Byron Bay Trip

Hey guys,

I spent about 12 hours back at my apartment after getting back from my trip up in Yorkey's Knob with my dad before heading south to Byron Bay. Byron Bay is a very small hippie surf town about an hour drive south of the Gold Coast.  My roommate Elin and I took the Greyhound down to meet our friends Pontus and Malin there who went down on Friday morning.

Right when we arrived we checked into our hostel and borrowed surfboards and wetsuits and met Pontus and Malin down at the beach to "attempt" to surf.  The boards weren't like the softer beginner ones we were used to and my knee has still been bothering me so I didn't last for too long.

We spent most of the day on the beach and then headed back to the hostel to get cleaned up before dinner.  There was a BBQ at our hostel for just $10 for unlimited food so we decided to do that.  We spent the next few hours hanging out with some of the people from the hostel.

Sunday morning my roommate Elin and I walked to the famous Cape Byron Lighthouse which was about a 3 mile walk each way. it was well worth it! There were amazing views of the ocean and we made it to the most eastern point of Australia on the way.  The lighthouse was amazing and I can definitely understand why it is such a huge attraction and a must do when in Byron Bay.  When we got back we went back to the beach for awhile and then went for some amazing ice cream! We got our stuff and headed to a cafe to have a coffee and wait for the bus back. Although it was a short trip it was nice hanging out and relaxing there.

As for the rest of the week, I will be studying hard for my exams.  Today was my last day of classes so now I just have 3 exams left.  My program's farewell dinner is Thursday night and then we have a dreamworld party with my apartment complex on Saturday.  Then Sunday it is off to New Zealand for 5 days! I am really excited for that!! 

Hope you all have a great week and I will write again soon.

Dad's Visit to Aussie

Hey everyone,

As many of you may know my dad and Joy flew out to Australia this past week for a visit.  They arrived last Friday afternoon, where I met them at their hotel.  We walked down the beach from Main Beach to Surfers Paradise to go to the Q1 building which was supposed to be really cool but because of a private event the observatory and restaurant were closed to the public. 

 Instead headed back to Main Beach to go out to dinner at a place called Outback Jacks which I had heard was really good! It's right on the water and has a pretty cool atmosphere.  How nice it was to have a nice glass of wine versus the boxed kind! I had steak with garlic prawns in a Bearnaise sauce which was AMAZING! Then we finished off the meal with a piece of apple pie and some coffee.  

They wee really tired from the trip so they were going to head to bed early.  It was my friend Pontus's birthday so I met up with a bunch of friends in Broadbeach.  I met them at the restaurant and then we headed to a bar after a quick stop at the beach.  It was a really fun night despite Pontus not feeling too well after eating some oysters! 

The next day I took the bus back to their hotel where we spent a little bit hanging out by the pool despite it being cloudy and cool! Then my dad and I headed to my apartment so he could meet a couple of my roommates and see my campus.  Only two of my roommates were home so after looking around my small apartment we all headed through campus for a quick tour. 

Then it was dinner time and we went out for Italian in Main Beach.  I had pumpkin and ricotta filled ravioli with asparagus and chicken which was so good.  We also had dessert which was delicious as well. 

Then it was back to my apartment as they had an early flight to Cairns in the morning.  I had classes Monday and Tuesday so I flew out to Cairns Tuesday night to meet them there.  They rented an amazing beach front apartment in Yorkey's Knob which is a small town fifteen minutes north of Cairns.  I was exhausted from a long day of class and then traveling and we were getting up at 7 for a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef so we all went to bed early.  

Apartment in Yorkey's Knob

view from balcony

Beach across the street

We got up nice and early for our boat trip out to the outer reef.  Since I had already been to the inner reef I was looking forward to seeing the outer reef.  It was a great day sunny and in the 80's.  The ocean was really rough with like six foot waves causing it to be a very rough ride.   The boat ride took probably around 2 hours before we stopped at our first dive and snorkel spot.  We snorkeled around for a little while and then Joy and I went scuba diving.  It was pretty unorganized because of the large amount of people diving for the first time but besides that it was a pretty good dive! After diving we had pasta for lunch and then headed to our second snorkel location.  The reefs at his location were amazing and really colorful.  I went snorkeling around for over an hour.  spent awhile searching for Nemo which I eventually found! haha 

My Dad Snorkeling

Giant Clam!

After swallowing a large amount of salt water snorkeling down several feet trying to get good pictures of "Nemo" my stomach wasn't feeling too great which made for a rocky ride back.  I survived without getting sick thankfully! We got back to the apartment a little after 5 and decided to just relax and make burgers so we didn't have to go back out.  It was nice and relaxing! 

Thursday we slept in a little and decided to go up to Kuranda which is an aboriginal type village with a bunch of cool shops and wildlife places to visit.  We took the Skyrail there which had some amazing views of the ocean, the rain forest, and Barron Falls! We grabbed lunch at a nice restaurant that was right in the rain forest which was really nice. I decided it was time to try kangaroo! It was alright but I don't think it would be something I would order again.  

View from Skyrail to Kuranda

Barron Falls from Skyrail

Kangaroo

After lunch we stopped in a couple cool shops filled with aboriginal arts and crafts.  Our last stop at Kuranda was the Venon Museum which housed some of the deadliest snakes in the world.  It was pretty freaky.  At the end I was able to hold a water python which was awesome! 

Water Python

Then we headed back to the skyrail.  We made a quick stop at Barron Falls to take some pictures of the waterfalls and walk along the boardwalk through the rainforest.  

We got back to the apartment and had a quick shower before dinner.  For dinner we were told we should try the Boat club.  It was right at the marina and had outside seating which was really nice.  Joy and I had oysters as an entree (appetizer) which was my first time eating them and actually thought they were pretty good.  For dinner I had the catch of the day and chips which was really fresh and delicious! 

Dinner at the Boating Club

Relaxing Weekend/Stradbroke Island

Hola!

A couple exiting things to report after a relaxing weekend.  Friday after I submitted my group marketing project that has engulfed my life toward the end of last week, I headed off to the beach with some mates.  The weather has been in the low 70's but nothing but sunny skies.  Friday night a bunch of us went out to Surfer's to a bar/club to celebrate a friend's birthday.  It was a good time and we met up with my Scotish friend Mark who Jackie and I met on our sailing trip in the Whitsundays.  Saturday a group of us hung out by the pool and relaxed. 

As most of you know Jeremy graduated Saturday so congrats to him! Wish I would have been able to make the graduation and the nice Italian dinner after but I think my excuse was sufficient! It's crazy to believe that I am only a two years away from graduating myself!

Sunday, my friend Pontus, Logan and I went on a boat trip to Stradbroke Island which was through our apartment complex.  The weather was great nothing but sunny skies throughout the day.  Stradbroke Island was a ten minute drive from the Gold Coast and then about an hour ferry to the island.  We relaxed and did some kyacking.  We took a walk on the beach and noticed hundreds of soldier crabs running along the beach.  It was a crazy sight. We got lunch of burgers and salad as part of the package. After lunch we had a nice cold drink and noticed a Wallaby sitting right next to us.  A wallaby is pretty much a smaller version of a kangaroo.  It just kind of sat there for awhile and then came by us later when we were on the beach. 

Gold Coast Skyline

Soldier crab burying itself in the sand

Soldier Crabs were everywhere

Wallaby

Sunday night I got a message from a friend saying she found the cheapest tickets to Bali for the week we didn't have exams.  Ever since mid semester break we have been wanting to go to Bali which is where a bunch of people went from our apartments during the mid-semester break.  We hadn't been able to find flights that were under $800 Aussie dollars.  The sale was for a roundtrip ticket for $550 Aussie dollars.  Realizing I probably wouldn't get an opportunity to go otherwise (besides maybe far in the future) I decided I was going to book it.  There are four of us going as of now. 

Although these last couple trips will tap significantly into my car money,  I have realized that the experiences I have here will far outlive the life of any car or other material item I could buy.  With that said, I have also found a cheap flight to New Zealand for 4 days in early June which I will hopefully book tomorrow!  That will conclude my major travels of the semester and will mean I will be leaving around the scheduled date of the last week in June so I can get back with some time to make some money.

My dad and Joy will be arriving Friday morning to the Gold Coast where they will spend the weekend here with me before heading off to Cairns where I will meet them after classes later in the week.  It is hard to grasp that my semester is drawing to a close as  I have just under 6 weeks remaining.

I have been tracking the score of the Bulls games on my! Pretty cool! Hope they can keep it up!

Hope you all have a great week and I will be sure to write again after my dad arrives!

Cheers,
Bryan