Spraaaang Breaaaaakkkk

Hi everyone! I got back from the 1fish2fish spring break trip a few days ago, and have been getting back into the routine of Brizzy life while simultaneously trying to recover from the best 9 days of my life.

We left for spring break on Saturday and got back this past Monday. There were around 60 people on the trip from all over- the US, Canada, Italy, England, and so many more countries. The Fairfield group was also the only group living in Brisbane- everyone else is staying in either Sydney or Melbourne.

These people that were complete strangers at the beginning of the nine days quickly became our friends. We spent essentially every second together- it would have been difficult not to become friends. Our “tour guides” were these really chill guys named Scotty and Noorty and they were anything but tour guides. They got us from place to place but were partying with us the entire time, which made for a really laid back feeling for the week.

Fairfield with Scotty and Noorty

We started on Saturday at the Australia Zoo, home of Steve Irwin, on the first day and got to see the whole Irwin family! Bindi performed a song about her dad, and at first I felt like I was at a Hannah Montana concert but then I almost cried. I loved the croc hunter! I also held a four-year-old alligator at the zoo, which felt really strange. That night, we stayed at Rainbow Beach and watched the sunset. I always watch the sunsets when I’m at the Cape, and in Australia I haven’t seen any sunsets yet, so I was thrilled.

Holding an alligator at the Steve Irwin zoo

Rainbow Beach sunset

The next day, we went to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. It was really similar to Moreton Island where I had my field trip a few weeks ago. We went on the same off-roaders and swam in a really beautiful lake. That night, we had a twelve-hour bus ride to Airlie Beach. It was MISERABLE. Definitely more difficult to get through than the plane ride to Australia, but at least it didn’t come with the weeklong jetlag.

Chelsea sniped this pic of me at Fraser

We finally got to Airlie Beach on Monday morning, and got on these high-speed boats. As we drove around the Whitsundays on our boats, the water became increasingly turquoise. We snorkeled for a bit and then arrived at Whitehaven Beach- the third most beautiful beach in the world. I’m not sure who ranks the most beautiful beaches in the world, but I’d really like to have that as a job. It was incredible. The water was stunningly blue and the sand was literally white. We hung out on the beach for a while before heading to our hostel on South Molle Island for the night.

The boats we took literally flew through the air

Whitehaven Beach

The next day, we took a massive yacht around the Whitsundays. It was amazing to spend the day relaxing on a yacht… just saying I was on a yacht makes me feel like I was a princess. That night, we stayed at Airlie Beach, which is the mainland area of the Whitsundays. The Down Under Bar (or the Dunder as we call it) is my favorite bar in Brisbane and it happened to be the bar at Airlie Beach where we went that night! I definitely felt a little at home being at a Dunder.

On Wednesday, we had the day to ourselves but unfortunately it was raining, so we just shopped around. Later that day, we had a six-hour bus ride to Mission Beach, where we stayed that night in a nicer motel. We woke up at 6:30 the next morning to go white water rafting on the Tully River. It was incredible. I’ve never done anything like white water rafting before, so I was terrified. We almost fell out several times and our guide purposely flipped the raft over at one point. It was exhilarating. It was also raining a lot, too, which made the experience even cooler. We spent about four hours rafting, and traveled 9 miles in the rafts. I was covered in bruises for the rest of the trip, but it was so worth it.

After that, we had another two-hour bus ride up to Cairns, where we stayed for the rest of the trip. We went out Thursday night and then Friday afternoon we went bungee jumping! I didn’t think I was even going to do it, since bungee jumping is not something I’ve ever had a desire to do. It was also raining this day, so that made the idea of hurling myself off of a bungee tower even more terrifying. At the last minute, however, I decided to just do it. I’m in the rainforest in Australia, why not jump 164 feet off a tower dangling by only a string?! Surprisingly, I wasn’t even scared before, and when the time came to jump, I just did it. It was so exhilarating and I could feel myself becoming an adrenaline junkie immediately afterwards. Shannon, Kat, and I did a tequila shot right after I jumped and then the three of us went on a bungee swing together, which is actually a lot scarier than it sounds. I still can’t even believe that I bungee jumped, but I’m so glad that I did.

On Saturday, we went on a boat to the Great Barrier Reef! There was the option to do a beginner scuba dive, but I was feeling a little sick, so the idea of having to pop my ears and equalize with the pressure freaked me out a little too much. I wish I had done it, but I also got to snorkel the reef for an hour! I saw some amazingly huge rainbow fish, and I even found Nemo! I couldn’t even let myself be homesick for Fairfield and Clam Jam that day because I was at the Great Barrier Reef- a place I’ve always dreamed of going. That night we did a pub-crawl led by our tour guide from Byron Bay! It was so nice to see him again, and this crawl definitely changed my thoughts of pub-crawls from the Gold Coast.

Great Barrier Reef

Sunday we went to a cool little hippy town near Cairns and then went to look at a waterfall. That night we had our last party with all of our new 1fish2fish friends! On Monday we had a two hour flight back to Brisbane. I am so glad I did the 1fish2fish trip. I got to experience so many things that I wouldn’t have been able to on an unguided trip. I am so excited to have seen so many of the natural beauties of Australia, and am looking forward to the last two months of my semester abroad!

1fish2fish group