Quicksilver...Outer Barrier Reef

The second day in Cairns the family went out with Quicksilver to the Outer Barrier Reef to snorkel and scuba dive. The entire family went on the first scuba dive experience, the Johnny & I went back down a second time. It was by far one of my favorite things I have done here so far. We rented an underwater camera and took some nice shots below water. I LOVED IT!

Cairns: RainForeStation

We travelled up to Cairns after my classes were finished on Wednesday. The first morning we travelled up to the RainForeStation and the family got to see all the Australian wildlife for the first time. Johnny & dad threw the boomerang & everyone thought the “leg shake dance” was “fascinating.”

Arrival of the Bunten family

The family arrived on Sunday, the 23rd. Due to the lack of phones I had no idea when my parents actually arrived. I finally got a hold of them at their hotel & they were on their way shortly after. It was a great time watching my dad drive on the “wrong” side of the road when he pulled up. They got to see the great accommodation I have over here and then we were off to Hogs Breath Cafe. Johnny is now obsessed & wants to go there each time we see one…but we’re getting him to branch out & try new things.

The second night (after I took my first two finals) the family went around shopping & to dinner with the girls. Cortney, Katie, and Kerry went out with the family to a seafood/buffet type place. Johnny put on quite a show by stacking coke bottles into a pyramid. He was also astonished by Cortney’s knowledge of the jelly belly flavors. We then all piled into the Camry (all seven of us) & took the ride back to school. Dad even let us drive over the speed bump outside their apartments twice! I know, we’re easily amused.

Day three in Gold Coast area was Johnny’s Surfing day. We drove up to Noosa and hung out at the beach while Johnny took surfing lessons. Let’s just say his intense face and lack of surfing skills made the day quite interesting.

Day Four & Travels to Gold Coast…

Our final day was spent hanging out at Airlie Beach. We walked all the shops and bought multiple souvenirs. We then headed back to the tiny airport to head back to Brisbane/Gold Coast. When you went through security at the airport, you went outside. I know, this sounds crazy, but that’s how it was. We also boarded the airplane by talking up stairs to the front & rear doors. I know this seems odd to everyone back home, but that’s how it works over here (some of the time).

Upon arrival to Brisbane, we found out there had been a bad storm and power had been out. Many flights were being canceled so the airport was a little busy. We ended up taking a 10 person cab back to school (quite cozy)…That was the beginning of all the rain we have been getting.

Day Three (Final day on Ship…)

Our final day started off with a new snorkeling experience. Here we swam up and all around the island. We got up right in the middle of the day and it felt like we were swimming in a fish tank! It was great! There were so many different types of fish and all kinds of wildlife there. The “beach” was all shells & was odd to sit on the beach, but fun to look at all the different types of coral that had washed up on the beach. After snorkeling we set sail back to Airlie Beach. We were all quite tired but had a great time on the trip. When we got back to the mainland we checked back into the lovely hostel (…after complaining enough we got a room with only four beds to ensure we would be alone). Katie insisted we went to eat at Hogs Breath Café…it was a great suggestions (except Katie got really sick that night…but she’s better now).

Whitehaven Beach & Snorkelling (Day Two):

To start off our second day we ventured in through Turtle Bay to look over the gorgeous Whitehaven beach. We “hiked” up to the lookout point to see the spectacular view over the beach itself. We saw the stunning view everyone gets to see on the post cards. We then went down onto the beach to see the white sand. We took photos…and we also saw stingrays in the water. It was gorgeous and very peaceful. We then went back to the sailboat for a short trip around a few islands to our snorkeling spot. This was our first experience and we saw all different types of fish and all types of coral. Katie…miss swimmer…swam off and scared the daylights out of me, but we found her way up ahead.

Whitsunday…Travels & Day 1

Well I have taken quite a bit of time off of the blog, but I have good reason. The week after our travels to the Whitsunday Islands was one of many assignments & my family arrived the following weekend.

Alright, about our lovely sailing trip. After our flight into the “outside” airport we travelled to our hostel. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best accommodation we could have stayed in. We were originally were put in a room with at least one other guy (and probably two others…they were not there but we guessed by the clothes). We got our room changed & ended up staying with some other random guy in one of the beds. He was way scrawny & we could have taken him down if he tried anything so we ended up staying there…it was only going to be about 12 hours. Let’s just say…nobody got much sleep that night.

SAILING! We arrived bright and early to board the sailboat. Enid was it’s name & it was gorgeous. We stayed on the boat for three days and two nights. The first day we sailed out into the islands and went for a quick swim in the Turtle Bay. It was also my first kayaking experience. We went out in pairs & kayaked into the bay. The huge turtles came up to breathe right by us. It was great!

This was our first night on the sailboat & we all slept up on deck. We pulled our “mattresses” up on deck and slept outdoors. It got a little windy, but it was nice to be outside.