And off to our final destination...CAIRNS!! But not without a few stops along the way! :)
From Whitsundays we made our way up to the northern most stop, on this part of our journey...Cairns. Cairns is known for being the home of the Great Barrier Reef, and is notorious for it's hot weather and good nightlife. We did not part-take in much of the night life, but definitely enjoyed the sunny weather! We made a few stops along the way, but they were very quick, as we were in Cairns from November 7 to November 11.
This was our first stop...and the first of many waterfalls we saw ;)
This waterfall was spectacular and extremely large! We were not able to go swimming in it, as we were able to in other places, but it was nice to observe anyway!
Chillin' and watching the fall...there was a rainbow off and on in the middle of the waterfall.
Weeeeee!!
Next we stopped at Mission Beach.
Mission beach is known as a great place to skydive, because you land right on the beach! As you can tell, the beach was rather deserted, because it was jellyfish season right as we made our way north along the east coast. This meant there were too many jelly fish in the ocean at this time of the year, for it to be safe for people to swim in.
Since Mission Beach is a small area, we spent only an hour there, and then finished our road trip to Cairns. The first thing we did on this extremely warm day, was head to the lagoon. On our way, we found the city center, and a bunch of outdoor workout equipment...
The climbing walls! There were lots of outdoor workout stations along the beach area in Cairns...so we decided to take part in what looked to be the most fun of the stations.
Malin spotted a Movenpick ice cream parlor, and insisted we must indulge! I had pistachio, lemon sorbet, and berry...yummmm!
We finally made it to the lagoon...and soaked up every minute of the refreshing water!
The lagoon is a big area right in town, which looks over the beach. We could swim in here without fearing the jelly fish!
More of the lagoon :)
The second day in Cairns, we decided to head up to Kuranda, which had a lot of small markets and hiking trails. It was a great place to buy authentic Aussie gear...such as kangaroo moccasins (which I happened to buy myself)!!
The inside a market.
Coconut heads!
Me playing a didgeridoo...it is a lot of fun, and can make some pretty cool sounds!
We then walked down to a waterfall...but it wasn't too rapid, as it was still rather dry in Cairns. The wet season is just beginning at the end of November and start of December. Once the wet season hits, there will be a lot of rain and daily storms, making the falls much bigger.
Me and sandra from the top of the town of Kuranda. I love this girl...she is one of the sweetest most positive thinking girls I have ever met! I want her to move to the States in the worst way!!
Finally, at the end of the trip I mastered the art of driving in Australia!! Not only did I have to get used to driving a Wicked van (pretty much the most shit van ever!) and drive on the opposite side of the car and road than in the U.S., but I had to learn to drive a manual on top of that!! It really isn't too bad once you get used to it, but driving a stick shift can be tricky...ESPECIALLY on hills! I must say, I am pretty proud of myself!!
Happy to finally be driving in Australia!
As our trip ended, we lost one of our group members... Erika headed to Hong Kong, as we flew to Darwin. This was a photo of the group when it was all five of us. We were at our last supper, and it was sad to see Erika go, as she is a good friend of mine, and had spent the entire time in Australia with me as my roommate!! We have missed her during the rest of our trip...and I will continue to miss her until we meet again someday!
So...Part 1 of the trip is concluded. 21 days driving up the East Coast of Australia. It has been a world-wind of a trip, and I loved every minute of it. The east coast had the most beautiful and amazing experiences in the world, and I will always remember and cherish that trip!!
Next: Onto Darwin...The Northern Territory of Australia... Also known as, The Outback...
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