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!

Quick overview of the Gold Cost

So I have been living here in the beautiful Meriton for about a week now and everday is better than the day before. So let me recap a few events, not sure if they are going to be in the correct order or anything, but you will still get a feel of life on the other side of the world.

The weather has been a constant 90 degrees or so. We have gone to the beach several times to relax in the sun and even go boogie boarding (holler Hammer). Boogie boarding is not like boogie boarding on LBI. The waves are veryyy intense and big so boogie boarding is pretty difficult and tiring. On the flip side, when you get a wave you just fly for a long time until you get washed ashore.

We went to campus a few times to get our schedule, ID cards, meet up with friends and do some orientation events. The campus is beautiful. There is a huge pond in the center of campus and it seems that all the buildings are brand new. Everyone walks around in flip flops and beach clothes because the weather is always soo nice. Most of the people I have met here are from either America or another overseas country, so I have yet to meet some Australians. That is a little dissapointing, but it is still early so hopefully I will meet some soon.

At night we have gone to several bars including: Platinum, The Bedroom, The Drink, East, Melba's, Shooters, and mannyy more. Nightlife here is crazy and the Australians dance much much different than the slutty Americans. They give you eyes and point when they see you grinding, but we'd do they same if they were dancing their way at our bars... The music at the bars has been real good too. Nightlife here is just heaps of fun and we still haven't even been to a fraction of the bars and clubs.

I guess those three things pretty much sum up my vacation: beach, bond and bars. Sorry Dad.

Home Sweet Home

This would be the day that we finally arrived at our home for the next four months! We had all been anticipating this for a very long time and we tired of living out of our suitcases. We flew into Brisbane and took a bus to the Gold Coast, one bus filled with people living on campus and the other with people living in beach housing. We drove down the Gold Coast Highway and passed by bunches of tall buildings until we finally saw Meriton written on top of a tall blue and black brand new apartment building. The base floor of our building has a bunch of restaurants, a spa and a crucial 24 hours 7-11 (opening soon). Everyone from the bus got more and more excited as we unpacked our luggage and Matt gave us our rooms and keys. Room 1608 would be our home for the next four months.
We took the elevator to the 16th floor and opened the door to a brand new apartment with granite counters, sofa and chairs, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and one very nice flat screen T.V. hung up on the wall. How nice of the Meriton to give us all this. We flipped a coin for the bigger bedroom, tails – good, and checked out every crevice in the apartment. We have a balcony facing inland with heaps of mountains in the distance, a shopping mall two blocks to the left, a huge casino directly across the street, a convention center one block to the right and downtown Broadbeach across from the convention center. WOW. I could not ask for anything better. Maybe a bigger bed actually, but I barely sleep as it is so who cares.
The four of us living together walked to the downtown area and ate at some Italian restaurant that was very good. After we ate, we walked around and explored the downtown/beach and picked up some necessities for our kitchen. Then, we walked to the beach. The white sand is so soft and the waves are like nothing I have ever seen before. Paul is a big time surfer and explained to me that the Gold Coast is one of the most famous places in the world for surfing and that only a few places have waves as good as these in the world! After our stroll on the beach, we walked the one block inland to our apartment and tried to take in everything that was going on. We took the night easy, and hung out in our apartment and went to bed at a semi-decent hour.

When we woke up the next day we started running errands for things we needed to make our apartment a home. Target and a grocery store pretty much had everything we needed and lucky for us they are both one block to the left. After our errands, Sahill and I went for a walk to a Muay Thai/MMA gym a few blocks past Target to check it out. On the way back we stopped by a surf shop to look into buying a board and take lessons. The day before we had walked by a piercing shop and Craig-alicious said that he wanted his nipple pierced. So today we went there to watch him get it done. Hilarious indeed. After almost passing out, turning white as a ghost, and sweating a gallon he had a piece of metal going through his left nippy.
At night we took a bus to campus where we met up with some friends living on campus. Then we all walked to the bar on campus, yeah there is a pretty nice and big bar on campus. At midnight a few buses took everyone to this bar called The Drink. It was pretty crowded and crazy, fun fun fun.

Last days in Sydney

Day 3 in Sydney came and went. Waking up at 8:30 was a treat after the early morning the day before. Russ, our trip leader in Sydney, gave us a tour of Sydney with impressive history and great advice for the semester. Notably, he told us to realize we are in another country and things are done differently here. He said not to think of these as weird/gross/wrong, just different. He also told us to take advantage of any and every invitations from Australians in order to get unique experiences. We walked through Hyde Park, the Central Business District, and a park where we got to see the famous Sydney Opera House. What a view! We walked along the water towards the Opera House that got larger and larger as we got closer. It was so much bigger than it looks like on TV or in pictures and was loaded with people in and around it.

Then, we got on a bus to take us to a zoo! Oh baby. Again, a few hours later, we arrived at a zoo and was greeted by a zookeeper holding a six month old wallaby. It was so cute and soft and many of us got the chance to hold it. We walked in and saw more wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, *penguins*, and many others. We got to pet them all except for the wombats (which were ugly anyways) and the penguins. The animals were real friendly except for the kangaroo, but that was probably because it knew I ate his cousin two days prior.

We got back and the four of us living together on the beach (Sahill, Craig, Paul, and I) went out for some Asian food. T’was okay. Sahill’s friend, Matt, from Maryland who is taking a winter course in Sydney met up with us and we wasted some time before our dinner cruise. We walked again to the Inner Harbor where we got onto a real big yacht/dinner boat. Being exclusive again, us Maryland kids ate together. The boat showed us wonderful day and night views of the city and allowed for us to snap a bunch of photos.

Post boat trip we went to Kings Cross(ing?) for its nightlife. We got rejected from several bars because we were not dressed appropriately for “Indie Night,” but ended up having fun at several more accepting bars.

The next day we had a meeting in the morning where Russ gave us a great PowerPoint presentation about our next 4 months in Australia and how to make the most of it. After that, a lot of people went to Bondi Beach, but the four of us living together went for a monstrous walk around the city of Sydney for a few hours. We sat at an open bar for a few hours and bonded. How cute.

When night came we hung out and went out to Sydney’s Festival First Night. Sydney Festival comes around once a year and lasts for a few nights. The city shuts down several blocks and splits up the different areas into different venues. Over 300,000 people attended and the place was out of control. We went with just under 15 people and after about five minutes we were down to six. We raged hard the whole time we were at the DJ/outdoor rave that was one of the craziest places I’ve ever been. After, we went to one of the bars from the first night. It was packed with guys and wrecks so we called it a night.

Sydney Dias Uno y Dos

We woke up early early to make a 9:00 flight to Sydney. Flying into Sydney was pretty wild as the airport is located right along the water. Especially since I was not near the window, I was convinced we were about to land in the Pacific and be washed up on the shore of a mysterious island home to a large black murderous cloud. But, no worries, we landed and hopped on a bus that took us to our hotel.

Sydney is truly a unique city. The first thing I noticed was the extremely interesting architecture that nearly every building had. No two buildings are alike and not one building is like anything I have seen before. So now we have arrived in our 80 story hotel (one of the tallest in Sydney) and are getting a massive rundown on the current and next few days. We also met the other 30 kids that did not come to Fiji, including my roommate Sahill, who is going to be fun to live with. 

We had a few hours to kill before we had to meet up for dinner, so we walked around the hotel’s block, got a cell phone and checked out some of the shops. Dinner time came and we, as a group, walked to the Inner Harbor (which ironically looks identical to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor) to eat. Sahill, Maxine, A-Lowe and I ate together – Go Maryland – and I tried my first Kangaroo! It tasted like a really soft and tender sort of steak, pretty good. After dinner, we went to the hotel to get ready to go out. One of the trip leaders told us of two bars that are similar to a college bar that we would be comfortable at called Three Monkeys and Murphy’s, so that is where we went and had our fun. 

A terrible 6:30am wake up call reminded us that we had to be in the lobby at 7:00am for a two hour bus ride to the Blue Mountains of New South Whales. The Blue Mountains are similar to the Grand Canyons of America, just covered in trees that emit a blue haze over them. Gear was given to us for rappelling down the sides of the cliffs after a small hike. We hiked down through the woods down a hill for about 15 minutes before reaching out destination. Here, we were given instructions and a small cliff to practice on. Two tries there and we were ready for the next level of difficulty - increase from about 10 meters to 30. I rappelled down next to Chicken Shit Sahill. Sorry bud. At the bottom of this cliff was a really creepy and scary ladder that we had to climb up to get back to the base. The ladder was by far scarier than rappelling, or so I thought. We had lunch and hung out on the mountain before moving to the final, tallest cliff.

I originally wasn’t going to do the tallest one because I was just somewhat bored with it. At the very last minute Lauren and I decided that we ought to just go for it and so we did. This one would be very very different than the other two. We would be going face first with our chest facing the ground about 60 meters (180 feet) from the ground below. I got myself pumped up and energetic prior to getting to the edge of the cliff. When it was my turn and I got to the edge… Holy shit was I high. I was talking to the pro why anyone would choose to do this. I couldn’t understand why someone would see a 200 foot cliff and want to scale it. Oh I forgot to mention that the cliff is only about 10 feet or so before the overhang comes and you are floating down the rest of the cliff. I grew some big balls and went for the kill and made my way down; slowly at first, faster towards the end. It was real fun and I was real real glad I conquered that beast of a rock.

Our bus arrived in Sydney around 6:00 or so, just in time for cleaning up and getting dinner. Sahill and I went out with some chicas to a sushi place. Plates sit on a conveyor and go around the bar and you choose whatever looks good. We ended up sitting at a table, but that did not stop me from eating a massive amount of sushi. I was the clear victor with 11 plates of sushi and I can tell that since sushi is everywhere in Australia, I will be eating heaps more.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel for some drinks and hanging out before we went out as a group of like 30+ to a lounge/bar/billiard place. It ended up being really fun and, as usual, our group was out of control.

Return to civilization

Ah, the Sofitel Hotel!

We had a normal day at our resort prior to leaving for the mainland of Nadi, Fiji. At 2:30 we took a boat to the floating island about 200 yards off shore. There the daily ferry came to take us on another 3 hour ride. We hung out on the front of the ferry the entire time having fun and even making an Australian friend who told us tons of great places to go to and see. The 3 hour ride flew by and before we knew it, we were graced with the tile floors of the beautiful Sofitel Hotel. 

The hotel was overwhelming with all its electricity, surfaces, and warm water. I jumped in the shower immediately and used all five of the soaps and shampoos available. Oh my god did it feel good. Finally clean and changed, my roomate Aaron and I made our way to the bar for a drink. We met up with a bunch of our friends and ate at one of the hotel restaurants called SALT. As it was located outside and Fiji being Fiji, it began to downpour pretty soon after we ordered. They transfered us to the other restaurant inside and brought our food to us there. After dinner it was around 10 o'clock, so we changed into our togs (aka bathing suits) and went to the outdoor pool. This pool was absolutely enormous. We swam in it for at least an hour and a half and didn't even explore the whole thing. Nicest pool ever. 

An eventful Fijian Day

Day 3 in Fiji was eventful and exciting! A breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit and cereal nourished us for a beastly hike to the village on the other side of the island. Right after breakfast the troops gathered and we set of in the back of the resort for a trail guiding us up and down the mountain and across the beach to the village. The hike got pretty steep at a few points and once we made it over the mountain we still had a few miles of beach and rocks to conquer before making it to the village. The girls had to cover their shoulders and knees before entering and the guys had to wear shirts and take their hats off to show respect. Before entering the village, we were told to shout and make a lot of noise because the people of the village were still celebrating the new years (it is January 5^th by the way). We were also warned that water fights might break out at any time due to the celebration as well.

So we got to the village, passing a few cages of pigs on the way, and walked along a concrete path through the village toward the school. The homes were constructed of concrete and wooden roofs with several shacks made of that tin/aluminum siding and roof. The village was just a bunch of homes, a church, a field for recreational sports, and two buildings for school. It was by no means small though. It housed nearly 500 people and I was surprised by the amount of people and buildings that I saw. Once at the school, and elder gave us a description of the village, the school, the chief, and their general way of life. He stressed to us their growing pressure on the children for education and shared stories of community service groups that would come to the island to help paint buildings, teach courses and donate money and time. He also explained the importance of Christianity in the village. The man explained that prior to Christianity, 200 years ago, the villagers practiced cannibalism. Thank God for Christianity.

Once the man was done speaking, we walked to the center of the village where many women sat in front of blankets selling handmade goods and collected donations for the school. Meanwhile, the weather turned from painfully sunny to a torrential downpour that lasted only 15 minutes or so before the sun was pounding yet again. We took a small tour of the village and were showed their proudest and largest building, the church. After the church, we posed for a picture and made our way back to the beach to start our adventure back to our resort. On our way out, the locals picked some coconuts to sell to us. They made a little hole on the top to drink from, then once finished, they cut them open and scooped out the edible coconut inside. I was not a fan of either the juice or white insides, but several people really liked it. The tide had risen significantly and we now had to walk back through the water and slippery rocks. We conquered the mountain again and were back at the resort within an hour or so.

A shower and lunch later, the events began. First was a spear throwing competition for the guys and girls. After several practice tries and the final attempt for the win, I of course, failed miserably. I could not get say more than 15 feet tops and the spear would go sideways. Pathetic. Following the spear throwing competition was a tug of war between the dorm kids and the bure kids. The first round was a very close battle and after struggling for a while we lost to the kids living in the dorms. Round two in our best of three match was a little more interesting. We had decided that on our “1, 2, 3, pull” we would let go and watch as the other side would fall backwards. Unbeknownst to us, the other side had the exact same plan. So on our “Pull” we let go and the other team, ready to do the same thing, did not fall or anything similar. They just gently pulled the rope past the marker for the win. The final event was a water balloon toss. Which I got soaked in. In retrospect, this was a pretty pitiful course of events. Haha, oh well.

A case of beer was rewarded to some of the winners and we played a few drinking games and enjoyed the happy hour(s) before dinner. Dinner was curry themed buffet that was absolutely amazing. Just before dinner one of the other kids had gotten a diesel splinter stuck right in his thumb and I had to yank it out with some splinters. It was very unpleasing and difficult as Eric struggled through the pain, but no worries, we triumphed and the splinter was out. After dinner, a small drinking race was held (surprise mom and dad I did not compete). The girls raced to finish wine, while the boys had to chug a bottle of beer without using their hands. The rest of the night was uneventful, music and dancing at the bar, and drinking games at the tables. My bed never felt so good.

Bula (Hello) from Fiji!

Well I’ve been in Fiji for two days now and I just finished up eating lunch outside in the beautiful 90-degree weather. It was a hectic 24/48/72 hours getting here… I woke up at 5:00am to make an 8:30 flight out of JFK to LAX. I got in around 11:45am and had to wait until 5:30pm to check in for my 10:30pm flight to Nadi, Fiji. Once I checked in and went through security, I was able to meet a bunch of other people going on the same trip. Before I knew it, it was 9:30pm and we were boarding the largest plane in the world. The plane ride flew by (hahahah….) and we touched down in Nadi on time at 5:15 skipping a day in the process.

The weather? Amazing. The view? Better. We all boarded a bus, dropped our luggage off at a hotel on the island, and got on a ferry at 8:30am for a 3 hour ride to one of the many remote islands of Fiji. On the ferry we were all able to get to know each other better and even have a couple early morning cocktails. We passed amazing scenery. There were dozens of islands, each having beautiful beaches and gorgeous shades of blue water. We made it and got off the ferry, took a dingy to the “resort”, put our stuff in our bungalows and then ate a well-deserved lunch. Lunch consisted of rice, beef, salad and of course watermelon. 

So the “resort” where we are staying is located in a cove and is home to about a mile of beach. The mountains behind us are covered in bright green trees and looks more amazing that the islands of LOST. I decided today that there is no reason a place should be as pleasing to the ojos as the islands of Fiji. But I’m not one to complain and am appreciating the beauty, greatly. Back to the resort. Air conditioning and water pressure/temperature are unheard of. There is one main building a few feet from the beach and a patio area with a bar, tables and chairs looking directly over the beach. There are probably around a dozen bungalow type rooms with beds and a private bathroom called “Bures” (Byur-Aye) and one big room with over 20 beds refered to as “The Dorm.” I lucked out and am living in a Bure with 2 other guys, Aaron and Ryan. All the buildings are very open, either having walls of windows or no walls at all. Our bure faces the ocean and lets a much appreciated breeze flow through, cooling it down. Hammocks and beach chairs are everywhere, so whenever you feel like laying down and resting there is no need to look very hard.

Back to the day. The weather was sort of grim after lunch and rain would fall/storm on and off for the remainder of the day. Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, a few of us went out snorkeling and saw some amazing fish and coral. At one point I was swimming over a school of about 300 massive fish. Actually, ocean beasts are more appropriate. 3:30pm came around, meaning Tea Time. Hot tea and cake are served to everyone, which was a pretty good mid-day snack. After tea time we went on the patio and mingled. Then, I took a nap and woke up just before the end of happy hour. Phew. Dinner came shortly after and oh baby was it de-lic-ious. Buffet style, cooked fresh, were chicken, fish, beef, pork, muscles, salad, fruit, spinach something, and eggplants. Nearly all of the food was smoked and was sooo extremely tasty and filling. Mmmm mmm mm. The sun set in the corner of the cove. A stunning shade of oranges, reds and purples lit up the sky. I left my camera at my bure so you’ll have to use your imagination. No worries, I expect another one just like it tonight.

An hour or so after dinner was our evening event called a Meke (Mecca). The workers, all natives, showed us native tribal dances and even got the crowd up and dancing with them. The dances would be performed after victories in battles, newly born males, and other various celebrations. The narrator would explain the dances and their purposes before each dance was performed. It was pretty fascinating to get some insight into the Fijian culture and witness these dances. About an hour after the Meke, most people made their way to bed.

Day 2 in Fiji has been absolutely amazing. Despite being rainy season, the weather has been sunny and clear. I was awake at 6:15 from the light shining through the windows. One of my roommates, Aaron, woke up too and we took a walk to the beach. Surprisingly, several people were awake, some even snorkeling! We met up with two other friends and took a walk up and down the beach talking primarily about, what else but, how pretty it is here. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the only times you have the ability to eat a meal and when it’s time to eat, one of the guys working here bangs on a wooden, hallowed out tree/drum thing to wake everyone and let them know it’s game time. Breakfast was eggs, toast, baked beans, plantains, pineapples, and papaya. So good again.

Immediately after breakfast, we played 4 v 4 beach volleyball for a good hour or two, taking swimming breaks to cool down every now and then. Some people were taken on a boat a little ways away to go snorkeling, but not everyone could fit on the boat so most of the volleyball players stayed behind to rage on the court. Apparently the snorkeling was better closer to the resort so I lucked out. At 12:30pm the drums sounded and lunch was served. This time a Shepard’s Pie thing, with salad and watermelon. Not the best, but still good nonetheless. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing absolutely nothing. And it was great. At tea time, I was privileged enough to grab the two monster drum sticks and bang on the drums letting everyone know tea and cake were ready.

The rest of the day and evening passed slowly. Little bit of snorkeling here and there and just hanging out. The drums rang again and dinner was served: another buffet style dinner with a plethora of food to choose from. Great. During and after dinner a choir group from a village on the other side of the island came and serenaded us.