DAY ONE
We left Bond at 9:30 AM. I had to miss my last class of Journalism Research Methods. Earlier last week, I got published in the Gold Coast Sun because of my professor in the class, Mark Pearson, so I am very grateful to him.
We took the always lovely train to Brisbane, which wasn't too bad. My fear of flying hasn't really disappeared, but I'm better at controlling it. To be honest, I was seated next to a skinny blond girl who looked like she was about to punch herself in the face. She was gripping the handles with white-knuckles, kept staring out the window and fidgeting around. She started freaking ME out, and that's usually my job. To give her credit, our pilot got majorly confused, and started pulling out some twists and turns that stunt pilots usually do. The air pressure got really bad at one point, and I had a headache after we landed for an hour. We're still alive though. That's all that matters.
The Whitsunday's airport is like a farm posing as a airport. The waiting area is outside, and it is so tiny that there's only one flight every couple of hours. We took a cab to the Airlie Beaches Hostel. The landscape reminded me of Fiji, only better. There were big rolling hills and fields of sugarcane. Very country, very isolated. I thought we'd be able to see the beach immediately, but it wasn't like that.
Airlie Beach is an amazing little beach town. Quirky little bars and restaurants line the street, and there's a really nice energy to the place. There's a lot of young travelers like us, and everyone sounds really happy to be there.
We put out stuff down and went to a Mexican restaurant down the street. We started drinking at 5, got some nachos, met some great bartenders and waiters, and had a grand ol time. Then we bar hopped around and ended up at a great karaoke bar. Jackie got up and sang some Cher, she was quite the professional. There were a lot of people from England there and it was interesting to see what kind of music they listen to.
DAY TWO
The next day we got on a huge power boat and sailed to a pontoon in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. We got to snorkel, sunbathe, look at an underwater observatory, go on a glass-bottom boat, and ride a water slide that shoots you into the middle of the ocean. I saw sting rays, squids, huge fish, Dorys, Nemos, everything. It was wonderful.
That night we took it easy and got some sushi. I tried kangaroo for the first time. I felt bad eating it, but it was actually very good, tasted like beef. Then we went to the bar next door. One of our hostel-mates was a guy from Ireland who I talked to for awhile. He was telling me that his parents had gone to Boston for holiday when he was little and told him it was one of the best places in the world.
DAY THREE
The next day we went sailing on a big purple boat. It was the highlight of the trip. Everyone on the boat was so fun and nice to talk to, and it was a gorgeous day. We got to lay on top of trampolines and feel the ocean running right below us.
We traveled to Whitehaven Beach which has beautifully soft white sand. I got to go snorkeling for the fourth time in my life. There were a group of Dauri fish that followed me around, it was cute. We got a gourmet lunch. I met an English boy that I might marry later in life. He thought it was weird that I hadn't traveled outside of the US until now. I've found that people from Europe travel a lot more in their younger days, while Americans don't really do that.
I ended up having a little too much to drink. I wiped out in front of the whole boat (not cuz I was drunk but because there was water everywhere and my flip flops are not exactly great). Then somehow I took a shower and wound up passing out on my bed just in a towel. I woke up naked. Embarrassing, but a good story.
That night, around 3 AM, a crazy drunk guy started pounding on our door, demanding that "the bloody Scotsman" come out and fight. Apparently his girlfriend had gotten pushed and he was looking for revenge, incidentally in our room. It was pretty scary, I didn't know quite what to do. He was very angry and very drunk. The pounding went on and on and then his gf started crying and he started yelling that he loved her and blah blah blah. Some people are nuts.
DAY FOUR
The next day we spent exploring the town and laying by the lagoon. The whole weekend felt like we were on Spring Break. It was so nice to just relax and not worry about school. All last weekend I wrote three papers and studied for two exams, so this was a nice reward.
Well, I have less than two weeks left in Australia, I'll keep this updated as best I can.
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