Australia! (In a slightly longer version)
Because I'm sure I'll never talk with all of you about this specifically in person, here's more or less what I did this break starting December 25th. =]
My parents and I flew out on the evening of Christmas day with business class upgrades… and let me tell you, international business class is about the coolest thing ever (after, perhaps, international first class). You have so much leg room that, when belted in, you can’t touch the upright seat back of the chair in front of you with your legs. (On second thought, some of you taller people might be able to reach, but keep in mind that I’m not the tallest person in the world.) After a surprisingly relaxing flight, it was off to the Blue Mountains (named for the coloring of the eucalyptus oils), which are west of Sydney. They had a bunch of forest fires in the area about a month before we flew in, and you could see dramatic patches of burnt forests and areas of paths where one side was burnt and the other side was untouched. And even though they supposedly call these mountains, they were more like… gorges. Incredibly scenic, but not exactly up to the mountain standard I’m more used to. The hiking, though, was absolutely fantastic. Some of the trails have been carved into the edges of pretty steep cliffs, which becomes a little nerve-racking as you walk over slippery, wet rocks with nothing on the other side of you.
After a few days there, it was into the Outback. We were luckily - the temperature was only in the 90s, but apparently it can get outrageously hot there. It was a bit of fairly interesting scenery too. All of the soil is very red, but there was a lot of vegetation for it being a desert. But, the main hallmark of the area was Uluru (or Aires Rock). It’s a big rock in the middle of nowhere. Which is bizarre. But interesting. The star viewing from this area was fantastic because of how cloudless the skies are and how deserted (hah hah, it’s a desert… okay, that wasn’t funny. Whatever. Laugh anyways.) the area is in general.
Then it was on to tropical Queensland, the rainforest, and the Great Barrier Reef. We had the opportunity to see some crocodiles in one of the rivers, as well as trees and trees full of Flying Foxes (giant bats with a wing span that can reach 2 meters!). Plus it’s incredibly wet out there, which serves as a major contrast with the Outback. We “celebrated” the new year at our hotel in Port Douglas, but rather than staying up until the actual local time, at 6pm on the first, we toasted to the legality of drinking at 18 in Australia and the New Year back at home. Best new year’s celebration ever.
After that, we went on a 5 day snorkeling/scuba cruise through the barrier reef. I was, surprisingly, not the youngest person on the boat. This wound up being really nice for alternate activities, because I played more games of Uno than I can really count over the course of the cruise. =] The animals and clarity of the reef are absolutely brilliant. My dad and I even did a bit of scuba, which is so surreal, especially when you’re surrounded by other animals looking at you with the “You’re not normal looking for this area” look. I think I might prefer snorkeling, but it was a fantastic experience. On the animal count, we saw clown fish (popularly referred to as “Nemo!”), blue-spotted rays, giant clams (4-5 feet across), reef sharks, and fish of all kinds and colors.
From there, we stayed a night in Cairns and went on the Scenic Railway and Sky Tram (much to Mom’s dismay - let’s just say that it was a wee bit too high for her liking). Then, back down to Sydney.
Our hotel was across the bay from the Sydney Opera House and just around the corner from the Sydney Bridge. The harbors in Sydney are really quite scenic, even if they do have large amounts of traffic. One of our days was spent wine tasting up in the Hunter Valley (great wines and scenery up there). The remaining time was pretty much spent just sight-seeing around Sydney, including a boat tour and a walk through the Opera House.
We returned home Wednesday at 10 am, 6 hours before our departure from Sydney. (Time travel is a great thing!) And then I, being the crazy person I am, hopped on a plane the next morning to fly to Atlanta. After a day of visiting with friends out there, I drove up with TJ to the High Point, North Carolina SAW (Staff Applicant Weekend, which is for people who are interested in applying for staff on ASP). The weekend was great - it was really wonderful to be able to see many of the people I’d been on staff with two years ago. Highlights of the weekend include a 12:45 am interview (yes, you are reading that correctly. 45 minutes after midnight, I had my interview. They told us that if you still hadn’t interviewed at 1:40 am, just go to bed.), a frozen t-shirt contest (first team to get the t-shirt on someone wins - we came second by about 3 seconds), indoor four-square (which, wonderfully, allows for dives. I’m a little sore, but it’s all good!), and tons of wonderful conversations. I’m still not sure if it’s what I’ll be doing next summer, but it’s certainly something I’m still considering. (Also, Shelly was also there, which was completely crazy but also really cool!) Then, I flew home Sunday evening and got back to campus Monday afternoon.
And, that's about the jist of things.
My parents and I flew out on the evening of Christmas day with business class upgrades… and let me tell you, international business class is about the coolest thing ever (after, perhaps, international first class). You have so much leg room that, when belted in, you can’t touch the upright seat back of the chair in front of you with your legs. (On second thought, some of you taller people might be able to reach, but keep in mind that I’m not the tallest person in the world.) After a surprisingly relaxing flight, it was off to the Blue Mountains (named for the coloring of the eucalyptus oils), which are west of Sydney. They had a bunch of forest fires in the area about a month before we flew in, and you could see dramatic patches of burnt forests and areas of paths where one side was burnt and the other side was untouched. And even though they supposedly call these mountains, they were more like… gorges. Incredibly scenic, but not exactly up to the mountain standard I’m more used to. The hiking, though, was absolutely fantastic. Some of the trails have been carved into the edges of pretty steep cliffs, which becomes a little nerve-racking as you walk over slippery, wet rocks with nothing on the other side of you.
After a few days there, it was into the Outback. We were luckily - the temperature was only in the 90s, but apparently it can get outrageously hot there. It was a bit of fairly interesting scenery too. All of the soil is very red, but there was a lot of vegetation for it being a desert. But, the main hallmark of the area was Uluru (or Aires Rock). It’s a big rock in the middle of nowhere. Which is bizarre. But interesting. The star viewing from this area was fantastic because of how cloudless the skies are and how deserted (hah hah, it’s a desert… okay, that wasn’t funny. Whatever. Laugh anyways.) the area is in general.
Then it was on to tropical Queensland, the rainforest, and the Great Barrier Reef. We had the opportunity to see some crocodiles in one of the rivers, as well as trees and trees full of Flying Foxes (giant bats with a wing span that can reach 2 meters!). Plus it’s incredibly wet out there, which serves as a major contrast with the Outback. We “celebrated” the new year at our hotel in Port Douglas, but rather than staying up until the actual local time, at 6pm on the first, we toasted to the legality of drinking at 18 in Australia and the New Year back at home. Best new year’s celebration ever.
After that, we went on a 5 day snorkeling/scuba cruise through the barrier reef. I was, surprisingly, not the youngest person on the boat. This wound up being really nice for alternate activities, because I played more games of Uno than I can really count over the course of the cruise. =] The animals and clarity of the reef are absolutely brilliant. My dad and I even did a bit of scuba, which is so surreal, especially when you’re surrounded by other animals looking at you with the “You’re not normal looking for this area” look. I think I might prefer snorkeling, but it was a fantastic experience. On the animal count, we saw clown fish (popularly referred to as “Nemo!”), blue-spotted rays, giant clams (4-5 feet across), reef sharks, and fish of all kinds and colors.
From there, we stayed a night in Cairns and went on the Scenic Railway and Sky Tram (much to Mom’s dismay - let’s just say that it was a wee bit too high for her liking). Then, back down to Sydney.
Our hotel was across the bay from the Sydney Opera House and just around the corner from the Sydney Bridge. The harbors in Sydney are really quite scenic, even if they do have large amounts of traffic. One of our days was spent wine tasting up in the Hunter Valley (great wines and scenery up there). The remaining time was pretty much spent just sight-seeing around Sydney, including a boat tour and a walk through the Opera House.
We returned home Wednesday at 10 am, 6 hours before our departure from Sydney. (Time travel is a great thing!) And then I, being the crazy person I am, hopped on a plane the next morning to fly to Atlanta. After a day of visiting with friends out there, I drove up with TJ to the High Point, North Carolina SAW (Staff Applicant Weekend, which is for people who are interested in applying for staff on ASP). The weekend was great - it was really wonderful to be able to see many of the people I’d been on staff with two years ago. Highlights of the weekend include a 12:45 am interview (yes, you are reading that correctly. 45 minutes after midnight, I had my interview. They told us that if you still hadn’t interviewed at 1:40 am, just go to bed.), a frozen t-shirt contest (first team to get the t-shirt on someone wins - we came second by about 3 seconds), indoor four-square (which, wonderfully, allows for dives. I’m a little sore, but it’s all good!), and tons of wonderful conversations. I’m still not sure if it’s what I’ll be doing next summer, but it’s certainly something I’m still considering. (Also, Shelly was also there, which was completely crazy but also really cool!) Then, I flew home Sunday evening and got back to campus Monday afternoon.
And, that's about the jist of things.