Fun in the Sun!

The second part of my mid-semester break began with the flight from Melbourne to Cairns for a week. When we arrived and found the shuttle that would take us to our hostel, we were told that they had overbooked and we had been upgraded to their sister hostel called Calypso! It was nice enough and we ended up getting a quad room, with just the three of us in it.

The Calypso Inn.

We spent a little time wandering around the downtown/shopping district in Cairns and ended up finding the docks, a big pool called the lagoon, and a great outdoor market. The weather was beautiful and we just enjoyed walking around in the sun during our first day in Cairns. For dinner we went to a restaurant close to our hostel called the Cock & Bull where we ordered nachos and Caesar salad to share. It was delicious.

The harbour.

The lagoon.

The big fish at the Cock & Bull.

Kaitlyn, Sam, and I had one more day off before we'd really get into all the tourist activities so we headed back to the lagoon on Sunday to suntan and relax. Even hotter than the day before, we made lots of trips into the water and put on lots of sunscreen and had a great day. That night, we headed back into town to go see the night markets - shops set up in a small indoor mall selling lots of great trinkets and souvenirs. It was pretty cool and a great excuse to get out in the evening!

On Monday, the three of us woke up early to catch the shuttle to 'The Reef', otherwise known as the docks. We had booked a daytrip out to the Great Barrier Reef to go snorkelling. I was super excited since its arguably the most well-known feature of Australia. Knowing that I don't do to well on small boats on the ocean, I bought a couple of natural ginger tablets that were supposed to prevent sea-sickness. I'm glad to say they worked and I had a great day out on the ocean. We stopped at two sites to snorkel and dive. It was really beautiful with all different kinds of fish: blue ones, yellow ones, big ones, small ones. I even got to touch a sea-cucumber (with permission from our guide, of course). Best part: I saw what I've always wanted to see; a turtle! By the time we got back to our hostel, we were exhausted but satisfied - I can't believe I was able to go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef before I reached the age of 21!

Looking out at the Great Barrier Reef.

Snorkelling.

Cool yellow fish!

Turtle! Unfortunately he's not centred in the picture, but it's really difficult taking pictures underwater!

Cheers!

Tuesday, we took the ferry from Cairns to Fitzroy Island, where we went sea-kayaking, did some more snorkelling, walked along the shoreline, and just relaxed on the beach. It was great fun, but all that paddling was definitely tiring. Unfortunately I had used up all the film on my disposable underwater camera, so I didn't get to take pictures of the beautiful coral we saw near the beach when we were snorkelling. Hopefully, my pictures of the the stunning views from the island will suffice.

Looking back at Cairns from the ferry.

Coming up to Fitzroy Island.

The harbour at Fitzroy island and the beach made up of coral.

Kaitlyn enjoying the sun.

A look out at the water.

Walking trail within the island.

Kaitlyn and I on the beach.

We saw a bunch of little lizards on the island!

Wednesday and Thursday, we took a tour into the middle of the Daintree Rainforest - more on this soon!

On Friday and Saturday we spent a bit more time shopping and exploring the town of Cairns since the weather turned a bit towards the rainy side. We did go to a big outdoor market on our last day in Queensland and got temporary tattoos. Here's a picture of mine:

Overall, it was a great break from university and I had lots of fun in the sun!

The Great Ocean Road Daytrip!

On the Wednesday after I arrived in Melbourne, I decided to go on the Great Ocean Road day trip. I woke up  super early to catch a taxi into the city. The taxi driver ended up taking a left turn onto the tram lines and getting pulled over by the police and asked to do a breathalyser test. It was an interesting trip, however I did manage to make it to the tour office on time. The entire trip took a little over 13 hours. The Great Ocean Road follows the coast (for the most part) between Torquay and Warrnambool. On the trip, we only travelled approximately 188 of the total 243 kilometres. Here's a quick summary and lots of pictures (since the scenery was so beautiful and it almost tells the story better than I do):

Before we got to the coast, we stopped for biscuits and coffee.

Our first stop: A beach right at the start of the Great Ocean Road.

Some of the great surfing waves crashing.

A look back at the coast.

Some of the great scenery from the road.

Our second stop was a small cafe on the side of the road. There, we saw some local wildlife:

A red parrot.

Lots of koalas!

A green parrot.

Third stop: the most significant lighthouse in Australia: The Cape Otway Lightstation. It has been operating since 1848 and sits atop the cliffs where the Bass Strait and Southern Ocean join. The reason it is so important is because after about three months at sea, it would (hopefully) be the first sight of land for immigrants to Australia after starting the journey from Europe.

Looking towards the lighthouse.

A view from the top of the lighthouse.

Our fourth stop was Gibson's steps. There is a total of 86 steps down to the beach. The cliffs are 70 meters high.

Looking down at the ocean.

From the steps.

My first look at one of the apostles.

Stop number five: The Twelve Apostles. As you can see from the pictures, there aren't exactly twelve. There has never been twelve. If anyone is wondering how these giant rocks ended up standing up in the ocean to create some amazing scenery, it's actually a result of the erosion of the coastline. The cliffs are made up of soft sandstone and disappear at a rate of about 1 cm per year.

The Twelve Apostles.

Proof that I was actually there.

A look at some of the erosion.

Great to know I survived certain death.

Back towards the beach near the steps.

A closer look.

Our final stop was Shipwreck Cove. The story is that a ship crashed into the rocks and a young sailor saved a girl from drowning by swimming through the cove and to the beach where he (somehow) climbed the cliffs and found help.

Looking down at the cove.

On the beach.

Very large waves crashing near the entrance to the cove.

Looking back at the beach.

What a great way to end a day!

Has the scenery made you jealous yet? It's way better live than through pictures. I'd definitely suggest renting a car and driving the Great Ocean Road if you ever find yourself in Australia! 

Cheers! Next stop: a week in Cairns.

Four days in Melbourne!

March 30th marked the beginning of my 2-week mid-semester break. Kaitlyn and I planned a trip with the Student Travel Agency at our universities to spend a week in Cairns. But before that began, I boarded a flight for Melbourne, Victoria to meet up with my best friend and travel buddy, Kaitlyn, first so she could show me the city she had been living in for the past three months.

The plane ended up being half and hour late and poor Kaitlyn was waiting at the Southern Cross Station for me for fourty-five minutes. We had a good laugh over the circumstances (since it seems that none of my flights this year have gone smoothly) and went out for lunch at a small cafe on one of the main streets in downtown Melbourne. We had some great fish and chips, as well as some amazing coffee and caught up on the time we'd been away. Afterwards, we spent some time walking around through the centre of Melbourne. Since Kaitlyn's university was an hour from the centre of the city, I decided not to waste a day of sightseeing and my luggage ended up coming for a tour.

Luckily, I was smart and bought a rolling suitcase before the trip.

We walked past the Art Gallery, Flinder's Station, Federation Square - which is a large open plaza used as a gathering place and has a stage for performances and plenty of little cafes - and along the river where I got a great look at the some of the skyscrapers.

The Art Gallery.

Flinder's Street Station.

Federation Square.

A closer look at the awesome architecture found in Federation Square.

A view across the river.

We decided Melbourne was boring and we should go to Paris. 

That didn't take long at all!

Just kidding! Turns out there is a tall structure in Melbourne that is reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Did it fool you?

Being serious, Melbourne is actually a beautiful city and was rated the number one most livable city in 2011, with Vancouver coming in third. My tour guide on the Great Ocean Road day trip made a point of telling me so. The city is filled with interesting architecture, a great amount of greenspace, and plenty of great places for people. It seems that no matter where Kaitlyn and I walked, we managed to find hidden gems. One of which was the beautiful grafitti and other artwork that we found down alleyways.

Some great artwork. Both sides of the alley had been painted.

Of course, being Landscape Architecture students, we had to visit the Botanical Gardens during my visit as well and we spent a few hours on the third day doing so. I definitely had mixed feelings about the gardens in Melbourne. There were so many great design ideas, unfortunately didn't live up to their full potential once constructed. There were some areas that were done well, but others left me feeling a little disappointed at the outcome. Here's a bit more detail (CAUTION - lots of landscape pictures ahead):

The Grotto.

The Grotto was a great little garden that as you can see from the picture looks great. There was a concrete stream bed running through the entire garden with a waterfall to the right of where I took the picture, however these were not filled with water. As well, what the picture does not show were the steel posts that were placed at many of entrances and starts of paths. Now for those of you thinking that perhaps we were not supposed to enter the grotto, there was one entrance near the bottom that was unobstructed. It seems to me that this area was meant to be shared, but it doesn't make much sense if you can't walk through the space to experience it. Finally, once we made it through the garden and came out on one of the pathways, it simple ended at the culvert at the edge of the garden onto a large lawn. There was no link back to the main pathway. Great idea, bad execution.

Entrance to the Botanical Gardens

This was the one of the entrances to the botanical gardens (the grotto is just to the right) and it looked great except for the sharp spikes sticking out around the arch. It wasn't particularly inviting, or more importantly, safe. Here's a closer look:

My hilarious grimace face.

Here's another one of the design fails: the massive pond:

The pond.

"Wait, what pond? All I see is grass," you say. No, that is not grass. I think it's supposed to be water. I don't think it was supposed to be that green. Or smell that bad either.

Movable benches.

Unfortunately this is not supposed to be a work of art. The benches around the gardens were not mounted. I think the lesson to take away from this is that movable chairs/benches work in some places but not others.

Who grafitti's a tree!?

Well onto a more positive note, here's a look at all the great aspects of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. :)

Boardwalks = always awesome.

Benches in the form of surfboards? Cool. (I think that may be as close as Kaitlyn gets to surfing in Australia). 

Footprint imprints along the pathways? Nice touch.

I thought these looked like Velociraptor footprints, but maybe that's just me.

What a great entranceway.

I absolutely loved the gardens surrounding the volcano.

At the top of the volcano (which was filled with water).

Lots of birds of paradise!

One very large tree that added great character to the landscape.

The Temple of the Winds

The Temple of the Winds was by far my favourite part of the botanical gardens. To explain, my favourite book series is The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. The fourth book, The Temple of the Winds was one of my favourite in the series. To say I was quite excited to find it in the botanical gardens is an understatement!

I still find it amazing how each city in Australia has its own unique character. It was great to see and explore Melbourne, especially with my awesome travel buddy Kaitlyn. The final day in the state of Victoria was spent at LaTrobe University suntanning on the grass and relaxing before heading off to Cairns, Queensland for a week.