Animals, animals, animals

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Phew. I feel like starting every blog entry with “phew.” I’ve been going way too long between posts and there is TOO MUCH to talk about!

Cairns was nice. It wasn’t as hot as Darwin, but it did seem a bit more humid. The highlight of my time there was definitely snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. This turned out to be one of, if not the coolest thing I’ve ever done!! I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, I know it’s THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, but I thought that maybe the places where you can snorkel weren’t so spectacular, or that they had already suffered a lot of damage due to tourism. But guess what? IT IS THE COOLEST PLACE EVER! I’ve really only ever snorkeled in Hawaii, Mexico, and in the Gili Islands a couple of weeks ago, so that’s all I have to compare it to, but it definitely blew all those sites out of the water (so to speak…heh heh)! The coral came in so many amazing colors and shapes and there were so many fish. There were times that I looked up and saw four or five huge schools of fish swimming around me! And some of those fish were HUGE. I dove down and swam next to one that was easily over 3 feet long (it was one of these). I didn’t see any sharks or turtles, but it was impossible to come away from this day disappointed.

I took a fast boat out to the outer reef, which was possibly a lapse in judgment, as it was the choppiest ride I’ve ever had. I’d say about 80% of people on the boat ended up out back sick. I felt pretty sick myself, but I did make it there without getting sick. I also got a really sad loner sunburn (you know when you just get burnt in patches on your back that you can’t reach when you’re putting sunblock on yourself?)….so sad.

While in Cairns also made a trip to Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation, which was full of cool rainforest, mangroves, and more crocs. I also went to Mossman gorge, which is a pretty little river filled with boulders and fish!

In Cairns, I realized that I am quickly running out of both time and money, so I decided to hightail it down the coast, skipping the Whitsundays (sort of a mandatory backpacker stop on the East Coast) and take a 25 hour bus ride straight to Hervey Bay. Another possible lapse in judgment? It turned out to be fine, though I was a bit of a wreck by the time I arrived.

From Hervey Bay, I went to Fraser Island for two days, which earned a spot on my “most unique/amazing places” list. It’s the largest sand island in the world, but it’s covered in vegetation, wildlife, and freshwater lakes and streams.  So strange! My two days there were spent swimming and hiking with great company. We swam in two of the freshwater lakes on the island: Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby. They were both pretty much the best swimming lakes that you could ever imagine, but  they were very different from each other! Lake McKenzie is a large lake with crystal clear water (REALLY) and beautiful white sands. Lake Wabby has  lovely green colored water and lies between dramatic sand dunes and rainforest. It was so nice swimming in fresh water for a change! We also waded up Eli Creek and floated back down, laughing like idiots the whole way down at how stupid we looked. Really, we looked stupid.

The past two days have been spent in Noosa, which is a really nice little resort town on the coast north of Brisbane. Yesterday evening was filled with walking and boating, and today I spent at Australia Zoo. It definitely lived up to my expectations and is certainly the best zoo I’ve ever visited. There was a great variety of animals and the habitats seemed really well done. There were also lots of chances to interact with the animals. I got to feed an elephant, pet kangaroos, and hug a koala. SO CUTE. I’m pretty sure that those sleepy koalas are the cutest animals on the planet. There’s also lots of sentimental waxing about Steve going on in those parts. Aww.

Only two weeks left! Sooooooooooo crazy! Can’t wait to see all you guys back home!!

Imagine what it looks like below the surface!

Mossman Gorge

Swimming in Lake McKenzie

Hammerstone Sandblow, near Lake Wabby

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Tags: australia, cairns, fraser island, hervey bay, noosa, Travel