Midsemester Break

Over the spring break here, I went to Cairns which is in Northeast Australia in the state of Queensland. I went with all the girls in my study abroad program and we had SUCH an amazing time. The day that we arrived in Cairns went to the "beach." Little did we know that Cairns doesn't have a beach... it has a swamp... full of saltwater crocodiles. Sooo basically no one swims in the rivers or ocean around there because you will get eaten by giant, angry crocs. The second day, we went on a diving/snorkeling boat to the Great Barrier Reef. Absolutely breath taking. It was my first official ocean scuba dive, yay! I even got to feed a giant Hawkbilled Turtle. They eat a certain coral that is the equivalent of smoking marijuana for humans, so basically all the turtles were high and happy haha... On the third day in Cairns, I went bungee jumping off of a 60 meter platform in the rain forest. That was pretty terrifying, but also kind of exciting. Exhilarating is probably the best way to describe it! On the fourth day, we zip-lined through a 100 million year old rain forest and that night we ate dinner while watching an aboriginal presentation.

Tasmania and Tempranillo

I spent all of last week touring the east coast of Tasmania, which is the only island state in Australia. It was absolutely breath taking! Only 500,000 people live in the entire state, so I could literally walk down the road at 6pm and see no one in the towns that we stayed in... such a difference from Sydney. The weather in Tasmania is normally cold and rainy, but I got really lucky and it was sunny/partly cloudy and about 60 degrees every day.
Highlights of the trip -
Bay of Fires -

 

Hazard's Beach -

On the way down to Remarkable Cave -

 Remarkable Cave -

The day after I returned to Tasmania, all I wanted to do was sleep... So... I went on a wine tour, of course. I spent the day with the girls in my study abroad group and we got a tour through the Hunter Valley which is known for its wonderful wineries. Such a nice way to end the perfect week :)