Along the Eastern Shore

When we returned to Cairns from the reef, we rented a car to head up to Daintree to make use of our tent and sleeping bags.  After crossing the river on a short ferry ride, you enter a very remote and humid retreat with possibly more crocodiles than humans. We camped out at Noah’s Beach, and the location was picturesque. The site was 10 meters from a secluded, beautiful beach and surrounded by rainforest. We shared the campsite with two baby cassowaries and loved the constant sounds of birds and frogs. We went on a couple hikes but spent most of our time on the beach. Despite the croc warning signs, we jumped in the water a few times. It was a really eerie feeling, especially when the wind picked up and muddled the water a bit. Needless to say we were in and out of in a couple minutes. 

After a few days of relaxation, we decided to pack up the car and head west towards Atherton Tablelands, where Ricky spent a month with his field studies program. Our guidebook steered us towards the small town of Yungaburra. We stayed in a log cabin backpacker place and our days consisted of visiting Millaa Millaa falls for a quick dip, renting bikes for a 20k ride to see Lake Barrine and a massive curtain fig tree, and playing ping pong. We enjoyed the slow pace and friendly folks, not to mention the lovely landscape of rolling hills and rainforest.

We headed back to Cairns for a couple days before our flight south to Brisbane. We soaked up the city’s great weather and spent a day testing out didgeridoos. Store owners were happy to give free lessons and we actually caught on quickly.  Then off to Brisbane. We stayed in the city for four nights and checked out the markets, toured the XXXX Brewery, and went to an Australian Rugby League game. Brisbane Broncos won! The game was a lively place, entertained by the game and rants of the Aussie fans towards the players and refs.

From Brisbane we took the train east to the Gold Coast, and ended up in paradise… Surfers Paradise that is.  We made a new friend there who was gracious enough to put us up for a few days and spoil us with the best sushi meal of our lives. It was great to get back to the coast, and the view from the apartment we were at was literally a dream; a bit of an upgrade from our hostels :) 360 degrees of beach, river, city and mountains.  We soaked in the luxury and the beautiful weather, and I knew we were in for a treat as Byron Bay was next on the agenda.   Thank you all for the Birthday wishes! It was an absolutely wonderful day in Byron and I wish you all could have been there with me :)

We have been at Byron for five nights and it has definitely lived up to the glory that everyone raves about. It is super chilled out and the beach is fantastic. The sand is white powder and the perfect sets of waves are never-ending.  We’ve stayed at a backpacker’s lodge called the Arts Factory and everyone is warm, welcoming and very alternative. We spent three nights in a ten-person teepee and kept warm by a wood burning stove. Spent most of our days playing frisbee at the beach, hiking to the most eastern tip of Australia where whales were a plenty, and joined a drum circle today for some lessons.  Honestly, its easy to see how people come for two nights and stay twenty years. But rest assured, we are moving on as we have a flight to Sydney in the morning. But Byron Bay is on the top of the list of places to return and I highly recommend it to all.

We are excited to continue our adventures, although in a bit colder of climates. Not sure what our plans are for Sydney, other than checking out the Opera House, harbor and possibly more beaches. Shouldn’t be too rough, hehe. I’ll keep posting (hopefully more frequently than lately). Lots of love!

We have saved money by cooking for ourselves, and it’s been a blast constantly surprising ourselves with our dining creations. Here are some favorites:

Loaded chili baked potatoes, Fajitas, Gold Coast Prawn Ceviche, Ham and Cheese Croissants, Tuna Melts w/ tomato soup, and last night’s Beef Strogonaugh! 

PADI Certified!!

We have spent the past 5 days getting SCUBA certified at the Great Barrier Reef. We had 2 days of in-class and pool instruction and then onto the boat for 3 days of eat, sleep, dive. We were spoiled with amazing food and entertaining company. We accomplished a total of 8 dives and 1 snorkel dive at a few different locations along the reef. Half of the dives were led by an instructor, including the night dive! and the rest we were free to explore. The reef far exceeded all of my expectations, from the size and variety of the mountains and valleys of coral, to the sharks, sting rays, parrot fish, fish of all shapes and colors, and Nemo!  It was an exhausting few days, with early mornings, heavy equipment, and putting on wet 5mm wetsuits 4 times in a day, but every time we were under the water it was a new and fantastic adventure and we are already looking into our next dives, possibly in Fiji  :) 

We are spending a night back in Cairns, which is a lively, beachside city, and then renting a car and heading north to Daintree for a few nights of camping. We plan to hit a couple of spots that Ricky had visited with this program, including some waterfalls, and then hike and swim near our camp site. Should be loads of fun :)  I'm loving the accents and slang that I constantly hear. It's been great soaking up the rays in our swimmies and sunnies haha. The people are awesome and I know that the next adventures are going to be a thrill.. although breathing 18m under is hard to beat!  

Upon Departure..

Bags are packed and I'm getting ready to head to the airport to begin this adventure of a lifetime!! Ricky has been there for a month and has gotten me extremely excited for all the adventures to come in Australia. His rainforest management program was a success and he might even continue further research in Queensland. We will be meeting up in Cairns, stay there for a bit and do some camping, scuba diving and sight seeing. From there we have flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland New Zealand, and finally Fiji. Between the tropical climate in Cairns and Fiji and the Winter weather in NZ and Sydney packing was tough to tackle, not to mention the variety between camping gear and city slicks.
I've had a great summer thus far, spending a lot of time with relatives that made their way to Orange County, training as a server at Hanna's Restaurant, and soaking up the great outdoors at the lake, beach, and dog park :)  However, this trip was constantly on my mind and I am so happy my day of departure has arrived. My parents even took me out to Outback last night for a bon voyage dinner; we thought it an appropriate restaurant for the occasion and steak and lobster dinners aren't quite in our budget for the next two months.
I will try to keep up this blog when we are at hostels or in cities,  in between camping in the boonies. I figured this would be the easiest way to keep updates on our adventures and share photos along the way. I will miss all of my family and friends immensely during our time in the opposite hemisphere, but I am thinking about you all and thanking you for your support and excitement for this opportunity. And, as the web address states, we encourage all of you to meet us in Fiji for some beauty and adventure! Might as well make a pit stop in Hawaii and surf Waimea Bay along the way :)  Now for this 14 hour flight.... talk to you soon!