Olga, Scuttles and Charred Feet- Moreton Island

It wasn't until I got home this weekend that I fully comprehended the amusement of this past weekend which was spent on a three day, 4x4 tour of Moreton Island. I really don't even know where to begin because we did so much that everything just blended together. Therefore, instead of attempting to write this in a logical manner, I'll explain the highlights in no specific order:

1. Joe and Olga. An old, Italian couple who also did the tour. I have no idea what they were thinking when they signed up for it because they strike me as the type who would rather spend their weekend in a bed and breakfast, not camping on an island. After our first adventure of climbing up the world's largest sand dune, I thought that they might die. However, their surivival was a good thing because Joe blessed us with only speaking in Italian grunts the rest of the weekend (I honestly didn't hear him say one word the entire time) and with the opportunity to take the best picture of my life (see below):
2. Scuttles. I cannot stand crabs (FYI, all crabs are called "scuttles" in my book). If they want to pinch me or not, I want nothing to do with them. Therefore, when we arrived on the isolated of all isolated beaches and were told to go look at the scuttles, I knew I was in for it. There weren't just a few scuttles. Or a few hundred. There were thousands. Actually, take infinity to the infinite power, and that's how many scuttles there were. I wanted to vomit. And the worst part is that everyone was basking in the scuttles, rolling around in them as if it was some spa treatment. However, scuttle beach turned into one of my favorite areas because there were "rivers" formed from the tides that were as warm as bath water and would let the current carry you until you got held up in sand. Then I would just roll.

3. Ship Wrecks. To help tourism and marine life, several ships were sunk around the island. We were able to snorkel around them, which was quite fun until Shawn saw a shark (I have never seen anyone book it so fast out of the water before). On the last day we were scheduled to snorkel some more, but a wicked storm blew in that was awesome to watch. Included in this storm watching was us diving into the ocean only to come flailing back to the safety of the 4x4 when lightning struck and dolphins and loggerhead turtles swimming right in front of the area that we were watching. Below is a picture of some of the ship wrecks, with an attempt of a Happy Thanksgiving greeting to you Americans.

4. Pain and annoyances. Yes, these are highlights because I find great pleasure in complaining about anything and everything. One, it was super hot. As in I thought I was going to suffocate at night in the tent. Two, which goes along with one, the sand scorched our feet. Granted, it doesn't help that my flip flops have holes in their soles because I am too cheap to buy new ones. To escalate the problem, I poured boiling water onto the top of my foot (do not ask), which fortunately only temporarily made my foot purple. Three, flies were on the rampage. Toward the end of the weekend, I resigned to the fact that they would constantly be on me, no matter how much I thrashed around.

5. Sand Boarding. Oh. My. Word. I can't even explain how much fun I had doing this (even though I was terrified). I absolutely love sledding...and warm weather... so the combination was epic. Yes, I believe epic is an overused word, but I cannot describe this any other way. To see where I am coming from, it would be in your best interest to watch the following videos:

First time down. Yes, screaming does help.

Tandeming with Stephanie. Best part: the crash at the end.

I could go on and on about every single thing that we did, but that means this post would be a novel long and no one would want to read it (let's be honest, there is a negative correlation b/w the length of a blog entry and the amount of people who read it). Some last words is that one of my favourite areas was Blue Lake that was near our campsite. It was a gorgeous, fresh water lake that we swam in numerous times throughout the day. I also enjoyed the champaign pools, which was an area surrounded my large rocks that we stood in to get trampled by waves. Fun, I know.

Sadly, I have one more tripped planned, and then its exams and heading back to the states. But it's the mother of all trips.. the Outback... one week... in the summer... we might die.

Crikey! Enough of these spiders.

What is it about zoos that make me immediately transform into a child... as in, I wanted to shove pass all of the other youngsters so I could get the best view of the animals and would plaster myself to the glass of each exhibit to watch whatever animal stare back at me. We spent all of Friday at the Australian Zoo (Steve Irwin's) running around like the little kids who can't even pronounce the names of the animals (prime example: the echidna which I called the enchilada).

Why was this such a good zoo experience? One, it wasn't crowded at all.. in other words, we did not have to deal with the usual screeching kids who demand for every stuffed animal souvenir. Two, although the zoo was rather small, it was the most interactive zoo of my life. We got to feed the elephants, watch an otter feeding... the list goes on and on. One of my favourite parts of the day was the tiger show (see pic below). I think my mouth was hanging open the entire time.


We also got to chill with kangaroos and pet koalas (so strange.. you just go into this area called the "Koala Walk" and there are koalas just moping around in the trees. Next to a tree it simply says "Pat a koala." Ok.) As we were leaving, one of the workers was walking a wombat around on a leash. This made me happy.

The rest of the weekend was once again basking in the greatness of the Gold Coast. Saturday involved surfing, which I hadn't done for awhile. I'll swallow my pride and be honest.. I am afraid of waves. Maybe it's an inferiority complex, but I don't like things that are bigger than me and knock me down. So it takes me a good while to get used to being thrown like a rag doll each time a wave hits me as I swim out, but eventually I get over it and begin the many failed attempts at surfing. It was a fun time, as you can see. But seriously, I do like it.

There has been an influx of spiders here lately. I've been loving it because it doesn't pertain to my house and the stories that are told are greatly entertaining. Case in point: Abbey's house. Situation: Abbey is casually going through her dresser to pick out clothes when she sees legs (not her own legs, but a spider's legs. That's the point of the story). Panic follows with an immediate call to the troops (as in anyone who is nearby, and more specifically is male). Once recruited, every item is taken out of her room to find the creature (see pic below).

The spider is once again spotted, and with much strategizing, a frying pan is used in an attempt to murder. You know the situation is desperate, though, when a frying pan would not do the job. When being told this story, the highlight for me was when Chris matter-of-factly stated "I had to use a bookshelf to kill it" (it was actually Abbey's dresser, but same difference).

Nevertheless, another spider was found on the kitchen floor in her house, in which Tiffany killed with a "no smoking sign." We were then eating dinner when we saw a lizard crawl on the wall. No one did anything about that.

I love Australia.

I do more than just travel. I buy earrings that have marijianna leaves on them.

Spending all of last weekend in Sydney, it was nice to spend this past weekend here on the Gold Coast. Nevertheless, on Saturday a group of us drove to Nimbin and Byron Bay for the day. Nimbin is similar to Byron Bay, but a lot more hippier. As in just walking through the town I thought I was going to get high. We went through all of the shops, and I was quite pleased with my purchase of some earrings until Abbey pointed out that they were styled after marijianna leaves. Such is life.

We then attempted to find some waterfalls in the surrounding area, but that was a complete failure. We were extremely low on gas, driving up and down mountains... we gave up. Either way, we saw some breathtaking views, and we eventually wound up back in Byron. Although I have already been there twice before, any place that provides me with a beach and gelato is good enough.

I've realised that all of my posts have solely been about traveling, and I've failed to mention where I live besides hostels and tents and what I spend the majority of my time doing. First thing first, housing. I live off campus in what I suppose you would call townhouses (see picture below). I have my own room, though two other girls (one American, one Aussie/American) share the house/apartment/whatever with me.

I absolutely love the place where I am staying, though I have hard wood floors and a bed with wheels, which isn't a good combination. My favourite part, though, is our pool (see picture below) which is a great place to do some reading and studying.

Besides school work, which you all know I do excessively, I've really enjoyed not being spread so thin with all of the activities I usually get myself involved in. I do attend weekly BCC (Bond Christian Connection), where I have met some really great people. When I'm not traveling, I'll go to Hope Church on Sundays, which has a contemporary worship service.

But here comes my latest obsessions. The gym offers excercise classes, which are "free" if you paid your student membership fee. The first week of Bond I tried out as many classes as I could to see which ones I liked the best. I clearly remember a step aerboics class in which I couldn't stop laughing because I was in the middle of all of these older women, stepping and clapping, listening to "Yeah" by Usher. Not for me.

And then I met the spinning and boxing room (cue for dramatic music). The first time I went to spinning, I was with a group of friends and I recall all of us rather confused walking into a dark room with disco lights flashing... what is happening? Greatness that is. I honestly haven't worked at this intensity since track and cross-country. Our instructor, Joel, kindly (and by kindly, I mean not kindly) reminds us that we are not on holiday and before each class to make sure we have everything we need, including water and Jesus.

Besides spinning twice a week, I also do boxing 1-2/week, which is rather difficult too, especially taking into account the heat of the room (same with the spinning room; I think they purposely pump in hot, humid air). "Suck it up," is a constant yell in our ears from the instructor, Richard, though I'm surprised I can even hear it considering that I am underwater in my own sweat.

As always, though, these classes are just in conjunction with my running, which my passion for has only increased since arriving. A large part of that has to do with the hot weather (I know, I'm strange, but something about dehydration just makes you feel like you are working harder) and beach runs.. and knowing that I will have the opposite of that when I return back to the States. Boo.

Now off to go stand in front of the air conditioner because it was bloody hot today.

SYDNEY! And, no, I did not find Nemo.

I have finally conquered the tourist feat of all tourist feats here in Oz: I have seen the iconic Opera House. From Thursday until Monday, I, along with Abbey, Stephanie and Chris, flew to Sydney to spend a weekend touring the city and surrounding area. Our first night was quite eventful, for after getting off our flight, in which we saw a spectacular lightning storm in air, we found ourselves in McDonald's where we met Rhyse. One word to describe this creature: drunk. I was innocently standing in line to buy an ice cream sundae when Rhyse approached me, obviously enthralled by my Americanness. This for sure was a good experience, for not only did he buy me my sundae (with extra sundae.. that's how he ordered it, anyways), but he also took us all out for a drink. Interesting fellow, nevertheless.

The next day we spent hiking the Blue Mountains. After a 2 hour train ride, we stepped into the mountain town in our shorts and t-shirts only to find everyone else bundled like eskimos. Opps. We quickly learned that if we kept a good pace, the cool weather wouldn't bother us too much, even though we are greatly spoiled by the warm weather in the Gold Coast. Despite the misty and foggy weather, the sites were gorgeous and we even had a go at climbing a waterfall (not the one pictured below, but you can pretend that is the one). Success, minus Chris slipping and falling down about 10 feet. I may or may not have found great enjoyment out of that.

That evening we ate at a Japanese restaurant. Chris ordered eel. I tried it. I wanted to die until I had breakfast the next morning.

Saturday was perhaps the longest day of my life, but in a good way. The entire day was spent walking around Sydney, trying to see as much as we possibly could. The day began with the best eating experience of my entire life: Tip Jar. Waffles. Let me describe in detail: waffle topped with PB, roasted nuts, whipped cream, and PB ice cream on the side. Enough said. We then went to the markets where I proceeded to spend way too much money. Anywho, highlights of our sightseeing adventure were the Anzac Memorial, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Opera House, Luna Park and Sydney Harbour Bridge. I wanted to be pushed in a stroller by the end of the day.

Our last full day was spent at the famous Bondi Beach, which unfortunately had poor weather. But that did not deter us from spending the entire day looking through the shops and markets and the display of sculptures by the sea. The rest of the evening was spent back in the central part of Sydney until we finally collapsed in bed, only to get up at 3:30 AM to catch the plane back. Get this: the flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast was shorter than the time spent on the bus traveling from the Gold Coast Airport to my house here in Robina. I hope that brief story clearly sums up my feelings about public transportation here in Surfers.

On a more positive note about the Gold Coast, it was comforting to know that after spending 4 days away, I had a sigh of relief once getting off the plane knowing that I was back home, so to speak. I truly am falling in love with this place and I cannot fathom that I have exactly 1 month and 11 days left.

Byron Bay, Mutant Spider, and Powerpuff Girls. Oi.

Remember when you were a little kid and you used to cover your eyes with your blankets when scared, as if that would be some form of protection against the monsters that were going to attack you? I used that strategy twice this weekend and it still works. Case in point uno: Five of us Americans rented a car on Friday to drive to Byron Bay. Keep in mind, everything is opposite of what we are used to, such as driving on the other side of the street. Therefore, I thought we were going to die. It wasn't my lack of trust in the driver (although her first lines were "Wait. Is the break still on the left side. I forget how to drive.").. just my lack of trust in humanity, I suppose. This resulted in me cowering in the backseat with my eyes closed until we made it onto the highway.

Nevertheless, we arrived safely and spent the morning walking around the area. Byron Bay is the quintessential hippie town and is extremely laid back. We went up to a lookout that is the most Easterly point in Australia where we saw dolphins and whales before a storm out at sea rolled in (see picture below. Pretty cool, egh?).
The entire afternoon was spent sea kayaking, which was a lot of fun. As in, I wouldn't have wanted to be doing anything else in this world than that. We went tandem, and it was quite a rough start for Abbey and I when our kayak flipped as we attempted to get through the break in the waves. Abbey getting pinned under the kayak wasn't as funny for her as it was for me, yet we did eventually make it out to sea with the guide who was with us. Probably the highlight of our adventure, besides everything, was the SEA TURTLES we saw. And by sea turtles I mean loggerhead sea turtles. As in 250 lbs of a sea turtle. Coffee-size table. The only thing bigger than the sea turtles were my eyes. We kayaked around for a long time and it wasn't before long when sea sickness overcame the majority of us. No one got it as bad as Bethany who vomitted, but she did it with a smile and was fine afterwards. Yet another highlight was riding the waves once we got back to shore. Abbey and I were determined not to flip, and maticulously following the directions of paddling as fast as you can, it was quite a scene to see our kayak soaring above the waves, our paddles not even touching the water, yet us frantically paddling in the air as fast as we could. The guide gave us Tim Tams afterwards which made me really happy.

Then comes the worst spider experience of my life. Once we got back home that night, I innocently walked into my bathroom. There, before my eyes, was the most atrocious looking spider I have ever seen outside a cage.. creeping in my shower. This was not acceptable. Keep in mind, I was a camp counselor this summer. I slept with spiders. I squished them with my bare hands. But this is a whole new level of spiderness. I quickly recruited a force of 6 people (making sure males were involved) to see this creature. The worst part is that it was.. mutant, I suppose. It only had 5 legs. I wish it had none. I wish it didn't exist. Shawn killed it. I had goosebumps and chills for the next hour. We (as in Shawn) did a thorough examination of my room to make sure there weren't anymore. That night when I went to sleep I laid there as still as possible with my eyes covered because then spiders wouldn't attack me. It worked. For now.

Speaking of creepy things, Halloween was quite eventful. Some of my friends and I went out to Surfers Paradise to a nightclub where Bond was having a Halloween party. Abbey, Bethany, and I were the Powerpuff Girls (I was Bubbles... which in my opinion is the worst because her only power is speaking in Spanish. Lame). I must admit, I was quite impressed with the creativity of some of the costumes that we saw. Although you did have a good handful of the girls who use Halloween as a prime opportunity to dress as sluts, there were a few costumes that I was quite jealous of. For example, the guy who dressed like the main character from the movie Up, carrying a miniature house attached to a bouquet of balloons. Or Oscar from Sesame Street, walking around in a trashcan.

It is November. Time is going wayyyy tooooo fast. Peace.