Magnetic Island

July 30, 2006

Today we went to an island off the coast of Townsville called Magnetic Island. It is a beautiful island. We caught the ferry at 10:30, got there around 11am, and then spent the day on the beach. These two pictures are pictures from the ferry, the first is of Castle Hiil, which is a great hiking spot in Townsville - I will be going to it soon. The second picture is of the island from the ferry.





The girls really wanted to try the meat pies so they got them for lunch and I enjoyed the greasiest chicken I could ever imagine. Then we laid out on the beach for a bit and went kayaking. This is a picture of Emily and I on the beach.



The kayaking was amazing; the views were terrific we were all upset that we hadn’t brought a camera. There’s rumor that Sarina saw a giant sea turtle while we were there, but after investigating further it could not be found again.

After kayaking, we went to a different part of the island, where there was beach with big rocks. This beach is pictured below.



Everyone went climbing on the rocks (I didn’t bring sneakers so I didn’t think it would be safe to climb big boulders in my flip flops). Here is a picture of Luke and Shannon on some of the rocks



After that we caught the ferry and went home. So all in all the island was beautiful, but we decided that we’d have to go back sometime when we’re all more prepared for adventure, ie. hiking and snorkeling.

When we got back to college we ran into some adorable wallabies. So I had to take a picture

Getting Settled

July 27th,2006 – July 28th, 2006

Well we got to the college just after they closed, but since we were with John that was no problem, he went and asked the kitchen staff how I was to get my keys. An RA from the college came out brought me my keys and told me the airport had called and my luggage was on the way. Well the luggage didn’t come after an hour and half of waiting, so John and I went to get food. We ran into our friend from the budget car rental at the restaurant and John bought her a drink, so now I really thinks she likes us. Then we went off to find John “accommodations” for the night. Well there is a Jehovah’s Witness convention and horse races in town so there were no accommodations for John in Townsville. So we went back to James Cook and he was going to go to the next town to find a room.

John and I had planned to meet up again at my college around noon the next day because I was to get up for breakfast before 8:30 and meet with my advisor at 10 the next morning. So I got up at 8:30, tried to figure out where my luggage was, they told me it was still in Melbourne – which was interesting to me considering they told me they were delivering it to James Cook last night. Well, then I took my first shower in 48 hours very quickly because it was 9:50 and I was supposed have a meeting at 10. But I made it to my meeting only 5 minutes late, and it all worked out. She told me everything I needed to know – I’m still very depressed that I had to miss orientation, it sounded wonderful – and the meeting ended at 12:30…. Hmm. When I get back to my college … no John … hmm, so I sat around and waited again for John. Finally my suitemate, Emily, came in and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk around town with her and I told her I was waiting for John, of which she replied with “Oh yes! I have a story for you” - which is quite expected when you mention John Wilson ☺ Well John had come and left – he couldn’t find an accommodation last night even in the town 60 miles from Townsville, so John slept in his car (I of course got my nice comfy new bed to sleep in, because John is sooo wonderful and brought me home before he tried the next town over). John then figured that if there were no accommodations last night there will be none tonight so he had booked a flight to Cairns at 2pm, so he had to leave and could not wait to see me off, which he was very upset about. This meant that John and I would have no contact for the remainder of Johns trip in Australia, because neither of us had phones at the time.



So, having heard that, I proceeded on my walk with my suitemate and one of our other new friends, Carlo. We found a walking tunnel near the college with a bunch of spiders in it. We looked closer only to find out that they were redbacks – spiders that are just as poisonous as black willows. So that was comforting. No snakes though which is exciting. We then found a beautiful spot near the river, and I took the pictures you see here. And eventually we found our way back to the college.




When I got back I found out from one of my RA’s that my luggage in fact did arrive last night and that he had taken it and put it in the conference room since I couldn’t be found. So, I got my luggage and everything worked out.

Just as I was unpacking, I heard John’s voice in the hall way, he had come back! He decided to take the flight at 4pm instead, so he wondered the city saw the sights then came back to see me. I gave him dad’s phone from London and my new numbers so he could call me if he wanted. And he was off again. I think John’s adventures in Australia would be much more interesting then my own. Maybe we should talk him into writing a blog.

Introduction

So this is where I will be posting all my fun and exciting adventures in Australia. Let me know if there is anything else I should add. Don’t worry the writing will be terrible, but that should be expected because I am a physics major ☺
Hope you enjoy!

The Flight

July 25 – July 27th
My whole 33 hours of traveling actually went much smoother than I expected. My first flight left Atlanta at 2:30 US time and flew to Chicago. When I got to Chicago I made it to the gate just before they started boarding. After everyone boarded they decided to make an announcement that everyone had to get off the plane because the plane we were on was out of service. So we deplaned and waited for an hour and a half till they found a new plane. I got a little nervous at this point considering I had 3 more connections to make, and one delay would set me off for the entire trip. They finally found a plane and we flew to LA. Luckily I had made the travel agent give me a 3 hour layover in LA so, I was escorted to the international gate and made it just before they began boarding for Auckland. Then began my 12 hour flight – which actually wasn’t that bad. My feet fell asleep at least three times, but the food was great, the seat next to me was empty so I got to stretch out, and I really only watched one movie and 2 office episodes (yes they had “The Office” on an Australian plane!! Memories of home already ☺). We got into Auckland at 4:30am New Zealand time, 2:30pm US time. Then I caught my flight to Brisbane an hour later – again making it to the gate just before they started boarding. That flight was very uneventful. However, the arrival was an adventure. I got through customs easily, but as I was waiting for my bags the dog would not stop smelling my bag (I found out later that my mouth wash had leaked and that was what he was smelling) So, they went through my bag and stamped my ticket at least three times. Needless to say (because I have never once traveled internationally and not lost my bag) they sent my heavy bag to Melbourne [I guess it didn’t make my flight from LA to Auckland so they sent it LA to Brisbane] But this was good because then I didn’t have to lug it everywhere and they said they would deliver it to me at my final destination in Townsville. After I dealt with that I had to check into my next flight and find the domestic airport (which was a train away – but no worries cause I had 3 hours to spare). So I got to the 4th security gate that I had to go through on the trip and found out that in Brisbane you don’t need to have a boarding pass to go to the gates – which is rather interesting to me. But finally got through that and sat and waited for John – who never showed up- I took the flight and decided that I would figure everything out at Townsville, see if I could track him down there. So I got to Townsville – by the way it is the smallest airport I have ever seen – checked on my luggage then checked on John. I asked a really nice man from Quantas if he could tell me what flights John was on and which he wasn’t, however there is this rule for privacy reasons that you can’t disclose information on passengers until a certain time after they land, but the guy must have liked me cause he tipped me off that John would be coming in on the next flight from Brisbane. So I waited some more for John. John finally arrived, we made friends with the Budget rental car lady and went on our way to James Cook University.