More than Great

I was originally planning on posting some pictures from my Australia trip, but it appears that the server is incompetant at the moment. It's going to be dull without the pictures, but I'll try to embellish it a little.

I spent my first week in Sydney exploring the city while Juliana was finishing up her classes. I was able to walk around and figure out the public bus system a little bit. It's the type of city that is best experienced by just walking around and exploring, and even though I don't have much detail, I absolutely loved it. Last Thursday, I went to see the Sydney Symphony at the Opera House, which was lovely, and I also visited a few museums. On Friday night, we went to see the Sex and the City movie, which opened here that weekend. The crowd was absolute madness! It was nice to see the movie in an actual big city, and we actually got on TV when they filmed our line entering the cinema (that's what they call them here).

On Saturday, we left for Cairns, which is the main tourist town near the Great Barrier Reef. The four days we spent there were an absolute whirlwind, and I think I did just about everything possible to characterize my Australian experience. I still can't believe how much I saw in just a few days! (And rightfully so, for how expensive everything was!)

The first day, we took a cruise to the reef and snorkled at two sites. Yes, I snorkeled! With a life jacket on, of course. I am definitely willing to get in the water if there is a Great Barrier Reef involved. It was incredible to the point where I'm not even going to try to describe it. We rented an underwater camera and got tons of pictures, which came out pretty well although they aren't nearly as vibrant as everything was in person. The first site was at Michealmas Cay, where we snorkled off of the beach, and the 2nd site was in the middle of the ocean - we had to jump straight off the boat. It was pretty amazing. And rainy, so we were getting tossed around a little bit during our viewing experience. Overall, the day was amazing and never really sunk in.

The 2nd day we headed up to Kuranda, which is a town on the top of a mountain surrouded by rainforest. We went to the Kuranda Koala Gardens, where we "cuddled" Koalas, fed kangaroos and wallabees, and watched some crocodiles do absolutely nothing (my experience here has led me to believe that crocodlies never move unless they absolutely have to). Again, pictures would make this description a lot more interesting! We took the scenic railway back to Carins, which took us through the rainforest and past some waterfalls.

Day three was another organized trip - this one to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation, which is the spot on the coast where the rainforest meets the reef. It was pretty wild seeing the multi-colored water (again, need pictures) and a thin strip of sand lined with tropical rainforest. Our first activitiy a boat ride down the river to spot wildlife - definitely a stereotypical "crocodile hunter" experience, especially with the enthusiastic Aussie guide. We saw a couple little crocs and scores of birds, but didn't come across the 4-meter-long dominant male croc, Scarface. I think I preferred it that way, especially since I had the inside seat closest to the bank. We hiked a bit through the forest, which was incredibe, and wound up (as I said) on the beach. It was pretty wild (literally!).

The day we left, we took a half-day morning cruise back to the reef, this time to Green Island. At first it seemed like the day was going to be a bust: the weather wasn't cooperating, and the people we saw that were attempting to snorkel didn't seem to be having any luck. After a quick debate, we decided to go for it an attempt to snorkel anyway. Turns out, you just had to swim a bit further out and away from the "beach" area, and the reef was amazing. It was a little different than before - I think there were a lot more fish, and bigger fish, and the coral was a little more spread out. At one point when I was exploring, I turned and found myself face to face with a giant turtle (not sure about the use of the word "giant" here, but the thing was pretty big, I promise!). We had been told that spotting of a turtle is one of the most rare and exciting sights for reef-goers, but I was so shocked that I turned and swam the other direction! I eventually got up the courage to go back and watch a little bit, but only from a distance. It was a big turtle!

Overall, the trip to Cairns was amazing and action-packed and basically surreal. I saw every type of wildlife imaginable: held a koala, literally found Nemo (he was inside a sea anemone) and about 1499 other types of fish, got in a staredown with a sea turtle, searched for crocs, and listened to birds in the rainforest. Not bad for a long weekend.

Today was my last full day here, and Juliana and I went to see Edward Scissorhands at the Opera House (in the opera theatre). It was a great show, and we took lots of pictures around the area. We also walked across the Harbor Bridge in the morning, which turned out to be quite a hike and landed us on the wrong side of the harbor, leading to us nearly sprinting through the city and missing the beginning of the play.

I can't believe that I leave tomorrow and that I'm actually going home. The Australia trip was a very effective buffer and probably saved me a lot of emotional stress (my complete awe at everything didn't really leave much room in my mind for other emotions). Still, I know there is a lot that awaits me when I get home, and I'm excited about a lot of it and scared about a lot of it and anxious to see what the summer holds. I am so glad that I came to Australia - it's basically an entirely separate trip from the semester in Southeast Asia (attached only for scheduling purposes), but it has been equally educational and incredible in so many ways. I suppose I'll get those pictures up sometime soon when I'm back in the good ole US of A.