The Whitsunday Islands

So the Whitsunday Islands are located on the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef and are made up of 74 beautiful islands and home to the number 2 beach in the world, Whitehaven Beach, according to National Geographic. Craig, Sam, Anna and I all flew into the Whitsunday airport which was a good 45 minutes from Arlie Beach - the main area of the Whitsunday Islands. We took a shuttle to our hotel, seeing wallabies run across the road and hang out on the sides of the road on the way there. Big old mountains and nice scenery surrounded us on this little drive too which was nice.. We got to the hotel, checked in - one full size bed and one bunk bed that squeeked like none other - and Craigalicious and I got some drinks and waited for the girls to get ready for dinner. We went into town to eat at some restaurant that reception recommended and each had four equally poor meals. Thank you Club Crocodile staff for the recommendation. We walked around for a little afterwards but were too early for anything really fun as it was only around 9-10pm. We called it a night around midnight and woke up in the morning to begin the real adventure. 

The four of us checked in for our boat cruise adventure - PowerPlay - for two nights. We then got brekkie (breakfast for you Amerikans) and walked the kilometer to the marina. We had to sign our lives away per usual and got on our nice catamaran and got a brief from why so serious captain Nick. The boat had around 10 or so beds on it for the 20 people on board, so it was a pretty nice size catamaran, not too big, not too small. Just right. Craig and I spent the first hour on the front of the boat standing in the front taking pics and getting sloshed with waves as the boat cruised. We then laid out on the deck - keeping cool with the splashed and getting hotttt from the sun. The weather changed its mind on us and we had to go inside and take naps. yawn. 

We wake up. Time to get ready for scuba diving. The boat had just bought brand new wet suits which were quite nice and when we got to the dive site we geared up to go! The certified divers - heyooooo - got to dive first. The visibility wasn't nearly as good as was the weekend prior, but shut up zac you are scuba diving in The Great Barrier Reef. The reefs were fascinating - colorful, huge, intricate, and in all shapes and sizes! There were overhangs and caves and at times it really felt like I was swimming through a giant maze underwater. Not so much marine life here, but the amazing reefs were plenty to see.. We got back to the boat as others came out for their intro dive to get the basics of scuba diving down. The other troopers had some difficulty, but got the hang of it and knew that they were going to like it when they got to go deep and swim with the fishies. We changed sites, ate some lunch, and got to dive again. Again another awesome dive in TGBR. 

That night we ate a delicious dinner and afterwards, we saw a slideshow of all the pics that the crew took during the day and dives. Accompanying the slideshow was Ted's (our dive instructor) clever commentary and impressive zoom function which he used on anyone making an awkward pose or facial expression in the photo. Some stargazing in the incredible Whitsunday Islands was quite nice - a little chilly - but all the stars were out to say hi. 

We were woken up so early around 6:00 to be the first to be at and walk on Whitehaven Beach. We took a dingy over to the island, did a little hike, and came across a stunning view of Whitehaven Beach. It looked just like the pictures with waves of pure white sand mixed with different depths of crystal clear water, surrounded by lush green mountains and islands all over the place. We took heaps of pictures and walked back down the path changing direction to go towards the beach. 

The sand was as fine as flour and was so much fun to play in, minus the sand getting everywheree and on everything. The four of us played on the beach for the whole morning being idiots and fools, but that is what makes the beach so much fun. One of the crew members in charge of taking photos was telling everyone to stand certain ways and various poses to get some extremely clever and unique photos. We stayed there for a few hours and left just when we had had enough. Perfect timing, we made it to the boat probably around 2 or so. 

Time for more dives. This third dive was the best one yet. I got to go down with Ted, another crew member and only one other certified diver. Ted showed us several pictures of the aquatic life in the slideshow the night before, so I was able to notice so much more than I had the day before. He guided us through caverns and in crevices, along reef walls and even play with some of the aquatic life (making reef move, fish act dumb, and showing hidden spots that fish love to chill at). When we surfaced about 40 minutes later, I went right to the hot tub on the front of the boat for a little relax session. About an hour or two later, it was time for one final dive. The sunset was setting, so our scuba team was, ironically, named Team Sunset. I got to dive with Craig and Sam here because I wanted to do a fourth dive that I had originally not planned on doing. We were exploring for about 20 minutes before Craig and I got split up from the rest of the team. We stayed calm, did some searching, then I turned 360 and just completely lost Craig. Searched for a little, no luck, then surfaced. I found the rest of the team waiting at the surface, so we gathered and went back down. The sun was setting, the fish were peaking, but the scuba tank unfortunately doesn't have unlimited air, and we needed to get home to PowerPlay. 

More hot tub. The crew gave us a tray of nachos mmmmmm and we hung out until dinner time. Another great dinner and entertaining slideshow that night. Then a bunch of us went to the front of the boat where Ted, who is actually from North Hampton, Massachusetts, brought out his guitar and we sang old school tunes and stared at the constellations. fun times fun times!!! Bedtime.

The final trip took us back towards the marina, getting us docked by noon, but not before Sam and I got to steer the boat for a little and we all got some last minute tan action. When the boat docked, we had so many hours before we had to go to the airport, so we walked around town, into every shop, slept near the shore, and ate some decent pizza near a hostel. Shuttle to airport, delayed flight, flight home, shuttle back to the Gold Coast. It always feels so good to be back home.

I think I'm going to get another tattoo. This time 5 stars called the Southern Cross. It's on the Australian flag and is a pretty popular icon of Australia. I think it would look perfect on my shoulder blade. I'm going to think about this for another week or so and make my mind. Don't tell my parents.

Scuba Weekend!

Ugh I really suck at this... it's been three weekends now since I have blogged and I've done some great stuff in all three of these weekends. Do share? Oh I will.. enjoy

Weekend 1

Paul, my roommate, recently got his open water scuba certification and has since convinced me to get my advanced with him. I thought for the longest time that my asthma and my messed up ears would prevent me from scuba diving again, but after a few doctor visits, I was told otherwise. LUCKY ME! So the two of us signed up for the advanced course and would do six dives (two a day) Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

Friday's first dive did not go too well as it had been nearly five years since I got my open water and scuba'd last. We had to wake up at around 6:00am, which going out the night prior did not help.. The first dive, I was extremely nervous, sucking down my air rather quickly and couldn't really enjoy the massive rays, sharks, and fish that I was getting to swim with! The next dive that day was at Cook Island which went better than the first as I began getting slightly more comfortable. Still, I could have been better. This time I saw a few turtles which reminded me of the high surfer turtles from Finding Nemo. 

The next day we came back to Cook Island and saw dozens of turtles all swimming - stoned - around the place. This was our underwater photography dive course so I got to take a bunch of pictures of Paul and myself with the wide green turts and even saw a few sharks roaming around. The next dive was similar, but it was our drift dive course which means we find a current to hang out and minimize our energy spend-age. This allowed us to have a pretty long dive of around 45-50 minutes which was great. Now, I was very comfortable underwater and was able to enjoy it so much more. 

The final day we got to wake up a little later around 10:30 for a 12:00/1:00pm dive. I was much more energized and awake than the previous days due to the extra few hours of sleep. This time we did our deep dive which took us to 30 meters (~100 feet) deep. The water at this depth absorbs many colors of light forcing everything to look rather grim and dull. Our instructor, Emma, had a flashlight which, when she shined on the walls this deep, showed the vibrant colors of the reef. But once she turned it off, the world become dull and grey/blue. We got to swim through several schools of fish on the two dives this day which was so cool! Swimming with literally thousands of fish is quite the thrill. I also got to get up close and person with a lion fish, which at the time, I was unaware of the fact that they are venomous and this one in particular was mid-hunt mode. Smooth Zac.... Smooth.... We got to play with more turtles underwater - scratching their backs (they enjoy that) and saw a bunch of different kinds of sharks (shovel-nose sharks, lion sharks, great whites... just kidding no great whites - obviously i'm still alive). 

I realized that scuba diving is the one thing I like far more than any other hobby or interest I have ever had. My passion. I could dive everyday.. loveee it! You should all go, it is impossible not to love - I promise.

Sydney Mardi Gras

March 5-8. Six of us - Scott, Sahill, Paul, Craig, and Sahill's brother all went to Sydney a few weekends ago for the gay mardi gras that Sydney is known to put on every year. So on Thursday night we flew into the Sydney airport and took a taxi to our hostel located a few blocks from the heart of the city. This hostel is supposed to be one of the nicest ones in all of Australia, so any hostel I stay at after will be far less tidy. Still, I was not a fan of the dorm-style living that we got hooked up with... So we quickly changed and went out towards the downtown and went into the Three Monkey's bar that we went to during orientation. This bar was apparently not the place to go to on a Thursday, so the night was kind of a bust. 

In the morning - more afternoon - we got on a bus to take us to Bondi Beach. It was about 30-40 minutes outside the city, but was well worth the drive. Once we got there, I met up with a friend from Maryland studying in Sydney, Emily, and actually realized that 80% of Study Australia's Bond students came to Sydney too. Bondi Beach is a decent size beach located in a sort of inlet surrounded by rocks and hills. It is a top 10 beach in the world and one walk across the sand will prove why. Tops are optional apparently and it is not like in Europe where the only people to take advantage of that alternative are the ones you wish wouldn't. Here, the topless girls are the same cute Australians that you see walking around everywhere. 

I had to leave Bondi a little early to go back to the hostel and get dressed up for dinner with my relatives living in Sydney. I changed and took the bus back to Bondi so Lynette, my cousin, could pick me up. I gave her details on what I was wearing, for my relatives down under and I have never met. Rodney and Lynette started a successful upscale women's clothing store in the 60's and has since grown to over 200 stores in Australia. Needless to say, I was thrilled to get picked up at the bus stop in a gorgeous Benz and be taken to their home looking over the water and city of Sydney. I was able to meet nearly 20 of my Australia relatives (although about 10 were under the age of 7 and will most likely not remember me...) and have a delicious shabbat dinner with some tasty Australian wine. The whole family was beyond delightful and I had a wonderful evening getting to know these family members of mine! After dessert and a tour of their beautiful home, Lynette gave me a ride in Rodney's new toy. A brand new hardtop Aston Martin sports car. Oh la la was I happy. It was really great to meet all these secret cousins and even get a home cooked meal. 

I met up with some friends after and went out at Darling Harbor to a crowded bar/lounge. The next morning I woke up around 9 and couldn't get back to sleep so I was forced to carpe diem. I got some breaky and walked around Sydney for a few hours checking out where the parade would be later that evening and getting some classy outfit to celebrate mardi gras. I came back to the hostel to wake up the roommates and we all went for a walk back towards the parade area. After hanging in Sydney for long  enough, we went back to get ready for tonight. I would be wearing bright yellow "fishing pants" that I had bought from Byron Bay, a red super hero mask over my eyes, three stripes of yellow paint diagonally across my torso and a big feathered set of white wings. I shouldn't have to stress how awesome I looked, but really, I looked awesome. The six of us all looked extremely outrageous - Craig looked like a gay Annie if she were into bondage - Sahill wore this creepy mask, shorts, and no shirt to show off those nipple rings - Scott just rocked these blue pants and a beater - Paul wore regular attire (sorry kid)- Sahill's brother had bought a little girl's size 12 pink shirt that read "Innocent by day : Partygirl by night" which squeezed his upper body tightly. We went bar hopping along the sides of the street as the parade paraded by. Abundant flamboyancy in every direction to say the least. I was a tourist attraction for the evening because of my stunning outfit - pics with strangers left and right. It took me a little while to realize, but I soon understood that to everyone that did not know me, thought this parade was for me. I got hit on by a number of guys while girls would come up to me and say "what a waste." Loved all the attention. Post-Parade we went back to the hostel to change and then went to this  awesome several story bar/club near the start of the parade and stayed out till late. Once we walked outside of the club the streets were still blocked off, so the streets were our playground for some time. The night dragged on far longer than necessary, got at least 2 hours of sleep, then had to wake up early to run back to Bondi where Paul and I got sushi and I bought an Aborginal's painting. We caught a bus back to Hyde Park, met up with the guys and jumped in a taxi to take us to the airport.

Another great weekend in Australia!

The Red Centre

Have I got a lot to talk to you about....

We are going to pretend this is Tuesday the 3rd and I am still fresh from The Outback. Okay? Okay.

So last Monday Craig and I went to Whitewater Park, a water park in the Gold Coast. Since it was a Monday, we nearly had the whole park to ourselves. We only had to wait in line for one ride and were able to walk right on to all the rest. Then on Friday, a bunch of us went to Warner Brother's Dreamland (a smaller Universal Studios style amusement park). They had a few good roller coasters and rides to keep us busy throughout the day. Friday night came around and I realized it would be a good time to pack because I had to leave at 3:15AM the next morning. I ended up not sleeping because I had laundry to do and I figured I would be able to make up for my sleep in the car/plane. Wrong.

At 3:15 I met up with Zach Mirsky, A Lowe, and Maxine in the lobby of our apartment and got in our shuttle van thing to take us an hour away to the Brisbane Airport. I had to go on a different flight connecting in Cairns while they connected in Sydney because I was late to book the plane tickets. I flew into Cairns and during our descent I was able to see the Great Barrier Reef from the sky. The different shades of water looked so nice and I got excited for a future trip to the reef. The beaches were everywhere and on the land were big green mountains of trees. 

I connected flights, saw the nice reef and mountains again, and read some of my book. Next thing I know it is about an hour and a half later and when I look out the window I see nothing but a flat red desert as far as the eye can see. 

What was I thinking going to The Outback where there was absolutely nothing around. We got close to Uluru and I was then able to see the BFR (Big F*... Rock). 

Ayers Rock looked massive from the air and it would be even bigger in person. I also was able to get a quick shot of the Olgas which we would later hike through. My plane landed and we had to walk on the runway to get into the airport. This would be my first fly infestation experience. Between the plane and the airport a couple of flies found my face and made themselves at home. Annoying I thought, but I would soon realize that these 5 or so flies would be a light snack compared to the dinner feasts of flies I would later experience. 

I met up with Mirsky, Max, and A Lowe in the airport and played some card games as we waited for our ride. Daniel the Wayoutback tour guide came soon and took us to our campsite  near Ayers Rock. The campsite was surprisingly nice with a stove, refrigerators, sinks and a large eating area. We had lunch with the other people on the trip, chatted a little and got ready for our first adventure of the weekend. We changed into bathing suites and went swimming at the campsite's pool for a little and bought our very needed fly nets. 

After our short swim, Daniel drove us to the actual Ayers Rock and took us for a walk through the cultural center. We learned a little about the aboriginal's spiritual beliefs regarding the rock and then took a long walk around a portion of the rock (a walk around the entire thing would take 3-4 hours - BFR indeed). There isn't much to say about Ayers Rock besides the fact that it is pretty massive and intense. The four of us walked around for about an hour taking photos and climbing a few of the boulders near the base. A bunch of the areas are off limits to photos  because they are sacred male or female places so the other aboriginal gender can not see what it looks like and don't want to be surprised in a magazine or random brochure. It was about this time when the flies became overwhelming. The 105 degree dry heat didn't make us sweat as much as we expected, but the combination of walking and the pounding sun made us sweat just enough for the flies to become attached to us. They came by the dozen and at one point I lost track counting some 60+ just on Zach's camelback backpack.

After the walk, we excitedly got back into our 4 WD-Van-Safari car-truck and drove back to the campsite. Some swimming and relaxing until around 8:00. The flies would now disappear (with the sun) and we could take our nets off our heads. Dinner was not ready until around 10:00PM at which point I was exhausted (still hadn't slept). The meal was very good - rice, vegetables, pasta - and after we were shown our "beds" a.k.a. Swags. These swags are just padded sleeping bags which are placed on the ground with no tent or cover. Bugs would crawl in and out throughout the night and wake you up, but the irritation would vanish when you opened your eyes to the clouds of stars in the sky. Stars as far as the eye could see and shooting stars pretty often. 

Daniel woke us up at 4:30AM so we could drive to a viewpoint where we could see the sun rise beside The Beast and shine on the Olgas as it rose.

 The flies came out as soon as the smallest of light emerged and then the nets came on again. The sunrise was quite nice, and the Olgas were impressive from where we were standing. 

 Following the sunrise, we drove to the Olgas and went on a 7+ kilometer hike (~4 miles) through these boulder mountains. The Olgas are made up of thousands of smaller rocks and form several enormous "boulder mountains." Olgas means Heads in the aboriginal language, so each of these boulders is a different person's head. To me, they just looked like big red balls of clay.  The hike took nearly 3.5 hours and by the time we had finished we were hot, annoyed (flies), and tired.  It 

was just after 11:00AM and it felt like 11:00PM. The walk was a little hilly most of the time, but perfectly bearable until the very end. At many points the rocks made a perfect backdrop for pictures and I was able to take about 30 or so throughout the walk. 

Now it was lunchtime so we went back to the campsite, had lunch and a swimming sesh and got ready to go on our second part of the adventure. We ran into a slight logistical problem because we realized that the trip was ending 6 hours from where our plane departs. Oops. We had to book a bus to take us from the end of of our hike the following day back to our current location at Ayers Rock. 

Now that that was all figured out and we were running behind schedule, we had to drive 3-4 hours west to Kings Canyon. We packed up our stuff and got in the monster truck and started driving. We stopped at the only rest stop on the only road to take us to the only place there was to go. It was a trashy bar with hick-type people and probably the only 5 people that live within any sort of distance as regular customers. The one guy had like 7 teeth and a pet dog that we were not allowed to touch and he almost slapped Maxine's hand with a grimy fly swatter when she went to pet it. We bought some wine to celebrate with at an overpriced sum of money and then finished the drive to Kings Canyon. On our final lag to our campsite we had to stop in order to let a group of wild horses cross the street. How cool. 

Finally, we arrived at this campsite again in the middle of nowhere. At least this place had kangaroos though. We went swimming, checked out the kangers and made some food with everyone's help. We drank a box of wine which was nice after our intense past 2 days and set up our swags under the cloudless sky. I again woke up quite often but the stars here were even more overwhelming than the night before so did not mind the bugs bothering me. I was able to see shooting stars, satellites, and the entire milky way galaxy. 

The next day would proceed to be the greatest day of my life. I will write a detailed blog about that as soon as I get the time.  

A 2 week birthday

Oh man it's been a while since I've gotten the chance to update this. Lets start with last Saturday...

So since the following weekend everyone would be going to various places for weekend trips, I decided to throw my 21st birthday party on the Saturday before. About 35 of us met up at room 411 to have a champagne party in their larger than normal apartment and absurdly grande wrap around balcony. 6:00 comes around and we all got in taxis to go to the Temple Bar facing the inland water. We all arrived and got a free drink and hung out until like 7:15 or so. Then, we boarded a party boat, ate some pizza and departed the dock. 

The boat had about 200 people on it, all aged in their young 20s and everyone was having a really good time! Beck and I participated in this golf ball game and Sahill and Amanda managed to win the dance competition. Amanda deserved the victory, but Sahill should have placed last if it weren't for the Bond Uni audience and girls undressing him on the dance floor. We met a bunch of Australians and docked back at the Temple Bar around 10:30 or so. We then went to Melbas to continue dancing and having all that fun. We just did some more bar hopping and dancing (etc..) and ended up back in our lovely apartment...

The following Friday morning we had to be outside at 8:00 in the AM to get in our van/taxi thing that would take us south along the coast and then west to a small town of 800 called Nimbin. What a cool and neat little town. It is an alternative lifestyle town where everyone is hippies, art and bright colors douse every wall and surface, pot is smoked inside restaurants, and the people are some of the friendliest I have ever met. We met some hippies from New Zealand in the Rainbow Cafe and some other locals. While talking to this one local, a news reporter came up to ask the character we were talking to about the government's "War on Drugs." Prezz Star Limited, the local, proceeded to give the worst interview I have seen and had a picture taken of him by the photographer with the reporter. Let me tell you what Prezz Star Limited looked like. Say 5' 9" wearing large female Prada sunglasses with the lenses removed and a haircut resembling asparagus (dreadlocks sticking straight up with buzzed sides). Quite the character indeed. Paul and I walked around Nimbin and stumbled upon a nursery school and a bunch of other buildings which were all covered in very colorful and artistic graffiti and art. The town of Nimbin just breathes creativity and friendliness everywhere you go.

Our ride to Byron Bay came in the middle of the afternoon and took us on a scenic drive from Nimbin to Byron Bay through bright green mountains and windy roads. Once in Byron Bay, we settled into a very nice apartment where we squeezed around 8 people. By nighttime, most everyone was extremely exhausted. Not Paul, Scotty and me. We got ready and went to a popular bar in Byron called Cheeky Monkey. The town caters towards backpackers and 18-25 year olds and this bar seemed to have all the 18-21 year olds in the town packed inside of it. Apparently the bartenders at this bar do not wear shirts or bras. Instead, they paint a black bra on and let their ta-tas breathe. No complaints here. We had fun there for a little while before the three of us moved on to several other bars on the street. The people were extremely fun; everyone in the town was just there to have fun and enjoy the nightlife. 

The next day the weather continued to be terrible and we were stuck inside for a large majority of the day. The most outdoors we got during the day was hanging out on our balcony watching the torrential rain pour down. At night, everyone was awake and pumped to go out. Quite the difference from the night before. We went out to Cheeky Monkey again, sadly this time the bartenders wore clothing, but the bar was just as fun as the night before. 

Of course the sun decides to poke its head out the last day we are there just to tease us on how much better the weekend could have been... We went straight to the beach. The whole town is based around the beach with really neat and funky shops. Byron Bay is a hugeeee surfing town so there are surf shops every 10 feet. Once we got to the beach, we were able to see why people love Byron Bay so much. The beach was so nice and the waves were perfect. A few of us chose to go for a monster hike to the lighthouse in the distance, a distinct landmark of Byron. The walk gave us so many great views of Australia's coast and Byron Bay. 

We came back Sunday evening and Craig, Sahill and I went to the casino to celebrate my 21st. We took the night very easy and just enjoyed the casino. Monday night we went out hard to celebrate my 21st birthday. A bunch of us went to Melbas where we got free drinks for the b-day boy and met a group of Celtic football fans at Fiddler's Green and ended

 the night at Sin City. 

Heaps Fun. I'm 21. 2-1. It's about time.

Fraser Island

Bright and early Friday morning we had to make our way to campus to start our adventure to Fraser Island. Since we had to be awake so early, it would have only been foolish to go to sleep or pack in advance for that matter, so we just stayed up to do laundry and get our stuff together for the weekend. 4:30am came around and we decided it would be a good idea to gather everyone and get ready to get moving. We spent about an hour looking for LB because she decided not to sleep in her room that night which gave us a shaky start to the weekend. We got to Bond to meet up with the other 7 girls and our tour guides. Our tour guides, Wes and Sal, two extremely rugged individuals driving large jeep safaris took us on a four hour drive to Fraser Island.

Fraser Island is the world's largest all sand island (75 miles 

long). It is home to rain forests, fresh water lakes, beautiful sights and a unique animal called a Dingo. Since it is an all sand island, there are no roads on the island so we used the beach as our highway. 

Flying down the beach (and back "roads") was quite exciting. We drove to our campsite which was surprisingly nice. It had clean and new bathrooms/shower areas and cabins for those unwilling to camp out. We had a nice corner of the campsite set apart for our crew and five of us (Craig, Sahill, Scott, LB, and me) shared one large tent while the other 7 girls split themselves up (Rhode Island in one and Maryland in the other). 

We boarded our jeeps and drove to this rainforest pretty deep in the island. Once there, we filled up our water bottles with the fresh water from the creeks and walked about 1.5 miles through a rainforest. Our tour guides met us on the other side, we got in the jeeps and drove to McKenzie Lake. 

This fresh water lake was huge and the water was crystal clear. 

 We stayed there for about an hour and a half then got in the jeeps again to go to the campsite for dinner. Wes and Sal concocted a huge dinner of freshly caught fish, salads and something else. Some of the spices used for the fish were picked off trees/bushes from the island. Delicious. After dinner, we hung out around a bond fire and looked at the stars. The stars were incredible. We were able to see stars as far as the eye could see in any direction. It was absolutely wild.

In the morning, we woke up to some cereal and toast, then proceeded to board the jeeps and make our way to Eli Creek. This creek was sort of like a lazy river pouring fresh water into the ocean. Some other tourists were there playing cricket along the creek and a few of us hopped in and gave it a try.

 After spending a while there, we made our way to a fantastic lookout point called Indian Head.

Indian Head is one of three rock cliffs on the island and it acts as a sort of anchor for the sand. We hiked up Indian Head and had a fascinating view of sand dunes, waves, beaches and trees. 

We stayed up there enjoying the view for a while before our hike back down and into the jeeps. Wes and Sal then drove us to this trail that would take us to Lake Wabby. We got out and followed the sandy trail through another forest for about 2/3 of a mile. Then the trees disappeared and all of a sudden all we could see in the distance was sand. Over the past years, sand has been accumulating in this area that was once a rain forest. We were now walking across sand dunes covering an entire forest of trees beneath us. 

The heat was pretty intense and no matter how far we walked new signs would continue to say "Lake Wabby: 1 Kilometer"... Finally we got to a steep sand dune and saw Lake Wabby. A small fresh water lake surrounded on one side by trees and the other by a mountain of sand. We played for about an hour and a half, took some photos, dried off and made our way up and down a different forest path until we could see the ocean waves and our Jeeps again.

It would now be time to go home. It took us 3 to 4 hours to get home and we played a bunch of games to pass the time. Especially the "i'm thinking of a person" game which we managed to play for an hour and a half. We finally got home at dark and I jumped right into the nice clean Meriton shower and got on some nice clean clothes and cooked up a nice and clean meal. Civilization feels great after tents and camping for a few days.

Who wears bathing suits to class? Oh yeah, we do...

Hey thereeee!!! So my computer won't let me log in to blog anymore so I have to use the school's computers in their computer lab. Unfortunately this means that I cannot post pictures anymore unless I can somehow get it working again... Wish me luck.

We started classes last week at Bond Uni, forcing us all to get on a sort of schedule for at least a few days a week. Lucky for me, I only have class 3 days a week so I am able to go to the beach/pool/fun stuff plenty often. To get to class I have to take a public bus that runs every 30 minutes from a bus stop a block away from my apartment building to the campus. The buses here are very nice and efficient and the ride is only about 20 minutes.

Here is the run down of my classes:

Tuesday
9 - 11 = Love, Sex and Relationships Lecture. This class is taught by a stunning 5' 10" stunning blond Australian who looks like a sexier Cameron Diaz. Waking up 7:30 to get to class on time will be NO problem. We discuss human sexuality, gender differences, anatomy, relationships and other good stuff making class easy to pay attention. The Cameron Diaz look-a-like helps a little too.
Then I will take the bus back to the Broadbeach (the town that my apartment is located in) and keep myself entertained until 4:00 when I have to be back at Bond for class.

(I'm creepy right?)

4-6 = Buddhist Philosophy Lecture. My teacher is a 65 year old, 40 year practicing Buddhist nun that wears a Buddhist cloak and has no hair. She is very nice, speaks very softly and slowly, and probably has a lot going on in that mind of hers. At the end of the first class, she had us all sit in a circle to meditate. She explained how to sit, position your arms and hands, and even how to fold your tongue in order for the energy circuits in your body to flow uninterrupted. We then meditated until class was over. She said that this would be a common activity for our class and we would get better at it over the next few months.

Wednesday
8-10 = International Business Seminar 1. Tuesday nights are big going out nights around here and an 8:00 AM class the next morning really blows when you get only a couple of hours sleep the night before. Four of us from Study Australia are in the class together which makes class slightly more interesting. The class is conveniently made up of about 25 students from all around the world, so whenever we discuss business around the world we have several perpectives (USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden...). The teacher is a retired CFO of some big business that had branches all around the world. He is American, but lived for months and years all around the world. He is very smart and packed with information.
11-12 = Love, Sex... Tutorial AKA discussion. All the tutorials here are taught by the professor which is a nice change from the uninformed/incoherent T.A.'s at the University of Maryland.
I have a two hour break here where I go to the gym on campus with Scotty and get a bite to eat afterwards.
2-3 = Buddhist Philosophy Tutorial.
3-4 = Intro to Chemistry Tutorial.
5-7 = Intro to Chemistry Lecture. The teacher is probably 60 years old and has been a scientist his whole life. The class is taught at a 3rd grade level (and pace), which is ideal because chemistry has never made any sense to me. I will finally understand it.
I finally get to take the bus home for the day. I'll eat some dinner and probably sleep to make up for some of last night's festivities and most likely get some rest before going out again! Woo hooo.

Thursday:
2-4 : International Business Seminar. Class 2 of int'l business for the week.
Go home.
Intense day of classes, I'm aware.


This weekend about 10 or so of us have plans to camp out about 6 hours away at Fraser Island. They have rainforests, beaches, lakes, and really impressive landscapes. Google it, it's pretty neattt. Get excited to read the next blog.

Cheers Mate!