The Great Barrier Reef!

     Assignments finished, classes over, heaps of free time; it was time to make our journey to the Great Barrier Reef!

     Nicole, Emy and I set out for our next great adventure a week ago Thursday.  Our bus was meant to leave at 7:30 Wednesday night.  Nick kindly drove us down to the bus station around 7:10 (we did not want to be late).  Time went by and soon it was 7:45.  We decided it was a little late no big deal.  It got to be 8 and we started to freak out.  There was no way we could have missed the bus, but why wasn't it there? I walked down to a bar and got the phone number for the bus company.  As I am calling on the pay phone a cab pulls up to inform us that he just heard on his radio that there was a delay.  After talking to the bus company, I found out that there was an accident and we should expect a 2 hour late delay.  This news was the best news we received all week!  We had not missed the bus.  Soon enough the bus arrived and we were again on our way to a wonderful week.  

     Unfortunately the bus was completely full except for three single seat.  Of course the people that were sitting next to these seats had smoked a whole pack of cigarettes each before getting on the bus.  The 3 hour ride to Brisbane was anything but pleasant, but we were not going to let anything get us down!  A little after 1:30 am we arrived at the transit center in Brisbane.  

     Now it was time to find a way to get to the airport..  The airport is not actually in Brisbane so we had to take a $50 cab out to the airport (something we were not really expecting).  Finally we were at the airport.  Our flight didn't leave until 9:00 the next morning, but we decided not to try to find accommodation for the night and instead spent the night in the airport.  It was a long night.  The place we set up camp was right by a door so we froze the entire night and not a lot of sleep actually happened.  About every 20 minutes all the lights would shut down and alarms would go off, then they would come back on and all the computers would start back up making more alarm sounds.  It was a pretty crazy night.

     Finally it was time to check in.  We got our tickets and made our way to the gate.  With plenty of time before take off we treated ourselves to the most delicious chai latte an airport can offer.  It was going to be a good day after all.  A little after 10:30 we had made it to the Proserpine Airport.  From there we had to get another expensive taxi that would take us to the place we would call home for the week, Airlie Beach.  

     Once we were in Airlie, we were meant to find Magnus Backpackers so that they could confirm our reservations for our cruise ship and sailing adventure; or so we thought.  Our travel agent told us wrong so we had to hunt around for phone numbers and make some stressful calls.  After a little hyperventilation, we had confirmed our reservations and were able to relax finally!  We made it!

     That first day all we did was lie on the beach.  Needless to say we all needed some time to relax.  When the sun started to go down we went grocery shopping and then headed back to our hostel for dinner.  That night we went down to the hostel bar to listen to some great live music.  The night was wonderful.

     Even though we did not have any plans for all of Saturday, we got up early for the free breakfast offered at the hostel.  Then we set out for a morning walk.  We went rather far and our walk ended up being over 3 hours long.  The view was just magnificent.  Once we got back to the hostel it was time to hit the beach.  The rest of the afternoon was again spent on the beach, lazily reading.  That night we made dinner and then called it an early night.

     Sunday came and it was time to go out to the Great Barrier Reef.  For this day we had a cruise ship booked that would take us out to Knuckle Reef (which is one of many reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef).  Out there we would go for our dive and then have the day to enjoy sights.  It took about 3 hours via boat to get out to the place where we could anchor down.  We were so far out that no matter which direction one looked, land could not be seen.  As soon as we set anchor, it was time to get ready for our dive.  

     On all my other dives, I have had heaps of trouble with my ears.  An instructor suggested taking sudafed to clear up my sinuses before diving so I decided to take that advice for this dive.  It was wonderful. We did a back step in the water and went down right away.  I had a little trouble equalizing to start with, but at about 6 m it cleared up and I was good to go the rest of the dive!  The coral here was absolutely amazing.  There are so many types all over.  Our instructor that was leading the dive was really cool and actually allowed us to touch stuff while we were diving.  The first thing we held was a sea cucumber.  Throughout the dive we held a couple different types of sea cucumbers, held a star fish, touch sea grass, and even got to pet a sea turtle.  This was my highlight of being in Australia.  At the bottom of the ocean, about 12 m where we were at, we did flips which was also pretty exciting.  After this dive I knew that I loved diving and I cannot wait to dive else where.

     We dried off from the dive and then got on the little glass bottom boat that did little mini tours around the reef.  While on this boat we got to see more coral along with a sting ray.  The coral is not as bright as the pictures suggest because water filters out the light.  They said that the pictures that we see are taken at night with bright flashes.  This being said, I cannot wait to go on a night dive to see these glorious colors.  

     After the glass bottom boat, we had a quick delicious lunch before it was time to go on the semi-submarine boat for another trip around the reef.  The day went by so quickly and it was already time to head back to shore at this point.  Most of the trip back we stood on the top deck at the front of the boat letting the wind whip our hair and watching for whales.  Unfortunately we didn't see anything, but it was still a beautiful sight!

    That night we went out for dinner instead of making it in the hostel.  After walking around for a while we decided to eat at a cute fish and chips place.  While we were enjoying our meal, some live music started down the street so we made our way over there after we were finished.  The night air was nice so we spent some time just sitting on the beach.  When it started to get chilly we made our way back to the hostel.

     Monday was the day for sailing.  We got to the harbor and our sail boat was purple!  Once on the boat we got settled in and then we were off.  The wind made the ride rather cold, but we stuck it out.  We were not able to do much sailing because the winds were going in the wrong direction, but it was still a beautiful day to be out on the water.  After a while we made a stop for anyone who wanted to snorkel.  Nicole and I decided against it since we were already rather chilly.  Some snorkelers said that it wasn't a very good day to go anyway because there was low visibility.  We were off again.  This time our destination was Whitehaven Beach.  Whitehaven has the whitest sand I have ever seen.  The water in this area is wonderful as well.  There are some many different shades of blue and green.  We were able to spend an hour on Whitehaven.  Only the finest sand made by an underground volcano makes it to the beach.  One could say that it is the beach for the best of the best sand.  When we returned to the sail boat, it was time to start heading back to the coast. We were all pretty exhausted after these two awesome days so again it was an early night. 

     Tuesday was our last full day in Airlie Beach.  What else would we want to do on our last full day, but spend it in the sun!  Once again we made a bee line for the beach and set up for a day of reading in the sun.  By this point in our trip we were all very tan.  That night we made our last dinner and then headed down to the hostel bar for some more live music.  

     Wednesday our plane didn't fly out until 2 so we had a bit of time in the morning for some final beach time.  Around 12 we got a taxi to the airport with no troubles at all.  Once we got there we had to check in. This is where we hit a tiny snag.  Emy's bag was about 5 kilos too heavy.  Fortunately we were able to distribute the weight between all our bags and we were able to board without a problem.  

    A quarter to four we were in Brisbane and once again had to pay for the expensive taxi to get us into the city.  The plan for the afternoon was to visit a museum.  We got there, but it closed at 5 so we were only able to look around for a little while.  From there we had to navigate the city to find our hostel.  It was in walking distance which was good for our wallets, and we only got slightly lost once.  After we arrived, I think we mutually decided that it is easier to navigate in the bush than it is in the city.  Dinner was made and then we went to bed since Nicole and I had to get up early to catch our train.

     Nicole and I headed back to Lismore Thursday morning.  There were only a few difficulties as we were trying to board the train, but nothing big.  Emy stayed in Brisbane to meet up with a couple of high school friends who happened to be studying in Australia at the same time.  She will get back to Lismore next Wednesday.

     I have my final exams next Friday and Saturday and then I will be finished finally!  This week will be devoted to studying and trying to find rides for little day trips to the beach.

     As of now the plan for my departure goes as the following:  Nicole, Emy, and I will go home with Kacey, who lives up north on the beach.  We plan to leave Saturday, Oct 1st, after my last exam.  Sunday will be devoted to beach activities and maybe hiking Mt. Warning since we have yet to do that.  Monday we will find our way to Brisbane to visit some sights.  We will stay the night there and then do the same thing for the first part of Tuesday.  Tuesday evening the girls will come have dinner with me at the airport and then it will be time for good-byes.  I will get into Sydney around 10 pm and spend the night there.  The next morning it will be time to fly home.  Time is just going so fast.

     Now if we aren't able to go to Kacey's we will spend my last nights in Lismore.  Tuesday morning I will have to catch a bus to Brisbane so I will have to say my good-byes that morning.  I can't believe I leave in 11 days.  It doesn't seem like I have been here an entire semester, but then again, it seems like it has been ages since I have been home and seen everybody.  

     I also have compiled a list of more Aussie words:

Brekky= breakfast

Bonnet= hood of a car

Script= prescription

Doona= comforter

Mozzies= mosquitoes

Ta= thank you

Slag= spit

Overtaking= passing

Thongs= flip flops

Maccas= McDonalds

Oz= Australia

Kiwi= New Zealander

Cozzie, swimmers, bathers= swimsuit

Bindies= stickers, pricklies

Sultanas= raisins

Eskie= cooler

Lemonade= sprite

Capsicums= bell peppers

Bugger= shoot

Stuffed up= messed up

Joggers= tennis shoes

Bevos= drinks

Hhach= "H"

Zed= "Z"
Oi= hey (used to get one's attention)

4 Days in the Bush

     Last Friday we left bright and early for our bush walk at Girraween!  We got to the National Park around 11:30 to check out a few more items that we would need for the 4 days and then we were off.  There were four groups in total that went.  Two groups started the route clockwise and the other two went counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise if you are Australian).  We went counter-clockwise.  Our group name was Legend...wait-for-it...DAIRY, which consisted of Emy, Nicole, Luke, and I.  The other group that was with us most of the time was Threesome which consisted of Nicole Johnson, Erin, and Jacob.  Sparky was the instructor who was following us to make sure we didn't get too lost and Steve (our lecturer) followed the other group.  The purpose of this trip was for us to use everything we have learned in class to plan a trip and then carry it out.  We were not supposed to see the instructors hardly at all, just once in a while on the little side trips (Sparky seemed to fail at not being seen though).

Day 1
     Our group headed off on our trek.  Since we only had a half day for the first day, we did not have far to go.  After we walked about 2.5 km, we stopped at Old Stone Cottage to have lunch.  Sparky stopped for lunch with us, but he was rather antisocial so had to give him a hard time.  He realized that he was being a grump and lightened up after that.  When lunch was finished we headed off again for another kilometer or so. While walking along, we saw our first snake.  It was a Black Snake and pretty big.  We are guessing it was probably a meter or so long.  Quite exciting!  
     At the river junction it was time for us to take a bearing and go off track.  Legend...wait-for-it..DAIRY went first.  This first off track was only about 1.5 km and we dominated it!  The other group left about 10 minutes after we were off.  They did pretty well, but they thought they were lost for a while.  It was funny though because we could hear them talking when they thought they were lost.  Once we met up again, we were off to our campsite.
     The rest of the day we just had to follow a trail so the only time we took out the map was when we came to a junction in the trail.  At one point we had to cross a rather deep river.  Fortunately there was a log that went all the way across.  Some of us were uneasy about crossing the log with our huge packs and the flowing river.  Luke went first to make sure the log was steady.  He got across and said, "It's not that bad."  After stepping off the log, everyone said, "It's not that bad."  That phrase stuck with us the rest of the trip.  Camp was not far from this river.
     Again Sparky caught up with us and took us on a little side trip up South Bald Rock to see the sunset.  The walk was probably about .5 km, but we went up 100 meters.  The entire mountain was made from granite which was really weird to climb on.  I don't really know how to describe it, but basically we could walk all the way up this huge rock. There was so much traction because the granite it pretty jagged.  However, the granite is like ice if it gets wet (fortunately we didn't have any rain the entire time we were out there).  We got to the top just in time for sunset and it was magnificent.  Up on the summit it was pretty chilly with the wind and the sun going down so we didn't stay up there long.
     When we got back down to camp we made some dinner.  Legend...wait-for-it.. DAIRY had a 2 minute noodle stew.  We bought 2 minute noodles and then cut up potatoes and carrots and put peas and corn in it as well.  It was very yummy (we ate better on trail than we do back in Lismore).  It still gets dark pretty early so we made dinner in the dark and then went to bed almost right away.  Since we were in a National Park we could not have a campfire.
      For this trip we had to carry 6 liters of water with us because there are only a couple of places to fill up.  Unfortunately, Emy's water spilled in her bag so her sleeping bag got drenched.  For the night we unzipped my sleeping bag to use it as a blanket.  We both froze that night so we got very little sleep.

Day 2
      On the second day we wanted to get up early to get up to the summit of South Bald Rock for sunrise.  Regrettably, we took too long to get up and moving and the sun rose earlier than expected so we missed it.  We still had brekky up on the mount; then it was time to do a little caving.
     Sparky took us to this area in the rocks were we could go in.  We could either go the short, easy way and see a cute little moss garden or we could go the long, hard way and see a moss garden that is hundreds of years old and not a lot of people have seen.  Of course we chose the long, hard way because we are the Legendary Threesome.  While going through this cave there were a few areas that were pretty scary to get through.  Obviously our phrase, "It's not that bad." was used frequently on this little adventure.  Once we made it to the garden, all the cuts and bruises from getting there were forgotten.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  There were all sorts of mosses growing on everything and huge trees and ferns.  Words nor pictures can begin to show how amazing it was.  It was even more special because hardly anyone makes it in there to see it.  At this point we were on the other side of the mountain so we had to climb up to the summit and then down the other side to pack up camp.  We left our area around 9:30 and then we were off for the day.
     Most of our day was on trails that were already established so all we had to do was make sure we took the correct trail whenever there was a junction.  We walk about 7 km on the trail.  It was then time for lunch so we stopped at a picnic area near Bald Rock.  At this area we were able to fill up our water and even use a biff.
     When lunch was over, Legend...wait-for-it..DAIRY took off up to the summit of Bald Rock.  Threesome was pretty tired and decided not to trek up there.  They waited a little bit and then took off down the trail towards camp.  Sparky went up to Bald Rock with us so we had some time to get to know him a little better. It was such a wonderful site once we reached the top.  Like South Bald Rock, the entire thing was granite.  At the top we could see for kilometers!  There was also a book that we could write in and we of course we got some pretty good pictures.  Additionally, while we were up there we picked some wild carrots.  They taste just like carrots with a little spice.  At this point we decided it was time to get going to camp.
     When we got to the bottom of the rock, Sparkles gave us a head start since he was not supposed to be with us.  It was not a long walk to camp (roughly 7 km), but there was heaps of uphill sections we had to walk and we were all pretty tired after the long day.  It was a relief to be able to take our packs off and stretch once we made it to the campsite.  We didn't have anymore side trips for the day so we just enjoyed stretching and watching the sunset from amongst the trees.
      For dinner night 2 we had heaps of pasta!! We seriously had to push ourselves to finish all the pasta because we didn't want to have to carry it out with all our other rubbish.  Again it was an early night since we had a long day and it was rather cold with no fire.  Emy's sleeping bag dried while we were walking in the sun so we both got to sleep in our own sleeping bag.  Both of us slept wonderfully!

Day 3
     We got to sleep in so we were not up until 7!  We got packed up and headed out by 8:00.  Day 3 was a big day for us.  The first kilometer we walked was just on the trail again.  However, then we had to turn off track to do our feature based navigation course.  We did wonderfully for this section.  Every time Sparkles would radio us for a grid reference we would be spot on! While we were doing this section we saw some wild pigs!  There were two adult pigs and two babies!  Very cute, but I am glad that did not come close to us!  We also saw some huge kangaroos! Some were 2 meters tall!  There was also one that had a little joey in her pouch!
    Once we made it to the road, it was time for our groups to split again and do our final bearing.  Threesome went first this time.  They got off on their bearing right away, but since they were so off they found a road that lead to where we were supposed to end up so they had it pretty easy.  We left a little after they did.  Once again we were doing awesome, but then we got to this area where we could see a road to the north and we should not have been able to see it.  It was clear to us that our bearing was off so we looked at the features and figured out where we were.  From there we decided to finish the course using features.  At this point we accidentally ran into Sparky, and he informed us that the maps were off so if we would have stuck to our bearing we would have been spot on still.  Since we knew where we were, we took a new bearing that would lead us to a junction and then we would be able to follow the river to the road.  While walking on this new bearing, we came across some awesome waterfalls in the granite.  It was so beautiful and not a lot of people see them since they are off trail and not marked on the map.  Again we did really well with our bearing, but there were creeks that were not on the map.  This made it really confusing to find the junction that we wanted.  We crossed so many creeks.  Sparky caught up to us and informed us that the creeks we were crossing were unmarked creeks.  Again we had to devise a new plan.  This time we just decided to head northwest, because we knew that we would hit the road or the river that we wanted.  Finally we got out! Sparky informed us that we would have rocked this bearing if we had better maps that were more accurate.
     Here we took a lunch break.  There was a little creek and an area where we could swim.  We spent a good amount of time just lying out in the sun at this little area.  The running water was so soothing and the sun felt wonderful!
     Sparky took us on another little side trip down to Underground Creek.  There were so many waterfalls here! Again it was beautiful!  Some of the group climbed down into a little cave to see the creek that went under all the rocks.  There was also a spot where we could fill up our water, but if we filled up with this water we would have to put iodine in it to clear the parasites that live in it.  I had plenty of water so I did not have to experience this.  It was then time to start heading again so that we could make it up Mount Norman in time for the sunset.  On this walk we saw an echidna!  If it would not have moved we would have just thought it was a plant of some sort.  Very cute.
     Camp was only about 4.5 km away, but again there was a lot of uphill area.  Nicole Johnson had a stuffed up foot, but she was a trooper and we made it with enough time to set up camp before we had to head up for sunset.  Nicole Johnson and Erin did not hike up Mount Norman because of Nicole's foot, but the rest of us set off to get up there for sunset.  It was quite the hike.  There was a mix of granite and land. The granite sections were pretty steep so that took a while, but we made it just in time to see the sun set!  What a view it was!  We stayed up there for a good amount of time just soaking in the beauty of the scenery and made some good conversation.  When we started to head back down it was dark already, but we had our torches and made it down just fine.
      It was then time for our final dinner in the bush.  The plan for dinner was cous cous and veggies.  However, the vegetables went bad for some reason.  The bag that they were in leaked in Nicole's bag so all her stuff smelled awful as well.  Good thing it was the last night was all we had to say.  Since we didn't have veggies, we had a very bland meal of just cous cous, but that was alright.  Again it was an early night. We wanted to make it up Mount Norman for sunrise in the morning and it is quite a hike to get up there.

Day 4
     We had a pretty cruisy last day since we did not have to go far to get to the bus.  We got up at 5 to head up Mount Norman for the sunrise.  We got up there and Sparky informed us that the sun might be rising on the other side of the mountain where we could not get to see it.  As one could imagine we were all very disappointed.  However, Sparkles was wrong and it came up right in front of us! There is nothing like eating brekky on the side of a mountain and watching the sunrise!  After it rose we went up a little further to an area where we could do some more caving.
     The first one we went in was pretty sweet.  There were not as many jumps and sketchy parts as there were when we were on South Bald Rock, but it was still a blast and I finally got a little more comfortable climbing all over.  There were a couple of sections that were pretty tight, but we all made it through them and had fun while doing it.  After we made it out from this cave, we set off for the Sphincter.
     I was not too keen to go into the Sphincter, it was described as a little tube that one has to lie on their belly and wiggle through with dealing with water and basically no room to move.  Luckily, I have some good friends that talk me into doing these crazy adventures.  We went in with Nicole leading the way then Sparkles, me, Emy, Nicole Johnson, Jacob, and Luke followed.  Erin decided not to do it because she get claustrophobic.  For the first part we were on our hands and knees, but not too far in we had to switch to just lying on our stomachs and scootch through.  Sparky knew that I was a little worried about getting stuck so he thought tried to get me to go this other way that anyone would get stuck in!  So mean.  Then we when we saw light at the end of the tunnel, Nicole and Sparky were out and I was coming up the the hole and Sparky decided it would be funny to put a big boulder in front of the hole.  By this time I was a lot more comfortable down there so I found it funny.  We all made it out without a problem!  We were pretty dirty though.
     At this time it was only 9:00 in the morning!  The walk to the bus was only about 4 km so we just relaxed on Mount Norman and chatted.  Then we headed down to camp and did a little debrief, packed up and then we were off.  About a kilometer in we decided to stop for an early lunch because we would rather sit at a pretty area than have to wait around for the bus.  Finally we set off on our final leg of the trip.  All along the trip we were supposed to tie a piece of fabric at certain areas and radio Sparky to let him know where we were and what direction we were heading, but we seemed to fail at this for the first couple of days so we decided to tie all our pieces of cloth around the locked gate to let Sparky know we were on the right track.  We got down to where the bus was to pick us up.  There we had to clean out our stoves and return the stuff that we checked out at the beginning of the trip.  The bus was a little late, but we just enjoyed taking in a little more sun and scenery.  We got back to Lismore around 4:30 and I had the best shower of my life!

     We had heaps of fun on this trip and got to see so much wildlife.  It was great to get out of Lismore and see some more of Australia.  The weather was perfect for us the entire time we were out there!  Before heading off they were forecasting rain all weekend and we didn't get any.  We were so thankful since we would not have been able to do any of the granite stuff if it had rained.
     This week is going to be a pretty chill week for me.  I just have to do a couple of small assignments that won't take long at all.  If the weather stays nice, we are planning a day trip to Mount Warning for Saturday. Nicole and Emy have heaps of assignments due soon so they will be busy working on them.  I am hoping for sun all week so I can be outside instead of cooped up in the brick.