Great Barrier Reef/1770/Bundaberg

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!

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 18^th! 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!