Hello all! So I'm finally admitting it's over... I have been putting off writing this last blog because it closes the chapter! Ahhh!!

After finishing up the last week of school and packing enough stuff to last me a couple weeks, Caitlin and I once again headed to the airport to fly off to the north easterly part of Australia. The state of Queensland was so much different than Victoria in that it's very tropical. it is very close to the equator!! We landed in Cairns and were picked up by our hostel by a really nice Irish dude who was traveling and just decided to stay in Cairns. Our hostel was so beautiful and had the best staff we'd ever had. It put every other hostel we'd ever stayed at to shame! We spent the first day taking a walk to the lagoon which was only about 10 minutes from Traveler's Oasis. It was incredibly tropic and full of sunbathers. The Irish fellow showed us to dinner at the Woolshed which apparently gets pretty crazy after about 10 o'clock. We didn't stay that long though because we were exhausted. We had arranged a day of snorkeling the next day and we wanted to be fully awake for it.

In the morning we got a ride to the marina where we found our boat, Seastar, waiting for us. It took about an hour and a half to get out to our first snorkeling spot on the Great Barrier Reef. I can honestly say I have never seen anything so beautiful as this place!! We took a short snorkel tour where our guide showed us some sea cucumbers, giant clams, and a ton of different kinds of coral. We snorkeled on our own for about two hours and took tons of pictures. Thank God for under water rental cameras!! We returned to the boat and had a delicious lunch which included prawns. We then headed to a different spot that was much deeper and had more species of coral. I was a bit afraid of running into sharks here so I just tried not to think about it. After a couple hours swimming around Caitlin and I headed back after seeing as much as we could. It was such a great day!! We we so tired though. On the ride back we actually ended up seeing some dolphins and flying fish, which was very cool. When we got back we found dinner again and headed to bed early to leave on an adventure trip the next day.

All day Monday we lounged around the hostel and walked around town because we were so tired from the day before. We also met up with one of Caitlin's friends and hung out with her, had dinner, gelato, and then went to bed.

Tuesday morning a bus picked us up bright and early and took us to a small town called Yungaburra. But on the way there we visited a very cool waterfall that we all swam out to in the FREEZING water. We also saw a giant fig tree and some incredible look out points. We got to Yungaburra around 6:30 and immediately went platypus spotting! We did get to see a couple of them. They're so tiny! We came back for dinner at sunset and hung out around lodge until it was time to go to bed.

Wednesday morning we went for a bike tour around an area called the Tablelands which reminded us a lot of New Zealand. We visited a crater lake that had turtles and others from our group took turns jumping off a high tree into the lake. We arrived back at the lodge and headed immediately out to go canoeing. Caitlin and I shared a canoe, of course, and paddled for about an hour, heading towards where the creek narrowed and colorful rocks could be found. These rocks were used by the first tribes to paint on their bodies. We searched in the dirt and painted for a little while then headed back to where we left. We got back to the lodge for dinner and then were driven back to Cairns that night. It was such a good trip!

The next day Caitlin and I got up super early to catch a bus that took us to Airlie Beach where we met Ayla! We traveled all day, stopping at one really beautiful town called Cardwell where we got lunch and sat on the beach. Airlie Beach was definitely a place for lounging and partying. The vibe there was really easy going. The morning after arriving there though we took a short bus trip to the marina where we found our new home for the next few days - The Southern Cross. It was a small former racing vessel with just enough room for 16 people. We left early and headed out towards the Whitsunday Islands, which I can confidently say are the most breathtaking destinations EVER! We sailed around for a while and anchored at a place called Tongue Bay where we saw sea turtles coming up for air. We spent the evening eating dinner and hanging out with our new buddies who came from the Netherlands, England, Germany and Canada. The next day we rode in the tiny airboat to the beach and walked to Whitehaven Beach which is the most amazing beach in the world!! The color of the ocean was blue raspberry and the sand was white. After an amazing few hours there we took a short ride to a spot where we could see the sun set. We stayed up late hanging out with our new friends and then got up early to travel to a snorkel spot where spent a bit of time. There we saw the biggest fish I'd ever seen close up! It was a GIANT blue/purple/green fish that looked similar to a parrot fish but about the size of two of me. HUGE. We threw pieces of bread and it came to the surface a few times.

The next morning we woke up to go snorkeling again at a different spot, then headed back to Airlie Beach. We did not want it to be over though!! It was probably the best 3 days I've ever had to date. So fun. We met up with our sailing friends again at the bar for the night and had a good time hanging out.

The next morning Caitlin, Ayla and I took a bus to the airport in Proserpine just about 30 kms out of Airlie Beach. Ayla and I headed to Brisbane while Caitlin went back to Melbourne to take a final (ick). In Brisbane, we walked around town, had an expensive asian dinner, and went to see a movie in a really lovely, yet empty, theatre. We got up really early the next day to take a bus to Byron Bay.

Byron Bay was a sort of hippie town and I found myself buying colorful skirts and weird rings. It was rubbing off on me. Both of us got massages and met back at our hostel early. We got some food later on and then came back for bed. The next morning we took a long walk up to the lighthouse. My masseuse told me it was a must do, so we did it! It was a hike, but so worth it once we got to the top. We also passed by the easterly most point of the Australian Mainland. Back at the hostel we were picked up by a shuttle and taken to another airport where we flew to meet up with Caitlin again in Sydney.

Sydney was very rainy, but very fun! We walked around and found the Opera House and decided we should just take a look and see what was going on. We discovered the Sydney Orchestra was playing Tchaikovsky's concerto for only 20 bucks with a student discount, so we went! It was so amazing!! It lasted about 2 hours and it was 10 pm by the time it was over. We were so beat so we walked back to our hostel and passed out. The next morning we walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens and back out to the Opera House where we booked a tour of the Opera House. We got to see behind the scenes and into some of the other theaters, and also learned about some of the history of the theatre itself. We then found a place called Circular Quay which is where all the ferries take off from. So we decided to head to Darling Harbour to find the aquarium. We arrived there about 20 minutes later and ran into the aquarium for a couple hours. There was a dugong exhibit and a shark exhibit which were both great. We then went and purchased tickets to see a movie at the iMax theatre which was nearby and went for dinner. After the movie we took the last ferry back to Circular Quay and walked all the way back to our hostel again.

The next morning Ayla headed to the airport because she was flying down to Canberra to meet some family friends. Caitlin and I stayed in Sydney. It happened to be a really pleasant day unlike the ones prior so we took the train and then a bus to Bondi Beach for an hour and then came back. We then walked for probably 3 miles towards the airport because there was a fan thing for one of my favorite bands. So we went to the entertainment quarters where they shoot movies and things. it's also where Fox Studios is. So Caitlin went to see a movie while I did the fan recording and then we met up and walked back to our hostel after getting Subway.

The last day of our trip we walked back out to Circular Quay and hung out near the Harbour Bridge and Opera House and took it all in before getting a shuttle to the airport. We flew back to Melbourne that evening. It total, for me, it was about a 2 week excursion all together. It was probably the best thing I've done thus far. But then again everything we did while we were there was incredible so it's hard to say!

The last couple days in Melbourne was spent packing up our stuff and preparing for the arrival back in the States. The flight was incredibly long and awful. 1 hr to Sydney, 14 hours to LAX, then 3 hours to Seattle....so dreadful. But I'm back! I still haven't adjusted completely and for the firs 4 or 5 days I was staying up until about 6 am and getting up at 2 pm. I still haven't fully recovered. I definitely miss Australia a lot and can't wait to go back in the hopefully near future.

I had the best time and encourage any other student to do choose Australia for study abroad or exchange. It was the best decision I ever made!!

THE END!!!!