Cairns, Australia

Day 1: Arrival After 2 hours of bus rides and 20 hours of plane rides, the entire AustraLearn group finally arrived at Bohemia Resort in Cairns, Australia. It was extremely hot and humid, but the views of the mountains and rainforests surrounding us were gorgeous. We waited near the pool until we found out who our roommates were going to be for the week. I was with 5 other girls in a tiny dorm-like room with one small sink and one mirror-yikes! Once we got into the rooms, everyone quickly changed into swimsuits and jumped in the pool before having a typical Aussie Sausage Sizzle--it was delicious! Later, we had an information session and then dinner at a restaurant called Cock and Bull. The food was great, and the portions were huge! Once we got back to the resort (which was really more like a hostel), I was so jetlagged that I went to bed around 8:45, it felt great to lie down and get some sleep.

 

5 out of the 6 roommates!

 Day 2: Rainforestation We took a bus to the Rainforestation Nature Park, and split into five different groups for all the different activities. First, we painted on canvases using only natural colors from the earth. I felt like I was in 2nd grade again doing arts and crafts, and my painting also looked like a 2nd grader did it. Next, I felt like I was in the Wisconsin Dells because we took a ride on the ducks! We went all through the rainforest along trails and the river and saw some amazing plants, lizards, and other wildlife. At lunch, I tried Passion Fruit, and it is one of the most flavor-filled fruits I've ever tasted...it was amazing!! Later, an Aboriginal man taught us how to throw a spear, play the didgeridoo, and throw a boomerang. We all got to try throwing the boomerang--mine didn't come back to me. Afterwards, we saw a series of different Aboriginal dances, and some of the kids from the group even went up on stage and tried to learn the dances. At the wildlife park, we were able to take a picture holding a koala, feed the kangaroos, and see dingoes, lizards, and crocodiles! Once we got back to Bohemia, a group of us walked to a nearby park and attempted to learn how to play cricket! It was not the prettiest game, but everyone was having fun trying the new sport.

Day 3: Great Barrier Reef We woke up bright and early for breakfast at 6:30 and caught the Passions of Paradise boat out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was so relaxing hanging out on the front of the boat, soaking up the sun, and looking out on the ocean and mountains. When it was time for scuba diving and snorkeling, we looked like a giant Blue Man Group, as we all had to wear bright blue stinger suits in case we got stung. At the first stop, the water was deep, but the reef had grown so much that it wasn’t far below us at all. I saw eels, stingrays, and other fish and plants that I never could have imagined. After 2 hours of snorkeling, we got back on the boat for lunch and headed to the next dive spot, which was right near a large island. Once the boat was anchored, there were giant fish swimming around right where we jumped in, and a shark swam right under the boat! We quickly put our stinger suits and flippers back on and jumped right in with the fish! The crew members thought it would be funny to throw bait at us right after we got in so the fish jumped right at our faces—Cassie you would have freaked out!! Natalie and I eventually ventured over the reef closer to the island. The water wasn’t as deep here so we were able to get even closer to all the sea life. After snorkeling a little bit, we looked down and saw another shark swimming just a couple feet below us. It was so exciting! That was our last spot to dive, so we all got back on the boat and hung out with the crew members on the way back to the harbor. The Great Barrier Reef was one of the most amazing things I have ever been able to do, the underwater life that I saw is unforgettable!

                        

 

Day 4: Community Day Today, we took a bus to an old farm house that sits on 500 acres of land. Everyone was tired from the day before so we were all planning to sleep on the hour-long bus ride. However, the majority of the bus ride was spent winding through the tops of the mountains and rainforest so it was too beautiful to sleep through. When we got to the farm, we took a hike and planted over 500 trees! This was a great experience because we were able to give back to the environment, and it felt great knowing that the trees we planted would eventually be part of the rainforest canopy.
Later that night, we hopped on a double-decker bus that drove us all around town, stopping at all the fun night spots!

Day 5: Adventure Day For my free day, I booked a full-day whitewater rafting tour. A small group of us girls got picked up at Bohemia Resort in the morning and were driven to the rafting area. We got breakfast there and took another bus to the Tully River. This drive was also very interesting because we saw lots of damage from the cyclone that hit 2 weeks earlier. Once we got off the bus, we put on our lifejackets and helmets and loaded into the rafts to get ready for our adventure! Because of the cyclone, they hadn’t been able to start at the top like they normally do, but we were their guinea pigs and trying it for the first time since then-woo! We traveled down the Tully River for 5 kilometers, took a BBQ lunch break, and continued on for another 10 kilometers. We went through 45 different rapids, each one with a crazy name and a different drop or twist that we hoped wouldn’t flip us over! (We only flipped once) There were areas in between rapids where we could jump off of cliffs into the river or just hangout and swim and let the current carry us a little ways. After the rapids we went back to the office and saw pictures and videos taken while we were rafting. It was a very extreme and awesome adventure!

Day 6: Departure We woke up early to pack up all of our things. I think everyone was anxious to get to Gold Coast since we had been packed tightly in all the rooms, and living out of suitcases was not fun. We hopped on the bus to the airport, got on the plane, and arrived in Brisbane, Australia!