Reefs and Rainforests Galore!

I'll have to take the next few days to explain how amazing and busy the last week has been! I've done so much! In a few lines, I have done/seen...

Scuba diving and snorkeling on the great barrier reef, played with giant clams and stingrays, went on a minjin swing through the rainforest, walked through the rainforest, swam through a beautiful, giant waterfall, swung on a vine in the Daintree Rainforest, went crocodile spotting, white water rafting, pet a few kangaroos, and more!

So as you know I went to Cairns from Saturday until yesterday (Thursday) evening. About 60 people from my school group went with a travel group called Phi Beta Dingo, along with another group of about 30 students from Illinois that have been in Sydney. Cairns, in Northern Australia, is smaller than Sydney (only about 100,000 people), but is extremely well known as the hub of the Great Barrier Reef. I'll go over a few days at a time, because I have so much to tell everyone!

We arrived Saturday afternoon to our hostel which was called Gilligans. It was very interesting to meet the different people that stayed there from around the world. Our room was simple but it was all that we needed. It had 3 bunk beds and a small bathroom. We didn't spend very much time in our room anyways! We went to dinner, which was a pizza buffet, and filled us up. We spent a little while hanging around the bar but didn't linger for long because at 6 am the next morning we would be waking and preparing for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef!

It was pretty rainy while we were there, but it wasn't awful. It was warm the whole time as well, and I would have rather it been cool and wet than sweaty and 100 degrees all week (we only had that one day). On Sunday morning we rose early and went downstairs for our free breakfast. As a group, we walked to the pier in Cairns and took off to sea!

After about an hour, we laid anchor just off of a small island called Michaelmas Cay. We were there for about 6 hours, and I could have stayed so much longer! Each person was allotted a 30 min. guided scuba dive and unlimited time snorkeling! First off, I'll talk about scuba diving...

It was a very strange experience. I went in my bathing suit, which was chilly, but fine to wear. they strapped a weight around my waist so that I wouldn't float to the surface with my huge tank of oxygen. Everything was pretty heavy, but I only sat with it on for about 2 minutes before they pushed me into the water! The goggles were strange, and it was the hardest part for me to get used to. Because of everything that I had on, it seems like everything is in slow motion. I couldn't use my peripheral vision because of the goggles, and my jaw hurt from clamping down on my oxygen source. It took me about 5 minutes to realize that I was ok. At first I was actually afraid! I didn't think I liked it because it was so strange. Breathing was something I had to think about, I couldn't see all around me, there were fish everywhere, and I couldn't talk to anyone or hear anything! Very strange! After a few minutes at about 5 feet below the water, however, I got used to it and started to be a little more comfortable, and then we were off! I swam with 3 other girls, and we had a scuba guide who made sure we were ok and guided us (literally, with his hand, pushed our tanks in the right direction). We all linked arms for protection and so that it would be easier to guide us, and we swam for about 30 minutes! The reefs were beautiful! So colorful and full of life! I saw a few clownfish in their anemones, a few other larger fish, some parrot fish, and some giant clams! We saw all sorts of different coral, such as the brain coral, and other squishy, worm-like coral that undulated and moved like a bed of fat, loose grass! Overall, it was an amazing experience, but I actually enjoyed snorkeling so much more! I was free of the scuba gear, and only needed my goggles and snorkel and I was off! My favorite fish were small, white fish that stayed in shallower water. Some were only the size of minnows, but most were about the size of my hand. I found out that they eat particles of food that lie in the sand, so they crowded around me in a group of 50 when I would kick up the sand! I played with them for a long time, just kicking up sand and then trying to grab one. I never did, they were too quick :)

I did get to see a few giant clams and a stingray, who was very pretty with blue and yellow spots on his gray body. I really could have stayed out snorkeling all day, and it helped me so much to become more accustomed to the water and the ocean!

That night was extremely exciting as well, as our group returned to our hostel, dried off, and went to the bungy jumping site in the rainforest! The famous A.J. Hackett, inventor of bungy jumping, came out to watch some of our group brave the 60 meter jump off of a platform into the rainforest! Rest easy, though, I didn't do the jump! I was very nervous, tired from a long day, and not interested in paying for the jump. I watched my friend Andres and roommate Sam jump together though, which was plenty of exhiliration watching them! Each person, however, did get to do the Minjin Swing, which is popular at amusement parks in the USA. They strap three people into harnesses, attach them to a cable, and lift them up about 100 feet into the air. I went with a few friends, Katherine and Tori, and as they pulled us up into the dark rainforest, we continued up, being pulled backwards and up away from the ground. We finally reached the top, at about 100 feet, and I could barely see the people in the building below. A green light at the starting station lit up, and Tori pulled a cord that sent us flying! We flew forwards at about 60 mph, through the rainforest, and back up into the air! We swung there for a few minutes until they could slow us down enough, and we screamed the whole time! It was so much fun, and just the right amount of adrenaline for the day! Here's a link to a video of someone doing the same exact swing that I did with Tori and Katherine, so you can see what I did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIAsNKA9atg

I think that's enough for now- I'm exhausted just reliving the first day! I'll write more tomorrow, and talk about our next few days that took us trekking through the Daintree Rainforest- the largest Rainforest in Australia, estimated to be about 20,000 years old!!