So I apologize that I haven't updated in two months...but my lovely laptop was being repaired and I could not access all of my photos. Anyways I spent a month Down Under. There is no possible way that I could write about all my adventures and stories I have from traveling there but below are just a few of the photos I took! It was amazing and I had such a good time. It was a really good experience for me and I learned a lot!
This is Nicole and me. While there I became addicted to gelato. Oh my gosh it is so good. It is quite depressing that it isn't on every street corner here like it is there.
I spent a lot of my time on boats and ferries while there. I love being out on the water. In this pic we are on our way to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. I hate and am really creeped out by fish. So this was a big deal for me. I ended up having a blast! However, unfortunately my water bottle went all Titanic on me and fell into the ocean. My friends were freaking out because they had it drilled into us "not to pollute the ocean"! Hopefully no sea turtles died because of me.
I got to meet aboriginals and listen to them play the didgeridoo. I also got to throw a boomerang and a spear. I actually didn't do to bad with the boomerang, I didn't catch it but it went well for my first time. However throwing the spear was a different story. When you throw the spear you use a launcher type thing, you're suppose to hold on to this after you throw the spear....I didn't and almost took out an aboriginal. oops!
We went to this beautiful beach called Whitehaven Beach. We ocean rafted out there. It was perfect! The wind rushing through your hair, music playing and the sun shining! The sand there is almost pure silica so it appears white. This was probably one of my favorite days. Except the seagulls there were wicked, vicious creatures. They attacked us. They were just as annoying as the ones in Finding Nemo. Also on this day I accidently stole a wet suit from the company we rafted with. I don't really know why these things happen to me but it sure does make life more entertaining!
So when you imagine Australia I'm sure you think sand and sun right? Wrong! It was freezing and wet and overcast over half the time we were there. This is the best the could express how we felt about this situation.
We went rappelling in the Blue Mountains. This was so much fun! I loved just bouncing right down those cliffs!
The first two weeks I was there I volunteered and we went on Koala Surveys. This is a horrible thing to do. You don't go and observe adorable Koalas like I imagined. You dig around in the deep rain forest, getting covered with leeches and tics, searching for their poop. It is really glamorous! Well we didn't see any signs of them while surveying in the first two weeks. So when I finally got to see and pet one I was just thrilled! They are so cute and cuddly! I also got to see lots of other animals like kangaroos (I actually ate one too! What country eats their national animal!?) and wombats. I've decided I want one of these! They are so ugly they're cute!
We spent a day in Sydney. I saw the Opera House, the famous bridge, their huge aquarium, and the botanical gardens!
We also went up into the Viewing Tower they have. You can see all of Sydney from up there. While trying to get up there I walked into someone's office by mistake. I definitely was not suppose to be in there!
This is Nick! I love Nick! The first two weeks we planted over 1,000 trees! We got to name some of the trees. We chose names from family members, friends, and characters from books. One of the names I chose was inspired by my friend Mattison. Firestar. The host family loved it! It was definitely their favorite. They were cracking up. That tree has a lot to live up to.
This is Katie. She was my bunk mate and one of the people there I became closest to. I loved waking up in the morning and discussing all of our secrets and having someone to travel outside in the dark with at one in the morning! We had so much fun together.
We also went white water rafting!!! So much fun! We went down head first, on our stomachs, piled on top of each other at the front of the raft down one of the rapids. It was a blast!
The guy in the picture with us is Erik. He is from Holland. So that's what we called him, Holland or well sometimes I called him Blondie. The four of us plus this French guy became really close. Oh and he normally doesn't dress like that....we made him.
Can you believe they let me use an ax! According to certain people I know I break things, so it was very brave of them to let me do this. No one was harmed. However speaking of breaking things I have to make a confession. So the family we stayed with the first two weeks were real hippies. All about saving energy and water conservation. So what do I do, I almost flood their kitchen! I was in there cooking one day and I went to just use a little bit of water but the knob breaks off the sink and I can't shut the water off! I'm freaking out because I broke something that's not mine and I'm wasting water!!! After a few minutes this girl named Emma who works there fixes it. Crises averted!
This is Shannon this is one of the other girls I became really good friends with. Katie, her and I spent all of our time together. Our favorite past time was talking about Martin, the french kid. Shannon had a big fat crush on him!
This is Martin! He is from France. We became good friends. He tried to teach me French but apparently I have a terrible accent. He didn't even know what I was saying to him when I exclaimed Bonjour! I feel as though all those years of watching Beauty and the Beast were a waste! But his American accent wasn't that great either! Communication was hard sometimes and at the beginning I felt like I was playing charades, but by the end we understood each other pretty well!
