Texans Down Under (Week 2: Cairns and Melbourne)

So Caitlin and I have been makin' moves. We started in New South Wales, flew to the Northern Territory and now we were headed to Queensland (Cairns) and Victoria (Melbourne)...here's a bit how our last week of traveling looked :)

Day 9 (02/05) - Our hostel was offering free pancakes from 7am - 9am, and not knowing how crowded it would be, Caitlin and I decided to be

early birds to make sure we got in on the free food. Let's just say we were the ONLY early birds...I guess the norm here is to stay out late and wake up late; we obviously didn't get the memo. After breakfast the first thing on our list to do today was buy groceries for the week. The receptionist at the hostel pointed us in the direction of Rusty's Markets for what she said was the best market in Cairns. She wasn't lyin'. Holy deliciousness. Why do I not shop at local markets more often?! Caitlin and I were overwhelmed with the amount of fruit and vegetables all the vendors had out to sell. There's just so much goodness! What we didn't find at the Rusty's Market, things like peanut butter, chicken, turkey, honey, hummus, and granola bars, we bought at Woolworths. By noon we were all set with food for the next five days of living at the YHA hostel.

Our next thing to do was book our snorkel tour. I had looked over five different brochures trying to compare what each tour offered while still trying to find the best deal. Well, the best deal looked like the most expensive one, and our hostel receptionist only confirmed our thoughts. So we booked it for the next day! Once that was squared away, we decided to stay local and check out the Esplanade Lagoon, which was only a short ten minute walk away. We laid out in the lawn of the lagoon from 11am to 2pm then went back to the hostel to shower. It was still early, and we weren't tired, so we decided to walk back down to the water and and find a waterfront bar with a good happy hour menu. The Pier Bar was the obvious choice. Caitlin and I each had one drink, watched some footy (AFL...I prefer NRL), then took a long walk around the water to watch the sunset.

Day 10 (03/05) - I slept terrible last night because in our hostel room there's six people and Caitlin and I are the only two who generally go to sleep (fairly) early. The other four people though, would come in and out constantly, or were getting ready for a late night out...either way, the lights didn't get shut off ''til 2am! And I can't sleep with lights on. So yeah, then I couldn't sleep past 5:30am because I couldn't get comfortable in my bunk all night either. But none of that could ruin this day...today was the day we were going snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef!

When I finally got out of bed, I got dressed and then went down to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Caitlin woke up about 6:40am and by 7am we were out the door headed to check in to Siverswift Tours for our grand adventure. We boarded the boat at 8am, signed all our waivers saying we were healthy and fit (enough), and Caitlin even added a scuba dive onto her snorkeling plans. Once we had all that done Caitlin and I went our separate ways: her to an into to diving video and me to get my fins, mask, and snorkel. 

During this tour we visited one particular reef, Flynn's Reef, in a string of reefs making up the a Great Barrier Reef itself. Then within Flynn's Reef we snorkeled at three different sites: Tracy's, Gordon's, and  the Coral Gardens. At our first stop, Tracy's, I snorkeled while Caitlin scuba dived (dove? whatever). Because I was now a single, and you're supposed to swim in at least pairs, I was grouped with two other singles, one guy from China and a girl, Isabella, from Sweden. As it turned out, the Chinese guy really couldn't swim very well...like, was swallowing water as soon as he got in. Isabella and I tried to wait for him but he was slowing us down, big 
time, and we only got a certain allotted amount time at each spot...so we left him to fend for himself.

Backtrack real quick...before we took off on each new snorkel adventure, our guide would tell us what to expect to see while swimming out there, the best spots for certain fish, where giant clams were located, if any turtles (or ((non-aggressive)) sharks) were likely to be seen, etcetera, etcetera. Mine and Isabella's mission became finding the giant clam that "Nemo" (the clown fish) lived next to. It took us AGES to find the giant clam and when we did, Nemo was nowhere to be found! It wasn't until our underwater photographer came around to take pictures that he pointed us right to Nemo and his twin friend. When it was time to board the boat everyone was comparing what they saw; not many found Nemo (but we did), lots of people (but not us) saw a sea turtle, and one couple saw a shark! 

After hearing everyone else's fish tales, my mission at second spot, Gordon's, was to spot a sea turtle. Caitlin joined in on the snorkeling this time and after swimming all around the reef, like three times, we still hadn't seen a turtle. Cue the underwater photographer again...this guy was gold :) Just after he took our pictures he spotted a turtle on the ocean floor; he pointed it out to us then threw some food at it so it swam up just high enough for us to swim down and snap a quick pic! There was another group of three snorkelers hovering near us, so we never got, what I felt like was, a really good picture. And to top it off, as the other three snorkelers were by it, it swam all the way up to the surface for air and those three people got inches away and what I'm sure we're some sweet pics! So after that, once everyone lost interest in the turtle, I was still determined to get good GoPro footage; so I stalked that sucker! I tread water over it, and dove down multiple times, for probably thirty minutes trying to get good pictures and videos. I was just waiting for it to come up for its next breath, that's all I wanted. Not knowing how long a sea turtle can hold it's breath I was ready to give up. BUT THEN IT

STARTED SWIMMING UP! Caitlin had long ago gone back to the boat because her GoPro had died, so I was by myself at this point. So I swam towards it, and we swam side by side for about three minutes(!) completely forgetting to turn my a GoPro on...just kidding. I got some good stuff :) 

Satisfied with swimming next to a sea turtle, and my GoPro ready to die as well, I swam back to the boat to recharge and warm up. I plugged my GoPro into my portable charger, got some tea, and then an announcement for a "snorkel debrief" said to come up to the upper deck for a quick chat. After the chat I went back down to get more tea, and as I crossed my stuff I noticed my GoPro was no longer on the charger; the cord, charger, and outer/waterproof case were still there, but the GoPro itself was out of site. My heart sank. It's the worst feeling thinking someone stole your stuff. It especially infuriated me knowing I had only just bought my GoPro six months ago AND all my footage from Ayer's Rock and Darwin hadn't been downloaded to my computer yet! I looked in my bag, in Caitlin's bag, under my clothes, and all around the seats we were sitting in...nothing. The photographer (God bless him) came by to ask if I was alright, and I told him I had either misplaced my GoPro or someone had stolen it. He went to get the man in charge, and just before an announcement was made I checked my bag again and there it was! By some miracle I either overlooked it in my bag, or someone decided to return it. Either way, I had it back and I was so thankful and relieved! 

Our third and final snorkel dive was in the Coral Gardens. The only thing I hadn't seen at this point was a shark; and even though I'm terrified of them, I wanted to see one so badly! But I didn't...Caitlin did, but we had separated right at the end and I was out of earshot when she swam across it :( The Coral Gardens did, however, have the most vibrant coral of all the three locations, and lots of clams to swim up to. So it was enjoyable nonetheless. Once all the dives were over we headed back to shore and made friends with all our guides (and the photographer) who had been giving me a hard time all day. They were cool, and we laughed a lot on the way home. 

When Caitlin and I got back to the hostel we showered and realized how burnt we had actually gotten throughout the day. We caked on the moisturizer, hoping to prevent future peeling (doubtful) and then headed to the kitchen to make dinner. We didn't last long after dinner, tired from all the sun and swimming, plus we had yoga planned for 7am tomorrow morning. As I laid in bed to go to sleep I still had the sensation that I was on a boat...I could feel the waves beneath me. Is it possible to get seas sick four hours AFTER being home from the sea?! 

Day 11 (04/05) - There was a free yoga session this morning at the lagoon. At 6am Caitlin and I woke up, got ready, ate breakfast, then walked to the Esplanade lawn where our "class" was meeting at 7am. Yoga's always been a bit difficult for me; I prefer the kind of yoga where you're stretching and posing, but this one was all about chanting and meditation. For one, I can't take all the chanting seriously (it works for some people, but not me), but I get the giggles every time. Second, I can't seem to turn my mind off long enough to just sit there for an hour (which would do me some good, but just doesn't happen). At the very end, as we were sitting there meditating (and by meditating I mean I was peeking out one eye to see what was going on), our teacher went around to each individual person and took energy from the earth, or something, and dumped it onto our heads...for most people she dumped the energies once, maybe twice, but for Caitlin it was three times! She must've needed extra energy for today, I guess; too much exertion from yesterday's scuba diving and snorkeling trip :) 

After yoga we took a walk along the water, then went back to our hostel for breakfast. We decided today would be spent at Palm Cove Beach trying to even out or tans (burns) from yesterday's snorkeling. We looked at the bus timetable and found a bus leaving at 10:34am. Fifteen minutes early from departure, I went in the nearest store to ask for change for the bus fare. The guy told me no! So I told him I wouldn't be buying batteries from him anytime soon, and walked to the chemist next door who GLADLY gave me change for a $20. Caitlin and I both sat down to read while we were waiting, and at 10:34am a bus came and went so fast that we didn't even know if it was ours or not because we didn't look up from our books in time. Luckily thirty seconds later Bus 110 (the one we needed) turned the corner, and we hopped right on, not wanting to have to wait for the next one at 11:04am. 

We arrived to Palm Cove at 11:30am and spent the next three and a half hours bumming it up on the beach. Palm Cove was one of the northern beaches listed at our hostel, and also known for its quiet seclusion. There wasn't a soul around us except for the few passerby's taking a stroll on the beach with either their significant other or their dog (I'd obviously be in the category with the dog...haha). Anyways, Caitlin read most the time, and I napped mostly. Besides the first hour, the majority of our time was spent under a sparsely shaded tree trying not to sunburn our sunburns. It was nice though, just the relaxing type of day we needed before playing some volleyball tonight. 

The bus returned us back to the hostel by four; we had found a sand volleyball group meeting at 5:30pm in one of the brochures for free fitness activities. We showed up expecting to join in on games of six or challenge in doubles. Having not touched a volleyball in probably three years, I had also told Caitlin that we shouldn't tell anyone we used to play in college; we thought there might be some stiff competition. We were sadly mistaken. Apparently it was an introductory course to sand volleyball where the first forty minutes were spent learning the fundamentals of passing...(yawn). But we sucked it up, and met a few regulars who said the "real competition" met up on Tuesdays at 5:30pm to play, and asked us to come back tomorrow. 

Once back at the hostel we showered, made dinner, and then went to sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. This was probably our latest night getting "home" since the trip started, and it was only 9pm...

Day 12 (05/05) - Having decided last night to go back and play beach volleyball again, we opted out of traveling up to Port Douglas for the day and instead went back to our spot at Palm Cove Beach. But before that we woke up early for another free fitness activity: box fit. Yep, it was a circuit based boxing class...running poles, jump roping, burped, jumping jacks, squats, and of course boxing. It was much more intensive than our "yoga" yesterday; we came out sweating more than we expected. 

After boxing we had breakfast (free pancakes, compliments of the hostel) then caught a bus to Palm Cove. There's a nice little string of upscale boutiques and cafes in Palm Cove, so planned on stopping for coffee first, before the beach. When we passed by a cafe called Jack and Shanan's coffee turned into a juice for Caitlin and this delicious smoothie type thing for me. It was called "Pitaya Paradise" and consisted of locally grown pitaya tropical blend + organic chia seed pudding + crunchy gluten free granola + locally grown organic banana. It was SO GOOD. 

Caitlin and I laid out on the beach from 10:30am to 3pm. Around two o'clock, I was in the middle of taking a nap when all of a sudden I felt something large touch my leg! Now keep in mind, that up here in Cairns, you always have to be on the lookout for crocodiles. There are signs posted everywhere waning swimmers to stay out of the water, and Caitlin and I were in a pretty secluded area of the beach, so you can only imagine how startled I was to feel something walking over me. Fortunately, to my great relief, it was just a dog! 

Once we'd had enough of the sun, we walked up to a nearby bar to chat and wait for the bus. When we got back to Cairns we stopped off to buy a bottle of wine, then showered and made our final meal at the hostel (the same thing we'd been eating the past four nights...haha). We didn't make it to beach volleyball...

Day 13 (06/05) - Our flight to Melbourne left at 6:15am; to ensure we got there in time and still had plenty of time to stuff our clothes with our extra baggage (once again to avoid the $50 overweight baggage fee) we booked a shuttle for 4:50am. Having already packed our bags the previous night, Caitlin and I literally rolled straight out of bed around 4:30am, grabbed our bags, and waited outside the hostel for the shuttle. At 5am the shuttle still wasn't there and we started to worry that we were going to be late checking in. So I made a phone call to the driver who said he was on his way...so long as he didn't forget us I was fine! 

Now having already gone through two other flights where we had to lighten our backpacks to get them under 7kg (14lbs), Caitlin and I were professionals...we knew all the tricks to avoid the $50 fee...1) wear as many layers as possible 2) stuff as much as you can into your pockets and waistband 3) separate things into two bags, if possible 4) DO NOT hang out near the gate you board at, but do keep an eye on your boarding time 5) when passing the attendants who are weighing everyone's bags, don't make eye contact and keep your backpack on the opposite side of their line of vision...in other words, hanging off the one shoulder furthest from them 6) board at the last possible minute so that even if they do question you there might not be time to actually weigh it without delaying the flight. Then, once you've scanned your ticket and entered the ...stuff all your things back into the one bag after you've turned the corner and they can no longer see you! Voila. That's how it's done :)

It was a three hour flight from Cairns to Melbourne. Our flight arrived at 9:25am, but we couldn't meet our "host" Kirsten (a friend of a friend of Caitlin's) until she finished uni at 1pm. So after catching the SkyBus into the city, we went for brunch at a place called Manchester Press; it was so good. Kirsten met up with us after her class then we took the train to her house in Blackburn. Lemme just say that Kirsten and her family were the absolute best hosts ever. Not even knowing us they opened their home to two strangers, gave us comfortable beds to sleep in, multiple HOME-COOKED meals (which were especially nice after living off PB&J and apples
for the last twelve days), and the best "to do/see list" for our time spent around the city. After Caitlin and I unpacked, we spent the rest of the day and night with Kirsten and her family talking and laughing (making fun of each other's accents), eating a steak dinner, and planning out everything we should do over the next three days. 

Day 14 (07/05) - We had a full day ahead so we decided to wake up early and catch the 8am train into the city with Kirsten who was on her way to uni. Our first stop was Federation Square. We didn't actually go into Federation Square because, from the sound of it, the outside architecture was the main attraction. It reminded me of something that would be out of the movie Transformers, or anything to do with robots...ha. We headed to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) next, but it didn't open 'til 10am so we walked across the street and meandered through the Queen Victoria Gardens until it was time to go back. The NGV was really cool; we walked through all the different exhibits and even spent some time in one of the interactive exhibits: a contraption hanging from the ceiling consisting of knotted rope and what felt like stress-reliever balls (to walk on). 

After the NGV, Caitlin and I started exploring the city streets on foot. Kirsten and her family told us which streets offered the best coffee/food/views/shopping, etc. We walked to Lygon Street, which was like a "Little Italy" but then decided we weren't really in the mood for Italian and instead kept exploring. We came across a Colombian cafe called Sondido and decided to stop there. Holy moly, I need to start eating more Colombian food!! From there we went to grab coffee at a cool little cafe called Industry Beans; it had a nice little vibe and happen to be connected to a Crossfit gym (so of course I thought that was awesome). 

Melbourne Museum was up next on our list of things to see. We opted out of walking around inside because we didn't want to pay for a ticket, and instead enjoyed the architecture and art surrounding the building. We then made our way back to Lygon Street for a double scoop of gelato which we had been salivating over since we passed it the first time around. I got a mixed berry and Ferraro chocolate cup...wow, it was amazing; even though it was freezing outside and  I was shivering as I ate it. By the time we got back to Kirsten's house it was almost time for dinner: homemade spaghetti bolognaise (good thing we didn't eat Italian for lunch). Kirsten suggested we checkout the city nightlife, and even though Caitlin and I could've fallen right asleep then, we agreed that we shouldn't waste any time, and because, you know, "when in Melbourne..."

At this point, still being our first day in Melbourne, Caitlin and I were pretty inexperienced using the tram system. When we arrived at Flinders Station and started looking for the right tram to get us to Brunswick Street, we literally crossed the same cross walk back and forth six times (with the same 50+ people watching us) before finally figuring out the map and getting on the right tram. SIX TIMES!!! We were like hamsters on a wheel going 'round and 'round in the same circle (or line, technically). By 10pm we had made it to the bar called Naked with Satan. We had one drink and we're ready for bed, so we went home. It was a loooonnnggg day!

Day 15 (08/05) - After a "late night" last night, today was supposed to be a late start...but somehow we still couldn't sleep in and left the house by 8:30am to head to the city. Our first stop was to a cafe called Affogato Espresso Bar for coffee and breakfast. We had a short list of things to do today, our only big plans penciled in were Eureka Skydeck and the Australian Football League (AFL) game at 7:30pm. 

We spent about thirty minutes at the Eureka Skydeck. It gave us a 360* view of Melbourne from eighty eight stories up...it.was.magnificent. I can only imagine how stunning the view is at sunrise and sunset. It was neat being able to see everywhere we'd already been and all the places we still had yet to visit; we could even see the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) where we'd be watching the footy game later tonight. From the Eureka Skydeck Caitlin and I went back to Brunswick Street for lunch at a restaurant called Ethos, vegan and vegetarian dishes were their specialty so I, of course, opted for the veggie burger (the biggest and messiest of all them). I swear it was bigger than my face! After lunch we headed back to Kirsten's house to get ready for the game. On the train ride back one of the policemen came up to Caitlin and asked to see her train pass. It was typical to see officers patrolling the trains making sure people had valid tickets and concession cards, so we didn't think anything of it when the woman came up to Caitlin. I had even started to get my card out so that she could scan it, too. Then the officer said to Caitlin, "Do you know why I've asked for your ID?" Caitlin said no, and the woman says, "It's because feet are resting on the opposite seat. Have you not read the sign posted around the train? It's a $200 fine for putting your feet up like that." We were dumbfounded; Caitlin said she had no idea (I hadn't read the signs either), then the officer asked where she was from, and when Caitlin said America, she asked if they let you put your feet up on the seats in the trains in America. Caitlin said she didn't know because she didn't use public transport back home. That didn't seem to make the officer very happy, but she asked how much longer she was here and Caitlin said only four days, so she let her off with a warning! Shwew. 

We get back to the house, change clothes into our nicest outfits (leggings, t-shirt, and a flannel...haha) for a night out, and hop on the train to Richmond with Kirsten. We stopped to eat dinner at "an authentic Mexican food place" called Fonda's. *Authentic Mexican food to an Australian is NOTHING like authentic Mexican food to a Texan* I had been craving a margarita, and when I ordered the house special for $16 I was expecting a big fishbowl type of margarita that you would get back home at any mexincan/TexMex place in America. I was wrong...this glass was smaller than my hand! It was basically classified as a shot of margarita, in my opinion. 

When we got to the MCG we found our seats and Kirsten started doing her best to explain all the rules to Caitlin and I. Now when I first came to Australia and lived in Brisbane, it was all about National Rugby League (NRL) there, and I really came to enjoy watching NRL. Australian Football League (AFL) is a completely different game. When you first watch it on tv it looks like one massive game of hot potato or keep away...it's a bit silly; nothing at all like NRL which is very aggressive and fast paced. But, when you finally learn the rules, and go to an actual game, AFL isn't so bad. We actually really enjoyed ourselves. The Geelong Cats beat the Collingwood Magpies 100 to 59; it was quite the blow out! When the game was over we met up with Kirsten's friend Tom at a bar called The Precinct. Had a few drinks, enjoyed the nightlife of Melbourne, then headed home for a good night's sleep before our flight back to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. 

Day 16 (09/05) - Caitlin and I woke up, got coffee at a little organic cafe near the train station called Nuts about Coffee, then headed to St. Kilda Beach. Caitlin and I had both read the book The Wish List which was based in Melbourne and mentioned St. Kilda Beach quite often; so we thought it would be cool to go visit the place we enjoyed reading so much about in that hilarious book. When we got there we took a long walk around the water, taking in the gorgeous views, then found a tram back to the city. The last thing on our list to do while in Melbourne was visit the infamous Queen Victoria Market...it.was.massive. It was like no other market I've seen before; it wasn't your typical market that's set up only friday through sunday and basically made up of a lot of stands and tents...no, this was an actual building with stores, and I'm pretty sure it was open every day of the week. And everything sold was still cheap as! It was so good.

We went back to Kirsten's house at 3pm to finalize our packing and say our goodbyes. Her mom dropped us off at at 4:05pm to catch the train to Southern Cross Station by 5pm, which allowed us to catch the SkyBus to the airport by 5:20pm (an hour before our plane left). Caitlin and I geared up for one last "lightening of our backpacks to pass the 7kg weight limit rule." As we were layering on our clothes and stuffing our pockets we had two foreign, non-English speaking, women staring at us and smiling/laughing to one another as we did our little routine. Didn't bother us one bit, we were laughing at ourselves even harder! We were flying TigerAir on our last flight and instead of the usual go through security THEN have your bags weighed by the attendants before boarding, they did it opposite...weigh your bags, then go through security. So I went up to weigh my bag, and mind you it weighed 12ish-kg on the very first flight we took and had to pay a $50 overweight fee for, and IT ONLY WEIGHED 5KG. That's about a fourteen pound difference, people! That's insane is what it is. I had fourteen extra pounds of clothes and junk on my body and out of my bag. Ha! So we weigh our bags (Caitlin's are 1.3kg over the limit but they allow it) and as soon as we turn the corner we take everything off and stuff it right back into our bags before going through security. We.Are.Professionals. 

We board the plane, the flight goes smoothly, and then all that was left was a train ride back to Maitland. Unfortunately there weren't any direct trains from the airport to Maitland, and we just missed the train we needed to make it back by a decent hour because the guy giving us our tickets took ages! So we waited an hour to catch the train from Central to Hamilton, then had a two hour "layover" waiting in the freezing cold for our Hamilton to Maitland train. We didn't get home until 3am...longest train ride home ever; it took five hours total! 

All in all the trip was amazing, and we had an absolute blast over the past two weeks. People have been asking what my favorite part of the trip was, and I honestly can't give and answer. There was something good about every spot that we visited and they were all so different. I can't wait to see the rest of Australia over the next three years!

XO - Cristin 

Texans Down Under (Week 1: Maitland and the Northern Territory)

So one of my very best friends from high school, Caitlin Higgins, decided to come visit me in Australia! We planned a two week trip traveling to Uluru, Darwin, Cairns, and Melbourne. And this is how it went:

Day 1 (24/04) - With all the recent flooding in and around Maitland, Caitlin couldn't have picked a worse time to come visit. Then again, she couldn't have picked a better time because it got me out of doing all the cleanup work in and around the house.

     *If you didn't read my last post, on Tuesday, May 21, Maitland and the surrounding areas had one of the worst storms in over 60 years. They classified the cyclone's damage as a natural disaster, and there was only one road leading in and out of Maitland at the time we left (still almost a week later). 

Anyways, I left the house at 5:40am to drive to Hamilton train station (because Maitland's tracks were still under water), then hopped on a three hour train in order to pick Caitlin up from the Sydney airport be at 8:35am. Once we finally spotted each other, we stopped for a much needed cup of coffee (Caitlin still adjusting to the Australian currency, tried to give the barista a twenty cent piece thinking it was worth $20) and booked a train back to Hamilton. It had only been an hour, and we had already switched trains, when Caitlin started freaking out because she couldn't find her phone and passport. Her passport being the single most important thing during this trip because we have five Australian flights during this two weeks! We looked everywhere, and even thought she might've left them on the last train or back at the cafe in the airport. Sure enough, after about fifteen minutes of searching and freaking out, she found both of them in one of the pockets on her backpack! Shwew. 

We arrived in Hamilton around 1:30pm, and decided to go walk around the beach in Newcastle so that Caitlin could stretch out her legs after the long fifteen hour flight. That and, if we'd gone back to Maitland, we'd just be stranded at the house (and not even my house; my roommates and I were living with the landlord because mine had flooded during the storm). We took a long walk around the beach and to the lighthouse, then went to Casa de Loco for a late lunch. 

Now I've been wanting to try this Mexican food place for AGES but hadn't had the chance to get around to it, either because of work or the fact that they were only open dinner hours everyday but Friday. I had a delicious (but overpriced) margarita and a Mexican salad. The salad, oh my gosh, so good. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had Mexican food while living in Australia and this place was by far the favorite. 

After dinner we went back to Maitland, where Caitlin met Maxine, Sarah, Jeremy, Lachlan, Mitch, Phil, and Snoop, Honey, and Kobi (the dogs)...everyone I was living with at the moment. She showered her twenty-four hours of travel away, then we all played Uno and drank wine until dinner was ready. Caitlin almost fell asleep at the dinner table, jet lag is a you-know-what. She ended up going to bed around 8:30pm, while the rest of us played six more games of Uno before calling it a night. 

Day 2 (25/04) - Today was Anzac Day, which is basically the equivalent of Memorial Day, in Australia. Because it was a public holiday almost everywhere in Maitland was closed. So we woke up and headed to McDonalds for coffee; McDonald's being the obvious choice because they were open, not flooded, and offer free wifi. At 11:30am, after muffins and coffee, we headed to Largs Pub to meet everyone for Anzac Day festivities, the most famous and anticipated being "Two Up." 

The game of "Two Up" is only legal on Anzac Day; there's this big pit where no one but the "spinner" and the judge can be standing. The spinner tosses the coins in the air, and you basically make constant bets on whether or not the two coins will land on heads or tails. If you bet heads, both coins have to land on heads for you to win; if you bet tails, both coins have to land on tails to win your money. If they're split, one heads and one tails, it's called "oned em" and it's a re-flip. Everyone betting on heads is yelling "head 'em up" and everyone betting on tails is yelling "tail 'em up" after all bets are made. The bets get larger and the atmosphere gets louder the longer the game goes, which was from 2pm to 7pm. Caitlin and I were there from start to finish. I hate betting my hard earned money, leaving everything to chance, so I only bet once (and lost). Caitlin made a few bets, and ended $20 up. Then we started betting our friend Jeremy's money...and we won, a lot. He liked calling us his good luck charm. Whatever works. 

So "Two Up" is definitely something you need to experience once in your life if you're in Australia on this day. After all the fun I had, I was still upset that I had ended the day $5 down. But, just as we were leaving the pub, some random guy asked for a ride home for him and three of his friends, and said he'd pay me $100. So of course I took him up on his offer, his house was only 10/15km away...which meant I ended the night $95 up! And to top it off, he worked as a mechanic and told me where to take my car in for a service (which it desperately needs). So I won big twice on Anzac Day! Go me. 

Day 3 (26/04) - It was a bit like déjà vu for me today. Caitlin and I woke up at 3:40am so that we could drive to Hamilton to catch the 5:30am train to the Sydney airport. After three hours on the train we arrived at 8:30am for our 10:30am flight to Ayer's Rock/Uluru. 

All last night we were going over our packing lists, making our bags as small and light as possible so that we could travel with only carry-ons and not have to pay any extra fees. To be honest, I thought we did a fantastic job. I'm generally an over packer, and I packed two weeks worth of stuff into a 50L backpack (which wasn't maxed out). However, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER in my twenty-fours years of travel, our bags were actually weighed and measured at the boarding gate, AFTER we had already cleared them through security. Like c'mon?! Caitlin and I each had two bags, both perfectly capable of fitting as carry-ons (one under the seat and the other in the overhead compartment), but they were too heavy...like 5kg (10lbs) too heavy, each. So we jam packed as much stuff into Caitlin's backpack, to avoid paying two $50 checked baggage fees. We managed to lighten our bags just enough comply with weight and size limits; and fortunately we only had to split the cost of one $50 checked bag fee. My advice to anyone reading this, don't fly Jetstar...restrictions are ridiculous, and their seats were terribly uncomfortable. Unfortunately for Caitlin and I, we still have two more Jetstar flights on this trip...

We landed in Uluru at 1:30pm, took a twenty minute shuttle ride to our hostel, checked in and headed right out to Ayer's Rock on the last shuttle available. Because we got in so late, we were only able to spend a couple hours at the actual rock, and didn't get the chance to hike all the way around it (which was about a four hour hike) or climb it (which takes about two hours). Instead we hiked forty-five minutes to the gorge, and then climb as high as we could in the thirty minutes we had left (which ended up not being that far because Ayer's Rock is super steep and we were out of breath before we even got to the most difficult part). Ayer's Rock is really and amazing place to be...it could even be classified as "majestic" in my book. Our only mistake was not buying fly nets; the flies during our hike were out of control! At one point I looked over at Caitlin and there were about thirty just sitting on her back. They loved being all up in our faces and nostrils, too. So gross. 

After we left the rock, our shuttle took us to the sunset viewing point where we sat and watched the sun go down over Ayer's Rock. I don't know if it was just because there weren't any clouds in sight, but the sunset was nothing compared to a Texas panhandle's sunset. We still enjoyed it the view though. We had been told that there would be an aboriginal dance in the town square at 7:30pm that night. Thinking we had plenty of time, we grabbed a bite to eat first then caught the shuttle to the square. Apparently the dance started at 7pm, and ended at 7:30pm, so we just missed it! With nothing else to do in the area, and it being too dark to go on any hikes, we just showered and went to bed at 9pm. 

Day 4 (27/04) - Caitlin and I hadn't planned on waking up early since our shuttle to the airport didn't leave 'til 8:25am, but our internal clocks went ahead and woke us up at 6am. Nothing at our hostel was open yet, and Caitlin wanted coffee, so we walked to the service station and back. Still with over an hour to spare before we left, Caitlin did a load of laundry and then we just waited. While we waited we went over and over our backpacks, trying to pack them and make them look as small and light as possible. We were hoping that since we were flying Quantas this trip they wouldn't be as strict. 

The shuttle arrived at 8:45am, and we checked into our flight at 9:15am. When we went up to the counter to get our boarding passes the woman informed us that checking baggage is complimentary with Quantas, so even if they were too big or heavy it'd be no dramas. We informed her that we already liked them better than Jetstar, and then decided to save ourself the trouble and check our two big bags anyways. 

We had two flights to get get to Darwin. Our first one to Alice Springs was an easy forty minute trip, then we had an hour and a half layover before the three hour flight to Darwin. Earlier in the day Caitlin had said how we hadn't had any hiccups so far on our trip. She also asked if the camper van we were about to rent for three days was a manual. I told her surely it was an automatic; the last camper an I'd rented with friends in New Zealand was an automatic. I decided to call our camper van rental place just to double check our booking anyways, and to ask if the pickup was at the airport or if we needed to get a taxi/shuttle there. The woman at Blueys rentals told me the van pickup was just a short taxi drive from the airport and the van was, in fact, a manual...

A manual!? Oh my gosh. What?! Noooooo. Neither Caitlin, nor I, have spent any length of time driving a stick shift. I've tried lessons three times, once with my sister back in America and twice with different roommates, Ethan and Mitch, here in Australia...all three were failed attempts. Like, I understand the concept; I could tell you exactly what I need to do when it comes to the gas and the clutch and the shifting of gears...but once I'm actually in the car, all that goes out the window, and in flies the frustration when I can't get the release of the clutch to meet with the acceleration of the gas pedal in order to get the dang car started! Caitlin and I are coming up with the most hilarious scenarios of what will happen when we get to the rental place and what's going to happen the first time we get stuck on a hill. We've been googling and calling people asking for advice on "how-to-learn-to-drive-a-standard-in-less-than-three-hours." Talk about adventure, this is going to be comical. Either that, or they're not going to rent the camper van to us anymore...

So we got to the camper van rental place and the first thing we asked was if they had any automatic options available. Their answer...nope; unless we wanted to upgrade to a massive six berth van. We said no to that suggestion (because it cost waayyyy too much), and instead we lied and told them that we were just a little out of practice and then asked where the best place to practice our start and stops would be. We also decided to get the full insurance on the van, you know, just in case...

Now, I have to brag a little bit on myself because, even though it wasn't the smoothest start, I basically taught myself how to drive a standard in an hour. Yes, I had three previous lessons in driving a standard...yes, I had fantastic input from friends on Facebook about how to drive one in the three hours before we picked up the van...and yes, I did stall the first five times trying to get out of the parking lot...but other than that, I'd say I did pretty damn good by myself getting us from Darwin to our first destination of Litchfield National Park (two hours away). My only super stressful moments were when I would come to a roundabout or a complete stop at a stoplight. I hated the thought of stalling in the middle of traffic, and having people honk and yell at me to get out of the way. Fortunately that never happened; but I also went ahead and bought magnetic L plates to let other drivers know I was a learner, so that they couldn't get too upset if they saw our van stalling at random moments! 

We stopped at Woolworths, the local grocery store, to stock up on food for the next five days while we camped. Driving in and around town was the hardest because there were a lot of stop lights and I was in unfamiliar territory. Once we started driving to Litchfield it was relatively smooth; thankfully a good portion of the drive was straight highway and I was able to stay in fifth gear mostly. It wasn't until we were about ten miles from our destination that we started seeing grass fires pretty close to where were were driving. We got a bit scared, not knowing if they were controlled or not, and thought about turning around. But when I couldn't get the van to reverse (because we were on a slope in the ditch) we decided to just keep going to the nearest suburb. We stopped at the first petrol station we came across and got out to ask: 1. if the fires were controlled, and 2. where the nearest campsite was to park our van and sleep. Neither answer we got was very clear, and all Caitlin kept saying was "this looks like a scene from Wrong Turn" (a scary movie where some people take a wrong turn in their car and end up in the woods being chased by serial killers). That's not exactly what I wanted to hear when other people from Maitland had already told us to be careful while driving and to really be aware of our surrounding. 

Anyways, we found the nearest campgrounds and pulled in to book a parking spot. The owner was outside waiting for us when I parked, and he got a kick out of the fact that this was my first time driving a manual; I had told him the reason I parked horizontal was because I hadn't mastered reversing in a manual yet. He was very friendly and gave us lots of tips and advice on where to visit while here in the Darwin area, starting with the best bush walks in Litchfield National Park. After we parked the van, we made up our bed, ate dinner, and relaxed 'til bedtime. 

Day 5 (28/04) - Having only laid down a sleeping bag to sleep on top of, and a bed sheet to cover up with, both Caitlin and I woke up around 6am a bit chilly. We sucked it up until 7ish, then decided to get up, make breakfast (toast with PB&J), and get ready our day of hiking in Litchfield National Park. It took us almost an hour 'n a half to get to our first starting point, and we literally walked around in a circle five times before realizing we couldn't make it to where we were originally wanting to go - Florence Falls. The man at our campground had also said there was a nice short walk from Buley's Rockholes (upper and lower ends) which was where we were at; what we didn't realize was that a "short walk" to him meant five minutes! We were thinking something more along the lines of a thirty-minutes-kind-of-short. 

After Buley's Rockholes we drove to Wangi Falls where we took a 2.5km loop around Wangi Falls; we started at the base of the waterfall and swimming hole, hiked up to the treetop viewpoint at the peak of the waterfall, then all the way back down. That was more like the "short walk" we were expecting earlier. From Wangi Falls we went to the Cascades. Now this hike took us about two 'n a half hours, but once we got to the top there was a nice little swimming hole we took a dip in, and the water was the perfect temperature! Our last hike before heading to Katherine was along Grennant Creek to Tjaetaba Falls. This was by far my favorite stop of the day. 

We decided to fill up with gas at the next possible station; we had this plan to fill up every time we were halfway through our tank, just in case we ever got lost and ended up ages away from the next nearest station, or were being chased by a mass murderer in the middle of nowhere. So, Caitlin was driving at this point, and as we pulled in to the petrol station we misread the signs for the type of gas we were wanting and had to stop and restart. The only problem, was that we still hadn't mastered the whole starting smooth thing yet...Caitlin stalled out about four times, while an audience of about ten grown working men watched. Caitlin was so embarrassed, I was laughing hysterically (glad that Caitlin finally understood my pain and anxiety from the first day), and the men watching started offering us all their advice. Caitlin refused to keep trying, and made me switch to driver. I was just as bad...pressure kills! 

As I was informing everyone around that this was only our second day ever driving a manual they all laughed and asked how in the world the rental place even let us rent the van. Then, when I went inside to pay, I asked the two male cashiers if they enjoyed the show. One laughed and said yes, the other hadn't seen it. So I told him not to worry, it'd be back on in five minutes! And it was. After struggling for about three minutes, one of the cashiers came out and talked us through it. I don't know what it was about him telling us how to start over everybody else, but all of a sudden it just clicked. After that, I had no more problems! And I was even able to teach Caitlin "how to feel it" like everyone kept going on and on about. 

Finally we were back on the road. Katherine was still a good two hours away, and I don't like driving in the dark, so we were just going to stop halfway in a town called Pine Creek. Once we got there though, it was rundown, deserted looking, and had lots of smoke in the air from the nearby burning of the bush...so we kept driving, all the way to Katherine. It took us another hour 'n a half to get to Katherine. Once there, we found the nearest campground to park the van; we were so tired that we ate and fell straight to sleep (by 8:30pm). 

Day 6 (29/04) - We woke up at 7am, went to pay our camping fee since reception was closed last night when we arrived, and then headed out to Nitmiluk National Park. It took us thirty minutes to reach our destination. With only time for one big hike today, we decided to try the Southern Rockholes walk which was highly recommended by the girl at the information desk; it was the only water we could swim in without having to worry about crocodiles. It took us an hour 'n a half to get to the Southern Rockholes. It was by far the coolest spot we'd seen all trip: there was a waterfall (although hardly much runoff), cliffs to jump off, and crystal clear water to swim in! We made some random friends, one guy who used to play volleyball in California, and hung out and swam for an hour before starting the hike back. 

It was a three hour drive to Kakadu, the last national park on our list before heading back to Darwin. We saw so much wildlife during this part of our trip! Twenty minutes into crossing over into the national park we came across a live wild hog in the middle of the road; fortunately, it scurried off just before we had to make a complete stop. Not long after that there was a herd of cattle contemplating whether or not to cross the road, another time Caitlin swerved to miss hitting a bird! I thought I was going to die and told her next time to just hit the damn thing; she said she can't stand the thought of killing an animal, then thirty minutes later ran over a snake :) when we pulled into our campground there were at least twenty wallabies hopping around the area. But the most exciting thing I saw was a wild dingo! I've only ever seen them at the zoo, and this one was roaming free twenty yards from us! 

Caitlin and I made ourselves a nice little picnic before we headed to bed. It was a perfect night to enjoy some cheese and crackers, and wine, while watching the sunset and the animals roam around us. 

Day 7 (30/04) - With all the hikes we wanted to do today nearby, we decided it'd be alright to get a later start. We woke up at 9am, then drove to the nearest information center to buy our park passes. The information center also happen to have free wifi; we lost track of time and didn't leave there 'til 11am. There were only three hikes on our list to do: Ubir Art Gallery, Manngarre Rainforest Walk, and Bardedjilidji Sandstone Walk. 

The Ubir Art a Gallery was this really neat walk that showed off a bunch of old aboriginal rock art. There was one amazing lookout where we were able to see for miles and miles while overlooking the wetlands. It was like we were in two completely different places at the same time: one dry and rocky, the other wet and green! Our second walk was one Caitlin was most looking forward to, the Manngarre Rainforest Walk. After walking for about twenty minutes, ducking under various massive spider webs, we ran into a couple who said the rest of the trail wasn't open due to season closures. That was a big bummer. Our last walk was fortunately the longest, so we'd still be getting some sort of exercise today :) The Bardedjilidji Sandstone walk had a few caves and rock bridges to go under, but man, was it hot! 

After our hikes, we headed to to our final campground. It was still early in the day so since the place classified itself as a "resort" we decided to take advantage of the pool. We laid out for an hour, until Caitlin felt she was burning (because she was still basically coming out of winter back home), then we headed to the bar for a drink and some air-conditioning. 

We left the bar at 7:30pm to head back to our camper van. It was dark already, and all of a sudden Caitlin gasped; when I looked up we were literally standing FIVE FEET from a dingo! And it was staring straight at us. Growing up a dog person, it's hard not to look at a dingo and think of it as a cute little puppy; but last night when we saw one at the other campsite and the groundskeeper had told us "yes they're vicious, it's a wild animal" it had me a little nervous being so close. I was scared, but then again I was hysterically laughing into my hand because it had now started following us as we walked back to the van. Like, what were we supposed to do if it started growling at us and chasing after us?! Fortunately that didn't happen, and after following us about twenty feet, we went right and he/she went left. 

Once we got to the van, I made myself dinner (PB&J, plus turkey and crackers) then we both laid down to read our books until we fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be an early morning...we had to leave to the campsite by 7am in order to make it to Darwin by 10am to turn in our van. 

Day 8 (01/05) - Caitlin and I woke up at 6:30am, packed up the camper van, grabbed coffee, and got on the road back to Darwin. We were told it would be a three hour drive, but we managed to make it back in two. Just before we returned to van to Britz we topped it off with petrol, cleaned the used dishes, swept it out, and took our final pictures to prove that we had, in fact, survived five days driving a manual without so much as a scratch on the van! 

We booked a taxi to the airport, then layered on our clothes, stuffed our pockets, and made our backpacks look as small as possible to avoid paying another $50 fee for oversized baggage. To put that into perspective: I had on a pair of leggings, a pair of sweatpants, a tank top, a tshirt, and then a long sleeve shirt, a flannel, and my nano puff jacket tied around my waist...then I stuffed my pockets with all my electronics, put my camera around my neck, and carried my ipad, journal, book, and phone in my hands...AND IT WORKED! We made it onto the plane without our bags getting weighed and measured at the gate this time. And I'd just like to point out, my bag fit just fine in the overhead bin (vertically, not even horizontally), and I still had the area under the seat in front of me available. I'd say Jetstar owes us our $50 back! 

We landed in Cairns at 4:15pm, took a taxi to the famous Gilligan's hostel to see if we could book a room, but then decided against it and chose instead the Central YHA around the corner because it would save us $15 per night. Once checked in, we unpacked, made our bunk beds, and then headed off to explore the nearby streets as we looked for something to eat. Of course we chose Thai (my favorite kind of food), and the chicken pad thai there was the second best I've had since moving to Australia...still not up there with Bangkok Tokyo in Amarillo though. Nothing can beat that; until I visit actual Thailand, that is...

When we returned to the hostel, we sat outside on the patio for a bit, used the free wifi, showered, then headed to bed. I couldn't sleep, so I ended up finishing the free book I had taken from the camper van rental place a week ago: The Wish List, by Melanie La'Brooy; a very hilarious Australian novel about a girl trying to find true love (story of my life...haha). 

*More pictures from throughout our entire holiday will be posted to Facebook soon!



XO - Cristin