Oh, Carolina, You Keep Calling Me Home

My last week in Dunedin has been filled laughter, crazy shenanigans, heaps of fun, and lots of mixed emotions.  After we arrived back to Dunedin following our epic road trip, we hung out with Marvin and Wynton that evening since it had been a whole week since we saw them last…serious separation problems J

The next day, we walked around town and went shopping for last minute gifts and such with Colleen and Anna.  That evening, we celebrated Marvin’s last night with Rachel, Anna, Erin, Kelly, Emma, Jono, Colleen, and Wynton.  We were the only people in basically the only bar/club that was open in Dunedin, but we didn’t care one bit and actually enjoyed dancing around the place by ourselves.  They even played “Wagon Wheel” just for us!  And Emma decided to write all over my arms “Emma’s stick together,” which didn’t come off for a couple days!

Friday, I got up super early to say goodbye to Marvin when the shuttle came to pick him up for the airport.  That day I mostly just hung out with friends, ate Hell’s Pizza for the first time, and watched Mean Girls with Emma on her last night.  It was the first time she had ever seen it!

 

Saturday was another early morning as we said goodbye to Emma when she got on the shuttle.  Afterwards, we went to the Farmer’s market for one last crepe in Dunedin.  I also went to say hey to my wwoofing host, Shaun!   Then we walked around town and the university taking pictures of our favorite places!  During the afternoon, we walked to the rugby field and played a little football, soccer, and kickball.  My foot still has a bruise from playing kickball barefoot!  That night we went to town again for our last Saturday night in Dunedin and Wynton, Erin, Jono, Jenny, and I stayed out until 5am!  So tired the next day, but it was great and I didn’t want it to end. 

Sunday turned into a beautiful day, so we slept in and then headed to the beach.  Jono introduced us to a new beach called Snails, which was awesome and there was barely anybody else there.  So we layed out in the sun for a while, took a short nap, and then played a little kickball in the sand (with a softer ball this time).  Afterwards, we were pretty sweaty so we ran straight into the ocean, which was chilly, but surprisingly not as cold as I thought it would be.  After I hopped out, I don’t think Jono believed I was wet enough as he picked me up and threw me into the water.  I crashed into a wave making such a scene kicking and screaming.  But all in good fun J 

After the beach, we drove into town for our last trip to the Rob Roy Dairy for ice cream.  We had challenged each other to eat a full double scoop before we left, so Jono, Rachel, and I got that.  It was four giant scoops of ice cream on a cone.  The real challenge was finishing it before it all melted, but we did!  And afterwards, I ate only vegies for dinner J  That evening, we watched Love Actually to get us in the Christmas mood!

Note: I also ran up Baldwin Street a couple of weeks before and forgot to mention it in my last post.  But that was one of my goals for the semester: SUCCESS!

Monday, we went to town in the morning to pick up a couple last minute things for our trip home and then I began packing.  Starting to pack was definitely the hardest because I refused to actually open my suitcases for a while realizing that once I did, it would start to feel real that I was leaving soon.  Eventually I did and packing was not too hard and went by pretty quickly.  That evening, the gang went to Indian Spice for our last meal and BYO there and to hang out with Wynton during his last night in Dunedin!  Afterwards, we watched Black Sheep, which is a poorly made NZ horror film about genetically altered sheep.  It makes you laugh more than scream though!

Tuesday morning, we said goodbye to Wynton as he got on the shuttle and then finished packing the rest of the day.  We ran a few errands and made one last walk around the university before going to our favorite fish ‘n’ chips spot for dinner.  We also dropped by the Bog, our usual Tuesday and Wednesday hangout spot, for one last Speight’s Beer and Open Mic Night.  Since all the students are gone, there was literally nobody in the bar besides the guy who runs Open Mic, so Colleen encouraged us to get up and sing “Wagon Wheel” as a group.  So Erin, Anna, Kelly, Rachel, and I, after a little persuading, sang the theme song of our whole semester at the bar!  It was a fitting conclusion to the most amazing semester ever!  We sat and talked for a while until it was finally time to head home and get some sleep…of course I didn’t actually sleep that much though.

 

And here I am now, sitting in the Auckland airport after my first flight.  This morning was filled with many tears as I said goodbye to Margaux, Colleen, and Dunedin.  New Zealand has become a home to me and will remain that way forever!  Home is where the heart is and part of my heart will always be in New Zealand and with all of the people that I met.  Looking back over the semester, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing.  I formed friendships that I know can withstand distance, learned so much about the world and myself, and had the time of my life.       

Right now I’m headed down south to the land of the pines, thumbin’ my way into North Caroline with memories of the most incredible experience with me J See you all so very soon!  I’m leaving home to go home.

2 Weeks, 2 Germans, 3 Americans, 1 Tiny Car, and 1 Tent= One Heck of a Road Trip

So my time in Dunedin after getting back from Australia and Auckland did not last long.  I basically had time to wash clothes, pick up the car from our trusty rental service, and pack before we hit the road again.  That night Erin and I barely slept more than 3 hours after running in circles getting things ready for the trip.  And I think Marvin and Wynton were even worse off, but somehow we all rolled up to the car in the morning, drowsy yet excited, around 5am.  Yeah, that’s right; we got up to see the sunrise.  But our first problem to solve was packing the car: not an easy task.  I am fairly positive that the guys both packed more than Erin and I so it was definitely a challenge to fit everything including a tent, mats, five sleeping bags, a cooler, five days’ worth of groceries, everybody bags, and four people.  It was quite the tight squeeze and there was no possible way I was able to see out the back window (don’t worry mom and dad, I drove carefully)!  But once we solved the puzzle of packing things, we hit the road and headed to St. Kilda Beach for a beautiful sunrise. And I enjoyed the UNC poptarts that Kelly, Courtney, and Kelsey sent to me on the beach for breakfast that morning.  After the sun rose above the horizon, we left Dunedin and headed toward the west coast. 

We stopped in Arrowtown, a cute little town that actually reminded me a lot of Blowing Rock, for some MUCH needed coffee for me driving and then went into Queenstown one last time for Fergburger.  We ate our burgers down by the lake and took a nap in the grass…well until the motorcycle parade rode into town J  So we headed back to the car and drove to the west coast and into Haast.  There, we found a place to camp along the beach (never determined if our camping spot was entirely legal, but it worked out great).  Unfortunately, we overestimated the ability of our small little car and drove into the sand and got stuck.  So Erin and I started dinner while the guys began to dig the car out.  The car was actually seriously stuck and while hilarious now (and pretty funny then) we were in a little pickle for a while and it took about an hour to get it out.  Marvin and Wynton dug out the sand and placed sticks and grass as traction under the wheels and then Wynton and I were eventually able to push the car out.  Of course we also chose the place where I believe there were more sandflies than actual grains of sand…seriously!  You could swat your hand through the air and kill 10 of them at one time.  So we were all eaten alive and eventually stopped caring if they entered the car; however, we were able to keep them out of the tent!  After dinner, we watched the sunset on the beach.  Our goal for the day was to watch the sun rise on the east coast and set on the west coast.  And we were successful with a beautiful start and end to the day J

The next day we woke up in what felt like a furnace as the sun had instantly heated our tent.  So we grabbed some cereal and took a walk along the beach.  As long as you keep moving, the sandflies cannot actually keep up with you!  After packing up the tent, we started to drive further north blasting music with the sun shining and windows down.  We stopped at a couple beautiful overlooks of the west coast (the road winded along with the coastline).  We also stopped at a beach and hung out in the sand for a while.  And then visited Franz-Josef Glacier and hiked to the base of the glacier!  And acted like total goofballs of course.  Erin was driving after the glacier, so I decided to take a nap once back on the road.  Well, not the best idea as Marvin initiated a prank on me.  He got Erin to slam on the brakes and everybody to scream at the same time…while I was fast asleep.  I was so startled and scared and according to Erin, she has never seen somebody jump out of their seat so high!  Wish we had caught it on video so I could have seen my reaction!

That night we camped at a DOC site along a lake.  We even went swimming in the lake the next morning, which was chilly, but not too terrible once we were in.  The next day we drove to Greymouth and saw a couple beaches and walked around the town.  We then headed to the Pancake Rocks, which are these giant rocks that are isolated to an area about the size of a football field.  They literally look like stacks of pancakes and their origin still baffles scientists!  Back in the car, Marvin and Wynton created a “man cave” in the backseat and were up to some silly shenanigans, including dancing in the car and joking around.  Erin and I could literally not control our laughter.  We also decided to hit the beach for a while before we all went stir crazy from being in the car.  I went swimming, but just because Wynton decided to give me a huge bear hug after jumping out of the ocean.  Afterwards, we found a camping ground to stay at in Westport, grabbed a much needed shower, and then cooked a delicious Thanksgiving dinner (we let the Germans join in); complete with pasta, veggies, and wine J  We hung out for a while in the tent before going to bed.      

The next day, we started our drive to Nelson, with a couple of sightseeing stops along the way.  In Nelson, we ate dinner on the beach and then drove to Abel Tasman National Park.  I decided if I were to live in NZ, I would want to live in Nelson.  It’s beautiful and so close to the Abel Tasman, which is amazing!  We arrived pretty late there that night and were unable to see the ocean, but the next morning we were in for a pleasant and amazing surprise.  The golden sand, clear blue water, and Carolina blue sky combined to make the perfect day.  We took a water taxi to Anchorage Bay where we laid out on the beach for a couple hours (and were sweating!!!) and then hiked part of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, about a 12.4 kilometer walk.  The tramp was gorgeous and at every beach we stopped at, there were only a few others if any.  We basically took about seven hours to hike what would normally take 4 hours just because we stopped and hung out on all the beaches.  Stilwell Bay is by far my favorite beach I have possibly ever seen!  We stayed there for a while and even took a short nap!  And of course, what would the day be without Marvin and Wynton playing a prank by hiding mine and Erin’s clothes!  Once back into town, we drove to Kaiteriteri, which is only a half hour drive.  There we found a campsite, cooked dinner, and crashed pretty quickly!

 

We woke up early the next morning to do a little (well, it turned into a lot) of sea kayaking!  We decided not to go with a guide and after a quick safety briefing; we were given a map and let loose.  Well of course, the safety instructor mentioned a small island that we should check out so we were definitely keen!  And we saw what we thought was the island.  So after a little paddling around, we set off towards the island with Erin and I in one kayak and Marvin and Wynton in the other.  We also went out pretty far from the coast and we tried to make a straight shot to the island.  Maybe not the best idea because we were battling the wind and waves.  But we carried on, realizing at that point, that even though we were a hundred meters or more out to sea than we were allowed to be, because it would take far too much time to backtrack. 

 

 

Eventually we reached the island tired, but happy because it was absolutely beautiful!!!  Unfortunately, we looked at our watches and realized we had already used up over 2 out of the 3 hours we rented our kayaks…oops!  So we took some pictures and hopped back in and started paddling back, this time staying a little closer to shore.   About halfway back, I recognized one of the landmarks, decided to pick up the map they gave us for the first time, and realized we had gone double the distance from the initial bay than we were supposed to…oops again!  So basically, we went double the distance we were allowed to go.  And turned our kayaks in 1.5 hours late.  Luckily, like most Kiwis, the guy was super chill and didn’t even say anything, but that he hoped we had a good time!  I love Kiwis! 
 

However, at this point we were dealing with a new problem, we had to catch the Interislander Ferry in Picton, which was 3.5 hours away and that was exactly how long we had until the final check in.  So we ran to the bathroom and changed our soaking clothes within seconds, jumped in the car, and took off!  We dropped Marvin off in Nelson because he had previously toured the north island and was just hitchhiking around the south island for a couple days.  And we made it to Picton just before our final check-in time.  Of course, we got there and had to sit in our car for another hour and they were even allowing people to check-in way past the deadline we were given.  So a little worry for nothing!  But we made some sandwiches for the ride and listened to country music for a while.  I think the car behind us was a little alarmed by our messiness (we were literally living out of the tiny car) and the making of our sandwiches because they kept giving us weird looks.  But eventually we were able to park our car on the ferry (or, basically the largest boat I have ever been on) and we headed upstairs to the outside deck.  The ferry ride was a bit windy, but great for the first couple hours as Erin, Wynton, and I sat on the deck joking around, admiring the northern coastal area, and watching the sunset.  Once dark outside, Erin and I took a much needed nap inside.  The only downside of sleeping in a tent: you are in close proximity with snoring.  I think we all snored, but certainly some more than others…it was deja vu every morning when we all woke up and starting blaming each other for keeping them awake.  All in good fun of course…we really did act like a family J

Anyway, once we arrived in Wellington on the north island, we drive the short drive to Emily’s (my mentor) house since she had invited us to stay with her.  Rachel was already there to meet us after traveling with her family since we were finishing up the trip with her!  At this point, we all crashed pretty hard and slept in the next morning after a comfy night in actuals beds!  We eventually got ready to go and drove into the city where we walked along the harbor, walked down the famous Cuban Street, and walked around the city.  Wellington is definitely the “windy city” of NZ, but we still had lots of fun!  We also visited the Te Papa Museum, which had heaps of exhibits ranging from Maori culture to earthquake history.  It was quite interesting.  NZ actually has a couple earthquakes around the country each day, yet most of them are very minor, especially since a lot of pressure was relieved along the fault line after the devastating earthquakes in Christchurch a year ago.  After the museum, we met up with one of Wynton’s friends for coffee and then headed to an outdoor screening of the second Lord of the Rings Movie.  The event that attracted heaps of people from around NZ was part of the hype before the red carpet Hobbit premier two days later in Wellington.  So we had a picnic in the city lawn and probably did more talking and hanging out than actually watching the movie J 

 

 

The next day, we walked along the harbor and then hiked up Mount Victoria, which provided an aerial view of the water, harbor, and city.  Then, we dropped Wynton off at the ferry so he could return to the south island with Marvin.  And then there were three.  We walked around the city some more and then met up with Emily and her friend Hannah.  They treated us fish ‘n’ chips that we took to go.  Emily drove us to the old army barracks on the hill so we climbed up into them and ate our fish and chips.  What made the spot so special is that you could see the south island from the hill we were on!  After hanging out there, we went back to Emily’s house for some wonderful dessert her mom bought us and then played some hilarious board games before saying goodbye to Emily (she had to get up really early for work) and heading to bed. 

The town was buzzing with excitement the next day, as many celebrities arrived in town for the Hobbit Premier.  But we were headed out of town to avoid traffic and such.  So we hit the road again and headed to Napier!  It was a four hour drive, and not too exiting, except for the fact that we drove on a four lane road for a while.  Seriously, those are very rare in NZ and I am no longer nervous when I have to pass a slow moving truck using the lane for oncoming traffic.  Once to Napier, we found Werner’s house.  His parents let us stay there even though he was working and couldn’t come home for a couple days (sad).  His dad and sister then drove us to Te Mata Peak, which overlooks the town and wineries.  Afterwards, they cooked us a delicious dinner and we all talked for a while. 

The next day, we drove into the downtown area of Napier where we walked around (Rachel and I made a spontaneous decision that was definitely encouraged by Erin…you guys can find out when I get home J).  Then we drove to Coastal Wine Cycles where we picked up our bikes and a map for our self-guided wine tour…which was amazing.  The first hour was a bike ride along the coast and then through the vineyards, which was gorgeous and then towards the end, there were three wineries we stopped at.  The first one, Te Awanga, had just opened for the season and we were their first customers!  The lovely owner allowed us to taste six or seven different wines for free! (Usually there is a tasting fee).  Luckily we went there first because she was super chill and taught us the proper way to taste wines, since obviously none of us had done this before.  We all felt so classy J  I really liked the white wine collection, but the dessert wine was my favorite.  After purchasing a bottle for Werner’s parents, we hopped on our bikes for a short ride to the next winery: Clearview.  There we tasted at least 15 wines for free again!  We even tasted a $150 red wine, which was amazing!  After our tasting session, we sat down and shared a lunch platter and relaxed in the sun for a little while.  Then, we rode to Elephant Hill, our last stop of the day where we tasted ten or so different kinds.  This place was super classy and fancy and we felt so grownup J We also purchased a bottle for the three of us to share on our road trip!  After leaving the winery, we road our bikes along the coast a little longer, took a short nap on the beach, and then returned the bikes back shortly before dinner.  We drove to Ocean Beach and then headed back to Werner’s place, where his parents had prepared a wonderful barbeque for us!

 

 

After saying goodbye to Werner’s family, we headed north toward Taupo and drove around Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings (also known as Mount Ngauruho).  We were thinking about doing a day hike in this area, but this volcano actually erupted less than a week before we arrived there so most of the track was closed.  So after viewing the still smoking volcano, we went to a Goethermal Site just outside Rotorua.  There were lots of geysers and hot pools in the area, which are very similar to Yellowstone, but still cool to see!  The colors of the pools and the bubbling mud were crazy!  Next, we drove into Rotorua and found a campsite to stay for the night.  We had forgotten something from the grocery store and went back to get it after dinner and also made a spontaneous decision to buy strawberries and chocolate dipping sauce for the evening.  So when we got back to our campsite, we had a classy little strawberries and wine (the bottle we bought on our tour) date with the three of us J 

 

 

The next day, we drove to Ogo…which is a zorbing company!  Yes, we did roll down a hill in a giant hamster ball!!!  Rotorua is even where zorbing was invented!  Rachel chose to go by herself, but Erin and I went together.  Basically, they put water in the ball, we hopped in, and were pushed down the hill.  Inside our ball, it was constant screaming and laughing.  I was literally sitting on top of Erin at one point…so much fun!  We even got stuck and had to restart ourselves halfway down, which gave us even more momentum!  Wish I had pictures of us doing it, but these will have to suffice.

Then we drove further north and up to Whangarei.  A lot of the day was spent in the car because there is not too much between Rotorua and the Bay of Islands where we were headed.  Once there we found a place to stay and then hiked to the Whangarei Falls, where we took a series of very interesting, hilarious, and awkward pictures.  Here is one picture of my awkwardness…haha J  That evening we cooked dinner in the camping grounds and hung out. 

We woke up pretty early the next day and drove to a Conservation site where we saw our first…kiwis!!!!  Kiwi birds our endangered and nocturnal so your chances of seeing them In the wild are pretty slim and we figured we couldn’t leave NZ without seeing one.  The guy working the front desk was absolutely hilarious and even helped us find them in the dark enclosure!  Then we took to beach hopping the rest of the day as we drove up the coast.  And all of the beaches were so warm and absolutely incredible! 

After an hour of driving and a small ferry ride, we made it to Paihia where we met up with our Kiwi friend Hayden.  He helped us find a campsite (by obnoxiously asking everybody who passed by J) and even stayed with us that night.  We hung out in the beach that evening playing volleyball and soccer and walking along the beach looking out into the Bay of Islands.  That night we also went to listen to some live music. 

The next day we woke up super early to watch the sunrise, said our final goodbye (so we thought) to Hayden, and then drove up to Cape Reinga, the most northern part of NZ.  Well, of course we had blue skies since Dunedin (not sure how we got so lucky), so the weather was bound to catch up with us at some point.  And sure enough it was super foggy.  So we decided to take a nap in the car and see if the fog cleared when we woke up.  And thankfully it was a little better once we woke up, so we made some sandwiches for lunch and hiked down to the overlook.  It was still a little foggy at the light house, which marks the northern tip of the island, but we were able to see where the Tasman Sea clashes with the Pacific Ocean!  It was quite a site to see a line of waves stretching out into the horizon and the two bodies of water are even two different colors beside each other.  We also took a hike down to the beach and rested there for a while.  Then we headed to the massive sand dunes to climb and explore them.  Afterwards, it was time for dinner, so we found somewhere to camp near the beach.  We spent the night hanging out on the beach for a while.  The stars were spectacular that night!

 

We hit the road the next day to start our journey back to Auckland and drove through the Waipoua Forest, which is known for its mighty kauri trees!  These things were absolutely huge and incredible!  We stopped at a campsite to cook dinner and took a walk through the trees as well.  Then we continued our drive to Hayden’s house, just an hour outside of Auckland.  That night we played cards and hung out with him.  The next day, we woke up and said goodbye to Hayden again and then headed into Auckland!  We dropped Erin off at the airport because somehow we accidently put her on the wrong flight when booking, so Rachel and I had a couple hours to kill in Auckland.  So we returned the car and wandered around for a while.  And eventually hopped on our flight exhausted from our road trip, but so happy with its success!  It was the perfect last trip of our semester with the best people possible!

 

See you all in a week!!!

You know, I know...This is Forever!

So instead of flying back to Dunedin from Melbourne, I made a slight detour up to Auckland on the north island for a day!  I was meeting Marvin, Wynton, and Erin, but unfortunately I flew through the night and arrived in the city just a little past five in the morning and because of the time change, I only had a three hour night…yikes!  Exhausted, I walked up the information counter to figure out how to get to my hostel.  Once I figured out which bus to take, I hopped on and ran into a guy that I had met in the Melbourne airport.  He was on the same flight as me, in the same row only one seat away on the plane, on the same bus, in the same hostel, and even in the same room.  This seems to keep happening to me!  But anyway, it was too early to check into my hostel, so we both went up to the lounge and slept there. 

Once Erin arrived, we grabbed some lunch and then met up with Marvin and Wynton.  Anna, Kelly, and Emma showed up as well, which I was not expecting, but a great surprise!  Anyway, we hung out in the city that afternoon, took another nap J and then got ready for the SIX60 concert!!!!

 

 

I’m sure most, if not all, have probably never heard of this band before and I hadn’t until I arrived here!  But they are from Dunedin and started out as just a few Otago students who loved to play music together…and now they are on a world tour!  The name SIX60 comes from where they lived when they went to uni here.  Their flat number was 660 on Castle Street, which is directly across the road from me!!!  So Erin and I started listening to their music and loved it so we decided to go to their concert.  And it was absolutely worth it!  We had so much fun!  Marvin, Wynton, Erin (would not have wanted to go to the concert with anyone else but these guys!), and I sat together.  The rest of the crew spontaneously decided to go just a couple days before and were only able to get individual seats.  The band was amazing and seeing them live and talking about Dunedin was so cool!  I don’t think we have ever screamed so loud when they asked if anybody in the crowd is from Dunedin.  All of their songs have a really special meaning to us, or at least we apply that meaning to our study abroad experience, which made it even more special.  The title of this blog is from their song “This is Forever” which is definitely what we are living by as we all say goodbye to each other.  But my favorite song is “Don’t Forget Your Roots,” which talks about how you shouldn’t forget where you came from and who helped you along the way when you go out into the world.  It’s so good and if anybody wants to see images and videos of where I live, look the music video up on youtube! 

After the concert, Erin and I pushed out way through the crowd to get their autographs and we even told them we live in Castle Street!  Then we all headed into town that night and since none of us were too tired because of all the napping, we ended up staying up until 5am!

Erin and I caught our flight back home to Dunedin the next morning and then started to pack and organize for our next and final road trip!    

Welcome to the Land of OZ

And finally my long awaited trip to…AUSTRALIA!!!!

The day after my last final exam, I met up with Werner for lunch and he spent the afternoon with me until my bus came.  He even walked me to the bus, delaying the goodbye.  So once the bus arrived, we said our goodbyes and I hopped on with tears in my eyes, but excited for my travels ahead of me!

The bus ride was not the most pleasant experience and it even broke down, so what was supposed to take me about 5 hours to get to Christchurch took me 7.  But I finally arrived and was greeted with a huge hug from Olivia!  Since it was way past dinner time, I grabbed some takeaway nood;les and we headed to her flat, exchanged all of our recent stories, watched some tv, and went to bed pretty early. 

 

But not nearly early enough, as my body was willing me to push snooze repeatedly the next morning at 4am!  But I had to catch my flight, so I said goodbye to Olivia and grabbed a taxi to the airport.  I checked in and was feeling super excited and all grown-up flying to another country by myself J My flight went great as I slept most of the way and soon enough I was in Sydney!  I took a taxi to my backpackers to drop off my bags, but it being too early to check in, I grabbed a city map and started exploring!

I walked down to the Harbor to see the Sydney Opera House and Bridge!  It was a beautiful day and a very enjoyable morning.  After walking around the opera house and learning a little about it, I headed across the bridge, which provided magnificent views of the city and Opera House!  I am not a huge city girl, but I surprisingly loved Sydney!  After walking across the bride, I spent the afternoon getting lost (literally, somehow I came out on the opposite side the gardens than what I was intending) in the beautiful Botanical Gardens and then walked the opposite direction to check out the University of Sydney.  The campus was absolutely stunning and I lounged in the sun for a while in the quadrangle!  After grabbing some dinner, I headed back to the Harbor to watch the sunset and then made my way back to my backpackers (not the best that I have stayed in, but it served its purpose). 

The next day, I woke up and headed out to explore some more.  I walked to Chinatown and to Darling Harbor.  And then explored Paddy’s market for a little while.  Afterwards, I walked back to the Harbor and just hung out for the early afternoon.  And I had a silly “you know you have been in NZ too long moment” when I heard a huge crack of thunder.  I am convinced that thunderstorms do not exist in NZ and so I believe I jumped a mile high when I heard it in Sydney.  But anyway, I was trapped without an umbrella or rain jacket like the rest of the tourists and ended up squeezing under an awning while the heavy rain even turned to hail.  But I talked to a really cute older couple for a while; they were so adorable.  After the rain stopped, everything dried super quickly in the hot sun, and I was able to enjoy some time sitting by the harbor.  After an hour or so, I headed back to my hostel to take a quick power nap and meet up with Alex!  She and I planned part of our Australia trip together to have someone to hang out with!  So that evening we took a ferry to Manly Beach for dinner with some people from the tour that she had been on.  The city was even more beautiful at night from the water!  And it was great to meet so many new people!  We took the train back to our hostel that evening and went to sleep almost instantly. 

 

Our first day in the city together, we walked down to the harbor in the morning together and then around the Botanical Gardens and up to Ms. Maquerie’s Chair!  After lunch, we took a bus to Coogee Beach and walked the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach!  It was a little windy and chilly, but it was still great!  And all I could think about was how perfect of a running track this would be!  That evening, we grabbed some pizza and met up with Alex’s tour group again to hang out at the Harbor at night.  That night, we went to bed pretty early to wake up and catch a train to the Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains reminded me a lot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, except a little more flat at the top.  We started at Echo Point and hiked down to Katoomba Falls and had a cute little picnic in the sun by the falls.  We also explored the Three Sisters, which are three little mountains in aline and then hiked to Leural Falls.  There were lots of stairs and hills, but great views at the end.  Once back to the train station, we headed back into Sydney and ate a late dinner.  It was quite the exhausting day, but super fun!  I even saw my first Australian kangaroos on the train ride back!

 

The following day, I slept in a little bit and then spent part of the day at Bondi beach lounging in the sun and walking along the beach.  Afterwards, Alex and I met back up and grabbed some dinner in Chinatown and then went to watch the sunset by the Harbor for our last night in Sydney.  It was gorgeous and we sat and talked by the water for an hour or so! 

 

Our final day in Sydney, we walked around Hyde Park and visited a War Monument and Museum.  And then we caught a shuttle to the airport.  The shuttle was supposed to take an hour, but it only took us about 15 minutes to get to the airport, so unfortunately, I had way too much time to kill.  And Alex and I were located in separate terminals because she was headed home to Canada and I was headed to Cairns!  So I used that time to call my mom and talk to her for a while which was great!  My flight to Cairns went smoothly and I grabbed a shuttle from the airport to my hostel.  Ironically, a girl that was on my flight and on my shuttle was also staying in my hostel.  So we talked in line while waiting to check in and decided to get dinner together since we were both traveling alone.  And then we were even put in the same room!  So we went down to the water and ate the absolute best fish and chips I have ever had!  After dinner, we walked back to the hostel for an early night since we were planning on waking up super early the next day for the solar eclipse!  Ironically, I planned my trip very well, because Cairns was the best place to see it in the world.  And I had no clue until about 2 days before the actual event!  People came from all around the world to see it and I just happened to book my flight during that time!  Ali, my new friend, even had tons of eclipse glasses and gave me a pair!

So the next morning, we woke up super early for the sunrise and eclipse!  It was a little cloudy, but luckily the sun cleared just in time to see it!  It was crazy to witness the 2 minutes of darkness.  So basically I had 2 sunrises and 2 sunsets in the same day!  After the eclipse, I headed down to the harbor to catch my boat headed out for a day of snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef!  The water was super choppy because of high tide and the eclipse, but luckily it was fairly calm around the reef.  But seriously, all I can say is that it was absolutely gorgeous and there is no way I am going to be able to snorkel anywhere else ever again.  Everything was so colorful and there were so many beautiful fish! Nothing can compare!  And my cheap as underwater camera came nowhere close to capturing it!  I even chased after a few sea turtles and was verbally reeled back closer to the boat by the crew a few times as they teased me regarding how adventurous I was.   I also met some guys named Dom and Lyle, whom were great snorkel buddies!  We stopped at 3 sites total and they were all unique and different in the own way!  After the ship reached the harbor again, I met Ali for dinner and then met up with Lyle and Dom for a couple drinks that evening. 

The next day, I woke up early to catch a tour of the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation.  The safari van picked me up from my hostel and headed north.  I instantly met 2 girls, Alex and Demi, who were studying abroad in Sydney and traveling the country.  They were great and so fun to be around!  The rainforest tour was also super cool!  They provided us with wonderful food and lots of information about the rainforest and beaches.  Our first stop was down at a swimming hole where they introduced us to many different tropical fruits (some I had never even heard of or seen, but they were delicious) and hung out near the free-of-crocodile water area!  Afterwards, we drove on into the rainforest, stopping at various beaches and places of interest.  Our tour guide was wonderful and super funny, which made the day even better, despite a little rain.  Fun fact that he told us: besides Australians, Americans are the most likely to be eaten by a crocodile…so of course everybody gave me and another guy a hard time the rest of the day warning us about getting gtoo close to the water. 

 

 

Before lunch, we were given time to feed and play with the kangaroos.  One of them got excited and decided he liked me a little too much while I was taking a picture with him and literally wrapped his arms around my waist, digging his nails into my skin.  I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t even get him off me and the guide had to come and pry him away!  After lunch, we took a ferry along the Daintree River in search of crocodiles!  We saw one adult and two cute little babies!  We also saw lots of unique birds and a couple snakes!  Finally, we took a walk through the rainforest where we learned about the different kinds of vegetation and animals that lived there.  And eventually, we made our way back to Cairns.  Later that evening, I browsed the night markets for a while and then met up with Dom and some of his friends that he met that day and we went to the famous Woolshed!

For my final day in Cairns, I spent the morning wondering around and then hanging out in the sun near the esplanade before it was time to catch my shuttle to the airport.  My flight from Cairns to Melbourne went smoothly and I was even able to talk to Kelsey and Hannah (not sure how well they could hear me though) with my extra international credit on my Australian SIM card.  Five hours is a long time to spend in the Melbourne airport alone, but I was eventually off to Auckland, which is another story for another blog post…