Steph Travels to Sydney Australia!: October 2012

Wow where has the time gone! I can't believe it is already the end of October!! HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY TO LAUREN!

This month flew by with my trip to Melbourne, the end of school and my trip to Cairns!! I only have 2.5 weeks left! My trip to Melbourne was a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. Six of us made our way down to the southern part of Australia and explored for a long weekend. We went on the Great Ocean Road tour and saw the 12 Apostles, it was awesome! It was fun to spend a weekend away from Sydney and explore another city in Australia. Melbourne was a lot more artsy than Sydney and known for their markets so we spent all of Saturday walking around the city!

Joe, Noah, Peter, Jesse, Maja and I

Jesse, Maja and I in Melbourne

So far I have had two of my four finals, my easiest (Marine Environment) and hardest (International Business Finance). I am so happy they are done because I have two weeks until my last two! Time to relax and enjoy Australia!

I just got back from a week long trip to Cairns! At UNSW they give you a "study week" before exams (which last 3 weeks) so we decided why not travel then! We all knew we would have it off and decided that would be the best time to go before the rainy season! At DU, I am use to classes going right up until finals so I knew I would be fine! Maja, Jen and I went up to Cairns and did so many fun and adventurous things! We went on a two-day scuba dive boat trip where we spent the night on the boat and did six dives! I was a little nervous for it because I had not dove since my certification but as soon as we got in the water for the first dive it all came back to me and I had a blast! Luckily the boat was fairly empty so we had our own personal dive masters come out with us! They were able to show us some really awesome things! The Great Barrier Reef is so beautiful. I have some photos and videos but the quality of them does not do it justice. If you want to see some amazing breathtaking sites, go to the Great Barrier Reef, you won't be disappointed! It was by far my favorite part of the trip! We also went into the rainforest for two days and spent the night. We went to lots of waterfalls and learned about the stinging tree! On the second day of the trip we woke up at 7am and went canoeing where we saw a platypus! After canoeing we went mountain biking which reminded me of the time I went biking with my family in Hawaii! The open farmland and the rolling hills were really pretty! It was a lot of fun but it was getting really hot and the humidity was intense but we didn't stop there, we went wake boarding! I was so excited because I didn't get a chance this year to go to Vermont and get out on the boat there so I couldn't wait! It was a long day filled with lots of activities but definitely a great time to remember in Cairns! On our tour you had the option to make it a 2 day tour or just a day trip. Everyone from the previous day only did the day trip. So when we went canoeing, biking and wake boarding we were the only ones! The guide we were with was in his late 20s and therefore it felt just like a fun day hanging out which we all really enjoyed! We got to do so many things!

Our equipment!

Wake boarding time!

This is the waterfall Pantene uses for their commercials when the girl flips her hair!

I've posted a short video from one of the dives where we saw a turtle and shark! I have a lot of footage from my new GoPro (thanks mom and dad!) so when I get more time I plan on making a sweet video but I wanted to show you something right away so this is what I managed to get together. The first part you will be able to see the turtle, then I show some fish swimming and the last part is the shark. Too bad the camera doesn't zoom because I was not about to get close to it! You should be able to see it, it is lying in the sand and then gets up and swims away. I had the camera strapped to my head! Hope you enjoy!!

Lots of love,

Stephanie

I’m officially an adult! I turned 21 this weekend in Sydney and had such a wonderful time. My parents had planned their trip so they were here for the big day which was really fun! We were able to do a lot of things around Sydney that I had not had time to do yet. I picked them up from the airport and until Saturday night when I left to go back to my apartment and get ready for my party we really didn’t stop. We went to Manly Beach and rode bikes around the small beach town. It was really neat to explore the area and see beautiful views of the city. The ferry ride over to Manly was a treat as well! Any time you have the chance to get on a boat in the harbor is awesome. We went to the Opera House Bar that night which is located right under the Opera House on the harbor and has one of the best views. There was a nice band playing and it was very relaxing to finally sit down and catch up over the past couple of months. This is the first time I have been away for so long so I really enjoyed getting to spend a few days with them. We also went to the famous Taronga Zoo and swam in the ocean in Coogee. It was fun to show them where I live and how I spend my time here. I think my Dad realized how expensive Sydney actually is.

Saturday night I had a bunch of friends over to my apartment before heading out to the harbor to celebrate my birthday! It was really fun and so nice to have all my study abroad friends come out! Having a family away from home is really nice and I know I am going to miss them so much. I have a month and a half left here and it is going to fly by. With only 3 more weeks of lectures, finals and traveling I will soon have to say bye. I don’t like to think about it because I have had so much fun. My parents asked me how I have changed since being here and I really think that this time here I have been able to grow personally. You learn a lot about yourself living in another country where the time difference is -16 hours to the people you rely on most. It has been a wonderful journey and I am going to soak it all in this last month!

On another note, I am sad I'm missing my favorite time of the year in Colorado. Fall is the best with all the leaves changing and the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Instead, I am living my second spring, right down the street from the beach, it's not a bad second option :)

Some photos from the week!