g'day mom and dad!

Mom and Dad arrived in Sydney on October 3. It was so weird to see them here…in Australia! But it was great to talk to them and to get filled in on everything I’ve been missing. They stayed in Wollongong a couple nights and I showed them around uni, the botanical gardens, Woolworths (the “Wal-mart of Australia”), and “my” beach.

Then we went to Sydney for a few days. We strolled around Darling Harbor and Circular Quay. We went to a few art museums and did some shopping at the markets. We also went to Bondi beach and got a bus tour of Sydney.

One of my favorite parts was eating at the “Pancakes on the Rocks”. It was so good we went back again the next day! They have all kinds of fun and crazy pancake combinations.

It was fun showing Mom and Dad around “my towns”. They really enjoyed Sydney and I’m sure they will have a blast on the rest of their 2 ½ week tour of Australia!

spring break 2005 (yes...i mean SPRING!)

Finding “Nemo”, sea kayaking, sailing, hiking through the rainforest, and relaxing on the beach were among the things accomplished on my spring break in Cairns, Australia!

For 12 days eight of my friends and I adventured in the tropical lands of Cairns. One day we went on a program called “rainforestation” and we got to pet kangaroos and hold a koala! We also learned how to throw a boomerang and watched an Aboriginal dance performance.

On Saturday we took a sailboat to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and went snorkeling and then I went SCUBA diving with another friend. It was amazing! I saw “Nemo” and his Dad, the “rainbow” fish, a sea turtle (I petted it!!!), a reef shark that was probably 5-6 ft. long, giant clams, and all sorts of other brightly colored fish and coral. It was one of my favorite things we did on the trip.

We also went to Fitzroy Island for a couple of days. It was like our own little island and it had great hiking trails, rainforests, and “Nudey Beach”. (No nudes though…a ‘lil ironic ;) We went sea kayaking around the island and then did some more snorkeling.

Then we took a bus to Cape Tribulation which is a gorgeous area where the “rainforest meets the beach”. We stayed at a hostel that felt like it was literally in the rainforest. The beach was amazing too!

It was a great trip with gorgeous weather and lots of relaxing!