North Stradbroke Island

Ok, so I realize I'm really behind in my entries and I sincerely apologize. The internet in our apartment is on and off and I have a small quote of bandwidth I can use on campus. So, I'm going to do my best to catch up on all the traveling I've done so far.

Straddie is an island off the coast of Brisbane and we got to go there as part of our study abroad program with Arcadia. We had a blast! The first day we went sea kayaking in the ocean and actually got to see a dugong as we were paddling through some mangroves along the coast. It was amazing because it swam right near out boats and our guides said they've only seen them there once in the past 10 years, so it was really pretty cool.

After about an hour of paddling we went back to shore, pulled on our snorkel gear and headed back into the water to see some fish. We saw nothing. The water wasn't very clear and there wasn't a fish to be found. Maybe that's because they got eaten by all the sharks we later found out like to make that particular beach their home. Sometimes I just don't understand Australian humor...

However, before we were told about the sharks, we abandoned snorkeling to act like little kids again and see who could do the craziest jump/dive off of the pier. Some of my friends ended up having a backflip contest and well, the results were not too pretty. If you look at the pics you can see one of my friends belly flopping into the water as everyone falls on top of her. She had one of the worst bruises I've ever seen for the next few weeks. But the picture is hilarious!

After lunch we piled into 4WD to head up to the top of a sand dune to do some sandboarding. It was a really good time, but I quickly found out its really not my thing. Like the smart girl I am, I started on the more shallow slope, trying to get used to the feel of the board picking up speed etc. But everyone else had moved to the steeper side of the hill, so I had to too. And not only that, I thought my board could use more wax because I was really having to force it to move in the sand. So, my two friends and I lined up to go down the hill together. Jackie, next to me, decided to sit on her board because she was not about to try standing up on such a steep hill. We took off, or they took off. Again, I had to jump start my board but finally I started going down the hill behind my friends. My board began to REALLY pick up speed (thanks, wax) just as the two in front of me were slowing down. Jackie was right in my path and I began to freak out that I was going to barrel right into her, so to prevent that, I began to flail my arms as I tried to pull my foot out of the strap to stop myself but instead launched my body into the air and landed right on my face. At first I was stunned as I tried to see through all the sand covering my face and the rest of my body, and I thought for sure I had knocked out all of my teeth because all I could feel was mounds of sand in my mouth (yes, I was screaming as I hit the ground). But luckily, I was in one piece and provided some really great entertainment for the rest of the group. However, no one really wanted to sandboard down that hill anymore!

The next day we went Four Wheel Driving through the sand dunes and tried to find koalas and kangaroos. It was great to be in the back getting thrown around as we drove recklessly through the sand, but that wasn't enough for my friends and we had to have a Chinese Fire Drill in the back of the car. It was hilarious and luckily no one was seriously injured in the process.

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