Ok, forgive me, this blog post is so ridiculously long overdue but I have been focusing on school and only uploaded the blog posts where I didn’t feel like I had to edit photos, in saying that this is my third post of the year… SORRY!
Early last December, I took a trip to Cairns organized by my school, which was a geography excursion. A group of 10 girls as well as 2 teachers took on Cairns and it was honestly one of the best trips I have taken! From being completely unplugged from the world in the middle of the Daintree Rainforest to snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, this was definitely an experience I will not forget about anytime soon. DAY 1 It started with a 5am wakeup and meeting the girls so we were all able to make our way to the airport for an 8:50am flight. Despite only being a 2-hour flight, when we landed it felt like the day was halfway gone! We were all so tired and all we looked forward to was relaxing but we went straight to the James Cook University Daintree Research Station and were lucky enough to go onto the Canopy Crane which was hands down the most surreal experience I have ever done. Lifted up to 47 meters above the ground and having it be so quiet and peaceful was so mentally calming and showed us just a sea of trees with the reef in the distance. After having a long day of traveling and exploring, we headed to our accommodation for the night, which was at Cape Tribulation in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest. Unplugged from everything and everyone back home here in Sydney, we got to live in the moment and take in everything around us. None of us thought we would enjoy the first night but it was honestly something we would love to do again. With a 5 minute walk to the beach there was something exciting and new around every corner. DAY 2 First glimpse of light and we were up! We didn’t want this stay to end but after breakfast we headed of to Mason’s waterhole which was nearby and hung around for about an hour until it was time to head back for lunch and to pack up our things to head off back to Cairns L. After a 2 hour car ride, we were back in Cairns and arrived at our hostel which was where we were staying for the last 2 nights. By this time it was late afternoon so we decided to settle in and then went to explore the streets of Cairns as well as grab some dinner. We kind of decided to have an early night as we were out all day snorkelling the next day so after dinner we headed back to the hostel, packed our bags for the next day and went to bed. DAY 3 It was snorkelling day!! After having breakfast, which was provided by the hostel, we made our way to the jetty/wharf where the Catamaran was departing making our way to Fitzroy Island! The journey was about an hour dropping off passenger on islands in between. When we arrived, we went to hire our wetsuits and snorkelling gear then made our way to a turtle rehabilitation centre. With giant tanks of water with only one turtle in it swimming around, we got to see first hand what was happening to these turtles and it was honestly such an eye opener. About 40 minutes later we made our way down to the beach and it was time to snorkel! Seeing various types of fish and coral to swimming metres away from a turtle, it was a crazy experience and one we all will cherish for a long time coming. An hour of our first session it was lunchtime, which consisted of sandwiches and fruit. Before we headed of for our second session of snorkelling, we participated in a mapping activity that tested our geography skills and management strategies. Getting into the water for the second and last time we were told to keep track of each marine species whether it was fish or coral and were given a laminated sheet filled with pictures and a pencil to record the amount we had seen. Late afternoon had arrived and it was time to go back to Cairns and continue exploring our last night there. DAY 4/FINAL DAY Our last day consisted of heading up to a small town called Kuranda for lunch and was the beginning of our trip back down via the Skyrail which is a 7.5km cableway which glides through the tropical rainforest overlooking prestine views and has walking tracks at each stop. A total of about 2 hours, the experience came to an end and it was unfortunately time to head back to the airport to head back home. The overall experience of this trip was unforgettable and what better way to experience this than with some of my best-friends. Phoebe xx
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Having start Year 12 this term I really wanted to try and make the most of these holidays and having it been a long weekend here in Australia, my family and I decided to take a little trip to Stuart Beach in Wollongong. Despite it only being spring… our weather has been up and down and this week has been so ridiculously hot and yesterday was no different. Expecting it to be busy, we left early and after about a 2-hour drive we arrived!!!!
After arriving, the next mission was to find a good spot to set up shelter and relax on our day out. And finding a spot perfect for both the little kids and big kids to swim, the big kids made their way to the beach and took a little hike to where it was safe to swim (between the flags) and walking there wasn’t too bad but coming back the sand was so excruciatingly hot that our feet were on fire and attempted to run the way back which is a mission on a hot day… haha I snapped a few of my beach essentials and some photos of the view we had whilst swimming which lets be real… was the sea. But I found it so relaxing and serene despite the heat and getting splashed by! It was the perfect way to finish off the holidays and start a new school term and also a great way til have some family time and spend time with people I don’t see on a regular basis. Highly recommend Stuart Beach! Its super kid friendly and heaps of fun for the big kids. Phoebe xx |
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