Skin Cancer - HA! Bring on more beach!
I’m working on about 3 hours consecutive sleep here, so this email might not be fluent, but it’ll sure be entertaining. Maybe.
After showing Sean around Brisbane earlier in the week, he, Meg and I headed to Hervey Bay on Friday afternoon - the launching point for Fraser Island. That night we met some nice British boys who were heading out with us (this will be of significance later. Keep readin’ Swampscott). The following morning, 18 of us were divided into two groups. My group - 3 Americans, 5 Brits and 2 Irish. The other group - 3 Americans, 2 Irish, 3 Brits. We were given a 4WD vehicle and XGamed our way to Woolworths, picked up groceries, and then got on the ferry to the island.
Saturday, our first stop was Lake McKenzie. The water was gorgeous - crystal clear, and then deep blue at the drop off. The guys played rugby while I managed to get a sunburn on my FACE after 2pm, which is near impossible, but do-able if you’re Katie Doherty. That night we camped on Eurong Beach, got to know each other, and got sand in our dinner. I barely slept, because I’m a princess and can’t handle the ground, apparently.
After I swore I heard dingoes rummaging through our trash in the middle of the night, we awoke to find our camp untouched. Perhaps dingoes are just very good at closing coolers after opening them. (By the way, coolers are called “eskies,” short for Eskimo. I’ll be glad to go back home, where people say whole words.) Our first stop was Eli Creek, then the Maheno Shipwreck. One of the American girls in the other group at this point earned her reputation as Supreme American Bitch Stereotype by saying, at the service station we stopped at for ice, “I don’t mean to be a bitch, but I don’t want to sit here all day and watch you all get ice.” As if it was unnecessary to keep our food cold. Well, her life was hell for the rest of the trip, as the British boys ensured it would be there job to see to it.
Later on we stopped at the Pinnacles, tall mountains of… surprise! SAND. But they were hardened and were funky colors. Further up the east coast of the island were the Champagne Pools, where apparently the water looks like bubbly when the tide comes in. We camped that night at an amazing spot on Orchid Beach, right overlooking the ocean. After a day of rough, bumpy driving, we were all sore and grateful to be settled. My butt hurt. That night, more rugby, some ghost stories around the fire, and cross-cultural drinking games.
Monday we headed back south and stopped at Indian Head, easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in my life. The weather was calm, clear, and warm, and I sat atop a cliff, looking at the ocean and the waves. I got really sad at one point, realizing that I’ll never be in that spot ever again in my life, and I only had 20 minutes to take it all in (hence the many pictures you’ll see on the website). Our final destination was Lake Wabby, where catfish came up and brushed your legs with their whiskers. We took the 9:30pm bus back to Brisbane that night, and got in at 4am. I went to school and took a test. It was awesome.
Now, on to the importance of the British boys: I knew that after I saw Will at a rugby game earlier in the semester that I was bound to see someone else I knew in Australia. One of the British boys, Ian, was clearly Craig. He picked up an accent after being in Scotland, and decided to hop over to Australia because he missed me. Here’s the proof:
And check out the rest of the pictures. In case you forgot, its http://groups.msn.com/ktdinaustralia The Fraser pictures do happen to look like the Sean Carlson GQ photo shoot, but its only because he didn’t have a camera to take his own vanity shots.
So Fraser rocked my socks, despite very little, and uncomfortable sleep. And, as my last trip here in Australia, it surpassed my expectations. I haven’t done EVERYTHING I wanted to, obviously, and it upsets me. I’d love to go to Ayres Rock, New Zealand, and a few places in between. But what I have done has been incredible and I’ll never regret any of it. The next few weeks are going to be hectic, with papers and exams and all that crap that you are all done with by now. But I’ll be home in exactly one month, and I’m ready for some suburban summer mischief. Lake walks, ice cream, softball, singing in cars, road trips, movies, and friends - here I come.
love,
katie
ps - I honest to goodness just took a test on RADIOHEAD. If I don't get the highest grade in the class you can all publically flog me.
After showing Sean around Brisbane earlier in the week, he, Meg and I headed to Hervey Bay on Friday afternoon - the launching point for Fraser Island. That night we met some nice British boys who were heading out with us (this will be of significance later. Keep readin’ Swampscott). The following morning, 18 of us were divided into two groups. My group - 3 Americans, 5 Brits and 2 Irish. The other group - 3 Americans, 2 Irish, 3 Brits. We were given a 4WD vehicle and XGamed our way to Woolworths, picked up groceries, and then got on the ferry to the island.
Saturday, our first stop was Lake McKenzie. The water was gorgeous - crystal clear, and then deep blue at the drop off. The guys played rugby while I managed to get a sunburn on my FACE after 2pm, which is near impossible, but do-able if you’re Katie Doherty. That night we camped on Eurong Beach, got to know each other, and got sand in our dinner. I barely slept, because I’m a princess and can’t handle the ground, apparently.
After I swore I heard dingoes rummaging through our trash in the middle of the night, we awoke to find our camp untouched. Perhaps dingoes are just very good at closing coolers after opening them. (By the way, coolers are called “eskies,” short for Eskimo. I’ll be glad to go back home, where people say whole words.) Our first stop was Eli Creek, then the Maheno Shipwreck. One of the American girls in the other group at this point earned her reputation as Supreme American Bitch Stereotype by saying, at the service station we stopped at for ice, “I don’t mean to be a bitch, but I don’t want to sit here all day and watch you all get ice.” As if it was unnecessary to keep our food cold. Well, her life was hell for the rest of the trip, as the British boys ensured it would be there job to see to it.
Later on we stopped at the Pinnacles, tall mountains of… surprise! SAND. But they were hardened and were funky colors. Further up the east coast of the island were the Champagne Pools, where apparently the water looks like bubbly when the tide comes in. We camped that night at an amazing spot on Orchid Beach, right overlooking the ocean. After a day of rough, bumpy driving, we were all sore and grateful to be settled. My butt hurt. That night, more rugby, some ghost stories around the fire, and cross-cultural drinking games.
Monday we headed back south and stopped at Indian Head, easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in my life. The weather was calm, clear, and warm, and I sat atop a cliff, looking at the ocean and the waves. I got really sad at one point, realizing that I’ll never be in that spot ever again in my life, and I only had 20 minutes to take it all in (hence the many pictures you’ll see on the website). Our final destination was Lake Wabby, where catfish came up and brushed your legs with their whiskers. We took the 9:30pm bus back to Brisbane that night, and got in at 4am. I went to school and took a test. It was awesome.
Now, on to the importance of the British boys: I knew that after I saw Will at a rugby game earlier in the semester that I was bound to see someone else I knew in Australia. One of the British boys, Ian, was clearly Craig. He picked up an accent after being in Scotland, and decided to hop over to Australia because he missed me. Here’s the proof:
And check out the rest of the pictures. In case you forgot, its http://groups.msn.com/ktdinaustralia The Fraser pictures do happen to look like the Sean Carlson GQ photo shoot, but its only because he didn’t have a camera to take his own vanity shots.
So Fraser rocked my socks, despite very little, and uncomfortable sleep. And, as my last trip here in Australia, it surpassed my expectations. I haven’t done EVERYTHING I wanted to, obviously, and it upsets me. I’d love to go to Ayres Rock, New Zealand, and a few places in between. But what I have done has been incredible and I’ll never regret any of it. The next few weeks are going to be hectic, with papers and exams and all that crap that you are all done with by now. But I’ll be home in exactly one month, and I’m ready for some suburban summer mischief. Lake walks, ice cream, softball, singing in cars, road trips, movies, and friends - here I come.
love,
katie
ps - I honest to goodness just took a test on RADIOHEAD. If I don't get the highest grade in the class you can all publically flog me.