brisbane/cairns!

i made it to Cairns and the infamous Great Barrier Reef! along the way i spent a day in brisbane, my new favorite australian city! i am very excited to be settling down there for a few months after my novemeber of traveling down the east coast. it was great to see chris (my friend from duke in "Uni" at the University of Queensland masters program) and the city in a whirlwind 24 hours. in brisbane i went to queens street (pedestrian promenade with lots of shops and cafes and gathering areas), had a picnic lunch in the city botanical gardens, took the CityCat ferry up and down the brisbane river, went to the city library (the coolest library ive ever been in), the south bank area (with a gorgeous board walk covered in swirling, flowering arches), the streets beach (a faux beach made on the brisbane river), and the queensland cultural center with the spectacular Gallery of Modern Art, and also the state library, museum, and art gallery. the people in brisbane were all wonderfully friendly and helpful and the city reminded me somewhat of chicago... except with much, Much better weather :)

for now im in Cairns and excited to take my final dive to complete my certification in the great barrier reef! cairns isnt too much in itself, but is a wonderful launching point for not only the reef but also cape tribulation and the daintree rainforest, both great day trips from cairns. im here for 5 days and on friday will be heading to Magnetic Island via Townsville!

dive school

its official - i can scuba dive! monday-today i was in a dive course to get my open water certification (which means you can legally go on dives up to 18 meters without an instructor)! monday and tuesday were classroom and pool days, learning about the equipment and skills. i didnt do so well in the pool, had a tough time with taking off my mask underwater, but i got it eventually! the instructor was really great and helped me one on one and after class to make sure i got it down. wednesday and today were ocean dive days - the real thing! it was sooo very cool, byron has a great dive site with a great reef and amazing marine life... turtles and beautiful fish and SHARKS (not the man eating kind). we only got 3 of our 4 required dives in because of the weather, so they are giving me a referral to their sister program in Cairns so i will get my last dive in at the Great Barrier Reef next week to become fully certified!

Happy Halloween!

halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and even though it isnt very widely celebrated in australia, i still managed to find a few friends and places that were celebrating it, american style! i got a 2 day gig doing face painting at one of the restaurant/bars here that even turned itself into a fairly decent haunted house! i am dressing up this evening as an Australian flag - cant wait!

on the schedule for next week is great fun - i am getting my open water dive certification! it is a 4 day process that involves 2 days of classroom lessons and trials in the pool, and 2 days doing a total of 4 dives around byron bay! i am so excited, i think this is going to be a really amazing experience. once i am certified i can dive on my own (will still need to rent equipment) anywhere in the world for the rest of my life! the only exceptions is wreck dives - for that i will need to do an additional quick half day course for deep dive experience. i really want to dive the shipwreck Yongala off of magnetic island (in between cairns and the whitsundays) so will be looking into that soon.

the dive course is monday-thursday, and then on friday i head to brisbane for a day (hanging out with chris, my friend from duke who is currently studying in brisbane), and then off to cairns!

hippeville

yesterday i moved into my new hostel - the arts factory. its definitely unlike any other hostels ive been too! its a byron bay institution, was started in the 70s by hippies as a place for artists and in the 80s became an venue for rock n roll. its set on 5 acres of subtropical rainforest a few blocks from the center of town, with a pool, sauna, beach volleyball court, recording studio, and hammocks sprinkled around the complex. the accommodations ranges from campsites to tee-pees to 'the surf shack' dorm - im staying in the all female 'lakeside cottage' which has our own little kitchen and bathroom and wrap around porch which faces out to the lake. neighbors include iguanas, bush turkeys, and possums which hang out on the porch and have breakfast with us occasionally. the arts factory is a little old and run down but makes up for it in atmosphere - there's always the sound of drumming or someone playing guitar in the background and everyone staying there is really nice.

very cool!

musical chairs

last night i entered a musicals chair competition and won a free bus pass with Oz Experience from Cairns to Brisbane/Byron Bay! amazing because i was just about to book my transportation today! Oz Experience is a little different from the Greyhound or Premier bus (which are just plain simple transportation). Oz Experience is kinda half tour, half bus - only backpackers travel with them and they promote a fun, social atmosphere in addition to providing historical commentary on the journey. its also less flexible than standard transportation, there arnt buses from each stop every day, let alone several times a day - you have to work your schedule around their schedule. there are also a few mandatory overnight stops i wasnt planning on. however, since my plans are so flexible as they are, i figure this could be a really fun addition to my trip down the east coast! the additions i put into my travels are 2 nights in townsville, which is the launching point for this really cool dive sight of a sunken ship that has turned into an artificial reef. also added on is a mandatory overnight in the 'outback' (not far from the coast in actuality) which includes staying at a ranch, eating a 'bush dinner' by the fire, and helping round up the sheep in the evening. should be a very cool experience! and all for free because of my previously undiscovered talent in playing musical chairs :)

as for the next decision - where and when to get my dive certification...

today in byron bay...

...nothing happened! same as yesterday and the day before that - its a glorious thing! if its sunny, i go to the beach. if it cools off, i go hiking. if its rainy (like today), i read and bum around town. as wonderful of a holiday (vacation) as it is, i can see how it might get a tad boring after awhile - i think my 3 weeks here is going to be perfect!

a few fun facts for you though:
on friday i learned how to play cricket! i ran into a melbourne footie team (footie = Australian rules football) who were here on their end of season holiday and they were playing cricket on the beach. cricket is a cool game similar to baseball - the 'bowler' throws a ball and the hitter tries to hit it. if they miss 3 times theyre out, or if they hit it and someone in the outfield catches it, theyre out. the other nuances of the game may have been lost on me but still exciting to learn a new aussie sport!

yesterday i hiked up to the most eastern point of australia - nothing much there but a sign and miles upon miles of clear blue water, but a great hike - byron bay is unique in that the rain forest comes right up to the coast. the coastal hiking trails here remind me so much of cinque terra (italy) with cliff side walks looking down to the beach on one side, and dense forest on the other.

halloween is approaching, and as my second favorite holiday im wondering how to celebrate it in a country that doesnt traditionally recognize it. i think i may have to fashion some sort of makeshift costume and buy a bag of my favorite aussie candy (Starburst gummies) at the very least! any ideas?

aussie word of the day
lollies = candy (all sorts, not just hard candies)

East Coast Travel

you cant be in byron bay for 5 minutes without someone asking you if youre on your way up (the coast) and hearing about all the amazing adventures to be had... diving in Cairns, sailing in the Whitsundays, 4x4 and camping on Frasier Island. so i finally got my butt off the beach and made my plans! i decided to fly up to Cairns and then travel back down so i can end up in byron bay again (and closer to new zealand, my next adventure stop)

nov 6 - take bus up to brisbane, hang out with chris (duke friend studying in brisbane)
nov 7 - fly to cairns (take day trip up to the Daintree National Forest... try out tree surfing!)
nov 13 - take bus from cairns to airlie beach (the jumping off point for whitsundays sailing)
nov 17 - take bus from airlie beach to yappoon (the jumping off point for great keppel island - still off the radar for most backpackers)
nov 21 - take bus from yeppoon to the town of 1770 (a surfers mecca and seriously, any town with a name thats a date has to be awesome)
nov 23 - take bus from 1770 to rainbow beach/hervey bay (jumping off point for frasier island)
nov 27 - take bus from rainbow beach/hervey bay to noosa (similar town to byron bay)
nov 29 - take bus from noosa back to bribane!

so far nothing is booked after the whitsundays, but figured this might be what i end up doing. i will be buying a hop on, hop off bus ticket that will take me all the way down the coast and back to where i started! at this point i will likely want (and need) to settle someplace for a couple months and get a job. it will also be nice to be settled for christmas so i have friends to hang out with to slightly distract me from missing christmas with my family and the birth of baby jane.