Feb 08

The time has finally come where I have found a viable excuse for the huge lapses in time between my experiences and my postings-- midterms. Yesterday I took my Drugs and Behavior test and today I took my Love, Sex, and Relationships test. It feels great to finally be able to relax, especially since Tuesday is like Friday in Australia. If you've been regularly reading my blog, you should definitely consider subscribing to it so you can find out when I post new stuff and also so that I feel cool.
Anyway, Cairns. After two buses and a plane, I found myself in the warmest and most humid weather imaginable, on my way to the hostel with a few other Bond Uni kids, only one of whom I knew. The hostel was really cool- the girls on the trip apparently had extremely unrealistic expectations about hostel stays and complained constantly, but loved it! It was called the "Calypso" and was tiki themed, complete with torches and palm trees. I took way too many pictures in Cairns, so I'm going to do less explaining and more showing on this entry since I've already spent a solid two hours uploading the pictures. Please note that they are of an extremely reduced quality on this blog thinger-- I'll try to get them on Facebook soon. Here's our fabulous hostel:

and our room, complete with Pocahontas sheets:

and the path outside our room, complete with palm trees:

Not that we did any laundry, but I thought the laundry area was cool. I obviously took WAY too many pictures in Cairns.

The path to the other Bond kid's rooms. I ended up switching later on in the week to one of these rooms:

The Zanzibar, where we actually did hang out and meet some English, Swedish, Australian, and German kids, despite our fatigue after intense daily activities:

A pretty hydrangea-esque bush outside the hostel:

A crazy looking bug we found outside the hostel!

After the first night, we woke up early to take a bus to the Tully river for some white water rafting. Here's a shot of the river from one of our stops along the way:

Danyell and I, suited up for some serious rafting:

We stopped on the bank for lunch, and one of the raft guides told us to hold a hot dog over this one area and this disgusting eel came out!

Later, our friends the snapping turtles came to have a bite:

Afterward, they convinced us to spend wayyyy too much on a picture cd. I've included my favorite shots from it:




backwards...





This next sequence is hilarious:





Mauricio, our hilarious Chilean raft guide, making sure we got wet enough:


On day two we took a boat out onto the Great Barrier Reef for some snorkeling. Here's a shot of our boat:

And a couple of nice views from the boat:


Danielle and I relaxing on the front of the boat:


I bought a cheap underwater disposable to take pictures of the reef. I also bought an underwater camera, but managed to ruin all the film from that one, so this is all I got! The reef is the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen. These photos don't even remotely do it justice- the colors are all wrong. In real life they are much more neon and bright pastels, and the shapes are more vivid. Regardless, I'm glad I have these to remind me. Here's a shot of a reef shark, that scared me a bit when I first saw it!

Rainbow fish!

I found Nemo!


Crazy corals:

A school of bright fish...

The coral is so beautiful, I can't even explain.



Cool fishie:

More stunning corals:


Another bright fishie I followed around for a bit:

SO PRETTY!


Another cool school that came to see me:

Crazy bulbous coral things:

Some neon purple corals and the brainy guys:


Ahhh... it was the most beautiful thing ever.
The next day was out rain forest and waterfall tour. Before heading into the jungle, we stopped at a beautiful overpass to get a view of the countryside.

We stopped outside a rain forest trail to a famous gigantic fig tree. On the trail, Don revealed that he had some unkind assistance with his sunscreen:

This tree is called "wait-a-while," because the long, spiky tendrils actually grab you and force you to stay:

Here are all the girls inside the fig tree:

It's all viney like that because the fig tree actually grows around a host tree, strangling it. Here's a shot one of the tree from beneath:

The crazy vines that make the tree:

I took a couple of shots with my Minolta, as well, as I'm trying to actually learn how to use the thing. I decided to get digital copies this time because they're just a bit more practical sometimes...


The jungle:

"The Wallaby," our bus:

Afterward, we drove off to another location-- a jungle with a huge crater-made lake nearby. This is the gorgeous walk down to the lake:

The lake:

Trying to take pictures of butterflies=very difficult. You can just barely see one in the middle of the shot, but they are so vibrant green and blue that I had to try!


Back into the jungle... Here are two gigantic trees- I can't remember the name, but they are special because they actually shed bark when something tries to invade.

Some crazy fungus:

Cool lizard guy!

Another rain forest shot:

View of the lake from the path:

We got these ridiculously persistent leaches all over our bodies, which was great. Ask me for a video of the writhing little creeps:

more fungus...

cool-looking plant that, according to our tour guide, like everything else in the jungle, will probably kill you:

More interesting plant life...

Apparently trees with "buttress roots" (the kind that wing out like buttresses) are found only in the jungle. It helps them obtain nutrients from the surface level of the soil, where they are found.

The path continued back to the lake...

Where we swam and jumped off things:


After that we went to this absolutely stunning waterfall, Milaa-Milaa.



More Minolta attempts:

Some Salvia on the path:

Pretty flowers...


The path to the falls...

Danyell and I under the falls...

The group, trying to rally and take pictures... in the rain. Our super eccentric tour guide is on the right.

After that we took off in the bus to another path through the jungle. I thought these exposed roots were interesting; sad that they represent erosion due to human invasion.

This huge gorge- I couldn't take a picture of the whole thing at once:


And again with the Minolta:


A waterfall along the path:

Slow shutter speed=pretty waterfall

Back on the path... (think I took too many pictures?)

Me in front of the next waterfall.

We got out for a dip in this one. The fall farthest to the left (which you can see in the picture below because I'm not standing in front of it and making a stupid face) had a cave behind it- I almost died three times trying to swim through the current and falls to get to it. I lost my contacts. It was worth it.

Finally, we got back on "The Wallaby," and took a ride back into the countryside to return to the hostel.
That night Danyell and I went bowling and then to a house party some locals were throwing, which was a fascinating experience and a lesson in assimilation. It was probably the first time since I've arrived not hanging out with a group that wasn't half American. A group of girls showed us their skills with this flaming baton dance, which I guess is really popular at festivals here. They asked us about American politics and sports and we tried to clear up stereotypes... Somehow we managed to find our way to the airport the next morning! What a vacation!

I'm feeling extremely guilty about how far behind I am on entries... it's been 3+ weeks since my trip to the zoo, and I just got back from an incredible trip to Cairns, which is more presently relevant. I'll try to have my pictures developed and an entry posted by next week, but I can't make any promises because I have two midterms, a project, and a paper due.
Anyway, Australia Day was a day for heading to the Australia Zoo, also known as the Steve Irwin Zoo. After a short bus ride, we arrived and took a quite meandering look at many of Australia's (and some of Asia's) indigenous species. The first stop was at the home of a giant (monitor?) lizard, who was sunbathing to absorb some heat on the lovely day.

Right next door were the mammoth turtles, who were just getting ready for a feeding.

This picture shows their size with contrast to their feeder, who was giving them a special treat that day: hibiscus.

After that we ended up at one of many sections for Koala bears. All they do is sleep and eat! What a life!

Here's another cutie takin' a snooze:

Next, we headed to Kangaroo Heaven, outside of which was a home for these funny looking porcupine type guys:

This was the first kangaroo we came upon... We were afraid it would run away so we took about a million pictures.

Fortunately for us, the kangaroos in Kangaroo Heaven are marsupials of the unnaturally tame variety, and they let us pet them!

We took a few pictures with the kangaroo...

This is me with Matt and Matt, who along with Christine were my zoo-visiting partners:

A whole family of 'roos of a different species:

One of the family, hangin' out:

More of the family:

Little teeny cute guy of another species:

Me petting the little teeny cute guy:

This one made me laugh because it was more into the ducks than the other 'roos:

This one also made me laugh because it looked so contemplative and was sitting in a silly position:

From Kangaroo Heaven we decided to hop on the tram around the park, from which we saw the most adorable procession of elephants hooked nose to tail... If you look close you can see the front one is holding an Aussie flag.

We got off at the next stop (realizing we might as well have walked...) and headed into the open air bird section. This little guy was just hanging out in the middle of the path. It reminded me of Lizzy, my late iguana who passed of osteoporosis quite a few years ago.

We had a real go at trying to capture a picture of the black swan, who is only indigenous to Australia, and quite stunning in my opinion. Here's a shot of it through the trees:

Another shot of the black swan:

We rounded a bend and there was the most fun emu ever. It kept following me around as I took its picture, which made things very difficult!

Afterward, we went to the Asian section of the zoo and saw the elephants:

And tiger!!!! I really wanted to see a liger, but no such luck.

On the way out, we went to the koala petting area, where I saw this crazy plant:

And took more pictures of koalas, who were awake and "on-duty" for petting:


Afterward, I wanted to go see the camel exhibit, and got this lovely and flattering picture:

He wasn't out for feeding so we decided to leave and come back. We saw the cute little lambs:

And then wandered a bit more.... to find the dingoes!

Maybe the dingo ate your baby!

We wandered a bit more and found these jungle birds... I forget the name, but they're endangered and in the emu family:


Afterward we came to yet another area of koalas. Apparently they keep them separated by gender and age because they become hostile toward the opposite gender outside mating season. Here's a cute one having a snooze:

After that, we went to the Tasmanian devil section. Although they aren't nearly as fast as the ones from the cartoons, they hop around quick enough that it was pretty difficult to get a good picture. These are the best I could do:


Then we went to see the crocs. They were pretty sedentary, so not quite as intimidating as I'd imagined.

On the way out, I saw a woman with a snake. I opted not to hold it, as appealing as it may have been...

Afterward we went back to see the camel, so I could get a more flattering shot:

The only photogenic snake in the snake exhibit:

After that, we went to the enclosed bird sanctuary. I was hoping to see those mohawked white parrots, but to no avail. I'm going to blame the jerks who blatantly disregarded the "one door open at a time" policy. I did get to see this guy, who is pretty colorful. I think they fly around campus sometimes, but you never get this close.

Another cool-looking parrot:

Next, we went to see the wombats, who were just being introduced to a new home. This one was so funny. They let him out and he immediately went to the nearest corner to get cool. These photos are best viewed in succession.




They are really some of the funniest looking creatures ever:

A cool looking fern and fiddlehead near the wombat area:

Christine took this gorgeous picture of a pretty hibiscus near the center of the park:

The last thing we did was pay to get out picture taken with a koala. It was the cutest thing I have ever touched or been even been in the near proximity of since my guinea pig died.

Overall, it was a great trip. If you're planning on going to a zoo around here, though, those short of cash might consider the Currumbin Sanctuary to save a few beans. It doesn't have elephants and tigers, but you'll save about $60 and still get a chance to hold a koala and pet a kangaroo... not to mention you won't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus to another bus.