Back in Sydney
What a whirlwind few days...I almost expect to see the same flights crews more than once for Virgin Blue after the last few days. The trip to Cairns was fantastic, and seeing Ruth in Brisbane even for a short visit was great. There were a couple of highlights of the Cairns trip, one of them being the day on the GBR. Wow. It was stunning. The weather was perfect out at the reef, although a bit rainy actually in Cairns later in the day. We left on the catamaran (sp?) at 8am and took almost two hours to get to the first stop point. I decided to scuba dive for the first time and don't regret it for a second. It was incredible; we saw a white-tipped shark, 'nemo' fish, a variety of other cool things, and the best was seeing, feeding, and touching a turtle! Until he had a little nibble on my dive partner, Abi's, finger! :-) She was fine, it was more funny than anything. There was also a ray in the sand under a rock that people in my group saw, but to be honest, I couldn't really see it. Then we came up for lunch on the boat before heading to the second stop. I decided just to snorkel there, and spent a good hour just wandering around in the water on top of the reef. Everything was so unbelievable. I really enjoyed both experiences and want to do them again, but am not sure how anything else will compare! The boat trip back into Cairns made for a great chat with four of the girls I met throughout the day. Three were from England (travelling spearately though, they didn't know each other) and the fourth was from NYC. I also met two couples from Winnipeg and a guy from Alaska on the boat. The younger girls and I made plans to get together to go out that night, and one of the guys working on the boat gave us a map and told us where to go. We only ended up making it to one place, but had a great time that night. The dorm room I stayed in at Gilligan's (hostel/backpackers) was a bit....crazy. lol. The first night we were full with 6 people and I went to bed early because of the early reef trip the next morning. Thankfully! haha, it was really quite entertaining and funny, but three people from Brisbane got in late, were really loud and drunk, and then had a plane to catch really early so didn't get any sleep and left at 5am. Except that one of them was too drunk and angry, so they left him passed out in his bed and he missed his flight. This hilarious event that lasted pretty much 3 hours in the middle of the night led to me and the other two people in the room talking. Sam and Ryan from England were also in the room and thought the whole thing was pretty random as well. We stayed up chatting for a bit and it was nice to meet them - we ended up having dinner together the next night and Ryan ended up at the same place as the girls from the boat and I the second night.
Althought I woke up for the SkyRail trip Thursday morning, I didn't end up going. I opted for a relaxing morning wandering around Cairns instead, and am glad I did. I was afraid I would miss my place if I tried to cram the SkyRail thing in. I did a bit of touristy shopping and yes, bought a boomerang. Hilarious, I know....I couldn't help it, it's only little!
Next was Brisbane to see Ruth. Ruth was an exchange student at my high school...four?...years ago. We've stayed in contact and I was really glad to be able to see her, even for a short visit. We had a BBQ at her and her bf's house the first night with her mom, then spent the second day visiting her uncle and his children, her two sisters, and into Brisbane for a quick stop before having to return to the airport to fly back to Sydney. The drive from the airport to where she lives in Toowoomba Thursday took us 2 hours with the crazy traffic, but it was good because we had loads to catch up on! Simone met me at the airport here, and now I am trying to upload a few pictures to facebook. *fingers crossed* this time. The Mardi Gras parade is tomorrow and Simone was able to contact the guy we met last weekend and pick up the VIP tickets. It should be pretty amazing, and I am looking forward to the craziness!!
Althought I woke up for the SkyRail trip Thursday morning, I didn't end up going. I opted for a relaxing morning wandering around Cairns instead, and am glad I did. I was afraid I would miss my place if I tried to cram the SkyRail thing in. I did a bit of touristy shopping and yes, bought a boomerang. Hilarious, I know....I couldn't help it, it's only little!
Next was Brisbane to see Ruth. Ruth was an exchange student at my high school...four?...years ago. We've stayed in contact and I was really glad to be able to see her, even for a short visit. We had a BBQ at her and her bf's house the first night with her mom, then spent the second day visiting her uncle and his children, her two sisters, and into Brisbane for a quick stop before having to return to the airport to fly back to Sydney. The drive from the airport to where she lives in Toowoomba Thursday took us 2 hours with the crazy traffic, but it was good because we had loads to catch up on! Simone met me at the airport here, and now I am trying to upload a few pictures to facebook. *fingers crossed* this time. The Mardi Gras parade is tomorrow and Simone was able to contact the guy we met last weekend and pick up the VIP tickets. It should be pretty amazing, and I am looking forward to the craziness!!