The Land Down Under!

So I definitely just wrote a post for the past hour, but decided I didn't like the format of it, so I'm starting again.  haha.  OCD much?  Or maybe I just haven't blogged consistently for so long that I don't remember how!  Either way, here goes round 2!

Australia!  Oh man, it was the greatest trip ever.  2 weeks was not long enough!  There is so much to see and do!  Having said that though, we definitely packed a TON into 2 weeks.  Brandon had time off school and hadn't done much exploring so we rented a car, grabbed our GPS and Lonely Planet, and checked out the sites!

The first day I was there, I was SUPER jet lagged, but there was a crew of people heading toward the Gold Coast for a hike, so we decided to join them.  SOO beautiful!


Seriously, this picture does not do this place justice. Everything is so green and lush, and the most beautiful waterfalls ever!
  And then there's this guy. Mr. Red Belly Black snake. One of Australia's top 10 most venomous snakes. Just thought he'd block our trail for a bit. Let's just say I jumped at any little creature on the trail after that.
That night we went for a little stroll down by the river in Brisbane. Which is so beautiful! And let me tell you, someone was thinking when they developed this area of Brisbane. Walk-out pool, great walking paths, cliffs for rock climbing, grassy areas, and public BBQ's. And it's all free! Such a great little family spot actually.
Easter Sunday we got up bright and early to make our 6:00 AM flight to Cairns! It was very easy to fall in love with Cairns, which I did almost instantly. 28 degrees, right by the water, everything in walking distance, little markets, the best burger of my life, and TONS to do! Monday we headed out to a little place called Kuranda, which is a village just outside of Cairns. We rode the gondola up over the rainforest, made a couple stops along the way, spent the day in the markets and seeing the sights of Kuranda, then rode a train back down into Cairns. The markets were great!  Brandon tried out a couple of didgeridoos and we both bought kangaroo shaped postcards for our little brothers that were made of kangaroo hides.  Best postcards ever!
One of the waterfalls on the way up
Tuesday was the day we had REALLY waited for...the day we headed out to the Great Barrier Reef! The reef is so unreal! It's like nothing I have ever seen in my life! We headed out bright and early Tuesday morning and rode out to our liveaboard boat, the Kangaroo Explorer. As SOON as we got there, we got a quick rundown of boat rules, schedules, ect., then went for our first dive!
 
I hadn't been diving for 6 years, so it took me a little bit to adjust to wearing the gear, checking my depth frequently (learned that one the hard way when I accidentally went to 27 meters when they wanted us to stay above 18...oops?) but seriously, the diving was AMAZING! For the sake of time, Brandon wasn't able to get his open water certification before we left, so he did 3 snorkels and 3 dives, and I did 6 dives. Including a night dive! Which turns out, kind of terrifies me a little. Something about going deep into the ocean with only the light of a small flashlight at night just makes me slightly uneasy. But seriously, we saw EVERYTHING! Turtles, sharks, clams, insane amounts of every kind of fish...I loved every minute of it! oooo...barracuda (note the guy in the top left corner. this thing was huge!)
After a successful day of diving!
And even more diving the next day! Starting at 5:30 AM. No rest for the wicked on the Kangaroo Explorer.

Our dive map of the Moore Reef.  I'm basically a pro navigator now. (ha! yeah right...)

On the boat back into Cairns
 (Don't mind all the pictures...we rented an underwater camera and as you can see, we got our use out of it!) Thursday morning we headed back to Brisbane, picked up our car, and went off to see the sights again! It was kind of rainy, but we decided to go down to the Gold Coast anyways. One thing I noticed about Australia is how amazing their beaches are. The sand is so white and fine, and the water is an incredible seafoam green. I guess that's where seafoam gets its name?
The money shot! It took several attempts and adjustments to get that reflection of the rainbow in there! Thursday night, since we were already in the area, we decided to go up toward a place called Natural Bridge to see the glow worm caves. BLEW MY MIND! Seriously, it was up there with diving as the coolest part of Australia. We used my phone as a flashlight as we hiked down toward the caves, then we saw some little green spots in the bushes so we shut the light off. Once we got into the cave they were EVERYWHERE! Here's my attempt at a picture:
(One day I'll go back with a tripod and do some long exposure work). Cave + waterfall crashing into a pool inside the cave + glow worms = incredible. Gah! Just thinking about it makes me want to go see it again.

Friday was zoo day! We went to the Australia Zoo (home of Steve Irwin!) So many cool creatures to see!
 
Oh just Steve's kids feeding the crocs!

We decided to take the scenic route home from the zoo...

Saturday was another of my favorite days. We headed north toward a little touristy/hippie town called Noosa. It's fantastic. So laid back, lots of beach, and not super crowded or busy like the Gold Coast was. We stopped at the markets in Barramundi, made a little picnic and ate it on the beach, then lounged at the beach for a few hours. Turns out Brandon isn't much of a beach bum...an hour laying on the beach and he was spent.  Which I quickly shut down.  haha.  What can I say, after living in Hawaii for a year you just get used to wasting your life away while lounging in the sun!  He just hasn't lived in Australia long enough yet...
And then came Sunday...my last day! We listened to some conference, then went for a little drive over to the University of Queensland, where Brandon goes to school. And by that...I mean he studies Wizardry. This place is totally Hogwarts!
He's "studying medicine". Riiight.

We stopped by the temple quick to get some pictures too! The Brisbane temple has the most beautiful grounds! And it overlooks the river. Beauty.

So there you go...my Aussie adventure in a nutshell. A very large nutshell that is. haha.  Check another continent off my list!  3 down, 4 to go!