Cairns, Daintree, Bungy Jumping & Saying Goodbye

July 15, 2012:

We left the Koala Sanctuary in the morning to catch the ferry back to Townesville. "Koala" is an Aboriginal word meaning "no water" because koalas don't drink. They get water from the eucalyptus leaves they eat.

We cleared out Jucy and gave her away (only somewhat sadly). Checking into Giligan's hostel was like booking a suite at the Ritz. Compared to our digs for the past two weeks, it was fancy and clean. We got free dinner!!

We spent the evening reveling in the glory of being clean and not living in a van.

July 16, 2012:
Our Daintree Tour left at 6am. We had an Aboriginal guide for the driving and forest bit, and a really animated guy for the Croc Tour on the river. Words cannot describe this Rainforest. There are many species that are exclusive to this nature reserve.

I am obsessed with mangrove trees! We read a novel in my French Caribbean Literature course at Brock called « Traversée de la mangrove », where the imagery of a tree that abandons its roots to survive was linked to the idea of diaspora from Africa for the descendants of slaves in Guadeloupe. It was an amazing novel, and the imagery made me curious about them. On this tour, I had a close-up look. We had some views of crocodiles as well, which was pretty terrifying.

This has got to be one of the most naturally dangerous places in the world. And we survived it!

July 18, 2012:

The last day of our tour, we were picked up from Giligan's and taken to AJ Hackett's Bungy Tower (the only bungy in Australia). Because Brittney and Caitlin had gone skydiving first, I opted to be the first one off the tower. Jay had done it before, so she wasn't too concerned. The only moment I felt scared was the moment I stepped right up onto the platform. It was a different feeling than before skydiving.

I did a swan dive. It didn't look as graceful as it felt.

Jay described it right when she explained that you get a peaceful feeling after you jump. Jumping was really easy, in the end, and it just felt like flying, infinitely, until you bounced at the bottom and then you got to do it a few more times for shorter periods of time. The worst part is when you've finished and you're waiting to be taken down. I am not a bat, and all the blood rushing to my head is not a pleasant experience.

Bungy jumping is totally different from skydiving. Skydiving doesn't feel like flying - and it gives you way more adrenaline than bungy.

Brittney and Caitlin did a tandem jump and they screamed the whole time, so maybe that's a more adrenaline-inducing experience, but that's not for me to say. It was pretty funny to watch, though.

What a way to end our two-week bender up the East Coast of Australia!

We headed to the airport and caught our flights from Cairns to Melbourne. Brittney and I had one day left in Melbourne (one which we spent meeting up with my lovely friend Greg, who I met again in Paris during my exchange, for a beautiful lunch at the Woodhouse Pub, eating dumplings with Britt's family friend, and repacking).

It is amazing to me, looking back now, to think about how much this trip impacted me. I had never been particularly desperate to go to Australia, the way I had felt about France, but I took an opportunity and as a result of this trip, I have made so many Aussie friends, and have so many wonderful memories. I also took away a small scar on my left leg from skydiving (which I love because I am practically a bad girl like Angelina Jolie now... maybe not). All those annoying "get to know you" games now have an answer to "What is the coolest thing you've ever done?".. I can say I've been skydiving, bungee jumping, surfing, sea kayaking, snorkelling, that I've lived in a van for two weeks, and that I've spent a month and a half of my life living in Australia. And I am actually so excited to go back to see a different part of this incredible country.

Magnetic Island: Koalas & Sea Kayaking

July 13, 2012:

We had to wake up at 330am to catch the ferry to Townesville. Upon arrival, we checked into the Koala Sanctuary hostel and did a hike we dubbed the "Stairmaster" to Radical Bay. I almost didn't make it.

 

Recognizing the beauty of the bay, Brittney asked me if it had turned out to be worth it. I still hadn't shed my bad attitude and initially said "No", but quickly realized my error. We changed into our bathing suits in the centre of a small circle of mangrove trees and had a blast swimming. I realized what I had initially overlooked.

 

Somehow, the hike back did not seem as bad.

July 14, 2012:
We started the morning with a scheduled walk around the sanctuary. I got to hold a saltie croc! I was shocked by how soft they are to the touch, considering how tough their skin looks.

Her name was Barbie. I also held a Koala named Noah, and Amanda the boa constrictor snake.

And our seriously cool morning was bound to get better - we had sea-kayaking planned at sunset! We went out with an instructor and another couple. Caitlin and I managed, but the woman in the other kayak was a competitive kayaker, so we didn't feel that confident. Regardless, we saw sea turtles coming up for air (maybe? do turtles need air?) while eating the sea grass in the sea grass bed we were kayaking over.

 

Because of the sunset, we only saw the silhouettes of the turtles which looked like miniature dinosaurs. Champagne in our kayaks watching the sunset concluded our trip, and we finished the day by warding off some possums while we ate our spaghetti.

It was our last night in Jucy! She was the site of great memories, but we were ready to give her away.

The Whitsundays & The Great Barrier Reef

July 10, 2013:
The thing you have to remember about Gravol is that it knocks you right out. I took one before we boarded the ship for our Whitsundays cruise, and the waves were really choppy, but I struggled more against the need to pass right out than seasickness. It didn't even occur to me that it was the Gravol. I couldn't keep my head up.

We were spending the day at the Great Barrier Reef and the girls decided to try out scuba diving , which I find terrifying and thrilling as a concept, but I wasn't able to participate because of my chronic sinusitis. When I saw the doctor, the only thing he said to me was that I wasn't able to scuba dive. I was okay with doing my own thing, so we all got dressed in our suits and pulled out our underwater cameras. I snorkelled the end of the Knuckle Reef which is 10 km long and 3 km deep. Each reef has "bommies" which was the Aboriginal term for underwater sea mountain.

The first time we all went out together, it was disappointing. I couldn't really see anything. We went back in so that the girls could get ready. I went back out on my own, and I followed the buoys out to one point and as I was attempting to get to another point, I found myself above the reef. It was incredible.

I saw a Nemo fish in an anemone! It was so calming to float with the waves back toward the ship.

We had lunch when we all got back and I watched the windows of the semi-submarine and learned about coral. The ride back was a nightmare of choppy waves and feeling ill, but we made it, checked into our OWN ROOM with FOUR BEDS in the pouring rain, went for dinner and talked until bedtime.

July 11, 2012:
Our overnight stay was at Long Island. We started the morning at the beach which I was perfectly happy with - tanning (or burning, in my case), relaxing, enjoying the views. We had a reprieve from the rain of the last few days, and we were on an island. Bliss.

But apparently there were things to do... including an 8.8 km hike to "Sandy Bay" which was a misnomer, we would come to find. Because we were doing a three-day trip out the Whitsundays, I had left my hiking books in the van so that I wouldn't have to carry them around with me. I completed this four-hour in Birkenstocks. It was excruciating. To be fair, the hike might have been shorter for everyone else if I hadn't tagged along. I was miserable. The "Bay" ended up being the ugliest thing I think I've ever seen (maybe my mood influenced my memories of it??). Just picture the ugliest little wet chunk of sand with a view obscured by the ugliest mangrove trees you've ever seen, all broken off and awful. The only thing we liked about this cove was a tiny crab who hid between a few rocks. If only they'd left me behind!

NEVER GO HERE

When we got back, we self-medicated with Tim Tams and 10 minutes of Internet access ($12/hour!!!). We went to "Dave's Trivia" under the pseudonym "The Wilhelms (from Canada)" (pronounced Vilhelms) and came in fourth place (Canadian bronze!). Pretty impressive considering we guessed Germany as an answer to any question we couldn't hear (we got it right once)!

July 12, 2012:
We woke up to pouring rain once again. All of the tour guides assured us that this is very unusual for this time of year - this is more rain than the East Coast of Australia has seen in July for 70 years! Very comforting.

We scrounged up some ponchos in the hotel reception while we waited to be taken by glorified golf carts to the ship.

Just our luck that in this awful weather, we were taking an enormous sail boat. By the time we had moved from one harbour to another and ridden a dinghy out to the sail boat, all the seats inside the central area of the boat were taken. I was not happy. I'm not proud of my attitude, but it was one thing after another. We were onboard with a large group of extra-obnoxious Americans. The only salvation was the food. My travel companions made the best of a bad situation and decided to sit in the trampolines outside in the rain.

I was feeling seasick already and hadn't worn my bathing suit, so I stayed inside where I met Orlaith (pronounced Orla) from Ireland who I talked to for most of the day.

The attraction of the day was Whitehaven Beach. I was hesitant to get off of the ship - it was still raining really hard, but at the last minute I changed into my bathing suit and wetsuit and felt a million times better. Since I was late, one of the crew gave me my own personal ride to the Beach. He looked like Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings (which I was really okay with). The sand on the beach was so fine, it could be used to polish jewelry. We gave ourselves some spa treatment. I'm glad I changed my mind. And the day kept getting marginally better. Lunch was delicious. We went snorkelling in Hook Passage, but it was no comparison to the Great Barrier Reef.

I was still so relieved to make it back to Airlie Beach and the "comfort" of the Jucy van. Looking back from the privileged position where I now I find myself (dry, in my dining room, almost two full years later), I can say that I am glad I went and that those experiences taught me things about myself in a bad situation. I generally think of myself as flexible and adaptable, and I like to think that I maintain a positive outlook even when things don't go my way, but it turns out that I have limits and I have the power to keep myself in a negative attitude that affects others. I hope that I've grown since then, and that my flexibility has improved, but we'll see if that's true beginning July 10, 2014 when I leave for Kunshan, China for four weeks.