<---The five of us: Heather, Jenna, Ben, Sarah, Amy Well I am officially 66 days into my trip with 59 days left to go until arriving at LAX. I just returned from Easter Break on Saturday (4/18) and it was absolutely amazing. Four other Americans and I went on a trip over most of Australia’s Eastern coast. We were supposed to leave Sydney Airport at 8:10 P.M. on Friday the 3rd, but our plane didn’t wind up leaving until about 10. It was about a three hour plane ride up to Cairns, where we spent the night, and then the next day we drove about an hour and a quarter up to Port Douglas, which was definitely my favorite town
I’ve been to in Australia. It is a very quaint, lush, quite, flat, beach town. We spent Saturday wandering around the town and Sunday we went out to the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef was stunning but a little disappointing after seeing all the pictures and how grandiose it was made out to be. I think my expectations were a little bit too high, but nevertheless, the reef was spectacular. Monday we went up to Daintree Rainforest. We went on a few boardwalks through the rainforest, saw where the beach and rainforest meet, but the best part was going to the “Blue Hole,” this little place we were told about by the captain boat that took us to the reef. It’s a small stream that runs through the rainforest and the water gathers at a certain spot, creating a watering hole. The water was spectacularly blue, the bluest water I’ve ever seen. We had it almost exclusively to ourselves; we were there probably 3-4
hours and saw 6 people the entire time. By far my favorite spot we visited! Tuesday we went back to Cairns, hoped on the Greyhound bus, and started our trip east, back to Sydney. We purchased a bus pass that allowed us to have unlimited stops on our trip from Cairns to Sydney. Our first stop was Mission beach, where we had a seven hour layover. The beach stretches for absolutely miles, as far as the eye can see, beautiful white sand, turquoise water, palm trees, and we passed probably a whopping twenty people. We hoped back on the bus and headed for Townsville, spent the night, and jumped on the fairy to Magnetic Island on Wednesday morning. Spent the day touring Magnetic Island, then hiked about 45 minutes, found an exclusive bay, and pitched camp. The view was stunning, we had a spectacular bay all to ourselves. We went for a night hike, looking
for Koalas, because Magnetic Island has the largest concentration of wild Koalas in Australia. Unfortunately, our Koala hunt failed that night and had to be postponed until the next day. Waking up on a island, with your own secluded bay and a beautiful beach just meters away sounds amazing right? Wrong. Okay not really, but it is currently Stinger season in the state of Queensland, with thousands of Jellyfish that can kill you within minutes. So when you go swimming, you either have to wear a wet-suit or a singer-suit. Unfortunately, we had neither, so we weren’t able to enter the water, or at least enter the water and live to tell about it! Anyways, Thursday we went for a hike and stumbled upon a Koala and her baby. What a sight! Friday we jumped back on the Greyhound and went on an eternal bus ride (26 hours) down to Noosa.
We arrived at Noosa around 3 Saturday (in case you’ve lost track, it’s currently the 11th) afternoon and set out to find a church for the next morning, Easter Sunday. We found one a little bit out of town, and found a great spot in the bush were we could pitch our tents just a little bit behind the church. After pitching our tents and going through a stroll through the bush, we decided to head back into downtown. Now the excitement begins (cue dramatic music) As we were waiting at the bus stop, some teenage boys, waiting at the bus stop across the street from us, decided to have some fun at the expense of the Americans. The four boys crossed the street, formed a circle around us, and started swinging their fists. I decided I didn’t really like the shape of my nose; Michael Jackson’s looks much better, so I allowed the bloke to slam his fist into my face. Wasn’t that nice of me? Then I decided I didn’t really like my “I ♥ APU” T-shirt and wanted it turned into a tank top instead. The bloke seemed to read my mind and kindly obliged with my wishes as he grabbed my shirt and ripped a nice hole down one of the sides. Unfortunately, he didn’t finish converting my shirt, as he generously went back to trying to give me reason to reconstruct my nose. Well, by this time, I came to my senses and realized that plastic surgery might be a bit too costly for my budget, so I decided to scratch that plan and beat feet out of ther
e. Not knowing the town, the girls I was traveling with and I just started running, thankfully we soon stumbled upon a convenience store. We called the police and while we were waiting for them to show up, our four lovely friends from the bus stop came in the store just to make sure I was fully satisfied with locations of the rest of my body parts. Although I profusely told them I had to interest in having any more of my face rearranged, they didn’t believe and decided to wait outside for me. Thankfully the police, Constable Ian and Constable Bryce, arrived within 20 minutes or so but by then the want to be plastic surgeons were gone. The police made sure we were okay, asked where we were staying, and after realizing we were staying just down the road in a tent, they tried finding alternative sleeping arraignments. Because Noosa is a very popular tourist destination, and it was Easter, there was no room in the Inn, so we started looking for a stable (it worked for Jesus, right?). The police found a caravan park with some empty space, but Ian offered for us to stay at his house for the night. He called a taxi and sent us home to his Fiancée and two kids. We arrived about 8:30 or so that evening a
nd spent the rest of the night getting to know the family: Ian, Tracy-lee, Cheyenne (16), and Shiloh (13). What a wonderful family!Sunday morning Tracy-lee drove us to Church, and when we returned home, she said we could stay another night, but only if we eat dinner with them. It was a tough decision, but after giving it all the consideration it deserved (about 3 seconds) we all quickly agreed. That afternoon our group took the kids on a hike through the Noosa Headland and returned to eat Easter dinner with the family. Ian cooked us delicious spaghetti. After dinner, we spent the night fellowshipping around the table, Telling stories, exploring differences and similarities about our countries and lots of time laughing. What an absolutely beautiful experience! Monday our new family dropped us off at the bus station and we went our separate ways with hugs, smiles, and any thanks!!
We went down that evening to Surfers Paradise, spent the night, saw the beach in the morning and departed for Byron Bay, the most easterly point of the Australian mainland, where we spent Tuesday night and Wednesday night and left Thursday. Thursday night and Friday we spent in a small town called
Urunga with miles of desolate beaches. We rented a little cabin Thursday night and spent the night relaxing by playing cards and watching Toy Story 1 & 2. Oh the life! We were back into the state of New South Wales, so we were able to swim without having to worry about Jellies! Woohoo! Friday night we hoped on the bus at midnight and arrived back in Sydney at Central Station around 9 Saturday morning. Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing, going to church and recovering from such a magnificent trip.One of the highlights of the trip was the food. We all brought peanut butter, jam, and bread, which made up our lunch and dinner and for breakfast we ate dry cereal. For a li
ttle bit of variety, we collected coconuts from the beach, pealed them, cracked them, and then indulged! What a treat! Another special food that I tried was jellyfish. The captain, who told us about the Blue Hole, and I were standing at the back of the boat, on the reef, and I was asking him about the Jellies. He dared me to eat one, but I wasn’t that stupid; I waited until he ate one and then I ate one. Delicious!Well, here are some “Aussie-isms” that Constable Ian taught us.
Useless as an ashtray on a motorbike -- useless
Face like a dropped pie -- ugly
Go off like a frog in a sock -- have a tantrum
Chuck a wobbly -- have a tantrum
Off with the fairies -- a bit vague
Fit as a Male Bull -- buff and strong
Just to put your minds to rest I’m still alive and kicking. Haven’t found the love of my life, I haven’t gotten anything pierced and haven’t placed Ink on my body. Oh, and just in case you were curious, yesterday I finished turning my I ♥ APU t-shirt into a tank-top.
Love to all!
-Ben
