I meant to post much earlier but I haven't found the time until now! I'll start right at the beginning with our Australearn trip to Cairns. Cairns is in the NorthEast part of Australia and is home to the Great Barrier Reef and Cape Tribulation. The Northern part of Australia is actually hotter than the south. It was a bit rainy but really nice when we arrived. 160 study abroad students going all over Australia took part in the Cairns week. We stayed in Bohemia "Resort" - a backpackers hostel/residence. It was actually a blast. I was in a room with 5 other University of Melbourne girls and met so many new people. I was the only Canadian in the bunch and in turn was subject to more than a few "eh" and "out and about" jokes haha.
Our first day in Cairns we went to the Great Barrier Reef. Despite taking 2 motion sickness pills I felt so sick, I could barely move during the end of the 2 hour boat ride to the reef. The boat was amazing with an inside cabin and bar and outside these suspended nets you could lie on over the water as it drove out to the reef. When we arrived we put on wetsuits and snorkeled. It was absolutely amazing, there were these massive oyster shells that snapped shut as you swam over them and we saw a nemo fish as well! Then we had to decide whether or not to scuba dive. I wanted to and they suited me up. First you jump in and hold a rope suspended at the top of the water and put your face in and practice breathing. Then when you feel okay you are pulled to a rope another meter down and practice there. Well, I had weights strapped to my waist to help me sink and I looked up to see the water so far up and had a panic attack. Thumbs up is the sign you want to go up so I was frantically doing thumbs up. The instructor came up and I had a little teary panic attack saying I wanted out. He was like "if it's about the money you can get out, if you're just scared you have to do it" because if you just do the practice you don't have to pay. I said I literally couldn't breathe and felt like I was going to drown. So he said he would hold my hand the whole way. So loser Harvison held the guides hand for half of the dive well other people were doing flips and taking pictures. I am so glad I did it though, I let go of his hand and did it all on my own for the second half. I just found it terrifying to be so far below the ocean surface, I was like skimming the ground. It was so beautiful that I soon forgot though. I was really sad when it was over. I would never do it again because I felt that every breath was my last, but I'm SO glad I did it. I mean if there's anywhere in the world to scuba dive it's the Great Barrier Reef. When I got out of the water, the head guide wrote in this neon sunscreen on my forehead "I Love Craig" the instructor who had to hold my hand the whole time.
We also went across to this beach called Michaelmas Bird Sanctuary. There are thousands of birds just going nuts the whole time. Apparently so many of them flock there because they are the only species so they can live in abundance without threat from other animals. We only stayed there for a few minutes because the sound of the birds was so deafening. On the way back we all napped on the boat and watched the sunset. It was such a great introduction to Australia and I really enjoyed myself!
PS. Right now I'm sitting in my room listening to Ash play guitar - but we'll get to that part later!
Loving Australia but missing you all
xo
Sar
