The WhitSundays

Last week, I was able to enjoy a 4 day vacation (away from my vacation) up in the WhitSunday's. My friend Jelena, from work, and I flew up on a Monday. I was surprised when I got off the plane and the weather was actually hotter then it was in Brisbane. I didn't think it was actually possible. I went from very hot weather to even hotter. Regardless, we grabbed our bus and started with our 20 minute drive to Airlie Beach. We stayed at a busy hostel called 'Beaches' right on the main (or only) strip at Airlie Beach. The place was quite happening with loud music, good food, and backpackers everywhere. The first night we laid low as we had to catch a bus at 7:00am. The second day, we went on a sailboat called 'Camira' and sailed around all the Islands in the crystal blue water with the sun shining down on us. It was magical. The first Island we went to was called Daydreamer. We stayed for a few and picked up some more passengers for the day. The voyage continued unto the next Island called Whitehaven. This is apparently voted one of the best beaches in the World. The sand is actually completely white and is so fine that it gets everywhere. What was quite interesting was that the sand doesn't retain any heat so you don't have to jump from towel to towel or run into the water to cool off. At whitehave, I was lucky enough to see sea turtles swimming around and a white tip reef shark cruising only 10 feet away from the beach. So.... observing all the safety rules, the first thing I did was get as close as I could haha. it was quit amazing. Lunch was next on the menu and then continued to sail for the rest of the day. Day 3 consisted of another boat trip but this one was headed 95km into the ocean to a little place called the "GREAT BARRIER REEF." It would be impossible to explain how amazing it actually was to see the reef in person. Everything was just stunning. The boat brought us to a floating platoon where we enjoyed activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, boat tours, and even a water slide. Who would have thought that I, in a million years, would go down a water slide 95kms away from shore. It was some great fun. A few hours later, they took out waterlogged bodies back to the main land and finished off the day was some fun at the public lagoon across the street and then some dinner and drinks for the rest of the night. Day 4 was a quiet day at the lagoon as we had to be out of the room by 10am. We caught our flight in the evening ending our beautiful 4 day trip. All I can say was it was Amazing and I know that the pictures do not do it justice.

luv Jenn

North Straddie Island

My old roommate Carissa and I decided that we definitely had to do a trip somewhere in February... Something cheap, close by, and relatively simple to get to. We decided that North Stadbroke Island would be the ideal place to relax, have some fun, and enjoy the sun. On the 7th, 11 of us girls packed up, drove to the Big Red Cat ferry and hit up Straddie Island. We had a gorgeous house that was about a 2 minute walk to the beach, where we saw wild Koalas in the trees and wild dolphins. We were actually lucky enough to meet a couple that were vacation at amity beach (where we stayed as well). The man would fish and then give us the fish to feed the dolphins which came right up to the shore. It was amazing, something that you never really get to see up close in the wild. Amity beach is also known for its high shark population which was a little scary. Originally we were sceptical about going into the water, but we braved it and all of us came back in one piece. That Saturday, we grabbed the bus and headed over to point lookout which was absolutely stunning. We went for an hour walk on the boardwalk and checked out the sights and then stopped for some ice cream since it was like 30 degrees outside. Carissa ended up getting stung by a blue bottle jellyfish which was a little scary and apparently quite painful. An experience I hope I never have to go through. Keeping my fingers crossed and so far so good. In the end, it was a great weekend. A lot of first experiences. First time seeing a wild koala, first time feeding wild dolphins, first time using an outside shower, and first time on Straddy Island.

Living for first experinces,

luv Jenn

New Home - 15 Royal Ave South Golden Beach NSW

Wow, sorry everyone. It's been a long time since I have posted anything lately. Well a lot of new things have happened. On february 1st I move once again, however, this time it was a move the the east coast just north of Byron Bay. I'm litterally a 3 minute walk to the beach and it is beautiful. I'm not working thing month so everyday I can go to the beach, go for walks, read, and do pretty much whatever I want. Dave has left me his car which is great so I can check out different towns and even go back to Brisbane for a day or two to see everyone again. I moved into a one bedroom basement apartment (it's a little dodgy) and once in a while I'm not alone and am comforted by giant spiders, cockroaches, and or lizards. It keeps my life interesting haha. As long as no snakes show up I should be fine. The spray kills all the other pests. I plan on doing one or two trips this month, probably going to spend all of my money but thankfully I have a job to go back to when I go back to the city. Unfortunately, in my room, my internet service is terrible so everytime I want to go online, I have to sit in the car to get service which is quite annoying. Its great being by the beach but it a little to remote to be by myself. If I am to do this again, I would defintely go somewhere where there are more people... probably like surfer's paradise or coolangatta (same coast just not as far south).

Anyways, Until next time,

luv Jenn

Australia Zoo - I miss you Steve Irwin

Today Dave and I went to the Australian Zoo which is well known for being the home for the family of Steve Irwin. For those who don't know who he was; well he used to have a TV show called "the Crocodile Hunter;" where was would actually wrestle crocs and take on poisonous snakes and come face to face with any other dangerous/non dangerous animal. Well Dave and I were able to check out the croc/snake show at the exhibit, as well as hang out with some kangaroos in Roo Heaven, and pet some koalas nesting in the trees. Koalas are the cutest but laziest things I have ever come across, all they so is sleep in eat (mostly sleep). But they are so cuddly. I just want to take one home with me. Unfortunately Canada is lacking in its ability to grow eucalyptus trees to feed these amazing animals. I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with seeing them at the zoo. It was was great seeing all the amazing things the zoo does for wild and hurt animals. Everything there is to help protect and educate about wild and dangerous animals. You can tell Australia is proud of their local icon Steve and I was lucky enough to get a picture with him, even though he has past on. We love you Steve.

Luv Jenn

O'Rielly's Raintforest - Lamington National Park

Earlier last week, Lauren (my roommate) and I spent the day at a beautiful dry rainforest in Lamingting National Park. We drove the hour and half in the country side through little suburbs like boyland (which I believe is an incorrect name as there were little to men to be seen). We surprised ourselves by not really getting lost on the way there; it was only difficult to find the correct roads once in a while. Thankfully we were able to use Dave's car as White Magic (the girls car) probably wouldn't have made it up the mountain on the last leg of the trip. I would wager that road up the mountain would give the "tail of the dragon" strip a run for it's money. I lost count of the number of hairpin turns I had to make. We finally made it to the rainforest retreat and decided to take one of the hiking trails to Moran Falls. Even though I have been here for over four months, I am still astounded by the Fauna and flora that can be seen. The trees and plants are amazing and unlike anything back home.
Vines are everything and can be as big as trees and the mountainous landscape is breathtaking. We hiked the 2.5kms to the falls which had an 80m drop, took some pictures, has some lunch, and the mosied on back to the car. Within the hike, Lauren and I made sure to get some good use of the vines, swinging on them like Tarzan and climbing and hanging on them like gymnasts. Thankfully, along the trip, we didn't run into or see anything remotely poisoness or life threatening.

luv Jenn

Sydney for Christmas

I was fortunate enough to get some time off of work for the Christmas holidays this year. My roommate, Carissa, had her heart set on going to the famous Bondi Beach for Christmas day. In our minds, we pictured hot weather, warm sandy beaches with beautiful rolling waves and a lot of good looking people haha. However, what we got was rain and more rain with a side of cool winds. However, we made the best of it by enjoying ourselves Christmas eve at the Scubar club right beside one of Sydney's Hostels. There we met up with some friends from Fiji and had a great night, with Santa coming in at midnight handing out gifts. It was great spending time with all the other Christmas Orphans this year haha. Christmas day we heading to Bondi Beach in our sweater and shorts, shivering all day. We saw the beach through the misty rain and decided to have some hot chocolate and bailey's inside the warm restaurant. We then proceeded to have an amazing Christmas dinner, Pizza from Domino's with some fine entertainment, watching 'the Hangover.' Boxing day was spent travelling the city, where we went a saw the Opera House, taking pictures of us jumping down the miles of stairs. We saw the Sydney harbour bridge and people doing the bridge climb. However, my favourite was the Darling Harbour. It is a beautiful water front with many nice restaurants and a nice skyline. It is definitely a place where I would love to sit and people watch. That night, the girls and I went out for a nice dinner in the city and then went out for our final night to a awesome bar called Ivy. The next day the party was over, we packed up all our stuff, went out for some breakfast, and then hit the airport for our long 1.5 hour flight.