Spring Break

Saturday, October 13: 

We got up at 4:00 to catch a taxi and get to the airport for our 6:30 flight. Needless to say, it was a very rough morning. We got to the airport, grabbed breakfast, and got on our seats. I sat by two older ladies who were eating chicken wings. It was 6 in the morning, so I was very confused. Me, Bree, and Morgan got to switch around so we could sit together. I slept most of the way. When we landed, it was SO hot! We got a cab and headed to our hostel. I really thought it was a joke when we pulled up to this place. It had nails poking up around the gate and barbed wire around it too. Needless to say, we were very nervous about where we were staying. We went inside and paid and found out we could not check in until a few hours later. They locked our luggage in a “luggage closet” and we went on to get food and wander around Cairns. It was about 9:30, but we found this great burger place and were craving a milkshake and fries. So, we basically had a burger, fries, and a shake for breakfast. After we ate, we wandered around and went back to our hostel. When we were taken up to our room, we felt a lot better about staying there. It was really clean and not scary at all! We stayed in a room with bunk beds and had five other girls in there. They were all foreign and very nice! When we got our beds figured out, we took a nap. I know, so lame, but we were exhausted and had gotten no sleep, so we slept all afternoon. When we woke up, we showered and got ready, and went to grab a pizza. After we ate, we made our way to the other hostel that all the other CAPA students were staying at. It was just a ten minute walk down the road. Their hostel was really rough, so I was glad that we didn’t have to stay there. We all crowded into one of their rooms and hung out for the night. It was a lot of fun. After, me and Bree walked around the Esplanade, which is like the street by the beach. There is a big lagoon as well, which is a salt water pool, because you can’t swim in the beach (it’s only a few feet long). It was beautiful!

Sunday, October 14:

Bree and I got up very early to go and meet the other CAPA students at their hostel for SNORKELING! When we got there, we all walked to the port that we would be taking off in our boat. We had to wait for a while and pay another fee, but we finally got on the boat! It was much nicer than I expected, with a snack bar inside, and long tables with nice bus-type chairs. There was also a lot of deck area, including the top of the boat where you got sprayed so badly with salt water. When you would dry off, you would just have to wipe off a ton of salt off your body, it was crazy! We sat inside at the tables for the beginning and watched the waves through the window. It took us about an hour and a half to get out to the first reef. During that time, the workers gave us our equipment and talked through protocol. They also taught us the motions for if you see a certain sea animal, such as shark, jellyfish, octopus, and turtle. It was really fun! When we got to the first reef, I was beyond excited! The boat ride was fun in itself, but I actually was going to get to swim in the middle of the ocean! I had never done that before, I’ve never been farther than neck deep in the ocean! We got our equipment on and hopped right in. It was BEAUTIFUL! I couldn’t fathom the fact that I was actually swimming over the Great Barrier Reef and seeing things that I never thought I would ever see! My lips got so salty, and I was bad about going down too deep and water getting in my snorkel, so I would choke. They gave us noodles if we wanted one, so I didn’t get super tired swimming, but it was definitely hard with the fins! We spent about an hour swimming around the reef, and finally got out for lunch that was provided for us. It wasn’t great food, but there was a ton of it, and it was included! We ate lunch on the boat, and then laid out on the top while we rode to the next reef. This was some of the most fun times I have had on the trip, because it was so relaxing to be on the boat with all of my friends. When we got to the next reef, it was even more beautiful than the first! The colors were much more vibrant at this one, and it was bigger. It looked more like what you always picture it looking like. When we were on the edge of the boat about to hop in, there was a school of fish swimming right at the top of the water, so I had to jump right in with these fish. It was insane! Right when we got in, I really thought I saw a shark down at the bottom, but most of the other people told me it wasn’t. I saw some of the coolest fish here, and I saw Dory about a thousand times. It was awesome to see the fish going in and out of the coral. I seriously could not believe I was doing this! I kept popping up and telling whoever was around me that this was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I wish I could keep reliving it! When we were finished, we got back on the boat and laid out on the top of the boat again! Then, on the way back to the coast, they offered us free cheese and fruit, and one of the guys played guitar and sang for us. It was so relaxing! A lot of us fell asleep on the way back, it was a really exhausting day! It was the greatest day I have had! When we got back, Bree and I headed back to our hostel and found Morgan. We showered, got ready, and headed to a restaurant to eat! We then met up with some of the other CAPA girls for ice cream and we wandered through the night markets. We spent a lot of time walking around, and then headed back for bed because we were exhausted!

Monday, October 15:

Today is the day that Morgan and some of the other girls skydive! I went with two of the other CAPA girls to this zoo in Cairns where it is legal to hold a koala. We wandered around the zoo and I got a really great phone call! My brother got a job in Greenville, and he and his wife are moving back! I was SO excited! After I talked to him, and we walked around the zoo, it was time to hold Pavlova, the koala. We waited in line and each took our turns. The koala was so cuddly and it was magical! I loved cuddling with that sweet baby! After we left the zoo, I met up with Bree at the lagoon and we laid out for a little while. The weather was absolutely perfect, it was so hot! We swam for a little bit too, and then we made our way back to the hostel. When we got back, the girls that were skydiving met up with us and we watched all of their videos in our hostel. It was so funny to watch them, and now I want to skydive so badly! We got in trouble for having guests at the hostel, so they left and we all got ready to go to dinner. We got dressed up and went to this restaurant called PJ’s which had $12 meals, including a drink. In Australia, that is an incredible price! At the other hostel, they got vouchers for $5 meals instead of $12, so they grabbed us some and we only had to pay $5! So worth it! After dinner, we walked around the town, went and watched at the Casino for a little bit, and got ice cream with some of the other girls. It was such a fun night.

Tuesday, October 16:

Morgan and Bree decided that they wanted to go hold a koala too, so we got up and went back to the koala place! There was beautiful scenery, and we sat and had our lunch. We then got to hold the koala, Harvey! Of course I paid to do it again because I am obsessed with those cute cuddly babies! After we did that, we walked around and shopped a lot in the area! After shopping, we went to Domino’s for dinner and headed to the airport. We were very early, but it was nice to just relax and wait. We got to move around and get seats next to each other again. We had to take a cab home, which was pretty expensive. When we got home, Rachel and Jessi had decorated the apartment for my early birthday! It was so sweet and it was nice to be able to catch up about our Spring Breaks!

Wednesday, October 17 and Thursday, October 18:

We were SO lazy these two days, it’s not even worth talking about! We slept late, watched movies, napped, ate, did homework, and that’s about it. We walked around Surry Hills some, and we got our nails done on Thursday. Very relaxing few days!