I'm Here!
Hey! I'm sitting at an internet cafe in Cairns (pronounced "cans") Australia! Meredith and I arrived yesterday morning in Sydney and are having a fabulous time. We met the person who has opened her house to us and went to meet the people she works with (who knew Meredith's dad). That was fun and then we caught the train into the city (about a 40 minute ride - I slept half of it. I can sleep just about anywhere.) Once in the Sydney we took tons of pictures of the Opera House and of Sydney Harbour Bridge. They really are breath taking. We picked up our smart visit cards for Mon. and Tues. and then explored the area. We went to the Rocks and also to the botanical gardens. Both are wonderful. The Rocks reminds be a lot of Savannah and a little of Charleston. We are planning a trip to the Rock's museum on Tuesday which will help once I know a little more of the history of it. One thing I have realized is that I don't know very much about Australia's history and know I want to learn it. It was a great day and it didn't rain on us until we were on the train home. Trish's house is about a 15 minute walk from the train station. She lives in a nice area that has a Rome size feel to it (Rome, GA for people like my dad that would ask which one). There is a Target near the train station that I hope we have a few minutes to stop in before we leave if not oh well.
We got back to Trish's had dinner, repacked for Cairns and laughed at each other a lot. I think we were exhausted and just didn't realize it. Trish is wonderful and I'm sad to know that she won't be there when we return.
Trish drove us back to the airport early this morning to catch our flight to Cairns. I definitely took advantage of the Krispy Kreme in the airport even though I had already had breakfast because that is one thing that is not in Hong Kong. Our flight was one that doesn't assign seats its a first come first serve basis. The people were really nice and it worked out well. Meredith and I had two seats beside each other and one was a window seat. However, we didn't think it through because behind us was the exit row so our seats didn't lean back which would have been nice. It was a 3 hour flight and again I slept most of it. Waking up at 6:30 is too early for me so I had to catch up on some sleep :) We arrived to a very casual airport and JJ's Backpackers (our hostel) picked us up about 25 minutes later. We got our key dropped our bags and took the shuttle to the downtown area. It's beautiful. I really enjoyed it. Cairns is a place that is very relaxed and makes you want to just sit and relax. I would have loved to sit out at the Laguna (a public swimming pool that is really nice) all day but I knew I didn't have the time for it. We did lots of viewing for shopping ideas today to know what we liked and what as cheaper than Sydney. We also figured our our way around Cairns. We took the bus back at 5:15 and officially checked into the hostel. Ray was super nice. He booked our tours for our stay and gave us plenty of directions to know what was going on.
JJ's is an awesome! It is a hostel so it's cheaper than a hotel. We share with one other female lady (from France) and share a bathroom. The linens are provided and there is a nice atmosphere. Not only that but they have shuttle's into the downtown area quite often during the day (it's about a 10-15 minute walk otherwise). They also provide breakfast and dinner coupons. Two free meals - you have to love that!
Also Ray booked all of our tours from the hostel. He gave us honest opinions of what to do and why. So here are our plans.
Friday - Off to see the Great Barrier Reef! We leave JJ's at 8. Ray gave us a coupon for a free wet suit rental and a free soft drink each on the boat. Our boat will have about 30 people on it and we are going diving! I've never gone diving before and I'm slightly worried about it but they give you instruction and a diver will be right beside use the whole time. Then after that we will be snorkeling some. We won't get back until 4:30 and dinner is provided. For tomorrow Meredith and I have rented an underwater digital camera. Meredith brought us both an underwater camera but that is only 27 shots each and they are not as high quality. We rented the camera for $60AUD and we get the equivalent of 500 photos (we can do videos too which means less pictures but not that many less!). Once we turn in the camera they will also make a CD of it (included in the price). They gave us a short lesson on how to use it and what to do to NOT break it. We are very excited about that since we will have lots of photos and lots of really good photos. After we get back we will probably do some more shopping and touring around Cairns or maybe hanging out at the hostel.
Sat. We will pack up and check out but leave our baggage at the hostel. We leave at 10 for a tour of the rainforest! We are also excited about this tour. I don't remember all the details now but I know that it is mainly a driving tour with stops throughout the rainforest. We get back at 4:30 and will have another hour or so before we head back to the airport. Once back in Sydney we will have to navigate the train system to get back to Trish's (but we think we have that figured out now).
Sun. We are shopping in Sydney. They have a few markets that we are going to. We are also going to the Rock's Museum that day and possibly Hard Rock and Darling Harbour. Who knows what else we will get into that day.
Mon. Our Smart Visit Card starts. We are going to the Blue Mountains for the day with a hop on hop off tour bus of the area and maybe a tour of a cave (got to figure out if that is part of the card still). Then when we get back we will be going to the Aquarium (as long as there is time).
Tues. We start at the Sydney Opera House Tour then move right along to the Toranga Zoo complete with pictures with koalas and petting kangaroos. Then we head back to Circular Quay (pronounced "key") for a cruise of the Harbour. Then we are going to Sydney Tower for a view of the city 230 m up. We also have a plan for a jet boat cruise through the harbour just for fun. If time I hope we make it out to the Olympic Park and then to the stadium and the tour of that. (All of these things are covered with our card) Then we will have to spend some time packing and preparing to leave because we will have to leave Trish's house between 6 and 630 to go to the airport on Wednesday morning.
Well that's the details so far. Things are going really well. We are having and blast and keep reminding ourselves that we really are in Australia. It's nice to be back in a place that speaks almost all English and to see many more white people than usual. It's an interesting culture and probably a fun one to live in :) Well I need to get going because I'm running out of time for the internet. More details to come!
We got back to Trish's had dinner, repacked for Cairns and laughed at each other a lot. I think we were exhausted and just didn't realize it. Trish is wonderful and I'm sad to know that she won't be there when we return.
Trish drove us back to the airport early this morning to catch our flight to Cairns. I definitely took advantage of the Krispy Kreme in the airport even though I had already had breakfast because that is one thing that is not in Hong Kong. Our flight was one that doesn't assign seats its a first come first serve basis. The people were really nice and it worked out well. Meredith and I had two seats beside each other and one was a window seat. However, we didn't think it through because behind us was the exit row so our seats didn't lean back which would have been nice. It was a 3 hour flight and again I slept most of it. Waking up at 6:30 is too early for me so I had to catch up on some sleep :) We arrived to a very casual airport and JJ's Backpackers (our hostel) picked us up about 25 minutes later. We got our key dropped our bags and took the shuttle to the downtown area. It's beautiful. I really enjoyed it. Cairns is a place that is very relaxed and makes you want to just sit and relax. I would have loved to sit out at the Laguna (a public swimming pool that is really nice) all day but I knew I didn't have the time for it. We did lots of viewing for shopping ideas today to know what we liked and what as cheaper than Sydney. We also figured our our way around Cairns. We took the bus back at 5:15 and officially checked into the hostel. Ray was super nice. He booked our tours for our stay and gave us plenty of directions to know what was going on.
JJ's is an awesome! It is a hostel so it's cheaper than a hotel. We share with one other female lady (from France) and share a bathroom. The linens are provided and there is a nice atmosphere. Not only that but they have shuttle's into the downtown area quite often during the day (it's about a 10-15 minute walk otherwise). They also provide breakfast and dinner coupons. Two free meals - you have to love that!
Also Ray booked all of our tours from the hostel. He gave us honest opinions of what to do and why. So here are our plans.
Friday - Off to see the Great Barrier Reef! We leave JJ's at 8. Ray gave us a coupon for a free wet suit rental and a free soft drink each on the boat. Our boat will have about 30 people on it and we are going diving! I've never gone diving before and I'm slightly worried about it but they give you instruction and a diver will be right beside use the whole time. Then after that we will be snorkeling some. We won't get back until 4:30 and dinner is provided. For tomorrow Meredith and I have rented an underwater digital camera. Meredith brought us both an underwater camera but that is only 27 shots each and they are not as high quality. We rented the camera for $60AUD and we get the equivalent of 500 photos (we can do videos too which means less pictures but not that many less!). Once we turn in the camera they will also make a CD of it (included in the price). They gave us a short lesson on how to use it and what to do to NOT break it. We are very excited about that since we will have lots of photos and lots of really good photos. After we get back we will probably do some more shopping and touring around Cairns or maybe hanging out at the hostel.
Sat. We will pack up and check out but leave our baggage at the hostel. We leave at 10 for a tour of the rainforest! We are also excited about this tour. I don't remember all the details now but I know that it is mainly a driving tour with stops throughout the rainforest. We get back at 4:30 and will have another hour or so before we head back to the airport. Once back in Sydney we will have to navigate the train system to get back to Trish's (but we think we have that figured out now).
Sun. We are shopping in Sydney. They have a few markets that we are going to. We are also going to the Rock's Museum that day and possibly Hard Rock and Darling Harbour. Who knows what else we will get into that day.
Mon. Our Smart Visit Card starts. We are going to the Blue Mountains for the day with a hop on hop off tour bus of the area and maybe a tour of a cave (got to figure out if that is part of the card still). Then when we get back we will be going to the Aquarium (as long as there is time).
Tues. We start at the Sydney Opera House Tour then move right along to the Toranga Zoo complete with pictures with koalas and petting kangaroos. Then we head back to Circular Quay (pronounced "key") for a cruise of the Harbour. Then we are going to Sydney Tower for a view of the city 230 m up. We also have a plan for a jet boat cruise through the harbour just for fun. If time I hope we make it out to the Olympic Park and then to the stadium and the tour of that. (All of these things are covered with our card) Then we will have to spend some time packing and preparing to leave because we will have to leave Trish's house between 6 and 630 to go to the airport on Wednesday morning.
Well that's the details so far. Things are going really well. We are having and blast and keep reminding ourselves that we really are in Australia. It's nice to be back in a place that speaks almost all English and to see many more white people than usual. It's an interesting culture and probably a fun one to live in :) Well I need to get going because I'm running out of time for the internet. More details to come!
posted by Caroline at
5:50 PM
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