerted in the hot sun, the reward was totally worth it. I hiked through Kata Tjuta, around Uluru, and up King's canyon. I saw breathtaking views I could never have seen anywhere else! I learned a ton of things about the aboriginal people of Australia, got to see the sun rise and set over Uluru (Ayer's Rock), and got to meet some extraordinary people. It was the experience of a lifetime :)
We went back to Alice Springs after three days and spent a night in another hostel before continuing the tour. Some people from our tour weren't coming all the way to Darwin, so they had to say goodbye, and sadly we were getting a new tour guide. So we all met up for dinner and drinks that night as a farewell and whatnot. The next morning was also an early one (I was used to it by now).
Alice Springs to Darwin-3 day tour: Our new tour guide was Jason. He was very experienced and a great tour guide. We learned a lot from him but he didn't go above and beyond like Chuck and Jerry (but no one could top them!) He listened to a lot a 90s music and chick music (if you ask me) but I wasn't complaining, it was great! haha We had a lot more driving to do on this tour since it was about a 15 hour drive. We drove about 5 hrs each day, stopping about every hour or so at different places. We saw many different animals again, like wallabies, emus, camels, crocodiles, exotic birds, snakes, and kangaroos of course. One place we stopped I actually got a chance to feed a croc, which was pretty much amazing!!! There were a couple of these really cool pubs along the way that tourists would just leave different items, so there was collections of stuff from all over the world, it was pretty impressive. When I asked the bartender if he had anything from Wisconsin, he didn't, so I felt it was necessary to change that. Unfortunately all I had was a bank business card from Ashland, WI but it was all he needed. I got to see Devil's Marbles, swim in natural thermal pools, hike through Katherine Gorge and swim in the waterhole there (not to mention jump off a really huge rock!!! what a rush!!)
Mandakini: So I met the COOLEST old lady in the entire world!!! Here name is Mandakini and she was also on the 6 day tour with me. Originally from England, she moved to Australia to live about 40 years ago, and she is a performer. I am not joking when I say this either: she is a rapper! She raps with her son and calls herself "The Granny Rapper," or more formally "Resurrection Mary and the Prodigal Son" She has youtube videos and everything! NO JOKE! Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tqOr0KU-S8 She was also on Australia's got talent, but unfortunately didn't make it past the first round. She is about 72 years old and she has SO MUCH energy. She did everything on the tour that I did, and she did it with spunk! Whenever she introduced herself it often began with "Yo yo yo whats up?" and ended with "Peace out!" I loved her!! We became good friends and she is officially my Aussie Grandma, I can't believe I spent an whole week with this incredibly kooky woman!
Darwin: I got spend a whole day in Darwin after the tour was over because my travel agent kind of screwed up my dates, but I was fine with it because I had a day to spare and I kind of wanted to check out the largest city in the Northern Territory. The were a couple people left from our tour that were staying in the same hostel as me including Vit from the Czech Republic, Mosh from Poland, Bridget from Liverpool (Mandakini's daughter), and Mandkini. We all had a free day to do whatever in Darwin, so we decided to spend the day together. We went to the botanical gardens and walked along the shoreline of the city. It was very hot out, about 35 degrees C, witch is like 95 degrees F. Vit and I were hanging out together most of the day, he was a pretty cool guy and we got to know each other...I was mostly teaching him how to correctly pronounce words in English (which was something I hadn't done here at all since the Aussies usually think I am the one saying things wrong). We went to the Sunday night markets that evening and we both wanted to try Crocodile, so we went looking for it and had success. It basically tasted like a fishy chicken, it was alright.We all watched to sunset, and once the sun was down the temperature was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day to relax before flying back to school the next day.
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better experience of the outback. I met wonderful people, saw once in a lifetime sights, and had a great time! It was a lot of driving, and a lot of camping....but I recommend it to anyone! If you want to see the outback, ATA is the way to go!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sydney: The Sexy City
Ok so here goes the first week of my two week vacation from school.....it is a long one so be prepared: The day after the concert I a got on a plane to Sydney to spend a week in the 'must-see' city with my wonderful Aussie sorority sister Ruby Cook. She was kind enough to let me stay with her and her family for a week, plus she gave me a personal tour of her beautiful hometown. Right away when I got there, she met me at the airport, and I was so happy to see her! :) It was really cool to be the one in a different country this time, since the last time I saw her she was in Wisconsin. It was Sunday and I was planning to be there until the following Sunday...we had a full week of plans ahead of us! :)
Sunday: After we got to her house and settled in, I met her family and such, we packed a lunch and headed to the city the spend the rest of the day. We got a family fun pass that allowed us to take the buses trains or ferry for only $2.50 per person-all day. We got the city by train, and as soon as I got out, I saw the Sydney Harbor Bridge! It was GORGEOUS...to say the least. We walked down to Luna Park, which is a park similar to Coney Island that is right on the Harbor, overlooking everything. We walked through, sat and ate our lunch while we enjoyed the view, and took tons of photos. We then got on the ferry to Circular Quay, where the Opera House and main excitement of the city was. We explored and went to the Opera bar for a drink. Throughout the day we witnessed three different weddings that took place near the Harbor, they were beautiful. :) We walked around the city, went to Darling Harbor, Max Brennar (a chocolate cafe that caused me to gain 5 lbs haha, but well worth it), and the Casino in Star City (here I discovered that I liked roulette, don't know if that's a bad thing). We spent a total of 12 hours in the city-a very successful day I must say.
Monday: Ruby took me to see her special beach, the one place she loved to go to get away and relax. It was about a 30 min drive or so, and on the way I was amazed by the landscape and sandstone walls that surrounded the roads, it was pretty cool. We stopped to get some fish and chips (french fries), seemingly appropriate for the beach. We got there and walked over the the rocks and walked all the way out to the end where they were really big and we had a great view of the ocean. The waves were constantly crashing against the rocks, sometimes getting us wet. It was so peaceful- we sunbathed, took photos and a video of the wave soaking us, and we just enjoyed the view. It was a wonderful experience and I was so happy to be the one she could share it with.
Tuesday ('Chooseday' pronounced Aussie style): Ruby, her younger sister Lily, her good friend Hamish, and I all went to the Blue Mountains. We walked a lot and climbed down MILLIONS of stairs the get to the bottom on the mountains. I got to see the 'three sisters' rock formation that goes along with an aboriginal story (which I learned was made up by the government only to get more tourists-wow). It was exhausting, but well worth it, the view was extraordinary :) We all had a great time, and treated ourselves to subway and ice cream afterward! Later that night when we got home, we rewarded ourselves a bit more with a relaxing evening in Ruby's hot tub.
Wednesday: We decided to relax and chill at Ruby's house for the first part of the day. We watched some TV and went on facebook and whatever. The whole family wasn't really home except for Ruby's little sister Lily. Ruby's other younger sister Molly had to go to Uni for her nursing program or something, even though it was holidays. It was really nice getting to know her whole family and staying with them for the week. It made me really miss my family, but at the same time, they made me feel welcome so it was like having a whole new family on the other side of the world :) Ruby's dad is hilarious and he is always being sarcastic, which was perfect because I could just spit it back at him which he enjoyed. Ruby's mom (mum) was extremely nice, one word to describe her would be sweetheart. She was really laid back, but at the same time driven and organized. Of course I can't forget Ruby's puppy Buddy, the cutest dog with an under-bite, so he looked angry but was completely innocent--it really made me miss my puppies at home. I would compare my staying with Ruby's family with staying at a bed and breakfast because it was homey and everyone was courteous, but I never felt awkward or unwelcome in any way. That night we went to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was basically like the State Fair. There were live farm animals to see and pet, there were food displays with free samples, tons of rides, food stands, and an arenas much like a grandstand where sporting events and rodeos would take place. Ruby, Lily an I walked around and explored everything. The most popular thing at the Easter Show would have to be the showbags. There was this big building with tons of booths selling themed bags from different companies filled with goodies. For example there would be TV show themes, candy brand themes, movie themes, and cartoon themes all containing items such as toys and candy from that theme. I had to get a couple Aussie candy (lolly) showbags for the experience. We went to the rodeo later, where Ruby and I had a blast singing the country music that was playing on the loudspeakers. Afterward there were fireworks and a laser show which was pretty cool.
Thursday: We explored the city a bit more intending to go to Patty's markets to find more gifts and souvenirs to bring back home. Apparently there was tons of stuff and Ruby claimed I would find anything and everything I wanted for a cheaper price. I was all for it! This time to get to the city we decided to walk across the Harbor Bridge ourselves for the view, it was wonderful! I decided not to do the bridge climb because I was getting just as great of an experience without spending the extra $180 to see everything from a higher perspective. It would have been cool, but I decided to pass. We then caught a ferry to go to Manly Beach, where we walked around and explored the small town of Manly (while I excessively enjoying the 'manly' pun on every business name and sign: The Manly Pharmacy, 'Enjoy Manly', and Manly Salon--it was great) WE went to the beach which was just a small oval shaped cove, but it was very charming, and MANLY--okay I will stop. We walked into the city after catching the ferry back the Circular Quay, heading for the markets. On the way we walked through the mall and I looked up and saw the Center Point Tower, we were right below it and it was pretty amazing! Ruby was right about the markets, I found everything I needed and more.
Friday: Friday I got to meet a few of Ruby's good friends when we all went to a Manly Sea Eagles rugby game together. It was so much fun and I grew to love all her friends really fast. One of them actually came to the state to visit Ruby, so I vaguely remembered him: David Wilson. The other guy was Chris Fletcher who I found very entertaining and friendly. I found it very easy to make him laugh with my typical American ways. I found him so cool that I decided to boost his ego and change the stereotypical American saying from "that is so fetch" to "that is soooo FLETCH!" He quite enjoyed it :) The rugby was incredible, and I couldn't believe how aggressive and intense it was. I could hear how hard the hits were from where I was sitting ans they weren't wearing any padding or helmets, it was nuts! I quickly fell in the love with the Sea Eagle team and decided to be a fan (plus they were 'manly'--ok I'm really done now) Naturally I had to buy a jersey to wear with pride in the states, as well as Queensland. After the game, which Manly won :), we were allowed to go out on the field, and coincidentally the song Sweet Caroline starting to play. Ruby and I freaked out with excitement since it was the Theta Phi theme song ("Sweet Theta Phi"), so we got Fletch's gf to videotape us dancing and singing on the field--so perfect! We all went to Mackers (McDonalds) to hang out a bit more after, then went home.
Saturday: I went to Bondi Beach with Ruby an Molly because I just had to see it after all I had heard, It was a beautiful coastline, but the beach itself wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was cool, but I imagined it to be much bigger. Maybe the experience would have been more rewarding if there were a ton a people there like there usually would be, but it wasn't beach season (even though I thought it was quite warm). I had a blast finally getting to know Molly a bit more since she had the day off. We went to some more markets to get last minute gifts that I couldn't find before, then we went back home for a girl's night. We had planned to go out to King's Cross and party, but we couldn't find a way to get into the city being Easter weekend a lot of transportation was unavailable. So all dressed up, we decided to make a few drinks of our own and we watched Finding Nemo n the media room. I was in Sydney, it HAD to be done! It was cool to say that I could recognize places on the movie and say that I had been there :) We then went to bed, knowing the next morning I had to leave.
Sunday: It was Easter morning at the Cook house! I woke up at 7am to find an empty Easter basket outside my door meant to gather chocolate eggs that were hidden all over the house. I was extremely tired, but so EXCITED! All four of us girls (Me, Ruby, Lily, and Molly) went searching for the hidden candy. It felt like home: a bunch of girls racing to find eggs, separating them after, a little bit of whining and complaining about who gets what, and an Easter breakfast. I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff :) I left around 7:30 to catch my flight to Alice Springs. I said my goodbyes to me Aussie family and Buddy, them headed to the airport with Rubes. We hugged and said goodbye, knowing that I would see her and her family in July when they came to the States for a vacation :) It was so nice to be able to spend time with Ruby and talk to someone about home :) We both have an amazing love for Wisconsin and the Packers, it was refreshing. It was simply the BEST week I have ever had in Australia!
Sunday: After we got to her house and settled in, I met her family and such, we packed a lunch and headed to the city the spend the rest of the day. We got a family fun pass that allowed us to take the buses trains or ferry for only $2.50 per person-all day. We got the city by train, and as soon as I got out, I saw the Sydney Harbor Bridge! It was GORGEOUS...to say the least. We walked down to Luna Park, which is a park similar to Coney Island that is right on the Harbor, overlooking everything. We walked through, sat and ate our lunch while we enjoyed the view, and took tons of photos. We then got on the ferry to Circular Quay, where the Opera House and main excitement of the city was. We explored and went to the Opera bar for a drink. Throughout the day we witnessed three different weddings that took place near the Harbor, they were beautiful. :) We walked around the city, went to Darling Harbor, Max Brennar (a chocolate cafe that caused me to gain 5 lbs haha, but well worth it), and the Casino in Star City (here I discovered that I liked roulette, don't know if that's a bad thing). We spent a total of 12 hours in the city-a very successful day I must say.
Monday: Ruby took me to see her special beach, the one place she loved to go to get away and relax. It was about a 30 min drive or so, and on the way I was amazed by the landscape and sandstone walls that surrounded the roads, it was pretty cool. We stopped to get some fish and chips (french fries), seemingly appropriate for the beach. We got there and walked over the the rocks and walked all the way out to the end where they were really big and we had a great view of the ocean. The waves were constantly crashing against the rocks, sometimes getting us wet. It was so peaceful- we sunbathed, took photos and a video of the wave soaking us, and we just enjoyed the view. It was a wonderful experience and I was so happy to be the one she could share it with.
Tuesday ('Chooseday' pronounced Aussie style): Ruby, her younger sister Lily, her good friend Hamish, and I all went to the Blue Mountains. We walked a lot and climbed down MILLIONS of stairs the get to the bottom on the mountains. I got to see the 'three sisters' rock formation that goes along with an aboriginal story (which I learned was made up by the government only to get more tourists-wow). It was exhausting, but well worth it, the view was extraordinary :) We all had a great time, and treated ourselves to subway and ice cream afterward! Later that night when we got home, we rewarded ourselves a bit more with a relaxing evening in Ruby's hot tub.
Wednesday: We decided to relax and chill at Ruby's house for the first part of the day. We watched some TV and went on facebook and whatever. The whole family wasn't really home except for Ruby's little sister Lily. Ruby's other younger sister Molly had to go to Uni for her nursing program or something, even though it was holidays. It was really nice getting to know her whole family and staying with them for the week. It made me really miss my family, but at the same time, they made me feel welcome so it was like having a whole new family on the other side of the world :) Ruby's dad is hilarious and he is always being sarcastic, which was perfect because I could just spit it back at him which he enjoyed. Ruby's mom (mum) was extremely nice, one word to describe her would be sweetheart. She was really laid back, but at the same time driven and organized. Of course I can't forget Ruby's puppy Buddy, the cutest dog with an under-bite, so he looked angry but was completely innocent--it really made me miss my puppies at home. I would compare my staying with Ruby's family with staying at a bed and breakfast because it was homey and everyone was courteous, but I never felt awkward or unwelcome in any way. That night we went to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was basically like the State Fair. There were live farm animals to see and pet, there were food displays with free samples, tons of rides, food stands, and an arenas much like a grandstand where sporting events and rodeos would take place. Ruby, Lily an I walked around and explored everything. The most popular thing at the Easter Show would have to be the showbags. There was this big building with tons of booths selling themed bags from different companies filled with goodies. For example there would be TV show themes, candy brand themes, movie themes, and cartoon themes all containing items such as toys and candy from that theme. I had to get a couple Aussie candy (lolly) showbags for the experience. We went to the rodeo later, where Ruby and I had a blast singing the country music that was playing on the loudspeakers. Afterward there were fireworks and a laser show which was pretty cool.
Thursday: We explored the city a bit more intending to go to Patty's markets to find more gifts and souvenirs to bring back home. Apparently there was tons of stuff and Ruby claimed I would find anything and everything I wanted for a cheaper price. I was all for it! This time to get to the city we decided to walk across the Harbor Bridge ourselves for the view, it was wonderful! I decided not to do the bridge climb because I was getting just as great of an experience without spending the extra $180 to see everything from a higher perspective. It would have been cool, but I decided to pass. We then caught a ferry to go to Manly Beach, where we walked around and explored the small town of Manly (while I excessively enjoying the 'manly' pun on every business name and sign: The Manly Pharmacy, 'Enjoy Manly', and Manly Salon--it was great) WE went to the beach which was just a small oval shaped cove, but it was very charming, and MANLY--okay I will stop. We walked into the city after catching the ferry back the Circular Quay, heading for the markets. On the way we walked through the mall and I looked up and saw the Center Point Tower, we were right below it and it was pretty amazing! Ruby was right about the markets, I found everything I needed and more.
Friday: Friday I got to meet a few of Ruby's good friends when we all went to a Manly Sea Eagles rugby game together. It was so much fun and I grew to love all her friends really fast. One of them actually came to the state to visit Ruby, so I vaguely remembered him: David Wilson. The other guy was Chris Fletcher who I found very entertaining and friendly. I found it very easy to make him laugh with my typical American ways. I found him so cool that I decided to boost his ego and change the stereotypical American saying from "that is so fetch" to "that is soooo FLETCH!" He quite enjoyed it :) The rugby was incredible, and I couldn't believe how aggressive and intense it was. I could hear how hard the hits were from where I was sitting ans they weren't wearing any padding or helmets, it was nuts! I quickly fell in the love with the Sea Eagle team and decided to be a fan (plus they were 'manly'--ok I'm really done now) Naturally I had to buy a jersey to wear with pride in the states, as well as Queensland. After the game, which Manly won :), we were allowed to go out on the field, and coincidentally the song Sweet Caroline starting to play. Ruby and I freaked out with excitement since it was the Theta Phi theme song ("Sweet Theta Phi"), so we got Fletch's gf to videotape us dancing and singing on the field--so perfect! We all went to Mackers (McDonalds) to hang out a bit more after, then went home.
Saturday: I went to Bondi Beach with Ruby an Molly because I just had to see it after all I had heard, It was a beautiful coastline, but the beach itself wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was cool, but I imagined it to be much bigger. Maybe the experience would have been more rewarding if there were a ton a people there like there usually would be, but it wasn't beach season (even though I thought it was quite warm). I had a blast finally getting to know Molly a bit more since she had the day off. We went to some more markets to get last minute gifts that I couldn't find before, then we went back home for a girl's night. We had planned to go out to King's Cross and party, but we couldn't find a way to get into the city being Easter weekend a lot of transportation was unavailable. So all dressed up, we decided to make a few drinks of our own and we watched Finding Nemo n the media room. I was in Sydney, it HAD to be done! It was cool to say that I could recognize places on the movie and say that I had been there :) We then went to bed, knowing the next morning I had to leave.
Sunday: It was Easter morning at the Cook house! I woke up at 7am to find an empty Easter basket outside my door meant to gather chocolate eggs that were hidden all over the house. I was extremely tired, but so EXCITED! All four of us girls (Me, Ruby, Lily, and Molly) went searching for the hidden candy. It felt like home: a bunch of girls racing to find eggs, separating them after, a little bit of whining and complaining about who gets what, and an Easter breakfast. I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff :) I left around 7:30 to catch my flight to Alice Springs. I said my goodbyes to me Aussie family and Buddy, them headed to the airport with Rubes. We hugged and said goodbye, knowing that I would see her and her family in July when they came to the States for a vacation :) It was so nice to be able to spend time with Ruby and talk to someone about home :) We both have an amazing love for Wisconsin and the Packers, it was refreshing. It was simply the BEST week I have ever had in Australia!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Keith Urban Concert!!! (with Lady Antebellum!)
So I just got back from this AMAZING concert!!! I have never been to a concert before, so it was pretty awesome for my first one to be in Australia...and it was probably the best concert I could have gone to! It was so incredible, I got tons of photos and video footage, which I will be making into a DVD for sure! :) The first to perform was Lady Antebellum for the first half hour or so. They were beyond amazing. Theya re such a talented group and I love all their songs. Usually singers find it more difficult to sound good live, but to be honest I think that they sound BETTER! Keith Urban was epic as well...plus he is one gorgeous man! Who wouldn't be in love with a man who sings country music?? :P This was most definitely the best night I have had in Australia since I got here, and the best kickoff to my two week break I could ask for. I had so much fun with my friend Lucy, who is also a huge Keith Urban fan, more than me for sure. But we had so much fun singing along :) We both definitely lost our voices from this night. I bought a Keith Urban t-shirt as well...it was a little pricey but totally worth it. Keith actually made his way aroung the entire entertainment center throughout the concert and they werre throwing out guitar pics and drumsticks to the crowd the whole time. Lucy and I were two seats away from the aisle, so when he walked by he actually threw his pick to a guy nearby...hwe didn't catch it but Lucy immediately went over and picked it up because it was just laying there. So she got a guitar pick and it says his name on it!!! HOW COOL! He also autographed his guitar right in the middle of a song and GAVE it to a guy right next to him! AMAZING! I so wanted to be that guy! The concert was twice as special because Keith Urban is Australian and he grew up in a town in Queensland called Caboolture (which I have been to)... so it felt cool to see how much he loved his homeland :) The whole experience was unbelievable and I wouldn't trade it for anything else! BEST EVER!!! :D
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Valley in Brisbane
So this past weekend I went to Brisbane with Tara. I got to met her best friend Jess and Jess's boyfriend Liam. We stayed with Jess at her place for the weekend, which is at Griffith University just outside of the main city of Brisbane. Tara had a few things planned for me including going to the museum and the art gallery, and of course to experience the night life of Brisbane in a place known as "the valley." We left early on Saturday morning to drive to Calboolture (which I thought was actually Caboolcha until I saw the road sign because of the Australian accent :P). From there, we caught a train to Brisbane where Jess met us at the airport. Basically we went back to her place, I got introduced to her bf, and we spent a majority of the afternoon at a shopping center called DFO. It is basically a plaza/mall with more discounted items because it is a factory outlet that sells things that aren't in perfect condition....but nothing noticeable enough to not buy them. It was pretty cool. Being the picky shopper that I am I didn't really buy anything in light of saving money. After shopping we went back to Jess's place to get ready to go out to the valley.
The valley doesn't have the best reputation for safety, but it is known for its exciting clubs and it is basically the place to go when you want to go out and have fun! I would never have gone if I didn't have a group to go with though, since it tends to have higher crime than most parts of the city and lets just say you can find some very interesting people there. The four of us (Tara, me, Jess and Liam) stuck together as much as we could to avoid any 'danger.' It was all very exciting, people were walking everywhere and there were so many lights. Everything was very fast paced, and there were all kinds of people there. We went to a few different clubs and pubs that we heard had cheaper drinks so we could save money, but the main club we ended up at was really cool. It was basically what I imagined a club to look like, kind of similar to what is in the movies. We had to pay a $15 entry fee, which I though was a little pricey, but it ended up being worth it. When we walked in there were a bunch of separate lounge areas where people could sit and talk...or whatever. There were a few levels and the whole place was a lot bigger than what it appeared to be on the outside. The dance floor was wild and people we everywhere. There was a DJ in the front that was actually creating the music, not just choosing songs to play, there were a few big screens that showed music videos and lighting, and there were a couple cages up above that train female dancers actually danced in. There was a ton of entertainment, including a huge mechanical dragon thing that descended from the ceiling and blew steam over the crowd, there was never a dull moment. For the most part the people were kind of weird, so Tara and I tried to keep our distance....the people we met and danced with weren't exactly keepers! ;)
We left the club around 2am and went to find Jess and Liam who left a little before us to get some coffee. When we found them, they told us that they had witnessed three arrests while they were sitting in the coffee place! One was for assault, one for a drug deal, and the other for prostitution...talk about entertainment! haha it was one crazy night that I will never forget!
That night all four of us stayed up until 5am talking, so we slept in until 1pm the next day. We were a little delayed with our schedule, so we didn't end up going to the art gallery, but we all went to the museum. Liam was basically being the tour guide for me to make the museum experience more enjoyable haha. He did very well. I would have to say the best part of the whole weekend was getting to know Jess and Liam. They are both such great people and they are such a perfect couple! I had a lot of fun hanging out with them and getting to know them! I can totally see why Jess is Tara's best friend, because she is such a cool person :) Hopefully they will be coming here to Sippy Downs to visit before I head back home!
The valley doesn't have the best reputation for safety, but it is known for its exciting clubs and it is basically the place to go when you want to go out and have fun! I would never have gone if I didn't have a group to go with though, since it tends to have higher crime than most parts of the city and lets just say you can find some very interesting people there. The four of us (Tara, me, Jess and Liam) stuck together as much as we could to avoid any 'danger.' It was all very exciting, people were walking everywhere and there were so many lights. Everything was very fast paced, and there were all kinds of people there. We went to a few different clubs and pubs that we heard had cheaper drinks so we could save money, but the main club we ended up at was really cool. It was basically what I imagined a club to look like, kind of similar to what is in the movies. We had to pay a $15 entry fee, which I though was a little pricey, but it ended up being worth it. When we walked in there were a bunch of separate lounge areas where people could sit and talk...or whatever. There were a few levels and the whole place was a lot bigger than what it appeared to be on the outside. The dance floor was wild and people we everywhere. There was a DJ in the front that was actually creating the music, not just choosing songs to play, there were a few big screens that showed music videos and lighting, and there were a couple cages up above that train female dancers actually danced in. There was a ton of entertainment, including a huge mechanical dragon thing that descended from the ceiling and blew steam over the crowd, there was never a dull moment. For the most part the people were kind of weird, so Tara and I tried to keep our distance....the people we met and danced with weren't exactly keepers! ;)
We left the club around 2am and went to find Jess and Liam who left a little before us to get some coffee. When we found them, they told us that they had witnessed three arrests while they were sitting in the coffee place! One was for assault, one for a drug deal, and the other for prostitution...talk about entertainment! haha it was one crazy night that I will never forget!
That night all four of us stayed up until 5am talking, so we slept in until 1pm the next day. We were a little delayed with our schedule, so we didn't end up going to the art gallery, but we all went to the museum. Liam was basically being the tour guide for me to make the museum experience more enjoyable haha. He did very well. I would have to say the best part of the whole weekend was getting to know Jess and Liam. They are both such great people and they are such a perfect couple! I had a lot of fun hanging out with them and getting to know them! I can totally see why Jess is Tara's best friend, because she is such a cool person :) Hopefully they will be coming here to Sippy Downs to visit before I head back home!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Aussie Twin!
So I may have mentioned it a couple posts back, but I met this really cool group of people one night that I went out by total coincidence. One of the girls that I met was extremely nice and I ended up spending the entire night with her. Well ever since that night, we have become really close friends. We have been hanging out a lot and while getting to know her, I quickly realized how much we had in common! It was crazy how alike we were, because almost every time we would tell each other something about ourselves the other would just say, "no way! me too!" Her name is Tara and she is from Australia. She grew up in Gympie, which is a small town just an hour or so from the Sunshine Coast. Lately we have basically been spending all of our free time together, especially the weekends when we have plenty of time for adventures!
It has been amazing how close we have gotten in the past couple weeks! She is so nice and she has been so excited to take me to all these places I have never been to just so that my experience in Australia is amazing. We have been making lists of places I want to go and things I want to do before I go home, and she has volunteered to be the one to do them with. So she has basically been planning my weekends for me. She also has talked about wanting to come to America! So I told her it would be totally cool for her to come and stay with me! She wants to come in January 2012. She can't stop talking about how excited she is to go to America for New Year's, to see snow, and to do just as many fun things. So it is sort of a trade off, she will be my tour guide here while I am hers in Wisconsin. It will be so great!
This past weekend was the first of our many busy weekends ahead...we drove to a small tourist town called Monteville on Friday to go shopping and spend the day there. It was so cute and I bought some nice gifts/souvenirs. On Saturday, today, we went to the Australia Zoo! It was so much fun and I got to see so many cool animals. I got to pet a baby kangaroo and koala! :) There are pics on Facebook! Tomorrow we are going to her parents' house to spend the day and have dinner (tea). I will get to spend time with her family, which I have briefly met and they seem to be really cool! I am really excited because I miss my family and it is nice to be in a family setting...it makes me feel more at home here.
I am so thankful that I met Tara! I know I will have a blast while I'm here, and now that I have someone to have amazing adventures with, it will be really hard for me to go back home! :( But I can't wait to bring her home to meet my family. They already adore me haha so they will have no choice but to love her just as much!
Bottom line is that you never know who you are going to meet, an adventure like I am having could have turned out to go any which way. I thank God every day for how well it has been going and I don't regret anything I have done thus far! Going to another country can be an awesome experience, and going on your own can be challenging, especially when you don't know anyone....but if you keep a positive attitude and try to make the best of it, it can turn out to be unforgettable! It is definitely crazy to think about that you could have a twin all the way across the world....so study abroad...you may have one in another country as well! :)
It has been amazing how close we have gotten in the past couple weeks! She is so nice and she has been so excited to take me to all these places I have never been to just so that my experience in Australia is amazing. We have been making lists of places I want to go and things I want to do before I go home, and she has volunteered to be the one to do them with. So she has basically been planning my weekends for me. She also has talked about wanting to come to America! So I told her it would be totally cool for her to come and stay with me! She wants to come in January 2012. She can't stop talking about how excited she is to go to America for New Year's, to see snow, and to do just as many fun things. So it is sort of a trade off, she will be my tour guide here while I am hers in Wisconsin. It will be so great!
This past weekend was the first of our many busy weekends ahead...we drove to a small tourist town called Monteville on Friday to go shopping and spend the day there. It was so cute and I bought some nice gifts/souvenirs. On Saturday, today, we went to the Australia Zoo! It was so much fun and I got to see so many cool animals. I got to pet a baby kangaroo and koala! :) There are pics on Facebook! Tomorrow we are going to her parents' house to spend the day and have dinner (tea). I will get to spend time with her family, which I have briefly met and they seem to be really cool! I am really excited because I miss my family and it is nice to be in a family setting...it makes me feel more at home here.
I am so thankful that I met Tara! I know I will have a blast while I'm here, and now that I have someone to have amazing adventures with, it will be really hard for me to go back home! :( But I can't wait to bring her home to meet my family. They already adore me haha so they will have no choice but to love her just as much!
Bottom line is that you never know who you are going to meet, an adventure like I am having could have turned out to go any which way. I thank God every day for how well it has been going and I don't regret anything I have done thus far! Going to another country can be an awesome experience, and going on your own can be challenging, especially when you don't know anyone....but if you keep a positive attitude and try to make the best of it, it can turn out to be unforgettable! It is definitely crazy to think about that you could have a twin all the way across the world....so study abroad...you may have one in another country as well! :)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Exciting plans for break!
Ever since I knew I was coming to Australia, I promised myself that I would travel around since I was most likely only going to be there one in my life. I knew that I wanted to visit a lot of places, but a lot of [places costs a lot of money, so I told myself that if I had to choose only a couple places to go FOR SURE before I left, they would have to be the outback and Sydney! Growing up you can only learn so much about a country... You can study everything about it and know tons of facts about it, but you never truly know about a country until you actually visit it. I learn from my experiences in life more than anything else, so even though I had read about Australia in books, seen it in a few movies, and utilized Google for every question I had about the country, I still didn't really know what it was like or what to expect. What I did know for sure is that I had to see the infamous outback for myself...and who can go to Australia and NOT go to Syndey??
With this in mind I decided to visit the STA travel agency, which is an awesome place to book trips and tours that don't cost a fortune. I went there to simply talk to them and tell them what I wanted to do while I was in the country. Once I sat down and talked to someone about it, she got me so excited about everything that I ended up booking trips for my entire two week break right then and there! I told them that I wanted to go to Sydney to visit my good friend Ruby for the first half of the break. I also mentioned that I wanted to do an outback tour. So they helped me book my flight to Sydney and then a six day trip in the outback! This six day trip/tour was all-inclusive, which was awesome. From Sydney I would be on a flight to Alice Springs. Once I got there, I would be picked up from my hotel and the tour would begin....there would be experienced guides to take us through canyons, The Lost City, and the ancient Garden of Eden. Then we will head to Uluru, home to the famous Red Centre, where we would go on aboriginal walks (walkabouts haha), ride camels, and camp out under the stars. Then as we travel up the northern territory to Darwin, we would tons more exploring, canoeing, swimming in natural thermal pools, and visiting horse farms. I am so excited for it!
A couple days after booking my trip, my friend Lucy and I found out that Keith Urban was going to be in Brisbane for a concert, along with Lady Antebellum! We HAD to buy tickets! So early one morning I sleepily stared at my computer screen, ready to refresh the page when the tickets went on sale....that way I could immediately buy them. We ended up getting two Gold tickets for only $130 a piece! It is on the 16th of April, which is the night before my flight to Sydney leaves Brisbane...so it was a perfect kickoff for my break! Now I can't wait for break to come. I will be heading to Brisbane for my very first concert, then to Sydney to spend an entire week with Ruby in the city (where we plan to live it up!), and then the outback for six days! WOOHOO!!!!
P.S. Keep a look out for new pics on facebook! :)
With this in mind I decided to visit the STA travel agency, which is an awesome place to book trips and tours that don't cost a fortune. I went there to simply talk to them and tell them what I wanted to do while I was in the country. Once I sat down and talked to someone about it, she got me so excited about everything that I ended up booking trips for my entire two week break right then and there! I told them that I wanted to go to Sydney to visit my good friend Ruby for the first half of the break. I also mentioned that I wanted to do an outback tour. So they helped me book my flight to Sydney and then a six day trip in the outback! This six day trip/tour was all-inclusive, which was awesome. From Sydney I would be on a flight to Alice Springs. Once I got there, I would be picked up from my hotel and the tour would begin....there would be experienced guides to take us through canyons, The Lost City, and the ancient Garden of Eden. Then we will head to Uluru, home to the famous Red Centre, where we would go on aboriginal walks (walkabouts haha), ride camels, and camp out under the stars. Then as we travel up the northern territory to Darwin, we would tons more exploring, canoeing, swimming in natural thermal pools, and visiting horse farms. I am so excited for it!
A couple days after booking my trip, my friend Lucy and I found out that Keith Urban was going to be in Brisbane for a concert, along with Lady Antebellum! We HAD to buy tickets! So early one morning I sleepily stared at my computer screen, ready to refresh the page when the tickets went on sale....that way I could immediately buy them. We ended up getting two Gold tickets for only $130 a piece! It is on the 16th of April, which is the night before my flight to Sydney leaves Brisbane...so it was a perfect kickoff for my break! Now I can't wait for break to come. I will be heading to Brisbane for my very first concert, then to Sydney to spend an entire week with Ruby in the city (where we plan to live it up!), and then the outback for six days! WOOHOO!!!!
P.S. Keep a look out for new pics on facebook! :)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Making Friendships
Before I came to Australia I felt like that hardest part about the beginning of my journey here would be finding friends. I am usually very shy when I meet people at first, even the friends I have back home say that I am a way different person compered to when I first met them. I'm not very good at first impressions because it takes me a while to get to know people before I can really be myself. Because of this I was a little worried about coming all the way across the world not really knowing anyone at all.
At first, it was hard for me, luckily my roommates were really nice and almost everyone else I met were really friendly. I was thankful for that because it made things a bit easier. On the inside, I always feel extremely uncomfortable and vulnerable when I meet new people, but I always try my best to make sure others do not realize that it is how I feel. I say hi and introduce myself, and try to make small talk. Doing this only gives you acquaintances, unfortunately...so it is a lot harder to find a group of friends that you really click with and that really like your personality. I went the first week knowing my roommates and a couple people that I registered with on the first day. The next week I finally got reunited with Vanessa, so I had her and her roommates, who were all extremely nice! I did things with them from time to time and I always enjoy my time with them, but in the back of my mind I always felt like things didn't feel right...and I didn't want to seem like I was incapable of branching out on my own.
It wasn't until recently that I met a really cool group of people! I went out to a club, there were free shuttles going to the club from UniCentral. I went with Vanessa and her friends, but when the shuttle came, we all didn't fit so I ended up taking the second shuttle with a bunch of people I didn't know. They were basically all roommates in a big house together. I sat next to a girl named Tara who I talked to on the way there, and I met a few of her roommates that were sitting nearby. I quickly discovered that we were going to be very close : ) I ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night and I had a blast!!! I was so excited that I found my own group of friends. I learned that no matter what, it will always be a process to find friends for me (something I don't have much patience for), but when it happens, it is completely worth it! I just have to put myself out there, go out and have a good time, and soon enough everything will fall into place. I am looking forward to the adventures ahead!
At first, it was hard for me, luckily my roommates were really nice and almost everyone else I met were really friendly. I was thankful for that because it made things a bit easier. On the inside, I always feel extremely uncomfortable and vulnerable when I meet new people, but I always try my best to make sure others do not realize that it is how I feel. I say hi and introduce myself, and try to make small talk. Doing this only gives you acquaintances, unfortunately...so it is a lot harder to find a group of friends that you really click with and that really like your personality. I went the first week knowing my roommates and a couple people that I registered with on the first day. The next week I finally got reunited with Vanessa, so I had her and her roommates, who were all extremely nice! I did things with them from time to time and I always enjoy my time with them, but in the back of my mind I always felt like things didn't feel right...and I didn't want to seem like I was incapable of branching out on my own.
It wasn't until recently that I met a really cool group of people! I went out to a club, there were free shuttles going to the club from UniCentral. I went with Vanessa and her friends, but when the shuttle came, we all didn't fit so I ended up taking the second shuttle with a bunch of people I didn't know. They were basically all roommates in a big house together. I sat next to a girl named Tara who I talked to on the way there, and I met a few of her roommates that were sitting nearby. I quickly discovered that we were going to be very close : ) I ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night and I had a blast!!! I was so excited that I found my own group of friends. I learned that no matter what, it will always be a process to find friends for me (something I don't have much patience for), but when it happens, it is completely worth it! I just have to put myself out there, go out and have a good time, and soon enough everything will fall into place. I am looking forward to the adventures ahead!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Keeping busy : )
So I have quickly learned that I have a lot of down time in Australia....since my classes only meet once a week and I don't have classes on Thursday or Friday, and I'm not working my butt off like a normally do at home. This gives me four day weekends and plenty of opportunity to hang out with friends, explore what Aussie has to offer and have a good time! So far I haven't done too many exciting things since I still am settling in and meeting new people...but there is a lot to do so I stay occupied.
Anytime I want to go somewhere off-campus, it isn't too difficult because I can always take the bus, plus my roommates have vehicles which is convenient. USC gave students a free trial of a "Go Card" with $70 on it which allows us to pay for bus fares, which I think is amazing because it will last me the entire semester and it is an expense that I don't have to worry about. I have gone to the beach a couple of times which I loved. You have to be extremely attentive when swimming in the ocean here because there are always waves. The water is also really salty so it becomes difficult to stay in for too long. It is nice though to go for a swim and lay out on the beach whenever I feel like it...not exactly a luxury I get at home : ) Plus, there are plenty of cute guys ; )
There is always plenty of cool wildlife to see as well. When walking down to the beach I saw all kinds of birds, lizards, and geckos. I have also gone exploring on my campus which can be cool because it is actually a wildlife reserve, so there are kangaroos all over! When I am simply walking to class, they will be laying in the shape and right alongside the pathways just chilling...I think it is so awesome! There are geckos all over UniCentral as well. It is kind of cool because I would compare their presence almost to insects in northern Wisconsin, because they gather around lights at night time. They are better though because they eat the bugs...and they are cuter because they are completely harmless.
Other things that I have done include going to the Sunshine Plaza (which is basically a mall, but some of it is outdoors because of the warm climate), the movie theater (I went to see I am number four today and I loved it! It was a pretty sweet movie, I recommend seeing it!), and out to the bars. I have only gone to the bars once, it was a lot of fun. It was Mexican themed the night I went, there was a lot of dancing and I met so many people. I really enjoyed myself : )
I plan on going to the Australian Zoo while I'm here as well. It is known for being the home of the crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. He is really big around here and he is basically the one that made the Zoo possible. I feel that it is something I must do while I'm here because I most likely won't get the chance again. As far as traveling goes...I plan to go to Sydney and visit my good friend Ruby Cook as well as see all the sights, I want to go to the Great Barrier Reef and go snorkeling, I really want to go out to the Outback and tour it...possibly stay out there for a couple days, and I want to go to Byron Bay where I can learn to surf and even skydive!!! Crazy, but I really want to do it!!! I would like to go to New Zealand as well, but I will have to see if it works out. Hopefully I can do all of these things and blog all about them.
Anytime I want to go somewhere off-campus, it isn't too difficult because I can always take the bus, plus my roommates have vehicles which is convenient. USC gave students a free trial of a "Go Card" with $70 on it which allows us to pay for bus fares, which I think is amazing because it will last me the entire semester and it is an expense that I don't have to worry about. I have gone to the beach a couple of times which I loved. You have to be extremely attentive when swimming in the ocean here because there are always waves. The water is also really salty so it becomes difficult to stay in for too long. It is nice though to go for a swim and lay out on the beach whenever I feel like it...not exactly a luxury I get at home : ) Plus, there are plenty of cute guys ; )
There is always plenty of cool wildlife to see as well. When walking down to the beach I saw all kinds of birds, lizards, and geckos. I have also gone exploring on my campus which can be cool because it is actually a wildlife reserve, so there are kangaroos all over! When I am simply walking to class, they will be laying in the shape and right alongside the pathways just chilling...I think it is so awesome! There are geckos all over UniCentral as well. It is kind of cool because I would compare their presence almost to insects in northern Wisconsin, because they gather around lights at night time. They are better though because they eat the bugs...and they are cuter because they are completely harmless.
Other things that I have done include going to the Sunshine Plaza (which is basically a mall, but some of it is outdoors because of the warm climate), the movie theater (I went to see I am number four today and I loved it! It was a pretty sweet movie, I recommend seeing it!), and out to the bars. I have only gone to the bars once, it was a lot of fun. It was Mexican themed the night I went, there was a lot of dancing and I met so many people. I really enjoyed myself : )
I plan on going to the Australian Zoo while I'm here as well. It is known for being the home of the crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. He is really big around here and he is basically the one that made the Zoo possible. I feel that it is something I must do while I'm here because I most likely won't get the chance again. As far as traveling goes...I plan to go to Sydney and visit my good friend Ruby Cook as well as see all the sights, I want to go to the Great Barrier Reef and go snorkeling, I really want to go out to the Outback and tour it...possibly stay out there for a couple days, and I want to go to Byron Bay where I can learn to surf and even skydive!!! Crazy, but I really want to do it!!! I would like to go to New Zealand as well, but I will have to see if it works out. Hopefully I can do all of these things and blog all about them.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Long time coming....
February 26 2011
So I know I haven't posted anything yet, but for the longest time I didn't have internet and it was really frustrating, but now I do and here goes my first blog :)
I can't believe it but I am actually in Australia! It has been my dream for the longest time, and I don't know exactly why but it has bee on my bucket list to come here...now I am here for five months!!!! CRAZY! Anyways, it has been about two weeks since I got here, I have met quite a few people and have already started classes. So far it has been really great, but I look forward to it getting a lot better....
I have two aussie roomies, their names are Bek and Nic (Rebekah and Nicole, but it is very common for Australian to shorten everything...) and they are both 17. My other roommate is 21, his name is Josh and he is from Pennsylvania. They are all really cool and I was extremely lucky to have gotten random roommates that I like :) We each have our own room and bathroom which is really convenient. All the apartments are together and there are over 80 of them, all in which USC students live. The apartment are called UniCentral...I really like it. I am slowly but surely meeting now people and finding friend to hang out with, it is a frustrating process because it takes a while to find the right group of people you can feel like yourself with.
My first week of classes went well. Here in Australia, each class only meets once a week and there is hardly any piddly assignments like there often are back home. There are a couple major papers and possibly a presentation in each class. There is only one big exam at the end of the semester. I am taking two Psychology classes, an environment sustainability class for my upper gen. ed. credit back at St. Norbert, and a digital Photography class (which I find really amazing).
We get like a two week break in the middle of the Semester. In that time I plan to travel! I'm so excited and I have already figured out what I want to do and where I want to go while I'm here! Most of all, I cannot wait to have the time of my life in Australia! :-)
So I know I haven't posted anything yet, but for the longest time I didn't have internet and it was really frustrating, but now I do and here goes my first blog :)
I can't believe it but I am actually in Australia! It has been my dream for the longest time, and I don't know exactly why but it has bee on my bucket list to come here...now I am here for five months!!!! CRAZY! Anyways, it has been about two weeks since I got here, I have met quite a few people and have already started classes. So far it has been really great, but I look forward to it getting a lot better....
I have two aussie roomies, their names are Bek and Nic (Rebekah and Nicole, but it is very common for Australian to shorten everything...) and they are both 17. My other roommate is 21, his name is Josh and he is from Pennsylvania. They are all really cool and I was extremely lucky to have gotten random roommates that I like :) We each have our own room and bathroom which is really convenient. All the apartments are together and there are over 80 of them, all in which USC students live. The apartment are called UniCentral...I really like it. I am slowly but surely meeting now people and finding friend to hang out with, it is a frustrating process because it takes a while to find the right group of people you can feel like yourself with.
My first week of classes went well. Here in Australia, each class only meets once a week and there is hardly any piddly assignments like there often are back home. There are a couple major papers and possibly a presentation in each class. There is only one big exam at the end of the semester. I am taking two Psychology classes, an environment sustainability class for my upper gen. ed. credit back at St. Norbert, and a digital Photography class (which I find really amazing).
We get like a two week break in the middle of the Semester. In that time I plan to travel! I'm so excited and I have already figured out what I want to do and where I want to go while I'm here! Most of all, I cannot wait to have the time of my life in Australia! :-)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)