I am finally settled into my apartment in Australia! These two weeks have been crazy busy; from traveling to shopping and setting up my room, there has been very little down time. Thankfully the plane ride over here was a breeze; I slept most of the way and I was delighted that I did not get sick like I did to and from Japan a couple of years ago. Also, none of our luggage went missing! My mom and I were greeted at the airport and had a van all to ourselves from Brisbane to Gold Coast.
Surfers Paradise. Just a short bus ride away. Has lots of shops, restaurants, and night clubs.
Gorgeous sunny days like this make you burn in a matter of minutes.
My home. This bridge resembles Legacy Bridge at the University of Utah. I think it was meant to be.
I finally got my room a little bit more organized, clean, and homey.
Yes, I had to bring the picture of me repelling Corona Arch!
The first day that we were here, or more like the first few days, we went all day non-stop shopping. We got me groceries, got both of us an Australian sim card so we could talk and text, and got some things to help make my room more lively. The first few days weren't all that exciting, but they sure were helpful. We learned how to get all around the coast on the bus system, spent a little time on the beach and at Sea World, and got me pretty well situated in my room before heading to Cairns.
Shorty after arriving, we headed up to Cairns to meet my Dad and have a couple of days out on the Great Barrier Reef. It sure was gorgeous there! I did not expect it to be so tropical and have so many mountains! Apparently Northern Australia is all tropical rain forest, which I didn't really expect. We got there in the afternoon, and my dad of course had been traveling from the US, so he spent a few hours catching up on sleep while my mom and I ran out to grab some lunch and get some groceries to last us the couple of days that we were there. That night, though, we went to see the Indigenous people that lived there. There was a show so we got to see a lot of their dancing and how they lived, and then they had a dinner. It was pretty fun! It was exciting to see how well some of these people played the didgeridoo. I even got to try playing one the next day, and I actually got it somewhat figured out, but in no way am I as good as them!
The indigenous people playing the didgeridoo.
Their traditional ceremony.
They painted our faces.
I sure loved having my parents here!
The next day we spent the day out on the Great Barrier Reef diving. We had a long boat ride out to the reef. I definitely spent my time in fresh air at the back of the boat, watching the horizon in hopes of not getting sea sick. I definitely didn't feel good as we arrived to the reef, but once I got in the water I was free sailing from there. The reef was beautiful and we saw so many interesting animals, including a turtle, puffer fish, and some yellow box fish. There's even a huge fish that hangs out around the site. The dive company has named him Walle, and he's a Queensland Grouper. He was gorgeous, big, and loved attention! We got to touch him and take lots of pictures with him.
Some fish we got to see on the Great Barrier Reef.
This is Walle the Queensland Grouper.
Taking pictures with Walle.
Walle LOVES having his lips touched!!!
Family scuba diving photo.
I found Nemo and Marlin!!
Say cheese!
(:
Dad likes to eat fish.
Sea turtle!
The day after we finally decided to go to Fitzroy Island so that we could sea kayak and snorkel. The sea kayaking was very fun, but the water got quite choppy and it was very windy. We got to snorkel around the ocean, but it didn't compare to what we saw the day before right out in the middle of the reef, but it was still fun. Afterwards, we went on a short little walk on the island and got to experience the rain forest. We even got to go to a turtle rehabilitation center where they take care of hurt turtles from the wild. Many of the turtles there have been found in mud-lands, tangled up in boat nets, hurt from boat propellers, and not able to survive much longer without help. It was fun to see the turtles and learn about how humans are impacting their lives, but also see how we are trying to help them as well.
Sea Kayaking in Cairns was gorgeous!! It's so tropical!
I got excited to be out in the kayak, especially after missing the river trip this year!
Mom paddling along.
'Twas a gorgeous day for some paddling! See that hole there? Yeah, let's just say I had a nice big red circle on my knee after this day. I got sunburned just right there ):
(:
My mom loves trees, so she wanted a photo next to the big tree leaves. (I promise I'm not sweaty. We just got out of the water!)
Family selfie!
The rain forest.
Was a fun short little hike.
Beautiful tree with so many vines!!
I decided to hang off one of the vines and swing on it.
My mom decided I was having too much fun and had to join me.
Unfortunately the next day we had to head back to the Gold Coast early in the morning. The next few days were relaxing as we showed my dad around the area and where I was going to live for the next few months. We spent lots of time at the pool and the beach for it is incredibly hot and humid here! I even bought two fans for my room to help cool it off since we do not have air conditioning in our apartment and it's too hot for me to handle.
Anyhow, the week was quite relaxing and still busy and fun. My parents and I got to experience the beach, go to Sea World, and even Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. At Currumbin we got to feed wild lorikeets, cuddle a koala, hold a crocodile, and even pet and feed kangaroos! We also did a ropes course that was NOTHING like anything you would see in the US. It was actually quite a workout, but it was so much fun. We got to zip line through the jungle and climb through tunnels that are all above the ground. We even got to act like Tarzan and fly through the air on ropes. I'm sure we wore my dad out that day!
One of the workers. This koala was so cute and cuddley! He was telling us that if he put the koala down that he would scratch at his leg and then crawl up it just because he always wanted to be cuddled!
They're just so cute! (:
We got to watch people feed eels. They disgusted me. There's something about eels that just gross me out and I do not like them at all!
I fed a kangaroo!
And I pet them (:
Just look at that face!!
Some of the kangaroos got greedy and would try to take the food out of your hand.
I had to take a selfie with a kangaroo.
We even got to cuddle koalas!!!
He was just so loveable.
I also held a baby crocodile!
So did my mom (: He was very squirmish.
We also fed Lorikeets!
They are such beautiful birds here. And they are fun to listen to! I have so many just outside of my room in the mornings.
Every once in a while we had one jump on our head, unfortunately we were too slow to get a picture of them up there.
We did a ropes course!
One of the "games" was like a zipline, but backwards, and you got to pull yourself.
Almost like slacklining!
He's scared of heights.
But he did so well and enjoyed it!!
I got the chance to learn to surf. I'm still not a pro, since I still can barely stand up straight on the board, but I am sure with the time that I have here I will become as good as possible. It sure is difficult to learn and uses more muscles than I expected because I sure was sore the next day! That night we climbed the tallest building in Gold Coast (and supposedly the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.) It is called Q1, and it has apartments and rooms that you can also rent out for a short period of time. We were able to climb up and see the whole coastline at night. As my dad says "If we can't climb a mountain, we may as well scale a building." It was beautiful to see all the city lights. I am definitely living in a pretty area for the next few months and I cannot wait to explore and experience as much as possible around here!
Learning the basics.
Kinda made it up!
Our climb up Q1.
I was so scared to be off the edge!
My mom was happy as a kite.
My dad, however, was more scared than me. I wonder where I got my fear of heights from??
Fun fun!
Gorgeous views
A night shot I took from the top. The city lights are so vivid here!
The moon was also full and bright over the ocean!
I got my first real drink. It was called the Fruit Tingle! It was the most conservative-named drink on the list haha!
My mom tried it too (:
I went out to my first club with some friends!
And we took a nice stroll on the beach afterwards while we walked back to my parent's hotel to crash for the night.
Just tonight we had a pool party / birthday bash for one of the girls here. There are so many fun nice people to meet here!!! I'm loving every second.
