My last month in Australia was pretty chaotic; between studying and traveling to see everything and do everything that I still wanted to do, I rarely had much down time.
While I only took three classes, I ended up only having one final and 2 essays that I had to write as my finals. Thankfully, my essays were due early in June, so it gave me lots of time to travel and explore Australia as much as I could before I left. However, since I did have to write essays and study for a final, I managed to get a lot of beach and downtown Surfer's Paradise time. I went back up to the tallest building in Surfers, Q1, to the observation desk to get a little bit of work done and enjoy the nice coastline view. I also went down to tan and relax on the beach while studying for my psychology final. It was nice that I could get some work done while enjoying the little bit of Australia all in one.
My homework view
Since I was trying to get so much done while in the little vicinity of the city I lived in, I managed to enjoy some of the aspects of the land that was around me. I went on one last date and managed to enjoy Mount Tamborine, a tropical rainforest located in the hinterlands not far from Gold Coast. We went to some little rock pools that had some tiny waterfalls, but due to the little amount of rain recently, they weren't full waterfalls, but there was enough to enjoy. It was a relaxing evening as we enjoyed the nature that was around us. Later that evening we went back up to Q1 so that we could enjoy the city nightlife one last time.
My last date night to Mount Tamborine
We enjoyed the waterfall and some of the rock pools in the area.
Also with my extra time between classes and studying, I decided to take some last minute trips to see as much as possible before having to leave. The first trip I decided to go on was to go back to Sydney! The main reason I wanted to go back was because the Vivid Festival was going on. The festival is when they project lights and art on the Opera House and on various different buildings throughout the city. It looked fun and different, so I figured if I was in Australia during that that, I may as well take advantage of it and see it! It was definitely a different site to see. Seeing the Opera House at night with those lights just made the city that much different and it gave me a different perspective of it and a way to definitely remember it.
Sydney by day
Darling Harbour by night
Opera House by night
Vivid Festival
They projected these images up on the Opera House
Main Beach
"Graffiti" Pugs
The sunset that welcomed us home from Sydney
My next trip was to Melbourne. This was a last minute decision to go because I was so wishy-washy about money and time, but again, I figured I was there and it was a city everyone said you have to see, so I may as well see it. It was such a fun experience. We got little sleep and did so much in the short amount of time that we had there, but we made sure to use all of the time and see as much as we could. We got to see the city, but most of all we got to drive along the Great Ocean Road. It was amazing to see some of the sites along the road and just enjoy the scenic drive next to the ocean. We got to feed wild birds, see wild koalas, and check out some of the famous graffiti streets within the city.
Hosier Lane street art in Melbourne
Working on some graffiti
City of Melbourne
This was a bar that was inside the tram! Teeny - Tiny!
Melbourne and the river
The Great Ocean Road!
Feeding wild birds!
It was really bright...
The Twelve Apostles
Loch Ard Gorge
Sunset
London Arch
This piece used to be connected to the mainland and you used to be able to walk across over to this arch. However, in 1990 it collapsed, and it left two tourists stranded.
I also managed to take one last trip to Byron Bay, and boy was I happy I did! It was a little disappointing being on my own because I was a little embarrassed to go out on my own, but I still got to go diving at Julian Rocks which has many sharks and sea life! I also got to go kayaking one more time, in hopes of seeing dolphins. Unfortunately, we never got to see dolphins, but we did get to see some whales! We also saw quite a few "Flying Tuna." They were jumping like CRAZY! I was only there for a night, so during the night I decided to walk around and get a view of the little town one last time. I even went down to the shore to get a view of the sunset, and it was one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever experienced. It was such a relaxing evening, with seaguls flying around enjoying the ocean breeze, dogs playing on the shore while the sun went down. It was just a nice way to reflect back on the whole Australia experience and appreciate what I was able to do while I was there. I may not have been there with others, but it was also nice to have the time to myself and explore the land without conflict of others, especially when it comes to deciding on what to do!
The lighthouse is WAY out there on the top of the hill
Enjoying the ocean waves
It was such a BEAUTIFUL sunset!
Doggies playing
The Bull Ray we found!
"All aboard explorers!" -Mr Ray.JPG)
Diving Julian Rocks
While I was in the Gold Coast, I decided I had to experience Australian "Footy," which is similar to rugby, but do not get the two confused! They are VERY different to each other, according to the Aussies, (but of course I was unable to really understand many of the differences.) Nonetheless, it was a fun game to go to and experience!
Footy
Enjoying the game
I also went on a Whale Watching tour!!! This was prior to my Byron Bay trip, so it was the first time I got to see and experience the life of the whales. They came up right next to our boat and even swam under our boat a few times! It was fun to see them flip and jump throughout the water. Days after the tour, I got to see them from the shore in Surfers! My mom said "Well, apparently you didn't need to go on the whale tour!" but it was still fun to experience them first hand right next to us. In Byron during one of our scuba diving tours, while we were boating out to the rocks we saw some whales jumping, and so we ended up diverting to go watch them for a little bit. They said we had to "pay extra" for the tour, but of course they were joking!
I also decided to take a solo trip to the Australia Zoo: Home of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin!! Everyone said it was a must go to place, so I finally decided to go. It was so much fun! I got to see crocodiles jump and eat, how they react. I got to play with lemurs and pet a cheetah! I definitely had a good time.
Surfers!
Whale tails
After the whale tour. Enjoying the sun!
Ready for the day!
Cheeky Cheetah
My lemur friend
Playing with Lemurs
Last but not least, my very last trip was to go back up to Cairns and Port Douglas to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. I had extended my trip and pushed my flight home back a week just so that I could go on this trip. It was such an amazing trip and so worth the last week. It definitely made me wish I had more time in Australia. Scuba diving was different because the seas were so much more rough than the first time, but once I was in the water, the experience was just spectacular. My family and I keep talking and saying that we need to go back and dive the reef some more in the future. Overall, all experiences of diving will be fun. They are all so different and you get to experience a vast amount of environments and animals, but the Great Barrier Reef definitely had the most to see.
In Port Douglas we got to enjoy the little town. We even went to a restaurant while we were there so that I could try kangaroo, emu, and crocodile!! It was... interesting to say the least. Granted they served it cold, but they were all still pretty good. I definitely wouldn't make it an every day meal, though! We also went to a habitat where we got to eat breakfast with the birds! This was the morning I FINALLY tried Vegemite. I don't plan to ever put that stuff back in my mouth ever again....
We also got up early one of the mornings to see the sunrise over the ocean. It was just amazing to be there and so relaxing. Once again, it just let me think and recollect my thoughts about Australia and remind me about what I love there. The nature is just so different from home and it gave me a new experience.
Arriving in Cairns
Flying over the Reef
Vegemite....
He was so cute and little
Crikey!
Kangaroo selfie!
Monkeying around
Walked around Daintree Rainforest
Getting clammy!!
Beautiful sunrise
Reppin' my hometown!
The view in Port Douglas
Jelly fish are VERY common up North. They had vinegar available in case of stings.
After Port Douglas and Cairns, we headed back to Brisbane and enjoyed one last night there. Lynette, Sarah's family friend that we stayed with, brought us out for a lovely special Indian dinner, and after we got our last fulfillment of Max Brenner (a well known chocolate bar in Australia, that is also in like New York and Boston areas.) We went to Kangaroo Point and got some more photos of Brissy by night. It sure made me realize how much I would miss Australia, and also that there was still so much I wish I got to do! I was very thankful for my time though and enjoyed every minute that I could.
The Wheel of Brisbane
Being silly!
Kangaroo point
Brisbane Bridge by night
My last night view of Brisbane
The next morning was July 4 in Australia, so I got up super early to get ready for the airport and put on my Snoopy American Flag shirt to represent my country. We got to the airport early and got all checked in, and surprisingly did not have bags that were overweight! However, once we said goodbye to Lynette and thanked her for all her hospitality, we started to run into problems. Apparently they check carry-on luggage weight before you go through security! My bag was about 5 kilos OVER the weight limit, so they told me I had to check it! Of course I started to freak out, seeing that I already paid for a THIRD bag, and this would be my FOURTH checked bag. It also had a lot of valuable/breakable gifts and medicine in it. I was able to pull out the medicine and some other valuables in the luggage, but ended up having to run back upstairs to check it in again. I was in tears by this point because we were getting close to the time to board the plane and I knew I still had to go through customs and security. They got me checked in, and I still had to pay for another checked bag, but I hurried through and managed to make my flight with a couple minutes to spare. (Thankfully they did not weigh my backpack... because I do not think they would have been happy about that weight either!!)
Ready for my flight! Happy 4th of July!
I had a bit of luggage....
I finally got on my flight, and was happy that things were starting to work out, but guess what! Their TV system was down. Know what that means? A 14 hour flight with NO MOVIES!!!!!!! They managed to put on the same movie for every screen, but it was nothing that I really wanted to watch. I was a bit disappointed.
I also did not get ANY sleep on the flight, which is weird seeing that I had nothing to watch and little to do. I decided to get a bit of reading down and just enjoyed myself as much as I could.
Finally, I landed in California and met up with Sarah, however we had to depart once we got outside of the airport because our connecting terminals were on opposite sides of the airport. This is where more problems occurred. The system was not letting me check into my flight! Thankfully I had a few hours to waste, but unfortunately the LA airport is always SO busy and NOT organized so waiting in line to get help took FOREVER! And then they kept having people go in front of us in the line!!!! We were all getting infuriated and I started to worry about time!! But thankfully I finally got through and ended up with 45 minutes to wait for my plane. However, I never had a seat assigned to me... and they said that they needed 10 people to go on another plane!!! I debated about it, but by then I just wanted to get home and see my parents, so I denied changing plane's. I was able to get a seat on the plane (It was a tiny little plane!!!! 17 rows back with 2 seats on either side!)
I was so excited when I landed. When I saw my parents, I literally started to cry I was so happy. I gave them both the longest hug and just never wanted to let go!! And that's when more bad news hit. ALL my luggage, except one, got put on a later plane from LA, so we ended up having to wait at the airport an extra hour for my luggage. My mom told me I should have just taken the other plane and gave up my seat. Oh well!!
I was so happy to be home. It was the Fourth of July so we had some family friends come over and celebrate with us. We watched the fireworks from the backyard and enjoyed some festive treats and meals.
Happy to be back with the family!
The goofiness....
The view <3
There's no place like home.
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Looking back at my experience, I realize it was definitely one of the best times of my life. I may have had some down time where I wanted to be back home with friends and family, but that should be expected. Yes, because of that I may have given up some chances that I should have taken advantage of, but overall I got to see and do a lot of things while I was there. I do not regret not seeing some stuff because I definitely got to see many things that many people have never been able to see before. I got to see more things than some of the native Aussies have seen, so I look back and know that it was a great experience. It changed me for the better and made me truly realize what is important in my life.
