While i was away from blog work, i went on a little adventure to a land called Australia! I have wanted to go to Australia from the time that i learned about it when i was in 3rd grade. there has always been something so enchanting about this land to me. so when the opportunity arrived for me to venture Down Under, i took it! My friend Paulina was going to Sydney to be a bridesmaid in her friends wedding, which happened to be over Chinese New Year, so I asked if I could tag along and we decided to go on a little outback journey together. I spent the first 3 days in Sydney. My first day I ventured out alone to explore Sydney while Paulina was doing her bridesmaid duty. It was a bit of a dreary day...but i still was able to explore the city and hit up the Australian Museum. And I'm a sucker for museums, so it was great. The next day Paulina and I went to the Circular Key, which is where the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge 
are. It was amazing to see them up close. Whenever i saw it, i just wanted to sing. i loved it. We ventured around and went to "The Rocks" where they had a cute little Sunday market. I purchased a lovely bracelet, so the rain couldn't get me down too much. The best day that i spent in Sydney was going on a day trip to a wildlife park where i got my first encounter with kangaroos and koala bears and other outback creatures. i felt so touristy, but it was fun to get to hang around with kanga's and koalas. that's what Australia's all about! we also journeyed to the the Blue Mountains on our day trip to see the "three sisters" rock formation. it was a truly breathtaking view. i wished we could have spent more time there, but unfortunately we had to continue on. then, we went to a rain forest and took this crazy steep railroad down into the bottom of the rain forest. it was pretty amazing! after we explored the rain forest for a bit, we took a cable car back up to the top. i just felt in awe this whole day getting to experience so many amazing creations and just how beautiful the Earth is and all of it's creatures. it was so inspiring.
After our time in Sydney we hoped on another plane and headed north to Cairns. It has such a more laid back vibe than Sydney, which I really enjoyed. And our first day there was indeed very laid back. We hung out next to the pool, or "lagoon" and enjoyed the beautiful sun and read our books for literally the whole day. It was fantastic. The next day we headed out to THE GREAT BARRIER REEF! Now, this was my first time to ever snorkel and scub
a dive...but, I got to do them both. And in the most beautiful part place of all. At first I was a little bit uncomfortable with the snorkel. I'm sure i looked utterly ridiculous because i kept trying to breathe through my nose which doesn't really work. However, once i stopped hyperventilating and got my breathing technique down I was good to go. It was the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen, it's no wonder I didn't just stop breathing all together. For the moment of time that you are in the water, you are a part of a totally different world. And it's such a privilege to be there. We snorkeled around for a little bit and then met up with our SCUBA instructor for our dive. I was a little terrified at first, honestly. But once I got all my equipment on and we went through everything that we learned I was pumped. My heart was beating crazy fast as we descended into the water that I did almost forget to breath a couple of times. But again, I found my rhythm and I totally got into it. We didn't go down very far since it was just a "fun dive" for non-certified people, such as myself. But, what I saw was amazing. I got to touch a sea aniname, soft coral, and a clam (which i was terrified would snap my hand right off) and of course swim with some amazing colorful creatures. It was a short experience, but definitely not one that I'm going to forget very soon.
Our next day in Cairns was another fun-filled and thrilling adventure day that unfortunately had to start at 6:00am in the morning. (Who has to wake up early on vacation??? Apparently white water rafters...) So, we woke with the dawn and headed about an hour and a half drive to Tully for some wicked white water rafting. It was an amazing adventure and even cooler with the rain coming down creating some crazy water for us to ride. We were led by our fearless 19 year old leader, Marlow, who i am shamelessly in love with. the kid was the most adorable thing ever. sigh. anyways....it was an awesome rush the entire time and even falling out of the raft was exhilarating. (yes, i was rescued by my hunky Aussie boy). I was extremely sad when this day was over. I could have kept going until the sun went down. Both scuba diving and white water rafting were such amazing experiences and it was my first time doing both. It definitely got me hooked and i hope that I have more opportunities to do both. It made me really want to get my PADI SCUBA certification, so that might be something that I start working towards. And I'm hoping that I get to hit up some white water rafting while I'm home this summer.
Unfortunately our trip had to come to an end. There were so many incredible experiences and first's on this trip. Often by the end of a vacation I feel like I'm ready to go home, but this was the first time where i just wanted to stay forever. But, alas. I'm back in Hong Kong and onto planning for my next adventure...
G'day mates!
Sarah
for more picture, you can check out my facebook album
are. It was amazing to see them up close. Whenever i saw it, i just wanted to sing. i loved it. We ventured around and went to "The Rocks" where they had a cute little Sunday market. I purchased a lovely bracelet, so the rain couldn't get me down too much. The best day that i spent in Sydney was going on a day trip to a wildlife park where i got my first encounter with kangaroos and koala bears and other outback creatures. i felt so touristy, but it was fun to get to hang around with kanga's and koalas. that's what Australia's all about! we also journeyed to the the Blue Mountains on our day trip to see the "three sisters" rock formation. it was a truly breathtaking view. i wished we could have spent more time there, but unfortunately we had to continue on. then, we went to a rain forest and took this crazy steep railroad down into the bottom of the rain forest. it was pretty amazing! after we explored the rain forest for a bit, we took a cable car back up to the top. i just felt in awe this whole day getting to experience so many amazing creations and just how beautiful the Earth is and all of it's creatures. it was so inspiring.
After our time in Sydney we hoped on another plane and headed north to Cairns. It has such a more laid back vibe than Sydney, which I really enjoyed. And our first day there was indeed very laid back. We hung out next to the pool, or "lagoon" and enjoyed the beautiful sun and read our books for literally the whole day. It was fantastic. The next day we headed out to THE GREAT BARRIER REEF! Now, this was my first time to ever snorkel and scub
a dive...but, I got to do them both. And in the most beautiful part place of all. At first I was a little bit uncomfortable with the snorkel. I'm sure i looked utterly ridiculous because i kept trying to breathe through my nose which doesn't really work. However, once i stopped hyperventilating and got my breathing technique down I was good to go. It was the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen, it's no wonder I didn't just stop breathing all together. For the moment of time that you are in the water, you are a part of a totally different world. And it's such a privilege to be there. We snorkeled around for a little bit and then met up with our SCUBA instructor for our dive. I was a little terrified at first, honestly. But once I got all my equipment on and we went through everything that we learned I was pumped. My heart was beating crazy fast as we descended into the water that I did almost forget to breath a couple of times. But again, I found my rhythm and I totally got into it. We didn't go down very far since it was just a "fun dive" for non-certified people, such as myself. But, what I saw was amazing. I got to touch a sea aniname, soft coral, and a clam (which i was terrified would snap my hand right off) and of course swim with some amazing colorful creatures. It was a short experience, but definitely not one that I'm going to forget very soon.Our next day in Cairns was another fun-filled and thrilling adventure day that unfortunately had to start at 6:00am in the morning. (Who has to wake up early on vacation??? Apparently white water rafters...) So, we woke with the dawn and headed about an hour and a half drive to Tully for some wicked white water rafting. It was an amazing adventure and even cooler with the rain coming down creating some crazy water for us to ride. We were led by our fearless 19 year old leader, Marlow, who i am shamelessly in love with. the kid was the most adorable thing ever. sigh. anyways....it was an awesome rush the entire time and even falling out of the raft was exhilarating. (yes, i was rescued by my hunky Aussie boy). I was extremely sad when this day was over. I could have kept going until the sun went down. Both scuba diving and white water rafting were such amazing experiences and it was my first time doing both. It definitely got me hooked and i hope that I have more opportunities to do both. It made me really want to get my PADI SCUBA certification, so that might be something that I start working towards. And I'm hoping that I get to hit up some white water rafting while I'm home this summer.
Unfortunately our trip had to come to an end. There were so many incredible experiences and first's on this trip. Often by the end of a vacation I feel like I'm ready to go home, but this was the first time where i just wanted to stay forever. But, alas. I'm back in Hong Kong and onto planning for my next adventure...
G'day mates!
Sarah
for more picture, you can check out my facebook album
