Dreams Do Come True

I don’t know how it happened, but suddenly it’s June and I’m not happy about it. I only have 25 days in June to enjoy this magical country I want to eventually call my home. Of course this last month is filled with finals and stress, but that obviously isn’t going to stop me from finishing my Australian bucket list.

The other weekend I decided to return to Cairns with my friends Jorge and Jenny. Yes, I’ve already been to Cairns and done tours and spent too much money, but I didn’t see a platypus or a turtle or find Nemo. Those are things that need to be done, so I whipped out my mother’s credit card and packed up.

Our bus left at 7am Saturday morning, unfortunately, GR’s Home Ball was that Friday night. Home Ball was like a mini prom. Everyone got all dressed up and we had buses take us to Mad Cow. We had a free keg and wine until it ran out and we had great music. The alcohol didn’t last long. Those darn college kids.

Home Ball with Bear

Dolled up with my lovely roomie, Katie

Everybody looked so pretty!

Let’s just say waking up at 5:30am was not easy. It didn’t help that I didn’t pack until then either. And I may have still been feeling those beers. Maybe.

Anyway, we took a cab to the Greyhound bus stop and got on with absolutely no problems. Our bus driver had enough energy for all the passengers and we all fell asleep while he was cracking jokes.

We arrived in Cairns and caught a bus to their JCU where we would be spending the next few days with Jorge’s friend Tori. After dropping off our stuff we all cleaned up a bit and headed back into town for dinner.

I finally got to eat at Nando’s. This probably doesn’t mean very much to you, but I’ve been looking forward to this moment since arriving in Oz. Why? Well, I don’t have a good enough explanation for that. Only my best lady, Leslie, fully understands. Regardless, it was fantastic. I may be addicted now. I regret eating it. So good! I found out there’s one in Townsville. Someone is going with me whether they like it or not.

Delicious piece of heaven on earth

After our delicious meal, we hit up the night markets. I should have never set foot in there. I had so much money going in but none coming out. It was so irresistible. How could I not buy a boomerang and golf balls and an Australian flag bikini? Don’t judge me.

This would look perfect in my room.

We walked around the town checking out the lights and other sights. Cairns is really, really pretty. I love Townsville and everything, but it has this habit of shutting everything down after 5pm. Cairns doesn’t have this issue. Cairns is popping at all times. It’s incredible. Shops and restaurants and clubs are open and there are always people walking around. It’s madness.

Casual lights

Just hanging everywhere

Looking magical

Can’t.resist.gelato.

After a much needed sleep, we woke up early yet again to go on a tour. We attended the “On the Wallaby” tour. We were picked up by our guide, Sidney, and settled into the bus. Let me just get this out of the way, Sidney was one of the best tour guides ever. We picked up several other passengers, mostly Americans, and we were off.

Highly suggest this tour to anyone visiting Cairns

We drove up to the Atherton Tablelands. Yes, I’ve been here before, but not on an informed tour. Plus, this tour promised that there was a 70% chance of seeing a platypus. Honestly, that’s worth my life savings so I was cool with a little repeat.

On the drive, we spotted a lot of wallabies. I mean it. It was the most wallabies I’ve ever seen in one spot ever. And I learned stuff. I learned that the wallabies we were looking at were Pretty Faced wallabies. Seems legit. Those are the same type of wallabies we have on campus. They have a white stripe under their eyes so they look pretty.

Such a pretty face

I also learned that if there is not enough food or water, female kangaroos can put their pregnancy on hold for up to 18 months. Kangaroos also can’t move their feet one at a time, so they have to hop. They also pant like dogs to cool themselves off. Ooh, another fun fact that I already knew, but is still pretty cool: the Australian Coat of Arms pictures both a kangaroo and emu because both animals cannot walk backwards. Keep moving forward, Australia!

STRAYA

After staring at awe of the wallabies I see almost every day, we continued on our trip. We drove up the same horrifying and winding road that I did on my last visit. This time it was much more enjoyable.

Sid decided to play the Sheryl Crow song, “Every Day is a Winding Road” to get us in the spirit. We also examined the trees along the road. Fun things were learned. Every one or two years, a fire is purposely started at the top of the mountain because the trees need fire to germinate. The charcoal and ash from the fire are nutrients for this forest. When the granite rocks start to wear away, so do the nutrients. That’s why they need fire. When the soil looks yellow, that means the nutrients are no longer there.

Sid also pointed out the abrupt change from sparse, bush environment to the thick rainforest. It was almost like someone drew a line dividing the two. The rainforest recycles itself, so it doesn’t need fire. Also it would take 8 weeks for a body to decompose in the rainforest. Sid taught us that. Useful info next time someone makes me mad. Totally kidding! Maybe.

The trees in the rainforest have glossy leaves and the trees are all densely packed. To be considered a rainforest, it must have a closed canopy. This happens because all the trees are competing for sunlight and they try to grow over each other.

Also I saw a goanna lizard

Our first stop was the Cathedral Fig Tree. The tree is approximately 500 years old and gigantic. We were able to walk inside of it and it was so awesome. It kind of reminded me of the tree of life in Disney World. If the tree of life didn’t have animal carvings and wasn’t made of plastic.

Beautiful!

Tarzan would love this thing

It belongs in Animal Kingdom in Disney World

Hehe, I’m in a tree

Our next stop was at one of the crater lakes I visited before. This time we went into the rainforest for a quick tour. A quick tour of torture, more like. Sid warned us to watch out for leeches. LEECHES. What? I, for some reason, was under the impression that leeches live in water. Nope, they’re on the rainforest floor as well.

A tree is a safe place to hide from leeches.

Are there leeches in there?

Do you think I paid any attention to anything Sid said from then on? No. I didn’t. I was busy constantly looking at my feet and freaking out every time mud splattered on them. The leeches were really small and got on a few people. Those people were smart and worse sneakers. Since I packed still drunk, I forgot sneaks. Luckily, I made it through without any leeches attaching themselves to me. I don’t know about you, but every time I think of leeches, I think of “Stand By Me” when the boys wade through a creek and get leeches everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE. So my fear was totally rational.

Nightmares forever

Just..no..

Before running out of the rainforest to kiss the paved ground, we stopped and examined the stinging tree. This tree has little hairs on it that cause severe irritation when it makes contact with human skin. The severe stinging can last for months. The stings have been known to kill dogs and horses that have brushed against them. Sid said his friend got stung by this tree and compared the pain to “someone rubbing sandpaper on severe sunburn.” See, Australian animals and bugs get all the credit for being evil, but the plants are out to get you too! Neat.

On a lighter note, there’s a new and rare species of horsefly named the Beyonce Fly. It has a gold patch on its abdomen, so clearly it is the diva of all flies. The fly was discovered in the Atherton Tablelands and is described as being way too bootylicious for ya baby.

My face when I found out this was a real thing. Google it.

A diva is a female version of a hustler

We then stopped at the other crater lake to swim and have a yum lunch. You must understand that I appreciate all foods served outside of George Roberts Hall. This was heavenly. After lunch we were off to Milaa Milaa Falls yet again. We learned that one aboriginal tribe used the word Milaa for waterfall. They had no word for the plural, so they just repeated the word. Milaa Milaa means waterfalls. Cool stuff. This time I attempted a hair flip. My hair is not thick enough, so I failed. Jorge, however, looked flawless.

Oh yeah, and I saw a snake.

I want it.

Can’t say I didn’t try

Dammit Jorge, you’re fabulous.

After that we visited a volcanic crater that was unbelievable. While scientists have tried to explore what lies under the water in this secluded crater, they have not learned very much. How awesome! Sid then threw a rock into the water with a very loud bang.

Deep crater

Nature

Rock

Following the awesome crater, we checked out another waterfall called Dinner Falls. It was called this because long ago people used to come and eat dinner there and the name stuck. Pretty chill place. No leeches. I accept that.

Dinner Falls, clever.

Pretty

On the way back to the lodge for tea and cookies, we had one more stop. This was thee most epic stop of my life. It was the moment of truth. It was time to see a platypus.

The lair of the platypus 

We waited about ten minutes. Well, everyone normal waited. I ran back and forth between two viewing platforms saying prayers. Suddenly, a wild platypus appeared! I lost it. I fell to the ground and tried to get my camera to cooperate. Apparently my camera was spazzing just as much as I was and it wouldn’t take a still picture.

Get your act together, camera (the black spec is a platypus) 

Without emotion I quietly cursed my camera and stared on in awe (and made sure Jorge got a good picture I could use for the blog). I couldn’t speak. I didn’t even smile. I was in shock.

The platypus was so tiny! Sid said it was “the size of a Subway foot long sub,” but I thought he was kidding. No, it was that small. It was a dark brown and at first I thought it was a branch floating in the water until it dove down and back up several times. I was the last one back on the bus. I couldn’t stop staring. Is this real life? I found Perry the Platypus! Check that one off the bucket list. Amazing.

Thank you Jorge! Look, the little thing is Perry!

Sid had to pull me aside and ask me, “Are you okay? You know, after the platypus?” I’m just an excitable person and I don’t know how to act like a rational human being, not a big deal guys! But I was in shock for a good 20 minutes after.

The next day was full of even more excitement as we went to Green Island to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. On my last journey to the Great Barrier Reef, I went to the outer reefs, which were full of color and wonder. Green Island was not as colorful, but it was definitely full of magic.

Absolutely stunning.

I never ever ever want to leave

We went on this trip with “Big Cat” and it was lovely. We had a beautiful day, the water was clear as day, and I was buzzing with excitement. We had booked snorkeling, a glass bottom boat tour, and a semi-sub tour. Our first event was snorkeling.

Since it’s winter here (ha ha, “winter”), we no longer had to wear a stinger suit. That means I got to look like the biggest tourist ever in my brand new Australian flag bikini! Woo! We were the first ones in the water.

I am the queen of the tourists

Within 15 minutes of entering the water we saw a…wait for it… TURTLE. We saw a turtle. Chilling in the sea grass, no worries. Do you know how loud you can scream with a snorkel in your mouth? Apparently very loud, I tested it. Jorge later told me, “I heard you and figured you either got stung or saw a turtle.”

TURTLE TURTLE TURTLE

I love you forever.

Luckily, it was the turtle that caused my screaming. I chased him down. I was not letting him out of my sight. I snapped some awesome pictures and I even got to pet him! I pet the turtle! When I finally decided to stop harassing Crush from Finding Nemo, I popped up out of the water and screamed with joy. BEST TRIP EVER!

Pretty much had the camera on his back.

My life is complete. I love the world.

What a pretty shell you have.

He didn’t mind my chasing at all.

Two best friends, just hanging out. 

Since nothing could possibly top that moment, we all got out of the water and grabbed some lunch. Even though it cost a pretty penny, I ordered an Aussie Steak Burger. I regret nothing. It was spectacular. If there’s one thing Australians can do, it’s burgers. I haven’t had a burger in this country that I haven’t loved. It was perfect and filling.

Om nom nom

After lunch, I had my semi-sub tour. The semi-sub was a boat where you walked down steps to a room of windows under water. It was so cool! I saw another turtle and two stingrays. Success. They also fed the fish so I got to witness a feeding frenzy underwater. Definitely worth it.

The semi-sub

coral

Aw herro wittle fishies

Definitely Instagram worthy

My next tour was the glass bottom boat. This was kind of a let down after the semi-sub, but still really enjoyable. They fed the fish on this tour too and I witnessed the frenzy above water. The fish were really going at it.

Hi Jorge!

Glass bottom boat time

feeding time!

So many fish

Fish attack!

Oh and here’s some pictures from snorkeling besides the turtle!

Pretty coral

Giant clam

The “we really saw a turtle!” face

Oh hey

Blue starfish!

“Paint me like one of your French girls”- this starfish

The water was so perfect

Love you Green Island

Hi Jenny!

Jenny and I

Unfortunately, I did not find Nemo or Dory or see a shark. Honestly, I’m perfectly okay with that. I got to see a platypus and touch a wild sea turtle in one weekend. I’m totally satisfied with my visit to Australia. I’ve done nearly everything I wanted to do. Of course, this does not mean I want to leave. I never want to leave. I want to stay here forever with all the lovely friends I’ve made and chase wallabies and just be happy for the rest of my life. Oh god, I’m going to start crying… June 25^th is coming way too soon.

I’m not ready to leave my weirdos

I can’t think about it

Because I’m going to cry

I’m too attached

I love my Aussies

Nope, I’m not leaving.

 

 

A Little Sleep and A Lot of Adventures

Sometimes things don’t always go as planned. This happens to me a lot. Like I plan on not eating a whole cake, but suddenly it’s gone. And like I plan on going for a run, but then I take a nap. This lecture recess has been no different.

We returned from Brisbane late Wednesday night. The plan was for Meredith and I to go to Cairns the next morning. We had our hostel booked and everything. Unfortunately, Meredith got seriously sick. We had to cancel our reservations and it looked like I was stuck on college for the rest of the week.

My poor Meredith 😦

I was supposed to meet up with my friend, Sharkbait (her real name is Katrina, but I hardly ever call her that, so deal with it), but now I couldn’t. Or could I?

Sharkbait was texting me begging me to come, so on a whim I booked a Greyhound for 12:30am. I’ve never traveled alone. I don’t like being alone. That’s one of the fears I’ve almost conquered. It’s a 5-hour bus ride north to get to Cairns from Townsville. I could totally do this. Maybe.

I packed in a hurry, printed my bus tickets, and booked a reef snorkel boat for 7am the next morning. I also realized I needed a way to the bus so I begged my BFF/favorite RA, Sarg to drive me. He agreed because he’s a wonderful person. He also sat with me in the car and waited for the bus for about a half an hour with me because I was so nervous. Somebody just became my favorite Australian.

Who’s the best Aussie?! Sarg is!

I hopped on my bus with pains in my stomach and almost immediately fell asleep, for 3 hours at least. I arrived in Cairns all by myself like a big girl around 5:45am. The earliest Sharkbait could meet up with me was 6:45am due to the bus schedule. I just stood outside of a convenience store for an hour waiting. I was apparently standing really still because someone came up to me and told me I looked like a statue. Uh, thanks?

When I was finally reunited with my friend, we literally had to run to catch our boat! We caught it just in time and had a whole row of seats to ourselves. I got changed into my bathing suit in the extremely small bathroom and I was set to go! I got to go to the freakin’ GREAT BARRIER REEF. Holy crap. I was so excited. I’m excited thinking about it now.

7am excitement!

We went to the outer reefs on a boat called “Reef Kist.” I loved it. The crew was so happy and friendly and seriously made the trip that much better. Despite only having 3 hours of sleep on a bus, I was super awake and excited. The boat ride was a smooth one and Sharkbait and I spent the duration of it standing in the front embracing the wind and admiring the passing islands.

Quick stop at Fitzroy island

Quick stop at Fitzroy Island

Sharkbait is scuba certified so she got to get all geared up and explore all over. Despite being named after the little mermaid, I was stuck on the surface snorkeling. It was still spectacular. The reef alone is beautiful and full of colors. Luckily, I had my handy-dandy underwater camera to capture the adventure.

Parrot fish!

Sharkbait scuba diving!

Hi Sharkbait!

I didn’t find Nemo or see any turtles, but I saw a lot of other fish that were stunning. Sharkbait failed at her name by not baiting in any sharks, but I’m sure that was for the best. I already want to go back on a different reef point. Once was definitely not enough!

Taking a breather

They served us lunch and it was definitely better tasting than George Roberts’ dining hall food. We got to eat lunch while floating over the Great Barrier Reef. That’s something to tell the grandkids.

We then rode over to another side of the reefs and got to snorkel and scuba over there. This time we had to swim around to the front of the boat to see the reef. Sharkbait was under me somewhere, but I lost her. I swam around alone snapping pictures. I didn’t realize how far I got and my legs were dying. I was debating on whether or not to swim back when I spotted a jellyfish and then another and another. That basically made my decision for me. No way in hell was I going to take on the jellies. I booked it back to the boat like my life depended on it.

Chilling in my stinger suit. Photo creds: Sharkbait

With my handy underwater camera. Photo creds: Sharkbait

Awesome parrot fish

Gill from Finding Nemo!

I’m pretty sure this is a blue starfish hiding

Sea cucumbers!

I love parrot fish

soooo many fishies!

This parrot fish was so colorful

Yellow!

Giant clam

Awesome colorful guy

Another giant clam

Obsessed

Annnnnd this is where I get out of the water

Bye reef! Love you!

Oh yeah, and everyone on the crew loved my name. Every time I signed my name for snorkeling they got all excited and called me mermaid. I love that. I love when people get excited about my name! Made me feel special.

One crew member took a selfie on Sharkbait’s camera. They had us cracking up!

Sharkbait was still under the sea when I came back to relax. I got to chat with a crewmember that was fascinated by me being an advertising major. He said Australia needed me to fix their commercials. I totally agree; they definitely need me here.

The trip ended around 4pm and I was pooped. Sharkbait met a friend at a pub-crawl who lives in Cairns and she had been staying with him for the week. He was kind enough to let me stay for the weekend as well. How lucky!

We were waiting for him to pick us up when Sharkbait decided to start eating ants. Word is that if you lick the thorax of the green ants, it tastes like lemon. Sharkbait decided to test that theory. This is the person I decided to stay with in Cairns. I regret nothing. After a few ants she decided to try and climb a palm tree. Mind you, people were walking by. I love that girl so much.

These were the ants she was catching

Sharkbait in the middle of eating an ant

And now she attempts to climb a palm tree. Duh

Sharkbait’s friend, Shixiang (who I decided to call Sheldon because I couldn’t pronounce his name), took us back to his apartment so we could get showered and ready to grab some food. After much searching, we finally found a Mexican place. Thank goodness. I miss Mexican food so much it hurts. We ordered quesadillas and nachos. I also got a strawberry margarita. Best.day.ever.

Nothing makes me happier than a margarita!

We then checked out the local casino where I lost $10. Sharkbait won $6 and was pretty happy about it. Okay, we were on penny slots, but it was still gambling. We had some free mochas and continued checking out the town. It was so cute and quite busy. There were so many people walking around and a whole lot of bats and lorikeets. They were all so loud and adorable!

Batman? Photo creds: Sharkbait

They’re so big! Photo creds: Sharkbait

And the cutie pie lorikeets! Photo creds: Sharkbait

I passed out quite early that night and slept like a baby. The next morning, Sheldon decided to take us to the Atherton Tablelands. The drive was the most horrifying thing of my life. We were going the speed limit, but it felt like we were flying. Oh, did I mention the roads were extremely twisty and scary? Because they were. I had my eyes closed in the back seat until we arrived safely. Thank goodness I’m alive.

Took a break on the ride up. Photo creds: Sharkbait

Spectacular view! Photo creds: Sharkbait

First we stopped to get some yummy food and ate it next to the water, it was very peaceful. We then got to swim in a volcanic crater lake. It was awesome! The water was freezing so it took me a bit to get in, but once I did it was hard to get me out.

View from where we were eating

Beautiful crater lake!

We had a quick look in the rainforest next to us

We also saw some giant trees

And we saw a pelican! Photo creds: Sharkbait

Sharkbait and I swam out to the middle and just gazed at the beauty all around us. It was a pretty popular spot. There were parents with kids, couples on dates, people going scuba diving, and others just floating around in tubes. We stayed for a little over an hour and were back on the road.

The volcanic crater lake we swam in

So Jurassic Park

So many fishies swimming around!

Sharkbait on the hunt

This cute little guy

It was icy cold

Glorious!

Chilling in the middle of the lake

We stopped at 4 different waterfalls. The first stop was Millaa Millaa Falls. I’ve never seen a waterfall in person. I’m just going to let you imagine how excited I was.

We got to swim in it! We swam all around the waterfall and even swam under it. We chilled behind the waterfall for a while just looking in awe all around us. It was spectacular. I am so lucky I got to do that! I can’t get over it.

Millaa Millaa Falls!

I love life

Under the waterfall

Waterfall selfies!

Posing

Sharkbait admiring the sights

From under the waterfall

Goodbye Mila Kunis Falls!

After a little bit we were off again to see another waterfall. It was called Zillie Falls. This one you couldn’t swim in, but that didn’t make it any less stunning. Ahh, I love it so much! We didn’t stay too long at this one. We were off yet again to waterfall number 3!

Beautiful Zillie Falls!

Another waterfall selfie!

Bye Zillie!

This 3^rd waterfall was Elinjaa Falls and you could swim in it, but I was still frozen from the last swim. Sharkbait of course jumped right in. She cracks me up. She immediately swam right to the center where there was a huge tree branch perfect for climbing. It was beautiful!

Elinjaa Falls

Crazy Sharkbait

She’s a model!

Waterfall selfie again

The 4^th waterfall, Josephine Falls, was a longer drive away but totally worth it. We had to walk through a bit of jungle to make it to the waterfall. On the way I posed for Sharkbait on this big rock. As I was climbing down, I turned around and saw my worst nightmare staring in my face. The biggest spider I have ever seen in my life was inches behind me. I’m pretty proud of my reaction. I didn’t break down and cry. I just kind of forgot how to breathe.

Thought I was posing for a nice picture. Photo creds: Sharkbait

Little did I know I was being watched. Photo creds: Sharkbait

After I calmed down from that spider, I took 2 steps forward and saw an even bigger spider. Seriously, Cairns? I’m sick of this nonsense. Spiders should not be this large. It’s a crime against nature. It’s like every nightmare I’ve ever had was molded into this spider. Do you know what I saw this spider do? Do you really want to know? I saw it eat a frog. The freakin’ spider ate the freakin’ frog. I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.

What cruel god allowed this monster to roam the earth!? Photo creds: Sharkbait

You can’t really see, but there is a gore fest going on here

After I got the feeling back in my legs we wandered down to the waterfall. It wasn’t really a waterfall as much as it was a rockslide. This time I got in. I love rockslides. Sharkbait and I climbed the rocks to slide down. The water current was so strong that we barely had a chance to sit down before it pushed us down! It was so much fun that we went down again. This time Sharkbait got in earlier than she should have and got pushed around a lot before she finally slid down. It was quite entertaining to watch.

Josephine Falls

Loved these mossy steps

Posing pretty! Photo creds: Sharkbait

Slipping and sliding! Photo creds: Sharkbait

Just admiring nature as usual. Photo creds: Sharkbait.

That night we went into town to live up the nightlife. Sharkbait and I wandered off to some backpacker clubs and ended up settling on Gilligans. They had live music and a lot of people showed up an hour after we got there. We had a great time just chatting with backpackers from around the world. We then met back up with Sheldon and his friend and went to another club where we danced for a little bit and then headed back home.

I slept like a baby yet again and was woken up at 8am so we could head to the Daintree Rainforest. This was the longest, most beautiful drive by far. We drove along the beach and gazed at its beauty. At one point we stopped and got out to take pictures. It was amazing!

I can’t get over this view

Absolutely stunning

Pretending to fall

Sharkbait posing pretty

Bye beautiful!

When we got to Daintree, we had to drive the car onto the ferry to get to the rainforest. We saw a lot of signs for crocodiles and cassowaries, but unfortunately didn’t get to see any in person. I would have loved to see these deadly creatures from the safety of the car. Oh well. We stopped at some lookout points and got some nice pictures.

On the ferry while in a car. Cool!

Perfect view spot

We then drove until we came to a creek in the middle of the rainforest. Words can’t even describe how beautiful this was. The water was clear straight through to the bottom. It was cold water, but totally worth swimming in. It was such a magical experience and I felt at peace with the world. Best day ever for sure.

There were so many fish and a rope swing and even a natural swing that Sharkbait and I sat on. Pictures can’t even do this place justice. I can’t believe places like that even exist.

Words can’t even expres…

Seriously in the middle of the rain forest!

How is this even real?

I’ve never felt so at peace

Sharkbait found a swing

Just chilling in the middle of heaven

Friends call me Tarzan

Why are you so perfect?!

So happy!!!

I never want to leave

Half underwater shot. How cool?!

Just a shot of the perfect, flawless water

Underwater selfies!

Actually, friends call HER Tarzan

Occasionally they call her Gollum

When we were dragged away from heaven on earth, we drove to a bathroom so we could get changed. Remember how I said I saw the biggest spider of life at one of the waterfalls? Yeah, I lied.

On the way to the bathroom I spotted a soul-sucking spawn of Satan chilling on his web right there out in the open. Guess it was a prime spot to attack unsuspecting humans like myself. It was as big as a hand. Why? Why are spiders allowed to get that big? It should be shot and then shot again just to make sure it’s dead. I hate spiders. I’m still having nightmares. Life is cruel. Get me out of Cairns now.

KILL IT. KILL IT WITH FIRE!

Shoot it, set it on fire, bash it with a hammer, and then bury it 60 feet under

Sharkbait and I got on our 7pm Greyhound bus back to Townsville. We got in around 12:30am and caught a cab back to JCU. What an exhausting weekend!

Life is beautiful and I’m so happy I did this last minute planning to Cairns. I would go back in a heartbeat. This time with a shot gun for the spiders, but I’d still go. It was a spectacular and magical experience and I’m so grateful!

VAS HAPPENIN’ LESLIE

Vas Happenin’ giant lemons on the way to the Amalfi Coast

Vas Happenin’ more lemons!

Vas Happenin’ Positano!

Vas Happenin’ Amalfi Coast?!

Vas Happenin’ from a bus in Ireland?!

Vas Happenin’ on the way to the Great Barrier Reef!

Vas Happenin’ from the Great Barrier Reef!

Vas Happenin’ on the way to the Atherton Tablelands!

Vas Happenin’ Millaa Millaa Falls!

Vas Happenin’ from behind Millaa Millaa Falls

Vas Happenin’ from behind Millaa Millaa Falls!

Vas Happenin’ Zillie Falls!

Vas Happenin’ Elinjaa Falls!

Vas Happenin’ from the Daintree Rainforest!

Vas Happenin’ from the middle of the Daintree Rainforest!

Leslie is currently wrapping up finals in Rome and will soon be on her way back to the States. She’s had plenty of adventures that she’s written about in her blog. I highly suggest you check it out! Be warned, there is use of alcohol and foul language. That’s why she’s my best friend.

http://thepassportmanuscript.blogspot.it/

P.S. Leslie, you only have a little time left, step your Vas Happenin’ game up! Love you woman, miss you lots!

The Easter Wallaby

This is the first time in my life that I haven’t spent Easter with my family. Actually, this is the longest I’ve been away from my family in general. To take my mind off of missing out on the annual Beerster Egg Hunt, I had a very fun filled weekend.

Best hunt ever.

Bear’s friend from home, Justin, came to visit for his spring break. Must be nice to have a friend think you’re worth a $2,000 flight. I wonder what that’s like….

Yeah, I’m talking to you, Greg.

Anyway, Bear and Justin left for Sydney from Sunday-Thursday. I suffered separation anxiety. Who said Bear’s allowed to leave me? I didn’t agree to this. Rude. When they returned from 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney the fun began.

Friday we were invited to join some friends at Crystal Creek. Words can’t express how excited I was. Everyone says going to Crystal Creek is a must. Could not agree more.

When we pulled into the car park (parking lot) I was giddy. I clearly don’t get excited often, so this was a big deal. Instead of taking the normal path up to the water, our friends decided to walk through the rocks and water. Did I mention most of the kids we were with are in the rock-climbing club? Well, Bear, Justin and myself are clearly not a part of this club. We were the last to arrive after a horrendous struggle through the slippery rocks. We were not happy with that walk.

Slipping and sliding left and right

When we finally made it to the spot that our crew had settled on, my jaw dropped. It was so pretty! They weren’t joking when they named it Crystal Creek. The water was so clear and beautiful! There were spots to jump off of and slippery rock seats to sit on in the water. This is also the first time in Australia that the water was actually refreshing. Normally the water is like bath water, but this water actually gave you relief from the excessive heat. I was at peace with the world.

Loving me some Morgan!

The ladies!

Most epic photobomb EVER

This trip has been about facing my biggest fears. I’m afraid of being alone, so I flew out here without knowing a soul. I’m afraid of weird food, so I ate ox tongue, crocodile, and kangaroo. I’m afraid of snakes, so I’ve taken every opportunity to hold one. I’m afraid of heights, so I decided to jump off one of the high rocks at Crystal Creek. It was such an adrenaline rush! I had to have jumped about 5 or 6 times. So awesome!

I lost my entire bathing suit on this one. Classy.

Video clip of the Vas Happenin’ jump I made for Leslie

Boo-yah!

After we were done jumping, we headed farther up to go to the natural rockslides. I watched as the rock-climbing club kids scaled a rock wall to get over. Even Justin made it over. Bear and I were having none of that so we took the long path around.

Casual stroll

This spot was even more beautiful than the last! It was also a lot less crowded. The water rushed down through the rocks to create a smooth slide. Most fun I’ve ever had!! I couldn’t go down the slides enough. I freakin’ love nature.

Again, everyone was teasing me about the excessive use of my phrases, “I’m so excited!” and “This is the best day ever!” I can’t help it. I really was excited and it really was the best day ever. I just love life and Australia.

So much excitement

Determined not to lose my top this time

Is there more to life than being really, really ridiculously good looking?

After we were done with the rockslides, we moved on yet again to another part of Crystal Creek, which was more of a swimming hole. It was perfect, just like the rest of Crystal Creek. We swam around for a while and then relaxed on some rocks over-looking the water. We decided to throw chips into the water after spotting a fish. You know I love fishes so I was obviously thrilled. One of the kids took my underwater camera and started chasing fish. There was also an eel. Eels freak me out. I didn’t get back in the water. At least my friend got a few good shots of it!

Playing in the water!

Such a lovely group of people

Hi Justin!

Such an awesome swimming spot

FISH

MORE FISH

Eeeeek, eel.

I don’t like it. Don’t like it at all.

We then went to a picnic area and watched everyone walk a tight rope type thing. I attempted and failed epically. I can’t even keep my balance on solid ground. I have no idea why I ever bothered. It’s all okay though because I saw a kookaburra! Oh my gosh, they are just the absolute cutest. It’s probably my new favorite bird ever. I just want to hold it and tell it it’s pretty.

You’re pretty

And I love you

Be my friend

On the way home, we stopped at the Frosty Mango to get some ice cream. I don’t even want to talk about how good it tastes and how they grow all their own fruit that they use to make the ice cream because it’ll just make me sad that I don’t have some right now. Damn, now I want some. Ugh. What a perfect ending to a perfect day! Best day ever!!

The next day Bear, Justin and I woke up bright and early to visit Magnetic Island, or Maggie Island to the locals. I’ve read about Maggie Island before I even got accepted to JCU. I’m not joking when I said I was all about this for years. This was my first visit to the island. So exciting! Sorry, but it was exciting.

Bear and I have this issue where we never plan things and we just kind of do what we want when we want. Unfortunately, this means we didn’t check the bus schedule. We woke up at 8:30 to get to the bus stop by 9:30. There was no bus. There was no bus for over an hour. Being determined, we called a cab. Why would we let a little thing like no transportation stop us? The cab cost us a pretty penny, but we made it just in time for the next ferry. Sometimes not planning things out works out pretty perfectly.

G’day Maggie

We arrived at Jurassic Park, I mean, Maggie Island and hopped on a bus with no idea what we were doing or where we were going. Typical. We got off at Horseshoe Bay and found out we had to walk back to a bus stop we passed to get snorkel gear. Exercise!

So much nature

Work it

We walked back to Bungalow Bay Koala Sanctuary to rent our gear. I also bought a shirt as my first souvenir for myself. Okay, my mom bought it for me since I used my emergency credit card. Thanks mom! You’re the best! But this was totally an emergency; I needed a shirt that said Koala Sanctuary on it. Duh.

We set off with our goggles, flippers, and stinger suit! We looked quite silly walking to nowhere in particular with our gear. Well, we kind of knew where we were going. A 20 minute walk they said, 20 minutes my butt. We were walking 20 minutes before we even reached the road we were supposed to turn down. We started our trek down the winding road when we came across a group of young men who looked at us desperately and asked, “How far to the road?” in exhausted voices. Great, so that’s going to be us. Not a good sign.

Suddenly, a miracle happened. As we were walking past what were clearly T-Rex footprints, a Jurassic Park jeep drove past us and stopped to let out 2 women. We must’ve looked desperate because the owner of Jurassic Park, I mean, some guy who looked like the guy who owned Jurassic Park asked us if we wanted a ride. Halleluiah!

So Jurassic Park, I can’t even handle it

I know you’re not supposed to get into cars with strangers, but you would do the same thing in our situation. The drive was a bumpy one and I kept turning around to see when the T-Rex would come out and chase us. I’m not even kidding, it looked like Jurassic Park. He told us he’s lived on the island for 15 years and was telling us the best spots to visit. He was coincidently going to Florence Bay, where we were headed. He showed us the best spot to snorkel and told us about a short cut to get back.

A T-Rex should’ve popped out

Don’t invest in his park.

We put on our stinger suits and headed out into the water. Sad to say, the visibility was awful. We couldn’t see anything until it was right in front of our faces. That made me nervous since my face wasn’t covered by a stinger suit. It would be my luck for me to swim right into a box jellyfish or a shark’s mouth. We gave up the snorkeling after about 15-20 minutes. Instead we laid on the beach and relaxed. It was beautiful!

Me and the lovely Bear

Justin and his little bear

Getting our snorkel on

Sup

Saw SOME fish, but not much else

Spot the fish

I was bashed into these rocks a couple times

How I entertain myself

When it was time for us to head back, we decided to follow the old man’s short cut. This led us through the rain forest. The mostly hidden wooden trail ended. We had no idea where we were. This is when I decided to make up a horror movie staring the 3 of us where the old man set us on this path on purpose to lead us to our doom. A half an hour into this jungle hike made my horror movie seem pretty believable. Oops.

Goodbye beach!

Too pretty

Is this place even real?

I didn’t take many pictures during this hike because I was dying and we were in a rush to get the heck out of there. At some point we came across a butterfly forest. There were hundreds of butterflies all around us. It was magical! This one section made the whole adventure worth it. I could not think of a more mystical place to walk through. It was absolutely incredible. I didn’t snap any pictures because the butterflies were too fast and my camera was too slow, but just trust me on this.

Clearly a trap set up for us

When we finally emerged from the jungle, we caught a bus back to the koala sanctuary. We returned our gear and set off back to Horseshoe Bay for dinner. Once we were happily fed we strolled to the beach to gaze at the stars.

There were so many stars! I was freaking out, as usual. It was just the prettiest sight ever and it made me so happy! We sat on a bench and just stared. After a few minutes of chatting, we had a little visitor. This random dog just came over and sat next to me in the sand. What! The owner was nowhere to be found and this dog was just straight chilling. He got up to check out other people, but he came back to sit with us. When we got up to catch the bus, the dog came up with us and tried to get on the bus! Guess we’re better than his real owners. We couldn’t get him to leave! He just wanted to go for a ride with us. It was the cutest thing ever. Apparently he belongs to someone on the island and they just let him do his thing. Interesting. When we got on the bus, people were asking us where our dog was. I wish he was my dog! I wish I had a dog. Hint, hint, mom.

We named him “Joey Baha” Don’t ask.

The next day was Easter for us in Australia and it was also Justin’s last day. Sad face! Bear and I convinced Justin to try vegemite and his reaction was hilarious. Vegemite is just awful. We then went out to hunt wallabies. We searched for about an hour out in the bush behind the colleges, but could not find one. When we gave up, we took a short cut back to George Roberts through another college. Disappointed, I looked to my left and spotted 3 wallabies hanging out by someone’s back door! Oh my gosh, they were the cutest things ever. I got pretty close to them to snap pictures. I can’t…I just can’t even. I want one to keep and love forever. They’re so much better than the vicious Temple University squirrels I have to deal with at home. Wallabies > squirrels.

HI

Please let me pet you

And take you home

And love you forever

Later that day we dropped Justin off at the airport and I almost cried. I’ve only known him for a few days, but my eyes teared up! This makes me nervous about how I’m going to react when I have to be forcibly removed from this country. I’m just going to lose it. I’m also going to cry my eyes out when I’m reunited with my best friend, Leslie. I’m just so full of emotions and I don’t know what to do with them!!

No way I’m not crying when we reunite

The next day was Easter for those of you in the states. That means that my family started calling me at 7am and wouldn’t stop until I answered. I could have killed them. It was nice to see my whole family via FaceTime, but I would’ve much preferred to see them after I slept a solid 8 hours for once. Oh well.

Some kids from George Roberts decided to have a college family trip to Crystal Creek again. I totally did not object and hopped right on that. Bear and I were off yet again to Crystal Creek. This time we went to Little Crystal Creek as opposed to Big Crystal. Follow me? Good.

Little Crystal was not much of anything besides a frighteningly high jump known as “Devil’s Leap.” Since I’m all brave now and whatnot, I was prepared to jump. That is, until I looked down. Not having it. Not having one bit of it! You had to avoid a smaller rock jump below it and then hurdle to your inevitable death. Have fun with that one boys, but I value my life. Bear, Meredith, Emily, and myself opted to sit by a little pool of water while everyone else risked their lives. It was quite relaxing.

Yeah, no way I’m jumping

At least it’s pretty

Much more relaxing

Hiiiiii butterfly!

Once everyone was bored with their antics, we headed off to Big Crystal yet again. It’s definitely my new favorite spot in the world. We did the rockslides again and chilled out on the rocks. Just another perfect day in paradise.

Oh, and you know how I mentioned Jeremy Wade in my one blog and referred to him as my boyfriend? Well, if you didn’t read it, you should (Reaping the Benefits). Well, I happened to have emailed him after a long night of drinking (water of course…) and I told him to read my blog because I mentioned him. Awkward moment when he emails me and tells me he read it.

“Hi Arielle

Good to hear from you again. It sounds like you’re having a great time in Oz — your blog conveys a level of enthusiasm for everything around you that puts me to shame!

Great to hear that you’ve somehow managed to fit in some fishing along with everything else. I’m not even sure if I’ve caught one of those before. And I wouldn’t worry too much about not watching much TV….

With best wishes

Jeremy”

Really? I should stop saying ridiculous things to show hosts, 90’s pop singers, and food places. I think these people won’t read what I say, but then they do. And I feel awkward. I need to watch my ridiculous mouth. Oh well.

I tweet this to Aaron Carter

So he follows me.

Less awkward, but still. Damn, I miss Jimmy John’s so much.

You’d think Britney would answer me by now, but no 😦