Whitsundays, Fraser Island, and Byron Bay!

Alright folks, I finally have time to update this beast, so here we go.

SPRING BREAK.
(Or as the Aussies call it: Easter Break)

This was a trip booked through STA, aimed at international students, and was an excursion down the east coast of Australia. We went to the Whitsunday Islands, Fraser Island, and Byron Bay.

To start at the beginning:
We flew from the Newcastle airport up to Proserpine. When we got to their tiny airport, they didn't have a baggage claim. They literally drove up one of the trailers that they normally use to haul bags from A to B at large airports and said, 'here ya go!' Yea. So there was a mad rush to grab bags- fortunately mine was on top, and I'm speedy. Haha!

Then we took a shuttle to Airlie Beach, where we spent the night at a hostel there. We met up with the rest of our group- 2 more people. Wasn't as big of a group as we thought, but it's okay. We spent the evening getting to know each other a bit, and I had my first Baskin Robbins ice cream in about 10 years. :)

The next day we shopped around a bit before having to head to the marina to board our sailboat! There were about 23 people on our excursion aboard the S.V. Whitehaven. It was really cool. I couldn't believe they could fit that many people on a sailboat for 3 days. We had a captain, host, and a skipper. They seemed like pretty cool guys.

Sailing in the Whitsundays was really cool- except it rained a decent amount of time. We still got to see beautiful views of the islands and had a good sailing experience. I actually slept on deck for both of the nights, because the first night when I tried sleeping down below in my bunk I began to feel a little nauseous, so I slept in open air! :) We did a lot of snorkeling, and yes- I saw Nemo and family! I got so excited. The reefs were really cool, still a bit foggy though from the cyclone that passed through a week before. We went to Whitehaven Beach, which was AWESOME. We anchored in this bay that our skipper called 'turtle paradise', and we literally saw probably about 10 turtles. They were everywhere! Then we hiked through the rainforest a bit and got to this incredible beach. You can actually shine your jewelry with the sand on the beach. COOL. We saw a stingray and just hung out there for a couple hours before heading back to the boat. The people we met on the boat were awesome! I think the only other 'North Americans' on there were Canadian. So it was really cool meeting people from all over the world.

Once we got back to Airlie Beach, we hung out for the rest of the day, and then got on our Greyhound bus for a 15 or so hour bus ride down to Hervey Bay. It wasn't actually terrible since it was overnight, but it was the most uncomfortable sleep I've had in awhile. I cannot sleep sitting up I tell you. But once we got to Hervey Bay, we were kind of thrown into this excursion on Fraser Island- which is the world's largest sand island. We just got all this information and directions thrown at us, and none of us really understood what was going on or what we were doing. Before we knew it, we were on the ferry and headed over to Fraser Island to rough it for 3 days, driving in 4WD vehicles and sleeping in tents. Yea, you heard me. No showers, and we had to dig holes for our bathrooms. They gave us a shovel, though.

I was really skeptical about Fraser Island, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. We met amazing people- there were 5 vehicles in our caravan. They were from all over the world. Two of the girls in my group weren't American- one was from Holland and the other was from Northern Ireland, and they were so cool! Just amazing people. And I loved the camping aspect once we got used to it.

We saw amazing things on the island too- the Maheno shipwreck, which was really cool. We hiked up to Indian Head (a point) in the rain, and saw really pretty views of the island, and then went to the Champagne Pools. These are natural swimming pools filled with ocean water that constantly spills into them- so they're fizzy. Like champagne! We also went to Eli Creek, which is this awesome freshwater creek flowing through the island. I walked up it, which was awesome. Plus, since the whole island is sand, it was a really pleasant experience. We went to Lake McKenzie the next day, and it was GORGEOUS. Most beautiful lake I've seen. It had that beautiful turquoise water like the ocean, but it was freshwater, and all sand! Amazing. I was sad to leave it. If you get the chance- go to Fraser Island. Unless you hate camping.

Also, on Fraser Island, they constantly warn you about the Dingos. They have the last pure wild strains of Dingos on Fraser Island, and they pretty much tell you that the Dingos will eat your children. People who camp on the island with kids are recommended to stay in fenced-in campgrouds because the Dingos apparently like to attack kids. Crazy!! I saw 2 Dingos when I was there, but we saw evidence of them everywhere. OH and you can't swim in the ocean on the island because it's surrounded by sharks and jellyfish. Welcoming eh?

ANYWAYS. After Fraser Island, we headed back to Hervey Bay and cleaned up. Then we caught the 1:25 AM Greyhound down to Byron Bay. When we got there, we had a surf lesson! I LOVE SURFING. I got up on my first try, and it was difficult to stop me after that. Then we hung out and shopped the rest of the day, and went out on the town that night. I love Byron Bay. It's totally a surf town- everyone surfs there, and are all really chill. I could see myself living there.
The next day, we had a second surf lesson, and just relaxed the rest of the time. We went out again, but I called it an early night, because I was tired and sore from all the surfing. We did go see our surf instructors' band though. They were really good! I'm figuring out I love live music. It's just that much more atmospheric. :)

Sadly, the next day, it was time to leave. We got on the 11 AM bus bound for Newcastle. This bus ride was a lot harder to tolerate because it was during the day and we were all awake. I did manage to sleep a little bit, but it still wasn't very fun. Needless to say I was just glad to be home at the end of it.

It was definitely one of the most amazing trips I've been on, and I'll have those memories for a long time to come. Coming back to class was a bit of a letdown- as I had a 2500 word paper due this week (like 5-6 pages). But it's one of my friend's birthdays this weekend, so we'll be celebrating with her.

Being back at school makes me miss home a bit, because it's easier to think of home when you're not off traveling a country. I miss you guys- please keep me updated!! :)

I'll try to update this more often, but I say that everytime. This was allowed though because I was absent for 10 days and had a massive paper. Love you all!