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Anyways, I
left off after our second day- A day out in the rainforest. Well, since the Daintree Rainforest is massive and incredibly interesting and varied, we couldn't just leave it at one day- we went back for a second! Our second day was spent wandering around in the drizzling rain (it was rainy season, did I mention that ;) ... ) and went on a waterfall tour. We visited a few different swimming holes, including lake Eacham, which is a volcanic crater turned swimming hole! Honestly, it's just like a big puddle- our tour guide told us that it has been there for thousands of years, and there are seemingly no rivers running in or out of it! He mention
ed that many people believed there were actually springs in the bottom of the lake, and likewise, holes that sucked water out. However, no one wants to get close enough to check for fear that they too will be sucked out.
left off after our second day- A day out in the rainforest. Well, since the Daintree Rainforest is massive and incredibly interesting and varied, we couldn't just leave it at one day- we went back for a second! Our second day was spent wandering around in the drizzling rain (it was rainy season, did I mention that ;) ... ) and went on a waterfall tour. We visited a few different swimming holes, including lake Eacham, which is a volcanic crater turned swimming hole! Honestly, it's just like a big puddle- our tour guide told us that it has been there for thousands of years, and there are seemingly no rivers running in or out of it! He mention
ed that many people believed there were actually springs in the bottom of the lake, and likewise, holes that sucked water out. However, no one wants to get close enough to check for fear that they too will be sucked out. We also saw a few g
orgeous waterfalls and gorges, such as the Josephine Falls and the Mossman gorges. Unfortunately, the water was a little too high to swim in most places, but that made some swimming holes, such as the wonderful and well known Milla Milla waterfall, that much more fun! I was a little too afraid to swim underneath the waterfall (although a few friends told me it felt like an aggressive back massage), but I did stand directly behind this immense, 60 foot tall waterfall, and it felt like a hurricane!
orgeous waterfalls and gorges, such as the Josephine Falls and the Mossman gorges. Unfortunately, the water was a little too high to swim in most places, but that made some swimming holes, such as the wonderful and well known Milla Milla waterfall, that much more fun! I was a little too afraid to swim underneath the waterfall (although a few friends told me it felt like an aggressive back massage), but I did stand directly behind this immense, 60 foot tall waterfall, and it felt like a hurricane! That night we rushed back to a Toga Party Pub Crawl! Our entire 100+ people group fashioned togas from sheets and made our way around Cairns by a double decker party bus! Thankfully, it merely sprinkled that night, although a downpour wouldn't have stopped us. Although tired from the long days we were having, we played funky, hard-to-explain games, ate pizza, and shared pitchers of beer. It was great fun, but when bedtime came, I was very ready. 
The next day was fre
e for us to explore the area, so my roommates and I decided to head down to the local beach. Trinity beach was the closest, and still about a 45 min. bus ride away. The public transportation system was much slower and less available in Cairns compared to Sydney, which wasn't very surprising. The beach, like Cape Tribulation Beach, was nearly empty, and was vast, quiet, and beautiful. We were warned pretty quickly by locals that the water was notorious for small jellyfish called Irukandji- these are actually as small as a match, and can kill in only a few hours. Our tour guide told us that they are the most venomous creature in the world. Frightened, we steered clear of the water and thanked God that Irukandji aren't infesting the waters in Sydney. Despite not being able to swim, we enjoyed strolling the beach and picking up shells and sunshine, of which I'm thankfully picking up a lot of lately :)
e for us to explore the area, so my roommates and I decided to head down to the local beach. Trinity beach was the closest, and still about a 45 min. bus ride away. The public transportation system was much slower and less available in Cairns compared to Sydney, which wasn't very surprising. The beach, like Cape Tribulation Beach, was nearly empty, and was vast, quiet, and beautiful. We were warned pretty quickly by locals that the water was notorious for small jellyfish called Irukandji- these are actually as small as a match, and can kill in only a few hours. Our tour guide told us that they are the most venomous creature in the world. Frightened, we steered clear of the water and thanked God that Irukandji aren't infesting the waters in Sydney. Despite not being able to swim, we enjoyed strolling the beach and picking up shells and sunshine, of which I'm thankfully picking up a lot of lately :)Later in the day, my roommate Keri and I signed up to go White Water Rafting with 
a company called Foaming Fury! It was great fun, and although it was more like White Water Tubing, since the largest of the rapids we went over was barely two feet high, it was still a lot of fun, especially our tour guide telling us about the wildlife of the land and playing catch with his football in the water. He also took time during the slow portions of the river to play games with us that would always end with us in the water. One in particular was a trust game- He asked Keri and I to hold our paddle ends and clip the handles against one another so that we would both lean back over the edges of the raft and trust our weights to balance each other. Once we were leaning over the raft enough, however, our guide just hit where our paddles connected and sent us both backwards into the water.
a company called Foaming Fury! It was great fun, and although it was more like White Water Tubing, since the largest of the rapids we went over was barely two feet high, it was still a lot of fun, especially our tour guide telling us about the wildlife of the land and playing catch with his football in the water. He also took time during the slow portions of the river to play games with us that would always end with us in the water. One in particular was a trust game- He asked Keri and I to hold our paddle ends and clip the handles against one another so that we would both lean back over the edges of the raft and trust our weights to balance each other. Once we were leaning over the raft enough, however, our guide just hit where our paddles connected and sent us both backwards into the water. Our final day came sadly and with our entire hostel room smelly musty and wet. We were all exhausted, b
ut I had one thing left to do before I returned to Sydney! One of my closest friends from Vermont, Allie Schellong, had just started her study abroad adventure a few weeks previously in-where else, but- CAIRNS! I hopped on a bus and met her at her school- James Cook University! It was so nice to see a familiar face. Half the time I forget what it feels like to be at Saint Mike's, or in Vermont even! It all feels so far away! Seeing Allie, however, reminded me so much of home, it was like visiting there again! We went again to Trinity Beach and found a jellyfish free section (protected by nets) and swam. We talked a lot about what we still wanted to do while we were in Australia, any cultural differences that we had already noticed, things we loved and disliked about our new home, and things we missed about our old home. I only was able to spend a few hours with her before having to make my way back to the bus to the airport, but I'm so glad that I was able to see her! I'm already excited to land in Burlington and see everyone from home again!
ut I had one thing left to do before I returned to Sydney! One of my closest friends from Vermont, Allie Schellong, had just started her study abroad adventure a few weeks previously in-where else, but- CAIRNS! I hopped on a bus and met her at her school- James Cook University! It was so nice to see a familiar face. Half the time I forget what it feels like to be at Saint Mike's, or in Vermont even! It all feels so far away! Seeing Allie, however, reminded me so much of home, it was like visiting there again! We went again to Trinity Beach and found a jellyfish free section (protected by nets) and swam. We talked a lot about what we still wanted to do while we were in Australia, any cultural differences that we had already noticed, things we loved and disliked about our new home, and things we missed about our old home. I only was able to spend a few hours with her before having to make my way back to the bus to the airport, but I'm so glad that I was able to see her! I'm already excited to land in Burlington and see everyone from home again!Wish me luck at my internship tomorrow!
Beautiful waterfall pics! Loved the toga shot too.
ReplyDeletetoga...toga...toga...!
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