If I jump, you jump Jack

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I don’t know what it is about Queenstown that makes you fearless, but I caught whatever it was. Me and Nuti got up and grabbed beagle for breakfast before catching our bus for sky diving. That’s right, I somehow managed to jump out of a plane for fun.

I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I thought I’d would be. I didn’t get nervous on the bus or even when we started to suit up. Even when we boarded the super tiny plane with three other jumpers I didn’t start to panic. The plane took off and we had a 15 minute ride to reach our 12,000ft altitude. I only started to panic when everyone else started to jump and when it was my turn I got a red light because we were too far away from the landing point so we had to circle around. But once it was go time, I was ready. At that point I just had to jump. That initial fall is kind of scary but once we’re belly up and my arms were spread I was able to relax and enjoy the view. I feel like I keep saying that but Queenstown is honestly all about the gorgeous views of the mountains and the lake.

We continued the craziness afterwards and took a helicopter ride to the top of a mountain. It’s not as crazy as jumping out of a plane, but still pretty dope. I had never been in a helicopter so that was a cool experience. It was a short ride but kind of a mind fuck to be in the grass in the beginning and then 10 minutes later be in the snowy mountains.

We had free tickets for the gondola ride that we took to Bob’s Peak. We watched the sun kids the mountains goodnight before heading down to the bars.

We ended the night at two rowdy bars. The first one was right across from our hostel. The World Bar is known for their tea pot cocktails so of course I tried one. The final bar was Cowboys where I felt the need to ride the mechanical bull. Queenstown has definitely been my favorite stop on this trip so far.

Milford Sound

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Our first full day in Queenstown was spent driving four hours away from Queenstown.

Milford Sound is a World heritage site known for its reflecting waters, towering peaks, and hundreds of waterfalls. Unfortunately we have to travel up and through the mountains to get there so it takes awhile. We mostly napped along the way but we did stop a few times to take pictures and have some fun.

We took a two hour cruise around the Sound and enjoyed the views. I didn’t realize the beauty New Zealand had to offer me. It was raining out but that only seemed to make the waterfalls that surrounded us multiply.

We had run on the cruise and I stared out the window most of the journey. I wanted to take in the memories instead of capturing pictures that wouldn’t do it justice.

The way home consisted of sleep and a New Zealand movie called Search for the Wilderpeople which was the perfect amount of weird.

That night we stayed lowkey. We went to the casino and watched the big rugby game at the bar. It ended in a tie which was anti-climatic but I guess it was just a friendly.

Good morning New Zealand!

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I made it to part 2 of my adventure! Nine of us continued to Queenstown, New Zealand from Sydney. We said goodbye to half our group and boarded our plan to our next adventure.

As we approached our landing, I finally noticed the scenery around us. New Zealand is beautiful. I’m not sure what I expected but it is perfect.

We’re staying in a hostel in a small town up in the mountains. That usually wouldn’t be my cup of tea but I’m just amazed by the mountains. I have never been in snow capped mountains. Every where we turn, we’re surrounded. I think I’m annoying everyone by pointing them out everywhere.

That night, me and Nuti grabbed a quick pizza and then met up with the rest of the group to head to the ice bar. I have always wanted to go to one, so why not try it in New Zealand? It was chill (haha). We got shots and our drinks came in cups made of ice. It was so cold by drink became slushy. We only stayed an hour because you get so cold your body goes numb. It was cool though.

We bar hoped a bit after that. We took money shots and a ditched for a bit to get hit chocolate after the ice bar. It wasn’t too crazy of a night, but a perfect welcome to New Zealand.

First full day in Sydney

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We had two full days to spend wondering about Sydney and take in all it had to offer.

Wednesday we headed out for a bus tour of Sydney. We got some history about the city, but I started to realize how young Australia is, and therefore lacking history. It doesn’t make me appreciate Sydney any less.

We started across the harbor and appreciated some nice views. We saw this stone bench that an old queen used to cry in as she watched the harbor or something like that.

Our next stop was this look out where the harbor opens up to the sea. The cliffs were high and I guess had a reputation for suicide.

Our last stop on the bus was Bondi Beach, the most famous beach in Sydney. There are shows about the beach and it get millions of visitors per year. There was shore walk we started at that had us walk along the rocks and led us to the beach. I Weill never get over the different views Sydney had to offer.

After a quick lunch we ferried over to Darling Harbor. It was pretty similar to the ferry ride the day before. I sat upstairs in the sun.

That evening, a few of us bought tickets to see a show at the Opera House. The Opera House is composed of 6 theaters all suited for different things such as plays, operas, and symphonies. We saw a play in their drama theater. A famous Australian stand up comedian was staring in an Australian dramady called The Torrents. I enjoyed the staring feminist tone of the play.

Sydney Says Goodbye

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I had the absolute perfect last day in Sydney. In the morning we had a brief history on opals at the opal museum. I didn’t buy anything since I already got my right at Airlie Beach. It was cool to see how they are made and opalized fossils and shells.

After the museum, most of is headed to the Opera House for our tour of the inside. Even though I was there the night before, I didn’t get to see most of it. The drama theater used to be a recording studio that they turned into a theater, making it their newest but smallest theater. We got to see the Sydney symphony practice on stage. We got to see the newly renovated theater where they hold operas. We got to stand in the glass part that over looks the harbor. I even got to touch the tiles on the top that make up the sails. I’m happy I was able to do it since I hadn’t planned on doing it at first.

I decided to get a little crazy on my last day. I signed up to climb the Harbor Bridge. I’m not fond of height but I didn’t want to regret anything. They suited us up with jackets, hats, hankies, and even attached my glasses to my face. It was quite an experience. I’m so happy I did it and I will always have the memories.

That night was our first farewell dinner. Some people aren’t continuing with us to New Zealand so we said goodbye to many people. We had dinner along Darling Harbor. It was a pretty nice Italian place. We all got to pick a starter, a main course, and a dessert. I had a rice and cheese ball appetizer, a seafood risotto, and creme brûlée. It was the best meal I had in Australia.

Sydney says Hello

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We hit the ground running in Sydney. We landed and headed straight to the ferry to head to Manly Beach in the other side of the harbor. It was so mind blowing to walk to the harbor and see the Sydney Opera House just chillin.

The views from our ferry were super dope as well.

Waiting for is at Manly Beach was two teens ready to teach us how to surf. Learning how to surf has been on my bucket list for a few years. No place better than Australia than to learn how to surf. It honestly wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy, but I was about to get up a few times. I was also able to catch a couple waves on my own without the help of our instructors. The waves that day were pretty small but I feel like they were the perfect height to learn on. God is always looking out.

After surfing, me and Nuti commemorated the moment with tattoos. Not of surfboards but I got a koala to go with my elephant and she got a shell. It was perfect to get it in Sydney since Sydney ended up being my favorite city in Australia. Don’t get me wrong, all of Australia is pretty, but Sydney spoke to my soul as a city girl.

Gold Coast

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The Gold Coast was better than expected. Since I didn’t do my research, I imagined a little beach town. It was nothing like that haha. Surfers Paradise was more like Miami Beach. There was high rises and plenty of bars to go around.

We chilled the night we got there. We walked around their night market and did some souvenir shopping. Their tents pitched by the beach made for a nice welcome to the high-class shore. The rest of the night was spent searching for food axe realizing everything closes at 9. We won’t get into that.

The next morning me and Nuti got up super early to run to the beach for the sunrise. It was a bit cloudy but the views were still worth it.

After the sunrise we snagged breakfast at the hotel and then hoped on our van that would give us a tour of the rural parts of the Gold Coast. Our first stop was a short little nature walk where we were able to see dozens of kangaroos in the wild. Like kangaroo to them are like our deer. It’s just such a change of pace.

Next we stopped for morning tea (hot chocolate) and scones. It was a this cute little manor in the mountains. The air was fresh and the locals were friendly. Plus is was relaxing after four-wheeling up a duet road to get them.

After tea, we did another mini nature hike through one of the mountains to see a little waterfall. We couldn’t swim in it but it was pretty walking through the forget and chasing the wild turkeys.

After chasing waterfalls, I needed a lunch break. He brought us down to a valley and had an old fashioned Aussie BBQ. They grilled me up some fish. And I had a bit of rice on the side. Plus I tried some of their kangaroo sausage 😜.

After lunch I spent a lot of time perfecting my boomerang throw. I figured I had to be good at it if that’s what I got everyone as a souvenir.

Our last stop was another higher mountain. We did a canopy walk that allowed us to walk through the tree tops. It was cool but I feel like I walked to fast to really see anything. The bridge was a bit rickety for my taste.

Once I was back in the sun, it but bird feeding time! They gave us food to feed the wild parrots so that was dope. It was a little freaky at first but I got used it it pretty fast.

The rest of the night we all headed to a bowling to chill before our early morning to Sydney. I bowled, some did escape rooms, some putted. But it was a chill night. I even dipped into the hotel’s hot tub for a bit. I did a lot in one day and was in bed by 9:30. Sounds about right.

Wild for Whitsunday

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That I am. White Haven Beach is the most beautiful beaches I’ve been to in my entire life. And that is saying something. I’ve been to black sand beaches and red sand beaches but this beach was pure white.

We booked an adventure jet boat to tour us around the Whitsunday Islands. We arrived at the backside of Whitehaven Beach and hike up to take in the breathtaking views.

After getting in all our pictures, he had free time to explore the beach and eat lunch on the boat. I just wanted to try to memorize the scenery because I know a picture could never do it justice.

Everything was gorgeous and I can’t even put any of it into words so I won’t. I’ll keep the memories forever.

After lunch we boated to a snorkel spot were they fed the fish. There was literally THOUSANDS of fish that came and surrounded us and jumped out of the water around us as we swam. It was a little freaky at first not gonna lie but I got used to it pretty quickly. I wish I could have taken a picture of the images I saw below me.

We spent more time at the second snorkel spot. This spot had an extensive reef that we were free to explore. It was actually s bit more enjoyable than the other day because there were less people and more space. We had more freedom and I was able to see more fish since there were less people around splashing. I played with the clams and watched them close. I followed a bunch of different types of fish around. I even feel like the coral here was more diverse. All in all, I had a very good time. Best day of the trip so far.

Koala krazy

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We only stayed in Townsville for one night since there isn’t much to do there other than magnetic island. We hoped in the same bus as the previous day and continued down the coast.

About half an hour away from our hotel was Billabong Sanctuary. Billabong is an animal sanctuary that has emus, crocks, snakes, wombats, and of course koala. We had a private tour and they let us hold And take pictures with a majority of the animals.

Since we have a large group I went off by myself a little but to explore. I don’t like missing out on things. Like at zoos I usually get a map and cross off the animals I’ve seen. That’s how I got to see the emus and a lot of the reptiles.

I also paid to take a picture with a koala. It’s not something I would usually do, but I more so cared about holding one than the actual picture. I was there for the experience.

We stayed at billabong for a few hours and then had a solid 3 hour drive to our next destination: Airlie Beach.

Hour newest hotel is gorgeous. Beautiful views on the outskirts of a beach town.

We headed into to town to look around at the shops and whatnot. I finally mailed off my postcard. We also visited a didgeridoo shop that soils opals as well. I got myself an opal ring to go with the one I got from Italy. I got my grandma a painting and my coworkers and David a boomerang.

After shopping, we went a few doors down to The Pub for dinner. Best food of the trip. I had a lovely salmon dinner along with the appetizer and dessert buffet that came with it. All less than $30. It was superb.

Townsville

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On to the next one. This trip allows me to see so much of the eastern coast of Australia. Thursday morning we packed our bags and hopped on a bus headed to Townsville.

The morning consisted on mostly travel. We stopped to take a picture at a giant gumboot (rain boot). That means we had made it into the tropics. Plenty of rain happens in this part but thankfully we’ve had exclusively sun.

We arrived to Townsville just past midday. We stayed in a hostel which was a bit of a change of pace. It wasn’t bad though. The common areas around the pool and whatnot was beautiful.

We caught a ferry to Magnetic Island, right off the coast. Once we were there, we did a few miles of hiking around the island. I needed that so much. I feel like it’s been a lot of sitting because of the travel, so it felt super nice to be able to walk and climb.

On our climb, there were wild koalas just chillin in the trees. We saw one eating near the path and we even saw a baby koala!

The views at the top were amazing. You could see the beaches that surrounded us. It was nice to just be in nature and around less tourism.

We stayed on the island until sunset before we headed back. At this point I was very hangry since I didn’t grab lunch.

We had a sanity dinner at the restaurant near the hotel. I had a nice pasta dinner with a side of fries and some of Tara’s mashed potatoes and fish. We were all exhausted. My room stayed up the latest, barely making it until 10:30. But at least everyone was well rested.