Week:7 #TravelGoals

Australia. The great adventure. I came to Australia with many places in mind to visit. From iconic Sydney, to Uluru, to tropical Queensland and the Great barrier reef there is a lot Australia has on offer. What I didn’t expect however was how much there is to see in Victoria alone. From the moment I decided to study abroad in Australia (about a year ago) I knew I wanted to experience the nature in Australia. I would focus more on wildlife and natural scenery than I would the city.

Yesterday I accomplished one of my life goals and one of the reasons I chose to come here. I wanted to experience something completely unique to Australia… Kangaroos! It was just as amazing as I envisioned. I am sure that for natives of Australia they are not all that exciting but for a tourist like me they are incredible. I started the day by taking a 2 hr train ride to Ballarat. From there I took a bus and eventually arrived at Ballarat Wildlife Park. What I really loved about this place is that unlike some places where you pay to pet kangaroos within an enclosure all the kangaroos here were roaming free!

Over the past week I have seen some beautiful parts of Australia I never thought I would be able to see. I spend the first half of the last week in Sydney! I stood in a nice neighborhood called Surry Hills (Airbnb is the way to go). It was absolutely incredible. Finally seeing the Opera house in person was unreal. I walked the harbor bridge where just a few months ago they had the most amazing firework show I have ever seen… needless to say it was surreal. If you plan on traveling while abroad (which you should!) I recommend you plan things in advance because it will save you tons of money. While in Sydney a few friends and I hiked for about 2 hrs to go see the Figure 8 pools (picture below). Sydney was by far the closest to New York City I have gotten since getting here and I could honestly see myself living there. If you do make it out to Sydney do yourself a favor and go to Bondi Beach!

Later that same week I had the trip of a lifetime… the reason I chose Australia over every other program. I went up to Cairns and scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef! It was incredible! As a child I always knew I wanted to see the reef in person but never ever thought it would be possible. When I decided to go to Australia I knew I would have to visit Cairns which is about 3.5 hours north of Melbourne. It was worth every penny and again the earlier you plan the better! I planned my trip to Cairns about a month and a half before hand. I have been making it a point to do things differently here than I do back home.. to be adventurous. This trip was by far the highlight of my experience. I got there Wednesday night and on Thursday morning took a ferry 2 hours out to sea until we arrived at our first dive spot. Keep in mind I cannot swim (AT ALL) but I had come to far to not try it. I jumped in the water and while scary at first it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made. Facing that fear in such a beautiful place was amazing. I saw fish swimming all around me and did my best to get some footage (see below).

The next morning I headed out on a trip to the Daintree Rainforest and had a 12 hour day in the rainforest. It was so much fun and I got to see some crazy Australian wildlife such as the spider pictured below. Our tour guide was as Australian as they get and i truly felt at times as if I was in the movie ‘Crocodile Dundee”.This trip is by far the most exciting thing I have done and I recommend it if you are ever in Australia. I have added photos below:).

 

Reef Snorkeling

Huge spider in Rain Forest!

Sydney Opera House <3

Fitzroy Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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