FIJI <3

BULA VINAKA

hello from post-Fiji holiday! Wow what a blast!! Fiji is incredible!!! So my new friends Micaela, Kate, Molly, and I all planned this Fiji trip for our school’s Spring Break. We began to get real excited as the departure date arrived and next thing we knew we were in GORGEOUS Fiji!!! We planned the trip to stay at Beachcomber Island resort for four nights. This is a private island about 1 mile in circumference. Real tiny. It’s where Mom and Dad spent their honeymoon only 22 years ago! I betcha not much has changed since then.

Day 1

We left Townsville late Saturday night, flew to Brisbane and then off to Fiji!! It was actually a terrible airport adventure. We made it to Brisbane just fine. We grabbed our luggage and headed to the International Terminal on a bus. Now our plan was to breeze through check in and customs and sit down and relax, grab a delicious burger before our overnight flight. You guessed it….that didn’t happen. We got to the Fiji Airways check in area and were greeted with a HUGE line. Ugh. Easily the entire passenger list was queued up trying to check in. One hour into the painstaking wait we realized who the culprits of the slow-moving line were: Americans. There was a group of roughly thirty American teens clogging up the line. As we waited (and maybe complained loudly) we learned what was up. Each, I mean EACH, of the kids had two to four full size suitcases, plus carry ons. They clearly were unaware of the company’s limits on baggage as there were girls trying to stuff their hard shell luggage into the metal sizing boxes, while one guy unpacked about 30 lbs of clothes and wore them so that his baggage would weigh less. The scene was unbelievable. The flight attendants were obviously irked and we were right there with them. They should’ve told them to get their shit together at the back of the line and let the rest of us go ahead. Their excuses were that they were studying abroad in Brisbane and they were stopping in Fiji on their way back to America. They said they were abroad for FOUR MONTHS! It sure made us feel good about overpacking for Fiji or even for our entire Australia trip because we all combined had less luggage than them!! 😡 Anyways, two hours later we were through check in and customs, but now it was 11:30 and every possible eatery was closed. The only choice we had was Coffee Club cold cuts and beer. So that’s what we did. An hour later we were boarded on our way to Fiji. Thank God.

The loveliest airport meal

 

Day Two

The five hour plane ride was just okay. Immediately sleepy for take off, but then they turned on the lights to serve breakfast…..(???? it’s midnight!!) but it actually it was good to get some more food. Then I tried to get as much sleep as possible. When we landed we were in beautiful Fiji just as the sun was rising. We unboarded, went through customs, and got our luggage. Now it was 5:30 am in Fiji. So nothing was open, our phones didn’t work, and we definitely felt a little unsure. So we hopped in a slightly strange cab and headed to Anchorage Resort (Beachcomber’s sister resort on the mainland). The cabbie seemed to know where he was going, but Kate was sure we were gonna get driven off somewhere obscure and die. Nope. We ended up swiftly exactly where we needed to be. We got dropped off at the boat dock, which is at the very bottom of the large hill the resort sits on. We unloaded, paid FJ$30 for the cab. (One fijian dollar equals about 50 cents, USD). It was still 6:30 and the boat wasn’t taking us to Beachcomber until 8:30. So Molly and I hiked up the hill to double check with reception we were at the right place. We were and so we just lounged for an hour along the shore of the boat harbor, enjoying the quiet Fiji morning. Soon enough the restaurant opened up and we grabbed some coffee and brekky for cheap. By 8:30 we were boarding the steel boat and on our way to Beachcomber!

A 45 minute ride later we were greeting with song at the shores of Beachcomber. How magical! I’ve never seen water so clear, so blue. The little island is picture perfect! It was great! Our bags were unloaded for us as we checked in. We sipped on complimentary welcome fruit juice. We checked in hassle free, except for Kate who’s credit card apparently didn’t go through? Once sorted out, we were shown our dorm rooms and they weren’t half bad! We soon changed into our swim suits, sunscreened up, and headed for the beach! We lounged out under the sun, and took a dip in the water, until lunchtime was nearing around 1pm.

The first lunch was easily the worst we had, and it was still yummy. Food is included at Beachcomber, everyone comes out to grab a plate and serve buffet style for each meal. This one, like most, consisted of a mix of different sides, veggie options and meat options. Usually rice too. Scrumptous. We downed it with some relaxing and tropical cocktails to set the Fiji mood.

 

We suntanned, read books, and rocked out to island jams for the rest of the arvo. We showered up around 5 and got ready to see the sunset. We only had to walk a few yards around the island to reach the perfect sunset spot. It truly was everything you’d expect from a sunset in Fiji. We wandered back to home base for dinner. Then we moved into the bar for a little bit of relaxation, but we were all pretty buggered from the rough flight, so we headed to bed real early. Getting to Fiji was a success!!

 

Day Three

We all woke up refreshed. Micaela’s bed and mine were next to each other. And the sunrise hit us straight in the face. The sleep was completely comfy until that sun just heated up the bed, and the flies attacked your skin. But anywho, we slipped out of our PJs and back into our swimsuits, all we ever wore (why we brought entire 50lb suitcases, I’ll never know). We ate the first Fiji breakfast, which turned out to be identical every day. Some sort of potatoes, some sort of green, tea, coffee, juice, and EGGS (any way you want!) They really shouldn’t have tasted as good as they did. I had a mushroom and cheese omelette every day for breakfast I think. One day they even had french fries instead of breakfast potatoes.

 

Today we set out on our first snorkeling trip! We hired snorkel gear for a $25 deposit and boarded the boat that drove us out to the reef just maybe two miles or less off of the west side of the island. We hopped in and snorkeled as a group for about 300 yards or so. It was clear as day underwater. We could see every fish, every coral, and after a little bit of time I was snorkeling like a pro! This was my first time snorkeling and it was incredible!! I couldn’t believe how much life there was under the sea 🙂 This was the only time all four of us snorkeled. Kate gets a little nauseous so it’s not her fave. But I’m so glad we all did this trip together. And that I brought my underwater camera (thanks Haley!).

 

We relaxed on the beach for the rest of the day, reapplying sunscreen every four hours!! (No burning allowed!) We hung out with some international friends. Namely this group of guys from England (Callum, Geoff, and Vin), this Scottish girl (Kathy) and a Dutch girl (Meesh). We chatted with them as we passed time under the sun. Molly went on a swim around the island with Geoff and they said it only took 15 minutes! Anyways, we all enjoyed lunch and the lovely afternoon of relaxing. After showers and dinner we retired to the bar for the first real night out in Fiji. Although Molly doesn’t drink, we all took one celebratory Tequila shot. We passed the night playing classic drinking games, dancing to the same playlist that had been playing since we arrived on the island, and enjoying the company of the locals. I didn’t stay out too long and enjoyed a good night’s sleep 🙂

Day Four

We woke up and had our energizing breakfast once again. Molly and Micaela set out at 10 for a scuba dive shesh. Meanwhile Kate and I decided to swim around the island. We stupidly decided to go against the current so it took more like 20 minutes, but the island really is SMALL. We enjoyed our little work out, and rewarded ourselves by relaxing on the beach yet again. We caught up with a Dutch guy (Martin) and a Canadian (Dusty). Soon enough Micaela and Molly came back and shared their stories from their dive trip. Exhausted, we all decided to get massages. 60 minute sessions were perfect. It was beyond relaxing and felt sooooo good. Plus the massage oils later acted as tanning oils 😉 no burning though! Micaela and I decided to go on a stroll around the island with our cameras and we hadn’t yet gotten too many pictures of the island itself. We later played some volleyball and the locals even joined in too. Everyone who works at Beachcomber is so nice, so friendly, and so inviting. They sure are fun people to be around.

   

Again we relaxed until shower and dinner time. Then we headed to the bar to relax more. It’s so cool to meet new people every night, from all around the world. We learned different versions of the same drinking game, we sung to the same island songs, and we rarely stopped laughing.

Day Five

Our last full day in Fiji was spent with two goals: do everything we have yet to do, and TAN. So that’s what we did. This included Molly and I heading out to snorkel and feed the fish. This was the best snorkel trip we had. It ended up just being Molly, Martin, Meesh, one Beachcomber worker, and I. So we started by getting dropped at one point, and snorkeling to the other. The water was even clearer than before, we’d bob up and down to see a glimpse of every fish. I swear there were more than before, probably because there wasn’t a whole heap of people snorkeling this time. When we got to the boat again, we got a bread roll and held it in the water. The entire schools of fish would pool around your hand and nibble on the bread! You could feel their little teeth touch your skin. It was incredible to feel. It was just as cool to watch. Molly would sink down a few feet as a tornado of fish circled around her for maybe 15 seconds before all the bread was gone. It was easily the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I hadn’t brought my camera on this trip, so it was an image that’ll forever live in my head 🙂

After that, we all prepped for our jet ski trip. Now I’ve never been on a jet ski before either! So Molly and Kate went first (tandem) for thirty minutes. Micaela and I watched from the shoreline. Kelly, the Beachcomber guy running the jet skis, got a little mad because Molly and Kate went out wayyyyy too far. They were halfway to the next island and were apparently supposed to only stay in front of Beachcomber. Oops! Kate was driving when she tried to flip Molly off, but Molly held onto Kate and they both fell in! Haha. Half and hour later it was our turn. Miceala drove for fifteen minutes first. We did as we were told and stayed in the boundaries Kelly gave us! haha It was such a blast! I thought it’d go a little faster, but we took some crazy turns that nearly threw us both off. I drove for the second half of our time and it was so cool!! Other than getting a butt rash from the wet seat, it was perfect!! We thanked Kerry and stayed back on land for the rest of the day.

 

That afternoon we finally found the mini golf course that’s hidden between all of the huts on the island. We hired some golf clubs and played a lil round of mini golf. (I’m sure I won)

    

The last thing we did before the day ended was check out the sunset once again on the island. It was just as spectacular as ever 🙂 Before the night was over, they performed traditional Fijian dances and a fire ceremony. That was really really cool to see! We even got to join in and dance a little! We once again did the ‘Bula Dance’ and taught Meesh how to do it too. We partied for one last night on Beachcomber, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Day Six

Today was the last day in Fiji. We were leaving Beachcomber to spend the final night on the mainland in order to catch our 6 am flight in the morning. But the boat to take us back to Anchorage wasn’t leaving until 4 pm. So we spent the last day on the island tanning more and enjoying the natural beauty. Molly and I went snorkeling and fish feeding one last time. I took my camera this time, but the experience wasn’t like before. We chose the wrong time to go as this trip was two boats filled with day trippers going snorkeling. The water was rougher and not very clear. We fed fish at the start, so we got to have a little fun at least.

Since it was the final morning, we finally attended the Kava Ceremony. Now it’s said you haven’t really been to Fiji if you haven’t had Kava. It’s a sort of juice made from water and this root that’s actually a narcotic. It is GROSS, like dirty dish water. But we sat down and participated in the whole ceremony and each drank a whole bowlful of Kava. It makes your mouth and tongue numb and tingly.

After that we all checked out and packed our stuff up, and just relaxed on the beach and in the water until it was time to board our boat. We said our goodbyes to the locals and to the friends we made just that day, haha. The boat took us to Anchorage Resort, where we checked in and they showed us our rooms. OMG real beds. We were in no way ‘roughing it’ on Beachcomber, but a heated shower, a fluffy bed, and the most magical view, was just what we needed before a huge day of traveling.

We showered and cleaned up and then headed back down to the shore to get some dinner. It felt so so so good not to cook on Beachcomber. Everything was made for you, we got to try amazing new things, and every meal was an adventure. However, it wasn’t always the best, and sitting down and ordering what I wanted was actually really nice after five days. I ordered the special – honey glazed pork chops with mashed potatoes and roasted veggies (swoon). IT WAS BEYOND DELICIOUS.

We also picked the right night to come to Anchorage as they had free rum cocktails and performed more traditional and fire dances. It was a perfect end to a perfect holiday, just chatting around candlelight on the shore of a magical island. We retired to our rooms quite early and slept like rocks in our nice beds.

Day Seven

We woke up bright and early and took a cab back to Nadi Airport. After baggage drop off, customs, and security. We made a breakfast stop at a cafe. We ate quiche and…(drumroll please)….we drank Fiji water….IN FIJI ! Trippy, aye!?

The trip to Brisbane was just as okay as the flight to Fiji. We got to Brisbane at 10 am local time. We trekked to the domestic terminal, and got some food from Hungry Jacks (Burger King) and some coffee to keep us going. We had a three hour layover. Around an hour after arriving, it started to rain. Queensland CANNOT handle their rain. They kept saying it’s storming, although it really seemed like just a normal April day in Seattle. Anyways, after another hour went by, flights started getting delayed. Our 1:30 flight time got pushed back an hour….then another hour. We were huddled around the phone chargers just waiting and waiting. At about 3:15 they boarded us on the plane. Ha! I had the ENTIRE row (ALL SIX SEATS) to myself. The back of the plane was just empty. But then they announced that the airport is ‘closed’. WTF. yes….the airport is closed. No take offs, no landings, no taxiing. Nothing. So for another ninety minutes we sat in the metal tube, getting anxious. It was just getting past 5 pm when we FINALLY left the gate and took the small opportunity of a pause in the ‘storm’ to take off. UGGH. Couldn’t be worse ending to the trip. We were beyond tired when we made it to Townsville. We embraced all the friends we missed and had a great night’s sleep.

 

Fiji was magical. MAGICAL. The beauty of those islands is just indescribable. Really. I loved the way we traveled, just staying on one island. Most everyone we met, backpackers, were hopping to different islands every day. That’s just too much movement. I mean how different can the different islands really be. There were only three downsides to Beachcomber: the flies, the sand (there were rough and sharp shells lining the actual shoreline, so so so hard to get in and out of the water or onto the boats 😦 ) and the front desk (damn they did NOT know what they were doing there). But would I change anything?? No. The unfortunate thing was that there ended up being an unbelievable amount of drama with Molly and people back in Townsville, and just a whole blow up of stuff. That did put a slight damper on the memories. But we all definitely made the most of our trip and I’m so thankful I was able to see the same place my parents saw years ago. So so special ❤

Kormaniacs In Australia

Hey y’all…..much apologies for the extreme delay in updating the blog 😦 schoolwork and activities got the better of me and I wanted to make sure I had the time to write properly!

So the family made it across the Pacific to visit the beautiful Australia!! I met up with them in Melbourne, where we stayed for five days. Then we all traveled to Sydney for another five days before I had to head back to classes ( 😦 ) and the fam continued on to see Brisbane for four more days. Mom, Haley, and Aidan traveled back home, but Dad went to Auckland, New Zealand for a week of work in his office there. FUN TIMES!!

Day 1

For some stupid reason, my friends and I decided to stay up ALL night before I had to catch my six am flight to Melbourne….why…So naturally I was buggered and I slept like a baby on the plane to Brisbane and the plane to Melbourne. Sunrise flights are my favorite though.

Townsville from in-flight

The fam bam had made it to Melbourne a fair few hours ahead of me. They checked into the hotel and began their ‘self-guided’ tour of the city by walking EVERYWHERE. They toured the CBD and made it all the way down to the stadiums and the Royal Botanical Gardens. I met up with them for lunch at Grill’d (I’ve now had Grill’d in THREE states) 😮

Then we continued to explore Melbourne on foot. [I had Starbucks (my first love) for the first time in ages] and we checked out the two things Melbourne is famous for: Laneways and Street Art. Laneways are developed alleys that bring a unique vibe to this city. They are filled with shops and food stops. The less populated laneways are covered in beautiful works of street art.

We stopped for a rest along the scenic Yarra river that runs through the center of Melbourne. We relaxed as much as we could in the COLD. I’ve sure been spoiled in Queensland because it was freezing by comparison in Melbourne. A jumper and jeans were required….but my wishful thinking only brought one zip up and one pair of leggings (sorry mom) so ignore the fact that I appear to be wearing the exact same thing in every single Melbourne photo. That night we got back to the hotel and sent Aidan and Dad out to find pizza for dinner. They returned with yummy yummy pizza and I quickly passed out on the couch.

I actually woke up around 10 and felt like walking around, so I went out to see Melbourne at night. A lot busier than Townsville on a weekday night, there were heaps of cars and people buzzing about and it felt really good to be back in a big city. Hunger struck and I stopped into Macca’s for a cheap chicken burger before heading back to the hotel for a sleep.

Day Two

We awoke and braved the cold (I’m talking actual 60 degree weather!!) to the Melbourne Harbor. Now the CBD has a wonderful…FREE…transport system. There’s a free tram zone that covered everywhere we needed to go. So we walked around the harbour’s edge. Saw some really cool boats and brand new purple-windowed apartments along the docks with strange sculptures. Melbourne definitely had it’s own vibe.

We hopped back on the free tram and headed to the popular Queen Victoria Markets. Half of the market was outdoors, filled with touristy shops, AFL (footy) stores, and fresh produce. The other half was indoors and had food. Everything from freshly made sandwiches to fruits and sliced meats and cheeses. We grabbed a baguette, cheese and salami and then hopped back on the tram to head to Docklands. As soon as we stepped off the tram at the Docklands shopping centre, it started to rain. Not sprinkle, not pour, but rain. It was cold and dreadful, but a bit nostalgic. We found a covered table to stop and devour our farmer’s market lunch.

We stayed indoors for the rest of the night, but we did stop at starbucks once again. 🙂

Day Three

We purchased a trip to Philip Island – famous for housing the world’s smallest penguins! We got up early and hopped on a charter bus for an hour to reach the small island just south of Melbourne city. We stopped first at Churchill Island farm. There was a beautiful remastered farm area, completely touristy. Animals roaming about, every kind imaginable, and there were demonstrations of sheep herding and sheep shearing. Aidan and I snuck off for a lil cute photoshoot and then we hopped back on the bus to the next stop.

Next stop was a small Koala sanctuary where we saw quite a few koalas in the wild! They were sleeping of course (that’s all Koalas do). But cute nonetheless. We also some adorable roos. Back on the bus before sundown when we headed to the final destination….the Penguin Parade. Now some back story, the species Little Penguins are only found in southern Oz and NZ. And at Philip Island they come ashore every night, hundreds of them, and waddle ashore and walk as far as five miles to get to their burrow. It happens around 6:30 and they wash ashore in herds as to not be vulnerable for birds to attack. Tourists are able to view this miracle every night! We stayed in the Penguin Plus section, which allowed us to get as close as possible to the little guys. The only downside was that there is no photography allowed…NONE…they were real strict. So photo ops where near nonexistent.

However, the stars that night were the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Someone finally pointed out the Southern Cross constellation to me and I could’ve stayed there all night looking at them. Except it was freezing and I wanted to sleep. The bus ride home was a bit long and they played Surf’s Up (which if you know my Dad is just too ironic). Sleep sleep sleep.

Day Four

Today we did what some Aussies only dream of doing. We traveled on the Great Ocean Road! This highway stretches along the perfectly scenic coast of Victoria. It passes famous landmarks, such as Bells Beach (considered the best surfing shore) and the Twelve Apostles (a natural wonder of remains of shoreline). We began the trip like the day before on the charter bus heading out of Melbourne. We stopped along a river’s edge just out of the city for a quick morning tea. We had Bush tea, lamingtons, and yes! Vegemite. These are some of the reactions:

Vegemite is actually disgusting. Anyways, we continued on and stopped every twenty minutes or so for a five minute photo op stop. Beaches on beaches on beaches. My heaven. We traveled along until we reached the town of Apollo Bay where we grabbed some yummy lunch and walked on the beach.

We continued on to reach the Twelve Apostles. There used to be 12 free standing cliffs, but now there’s only 8 left standing. The viewpoint paths were PACKED with people. SO. MANY. SELFIE. STICKS. I cannot exaggerate that enough. But still we got some great views of the Twelve Apostles until the grumpy clouds rolled in.

The bus ride back had barely any stops. But we got to walk down these crazy steps to reach the beach. And we stopped at the shoreline where a fabled shipwreck occurred. Everything was SO PRETTY. The shores were just beyond incredible. By far the best day trip I’ve had in all of Australia. It was great. So glad I got to experience it with my family!! On the bus ride back they played this real Aussie movie, Red Dog, which was really really good until it was really really sad. We all slept a bit after a long day. That night I took the fam to eat at Nando’s. A chicken place I went to with Nana and Papa back in Manly Wharf, and wanted them to try. THEY WERE NOT IMPRESSED. Maybe I talked it up too much, but I enjoyed the feed.

Day Five

We woke up and packed up but had a little bit of time before needing to get to the airport…….so we headed to Starbucks!! Haha I can’t help it. Along the way we went to some shops and I found a present for a friend and a really cute pineapple ring! Anyways, we passed by RMIT, a university that my old roommate Christina will be studying abroad at next semester! Then we headed to the airport and left Melbourne for Sydney! Overall, Melbourne was a really cool city. It has a lot of artsy, unique vibes. It’s often dubbed Australia’s best city, but I don’t think it was my favorite. My fave was the things we got to do outside of the city! If I went back I would want to ride the Melbourne Star (the ferris wheel) and….maybe just explore more when it’s sunny out! 🙂

Bye Melbourne !

When we got to Sydney it was nice and sunny, and we met some Seattlites on the plane! We made our way to out hotel and were pleasantly surprised to find that we somehow ended up in the penthouse apartment, complete with spectacular views, posh beds, and a fully kitchen. It was GREAT. Mom of course had no plans to leave. We relaxed for a bit, and then I took them on a walk around the major Sydney sights at night. We stopped at the grocery store to buy breakfast stuff and decided to make dinner that night in our fancy kitchen. We made roast chicken and potatoes and it was yum. We all relaxed and fell asleep quick in our posh apartment.

Day Six

We continued to explore Sydney on foot. I’m so glad I walked around enough before this trip that I knew the layout of the city without needing to spend time checking a map. We saw Hyde Park, the Sydney Tower, Queen Victoria Building (which my fam was not quite as impressed as I with). For lunch we walked all the way across the Domain to Wooloomooloo and ate at Harry’s famous pie shop. We walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens to get to the beautiful Opera House and we ended up at Circular Quay.

We arranged to have a harbour boat tour for Afternoon Tea! We boarded the Captain Cook Cruises ferry boat and found a nice spot up top. We spent about two-three hours touring every inlet of the Sydney Harbour. We started by passing the Opera House and Wooloomooloo and then toured a bit of the celebrity houses (hello Russel Crowe!) and ended up at the easternmost end where the harbour meets the sea. We saw hundreds of sailboats (they call all sailboats yachts) out on the harbour. We saw some secluded beaches, some shark watch areas, some lighthouses, some nature reserve parks and downed some lovely Aussie teat and afternoon snacks! We then went around the western side of the harbour by crossing under the Harbour Bridge and seeing Darling Harbour and Barangaroo Point. The cruise was beautiful, we got to see so much, and it was perfectly clear day to do it. Great idea Dad!

After the cruise we walked as the sun was setting all the way to Darling Harbour. We wandered the heaps of restaurants before deciding to eat at…..you guessed it….the same place as before. We went to Watermark or something. I had the risotto and mom had the chicken parm and we split. It was as yummy as before! This time we stayed in the harbour for another two hours or so to catch the fireworks. Then we walked back to our hotel.

Day Seven

Today, Sunday, public transit travel is $2.15 unlimited. So we took this opportunity to firstly try to find some Sunday farmers markets. This was a bust (Dad’s fault :P) and we ended up at Sydney’s Chinatown for a hot minute. We hopped back on the trains to reach Circular Quay, to get on a ferry boat to take us to Manly. By midday I was once again walking around Manly Beach. We looked at the shops and walked along the crowded beach. For lunch we stopped at this cute mexican place and shared three plates of nachos and some Coronas. It was the best nachos I’ve had in the entirety of Australia!!

We then boarded the ferry back to the CBD and then decided to take the train across the bridge to reach Milton’s Point and Luna Park. It was nighttime now and a bit chilly. But Luna Park, which is a small amusement park, is really creepy looking in the day time, but is quite nice at night. Next to it is the Sydney 2000 Olympic pool, where Michael Phelps won his first gold medal! So that’s pretty cool. We went home after that, but we did so by walking across the famous Harbour Bridge. It was about as cool as possible to see the city lit up from high above the water. We slept real well after all that walking.

Day Eight

Haley, Dad, and I awoke at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise over Sydney Harbour. While getting up early is NOT MY FAVE, seeing the sun rise above the Opera House is something I’d get up to every morning. We walked down to the viewpoint across from the Opera House and watched for an hour or so as the sky lit up. A cruise ship even came into harbour just at dawn. Quite spectacular.

Today was the day we headed to Bondi Beach 🙂 We took the train and bus to get there, and then we hung out in the sand for a while before deciding to try some surfing lessons!! Haley, Aidan, and I were taught by a big hulking Aussiehow to surf. It is so difficult!! Getting hit over and over by SALTY water and rough waves really takes a toll on you….but it was incredible fun!! All of us got up multiple times and we all had a blast!! That tuckered us out quickly so we grabbed some chips straight after at one of the beachside cafes. Bondi is definitely one of the best beaches in the world and has always been renowned as one of the best surfing spots ever! So it was pretty great to get to surf there!

After Bondi we cleaned up and then began to head out for the fam’s first footy game!! The North Queensland Cowboys were playing the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney! So we donned our blue and gold and went to sit in the Cowboys section of ANZ Stadium. The large stadium was unimpressively filled with red and green striped fans. (I mean what the hell even is a Rabbitoh!?!?!) But anyways, after a fairly even first half, the Cowboys got try after try and ended up winning the game!! It was fun to sit the away section for this one!

Day Nine

For the last full day in Sydney I (perhaps mischievously) convinced my family to check out the famous Eastern beaches of Sydney. This involved a tad bit more walking that I originally expected, but I was STOKED to do the famous Coastal Walk!! We began at Coogee Beach….and walked all the way to Bondi Beach. After Coogee you reach Bronte Beach, then Tamarama Beach, and finally Bondi Beach. It is easily the most beautiful coastline I’ve seen. Pristine beaches. Each with their own personality and pros and cons. I think Coogee had the best sand, Bronte had the best waves, Tamarama had the best shallow rock pools, and Bondi has the best surf and atmosphere! All are incredible though. So scenic!! I’m SO SO SO glad we got to do this…although the tired feet of everyone else didn’t match my enthusiasm. 😛

After much walking, Mom, Dad, and I went to have a relaxing afternoon pick-me-up at the famous Opera Bar. Situated literally under the Opera House with the best view of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and Circular Quay, the Opera Bar is iconic. We had three different brews and shared a plate of bread and sweet potato crisps. Yum. Meanwhile Haley and Aidan wandered around in search of souvenirs.

We relaxed back at the hotel before heading out for dinner at Mom’s choice of restaurant: Jamie’s Italian. Jamie Oliver is the famous Australian chef from Food Network and the chance to eat at a celebrity chef’s restaurant was just too good to pass up!! We reserved a table earlier, so getting in was a breeze. Then the night took a small turn…the customer service was horrid! It took forever to get an order in, to get our appetizers and our meals took an absurd amount of time. Haley’s dish came a solid ten minutes after the rest of ours. And even worse….the plates were TINY. Aidan got five tortellini…..and they weren’t huge. It was delicious. Worthy of the celebrity chef name….but the service was such a turn off. I know it’s Australia….but this is a touristy spot…c’mon mates!! Oh well, Mom had a blast and that’s what’s important!!

Day Ten

The last morning in Sydney consisted of solely checking out and heading to the airport. A bit sad as the fam bam was heading to Brisbane for a few days and I had to head back to Uni because I had a mandatory practical 😦  The trip overall was a dream! I can’t believe the five of us got to conquer two Australian cities and had a blast. We took more pictures than I thought possible and made memories that will last a lifetime!!

Bye Sydney and bye Family!!

Dragon Post

Hi guys! So my honors college at home runs a blog with posts from the students who are currently studying abroad. So this is the post I made for this week’s blog update! If you want to read this post or more about LIHC Study Abroad students…the blog is at  http://lihcdragonblog.blogspot.com

Hey Mates, saying G’Day from across the globe in Australia!!

Oz the LIHC dragon

Meet Oz, my dragon. Australian refer to their country as Oz sometimes, because it sounds like the abbreviation AUS, and because this gorgeous land is filled with crazy creatures. Oz and I are at James Cook University in Townsville. Townsville is the largest city in Tropical North Queensland. It’s never been under 70 degrees while I’ve been here and the beach is a short bus ride away from pristine coastal beaches. A short ferry ride away is the beautiful Magnetic Island, and a few hour boat ride away is the spectacular Great Barrier Reef.

In addition to Townsville, Oz and I have seen Sydney and Brisbane: two of the most exciting cities in Australia. Sydney was a whirlwind filled with rushing people and cars and boats. The iconic sights, the harbour bridge and opera house, are gems to see. But experiencing the SydneySider lifestyle is an amazing adventure too! Brisbane is an impressive city filled with amazingly beautiful parks and a sparkling river weaving through the bustling city. For Spring Break Oz and I are going to visit Fiji, and also seeing Melbourne and Cairns and maybe even New Zealand!

Brisbane

Australia is full of wonderful crazy things. The university is situated in a valley surrounded by beautiful hills perfect for hiking! A giant mountain called Castle Hill is situated in the middle of Townsville overlooking the entire city and Magnetic Island. There’s a road that goes all the way up to the top, but there’s also heaps of different trails and tracks to get a work out while getting to the top. We took the infamously hard Goat Track just last week.

photo edit – Castle Hill

The Strand is a large stretch of beach that’s the main hub of Townsville. The water is warm and wavy, but at this time of year is also filled with deadly Stingers. So swimming is only allowed in enclosed areas with stinger nets. Heaps of bars and restaurants (and famous gelato shops!) line the Strand beaches and parks. As I don’t have classes Monday or Wednesday, I find as much time as possible to be at the beach. Along with a coastal beach, Ross River runs through the entire city. At least once a week I like to bike the 10 miles along the river to the Strand. The views are gorgeous and getting some exercise in makes me feel better about lounging on the beach!!

Oz the LIHC dragon

photo edit – Ross River BikeWay

My time at Uni has been great. The dorm life is really a focus here, so finding fun things to do around campus is never and issue. The classes I’m taking are interesting and fun, especially Australian Vertebrate Fauna where I get to learn and meet some of Australia’s most interesting animals. My mates and I have gotten to go on some awesome weekend trips; we went to Little Crystal Creek last weekend, and last month went to the North Queensland Cowboys (league rugby) game!

Cowboys Game

photo edit – Crystal Creek

photo edit – Mates at Mini Golf

The only bad thing about Australia is that pictures just don’t do the beauty justice. It really is the most spectacular land and if you ever get the chance, you MUST visit!! If you want to hear more about my adventure’s with Oz, and see tons of cool pictures, feel free to check out my study abroad blog at 19south146east.wordpress.com

photo edit – sunset at Castle Hill

Cheers mates!! ❤

Crystal Creek

Finally we did a real weekend day trip!! So pumped.

A lot of people have raved about Crystal Creek, and after going, it’s obvious why. We went to Little Crystal Creek because apparently is heaps better than Big Crystal Creek. Anyways, Candice, Kate, Micaela and I drove an hour or so North towards Pallouma rainforest area. Molly was supposed to come with us, but she hurt herself the night before and couldn’t come 😦

We got there around noon and the place was crawling with families and groups of mates spending a perfect arvo in the shade of the creek. I can’t even describe how beautiful it was. Bushes blending with gigantic rocks overlooking rushing water and waterfalls. We crossed over the major rocks and found a nice spot to set down our towels and the Subway we brought for lunch. Micaela and Candice relaxed while Kate and I immediately found our way down through the rocks to the water. The whole place is set up like a jungle where you have to completely climb up and over and down and around everything to get through the natural paths. I was sufficiently sore the next day from stretching out all my muscles climbing rocks. The water was so cold. If only the beach had water that clear and cold! It felt so good when you were under the hot sun. However, most of the creekbeds were shaded by all the trees and pants that you couldn’t feel the heat ( even though it was sitll 90+ degrees).

Little Crystal Creek

Kate and I made our way from the farthest top to the bottom before stopping to eat our Subway. Candice and Micaela joined us then and we all swam around and climbed along the rocks. A group of guys were jumping off this large rock, so we decided, what the hell, let’s do it too. It was so much more terrifying when you were standing on the ledge. But after a few minutes of coaxing, all four of us did it! The probably 15ft jump let you down into a little pool of cold water.

We jumped off the ledge by the ferns on the right!!

Amazed at ourselves we proudly watched as the rest of the guys did flips and jumped backwards and were insane. We lounged around for a while longer and tired from the sun and all the climbing, we drove back to Townsville. I’m so glad we got to do this. It was so so so fun and perfectly relaxing. We’ll HAVE to go back real soon and bring everyone!!

After such a nice weekend is not such a nice week. My cell bio midterm is tuesday, lab report and abstract due tuesday as well. The lab report I have no idea what I’m doing, the abstract just takes some time. And after much studying for the midterm, I think I was as prepared as possible. Standby for the results!! This week’s reading for Lit is Charlotte’s Web…so that’s a good relief 🙂

6 days until I leave for Melbourne and Sydney!! I’m so pumped to have a change in scenery, but I’m already missing all my mates here!! I’m excited to see the fam though. I’ll probably be wearing long sleeves (60s and 70s are COLD) and my family will be getting sunburnt!! HAHA Can’t wait!!

 

❤ love you all ❤

The Infamous Goat Track

Castle Hill is the iconic mountain hanging over the entire city. Naturally everyone in the town climbs up it to witness the breathtaking views and getting some good exercise too. There is actually a road that winds all the way up the hill. Which is the only way I’ve gone up the hill before. But there’s countless trails to get to the top that runners and bikers have made over the decades. Most infamous is the Goat Track. Candice, Kate and I decided to trek up it this week. We parked at the carpark at the bottom and started the hike up. The first area was a set of maybe 30 rocks built into steep stairs. OMG we were so tired after just that. All three of us were heaving as we continued on. Nearly the ENTIRE track is stairs. And not nice paved ones, steep rocks that stretch your knees out with every step. We mostly kept moving forward, trying not to stop for fear of wanting to give up, or worse, throwing up. 😐 But only about 30 minutes or so later, we had made it all the way to the top!! We had gone in the late arvo, so the sun was setting behind the hills as we got to the top painting the sky with the most beautiful shades of purples. We walked around to all the different viewpoints around the top (to take pictures and to catch our breath). We then walked down the road all the way back to the car. The walk down took about an hour I think. Overall not too bad, but it sure felt like hell while on the Goat Track. The views were so spectacular I almost the aching in my legs.

on the goat track

Castle Hill

Beach Bums

Hi mates ❤

Sorry it’s been a little while, I’ve actually had some studies to do, believe it or not!!

Last Monday, Kate and I spent the day at the Beach. She decided that she’d like to walk to the Strand and see how it goes and see how long it takes. So she left around 7am and two and a half hours later she was in town!! I took the bike and met her there. I showed her Two Brothers Cafe where we had a great brekky and I got to chat with Wil and Bec again. Love them! We walked down the street to the Strand and found that the first swimming area was closed…like the stinger nets were lifted and there was no swimming area. This was strange. So we walked down to the far end of the Strand, to the other swimming area by the rock pool. We immediately got in the water, it was SO refreshing. Actually wavy and cold. We played catch with a tennis ball with these two weird old guys. One kept going on about this weird tree oil he found that protects from the stingers. Like okay dude…you try that out, I’ll stay within the safe stinger nets!

We laid out on the beach for hours until we were completely dehydrated and….yes, burnt to a crisp. Mine was especially bad. Of course my dumbass didn’t put any sunscreen on so I know it’s my fault. It was wishful thinking okay!! From the neck to my ankles my backside was completely red. I had an obvious tan line from my swimsuit tie on my back. Phewwwww I’m still peeling a week later. Anyways, we were thirsty so we head into the Fish Inn, a restaurant overlooking the rock pool. It’s actually pretty fairly priced food, but we each got a beer for $8 instead. We sat at this little bar area overlooking a window out to see the rock pool and Maggie Island. It was the most picturesque scene. Kate always says she thinks she’s in a movie 🙂 We sat there for maybe an hour and a half just people watching and enjoying the perfect sea breeze. We both agreed that we’re wasting this experience if we don’t do this every Monday. We moved out to the grass around the rock pool for one last sun-soaking session. I chilled mostly in the shade this time, already regretting the burn.

Ross River BikeWay

The Townsville Brewery

Drinks at the Rock Pool

the rock pool

Ross River

Kate took the bus back, feeling the pain after walking so far. And I biked back. Later that night I played soccer again. We are still undefeated!! Yay! The next day we decided to make a lighter group dinner, Chicken Noodle Soup. Kate used her mom’s recipe and it was SCRUMPTIOUS!! We haven’t quite been keeping up with MKR anymore. There’s not enough drama! Everyone likes each other…that’s no fun. So we get the highlights the next day from everyone else who watches it. Kate also made like a fruit tart for dessert that was equally as good!

Chicken Noodle Soup night

Fruit Tart dessert

The Garden Party

So this week I actually had a major assignment due (it is STUDY abroad after all). So I had to do a little bit of real work. It was for cell bio, comparing and contrasting two diseases. Nothing too major. I’m a little nervous to see my grade on it….things are done differently here academically so I hope I did it right!!

I’ve now had two practicals (labs) for cell bio…the first was mere pipetting, but it still took some getting used to being back into the swing of things inside a lab. We get to wear these official JCU lab coats (think Meredith Grey). The second prac was this week, it it took significantly longer…FIVE HOURS. It took so long as there were incubation periods where we were doing nothing for an hour, rinse off a gel, then wait another hour…it actually sucked. But while we were waiting I finally got a chance to kind of hang out with my bio classmates. That class is so small it’s really strange we don’t talk more…but while we we’re waiting for our gels, we finally did. Sigrid is a Norwegian study abroad student who lives in the block next to mine at Rotary, so I’ve seen her around. And her lab partner is Riley who lives in George Roberts college and is from Minnesota and is really spunky. My lab partner lives in GR too and is also Norwegian but is actually on her second exchange at JCU lol. Anyways, it was cool talking to people in other colleges for once. And talking to people in my major. So that was nice.

Tuesday was St. Patricks Day, so of course we went a little hard. We hit up every bar on Flinders Street and had a fantastic night. EVERYONE was out, of course. It was so packed everywhere we went, but we had a good time anyways.

St. Patrick’s Day

Yesterday was the first big Rotary hosted event, the Garden Party! We’d been looking forward to this for a while since we got to dress up a little fancy, hang out with our best friends and didn’t even have to leave our backyard! We all got ready and head outside around 4. The set up was adorable with strung lights and lanterns. A bar serving whatever drinks you wanted. Tables of finger food that was all DELICIOUS and homemade and went really fast with us hungry Rotarians. We all mingled and hung out until it got dark. Then these two people gave a beautiful concert playing ukuleles and singing. It was great. Around 8 things had died down, and some people went into town, but we went to Kate’s block. They just bought a Nintendo 64 with Mario Kart, so we played drinking games to Mario Kart, and ordered a ton of pizza. We later watched a scary movie for a little while, and eventually ended up in the common room…it was just a long night. But I love how it never feels like a long night with my new friends, it’s so nice to get to know everyone.

Rotary Garden Party

Luke and Jimmy 😛

two of the greatest guys i know

Rotary Garden Party

Micaela was not here this weekend for the Garden Party because she went on a live-aboard trip with the JCU Dive Club. I’m so jealous!! She got to spend three full nights on a boat doing tons of dives on the famous Yongala Wreck and the reefs!! SO COOL. I wish  I wasn’t terrified to dive 😐 When she was done, we picked her up downtown and we stopped at Max Brenner on the way back. The famous choclatier did not disappoint. I got a chocolate suffle and it was soooooo delicious. We’ll be going there again for sure, as a study break or just snack time! Yum!

Max Brenner

Max Brenner

Max Brenner

Max Brenner

Max Brenner

Oh, and earlier in the day we went to have lunch at a place called Fasta Pasta. It’s like Chipotle but for pasta. You can pick your noodles, your sauce and your sides. They also have pizzas and steaks. It’s not that expensive either, so we’ll DEFINITELY be going back real soon. Delish!!

Fasta Pasta – Fettuccine Fantasia

Tomorrow starts week 5 (EEEEEK). Time’s moving so fast. I keep feeling like I should be going out on adventures every weekend, but it’s hard to plan things in advance with unpredictable weather and changing schedules. I’m not doing anything this weekend so I’m hoping I can convince my friends to go on a weekend adventure to Crystal Creek, Airlie Beach, Bowen, Mt Stuart, or even Cairns (but they just got hit with a cyclone so maybe not Cairns yet). We keep mentioning things, but haven’t actually gone yet.

We have, however, planned our trip to FIJI!!!!! We’re going for the better part of our spring break for the last week of April. 5 days and 5 nights on the beautiful Beachcomber Island of Fiji!!! Kate, Micaela and Molly (Bish’s girlfriend) are going. It’s going to be AWESOME. Of course, I’m counting down the days. It’s an all inclusive package, so we’ll be doing tons of snorkeling, kayaking, diving, tanning, reading, relaxing, drinking and having an EPIC time. To say I’m excited is a complete understatement!!

But I still have a long list of things to see here in Oz, so I’m trying to get on them as soon as I can!! But I am excited to see Melbourne and Sydney again after Easter with the fam bam!! ❤

PS – soccer update: the RFFC (REAL Friends Football Club) is undefeated. Cheer for us in our next game tomorrow! Go us!

Cowboys vs Knights

Oye Mates!

This weekend was the much anticipated Cowboys Game! It’s HARD to find a deal in australia….it’s actually such a bummer…but a North Queensland Cowboys rugby game is only $14 for a student!!! Yay! So we played the Newcastle Knights (i have no idea where Newcastle is…lol) and we went to watch!

But first, we were all itching to spend a day at the Beach, so went around midday to the Strand. Despite it costing $4 and taking nearly a full hour to get to the Strand (which on a map is only 10 miles away!) the beach is SO NICE. If you know me, I just love the beach, but this was an extra nice trip because it the Strand had such a nice breeze. The perfect amount of wind kept the temperature feeling closer to 80 when it was really 96. So laying out and tanning was actually possible. (I actually have THE WORST tank and shorts tan lines it’s sad). Plus, there were actually some big waves, so where as last time we could stand up in the farthest end of the swimming area, today we couldn’t even touch the bottom two meters from the shore! The water was so much more refreshing and it was just THE PERFECT day. We swam, we tanned, I pretended to read a little and then we grabbed some food on the way back home. We stopped at Zambrero’s which is the closest thing they have to a Chipotle here, and by that I mean it’s double the price and 1/4 as good. But it totally hit the spot. While waiting for the bus back to Rotary we ran into some other Rotary kids who were also going to the game tonight, so small world!

The Strand

 

Because nothing we do is easy, there were dramas from the start with this game. I was the first to buy tickets online and had the system reserve seats for my friends. Everyone had bought tickets and we realized that the system never sent Micaela and I out ticket PDFs. Great. So we had to wait in line at the gate to get them after we spent a good 30 min trying to find parking. Anyways, we made it to our seats just in time for kickoff!!

Footy, or rugby, is beyond confusing. But after watching a whole game I get the gist. It’s too bad the stadium was rather elementary…think small college/extra large high school. They had two mini-jumbotrons but placed in awkward positions, so it was hard to tell what was going on when the players weren’t on your side of the field. But nonetheless we were up 14-4 before the half. At halftime we grabbed XXXX beer (the major aussie brand) for $7 and some hot chips for $6….and we we’re set. The game went fine until the last few mins when we lost it 😦 apparently the Cowboys are the opposite of the Seahawks and they lose it in the last two minutes after being up the whole game. Too bad.

1300Smiles Staduim

Cowboys Game

hot chips and XXXX beer

We got back to the car and spend AN ENTIRE HOUR trying to get out the parking lot. It was a good thing our phones still had battery and we could have a dance party in the idle car to keep us from passing out from boredom.

Eventually we made it back to Rotary where we just chilled for the rest of the night. Luke and Jimmy came over and we all just stayed up drinking and talking and before we knew it, it was 5am. We got randomly excited to see the sunrise, so we stayed awake another hour to catch the first rays. The mornings are without a doubt my favorite time of day. The majority of fauna is out, birds chirping like crazy, some roos in the grass, and of course it’s the coolest temp of the day (and by that I mean closer to 82 rather than 102). We walked down to the common room and played ping pong for a while until we got hungry. We came back to our block and made a team brekky of scrambled eggs and waffles with the waffle iron we found hiding under our sink! We were all so tired so we slept the entire day (whoops!). I woke up around five pm….

Luke and the sunrise

You know you have a good night with good people when you can stay up talking forever and actually not notice hours and hours going by 🙂

This week marks my first major assignment due (eek!) so I actually have to do some schoolwork for the first time since…..November?!?! Not looking forward to it, haha. But Tuesday is St. Patricks Day so I’m sure that’ll be a long night. Even so, I’m planning to still bike to the Strand again on Wednesday! Wish me luck!

PS – my new room decor came in!! When I decide where to put them up I’ll post updated pics

best $13 ever spent!

The Bike Ride Chronicles

So since Kate and I bought Stocky (our bike) I’ve been the only one to use it. LOL idk why but Kate has yet to ride it. But anyways, since we’ve had it I’ve been dying to ride it into town. The thing is, the roads here are like highways, so riding in the bike lane on the left side is not what I’m looking for. So I’ve spent time looking up ways to get there via bike paths. Now Ross River runs through Townsville all the way past our school and goes on and on. And there’s a bike path along it. I wasn’t sure how long it it went though, and mileage-wise it was about a 12 mile ride….one way.

So I’d put it off for a few weeks. But I tend to feel really bad if I squander my Wednesdays away because I don’t have class. So I resolved to go this Wednesday. I planned to leave at nine, because the mornings are the only time when it’s under 100 degrees! After about ten its HOT alllllllllllllll day. So I figured I’d bike down and spend the day on the beach (reading Seven Little Australians a children’s book for my lit class!). However, I got up and was blessed with a gem of a day – cloudy!! Now if you know me at all I hate gloomy cloudy days, hence why I left Seattle for school, but when you haven’t seen a grey cloud in a month you actually miss it a little. But let’s be real, it wasn’t so much the gloominess I liked as much as the temp drop and promise of a few rain drops. PERFECT weather for an exhausting bike ride to town.

I set off with a bag packed with a swimsuit and towel in case I actually made it to the beach and didn’t give up, or get lost, or (as I am in Australia) die from some crazy poisonous spider/snake/croc bite. I headed out of uni and when I got to the bridge over Ross River I took a left. OF COURSE THO I was supposed to go RIGHT. I didn’t quite figure out my dumb error until the paths got so narrow that I went along the main road and realized I was going towards this place called the Tav (Riverview Tavern) which I recognized as being west of uni when I should have been travelling east towards the coast. DUMB. But I did see a cool bridge and pretty riverbank scenery and passed Mocha Mecca which apparently offers early bird brekky under $10 (A FRICKIN STEAL IN THIS EXPENSIVE COUNTRY) that I shall have to investigate further another time.

As I pedaled back towards the main bride, I couldn’t decide if it’d be a good idea to still try to go to the Strand, or give up now. The thing is it can get hot real quick, and my frozen water bottle was already lukewarm. However, the temp was only in the high 80s still and clouds didn’t seem to be clearing, so I figured I would just keep going until I felt really tired and then I could come back. So I crossed the bridge and went RIGHT. This was definitely the right path, a wide bike lane with footpath markers and few people walking their dogs or biking along the river with me. Basically I just kept going as I never felt too tired or too hot yet. I maybe passed another person every fifteen minutes, so I turned on music and had it playing in Stocky’s basket. It was pleasant! The path was flat in general, a few rises and falls, but I was never bored and never tired. I got about halfway between uni and town after about two hours (since I had gone an hour out the way before). And I could see the cone-shaped top of the Holiday Inn not too far away, and Castle Hill totally in focus looming over the town. So I just kept going.

The path stopped briefly where the crazy large Townsville golf course takes over the riverfront, so it dumped me out on a side street, but still there was signage leading me to town. After about a total of 2.5hrs and 14 miles (!!!!) I arrived in town!! Not to bad!! It started to rain a little and it felt great! Haha I wasn’t that tired, but I was hungry and needed more water. So I ducked into the Two Brothers Cafe (my favorite restaurant in Townsville) for an amazing egg sandwich. I love the way they do bacon there. It’s a perfect cross between American and Australian….thick cut like ham, but fried greasy like ours. YUM. I had a sweet tea as well as a whole jug of ice water. The owners, Bec and Wil, who are so nice, were there so I got to catch up with them a bit.

I debated staying on the Strand to read a bit or lay out, but the sun wasn’t out so tanning wouldn’t happen ( 😦 ) and I was afraid if I stopped for too long I wouldn’t have the energy to get all the way back, so I just decided to come back to uni. I left the same way I came, and the one way trip took about 75 mins. The worst is getting into uni. It’s cooler in town by the water, and there seemed to be a breeze along the river because biking down the one street to Rotary I was dead. It’s definitely hotter in Douglas than in town and I felt it for sure. I of course chugged two water bottles before getting in a nice cold shower.

All in all it was about a 4 hour adventure, and I biked 23.5 miles!! How!? I’ve been running most nights around the main road on campus that makes a big loop around uni. It takes 25min to do one lap and it’s just barely 3 miles, and we’re always SOAKING with sweat after. I have no idea how I made it 23 miles and can still stand up. To say I’m proud of myself is a little understated, haha! I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune tomorrow morning when I’m epic-ly sore and have to bike to all 4 of my classes! But I did it! 🙂

I of course stopped to take pictures of the gorgeous river every two seconds too:

Ross River BikeWay

best brekky in Townsville @ Two Brothers Cafe

my bike route

the totals of the trip!

Maybe I’ll make that a weekly adventure on my day off. Next time I’ll leave a little earlier to miss the heat while biking, and spend the whole day on the beach reading, swimming, and tanning!! before biking back later when it cools off (and by that I mean drops from 100 to 90). We’ll see. Wish me luck!

Things That Were True Three Weeks Ago

Lately I’ve been thinking about all the things that were true three weeks ago….I am 100% sure I either said these things or thought them with complete confidence before living here. And yet I’ve done the exact opposite!

1. I could never take a cold shower every day

2. I could never pull off an aussie accent and convince a native I’m not American (the trick is to use their slang 😉 )

3. I could never spend $57 on a tiny bottle of Jack (sorry dad…I swear that’s on sale!!!)

4. I could never sleep while it’s 83 degrees

5. I could never go for a run with 88% humidity

6. I could never go two weeks without a cold soda!

7. I could never go a month cooking for myself every meal (we have gone out a few time, but still!)

8. I could never wear my hair up every day

9. I could never stand to be sweaty 24/7 (welcome to no air con)

10. I could never really feel at home here ❤