The Land Down Up, Not Under

---

Australia has been one of the best places I've traveled to so far. Before arriving there, I had many expectations. From what I've seen on documentaries and TV, I had a pretty good picture of what the land would hold.

Shows such as "The Crocodile Hunter," "The World's Deadliest Animals," and other shows informed my subconscious that Australia is the land that contains some of the world's most harmful creatures. I also assumed that Australia was a swampy, giant desert with Sydney on the other side.

However, the 14-hour plane ride from the Los Angeles Airport told me otherwise. Although the flight to Brisbane Australia was the longest flight of my life, the early morning sunrise in Australia captured my heart. It gave me the chills.

The sunrise was a light pink and orange that mixed with the light blue sky. It was gentle, it was kind. The reflection lit up the darkest parts of the ocean at night. The soft, fluffy clouds mixed with gentle colors was of the soothing sights. I knew everything was going to be alright.

I probably only received an hour’s worth of sleep on the plane ride. However, the excitement of being in Australia woke me up. Australia is nothing like America. Everything is kind, refined, easy-going, laid-back, and breathtakingly beautiful.

From Brisbane, I flew to Proserpine, Australia where I would be living off a sailboat for 9 days. On the sailboat, I would be conducting an internship and a research expedition as a travel writer on the Whitsunday islands.

I met my trip leaders, Jen and Kyle, at the Proserpine Airport. From there, the team and I hopped in Kyle’s rental van. When we sat inside, I instantly noticed the steering wheel-- it was on the right side instead of the left! As we took off, all of the cars were driving on the other side of the road-- the left.

As time went on, the more I could see why Australia is on the opposite side of the world-- it is opposite from the States! Most activities conducted in Australia are opposite from the things that Americans do. Australians drive on the other side of the road; walk on the other side of the road; the toilet water flushes the opposite way; etc.

Physically doing things oppositely aren’t the only ways in which Australia appears opposite from America. Many parts of Australia resemble America from its past.

It was a sunny day. The temperature was about 65 degrees, Fahrenheit. Airlie Beach, a popular beach among the Whitsunday islands, greeted us with cute little beach-like stores, shops, and cafes. Beach gear surrounded us in every other store; and each little shop resembled that of a beach hut.

Airlie Beach has a harbor for incoming boats. Boats of all sizes enter the area-- yachts, small sailboats, large sailboats with dinghies, jet skis, and tiny two people boats.

The water in Airlie Beach is bright blue. It may not be the clearest of bright blue waters, but it is a slightly darker blue than the ocean waters of the Caribbean. The water that surrounds Airlie Beach is reflective at sunset and very soothing.

Strolling around Airlie Beach, there were several cafes and outdoor bars. When I went to the Kiosk cafe, an 80’s song was playing through the cafe’s speaker that was outside. After that song, many other classic rock songs began to play. We grabbed a blue, wooden picnic table and sat down outside.

A friendly waitress greeted us. “You guys must be from the states! Where are you all from?” We told her that we are from all over the states. “That’s cool? So what brings you guys to Australia?” Jen replied, “We’re doing an internship and conducting a research expedition on the Whitsunday islands. We’ll be using a boat to explore some of the islands.”

The waitress held a pretty solid conversation with us for a couple of minutes. All of our food had been ordered. I ordered an egg and bacon roll and an orange cinnamon tea. Some of the other students on the trip ordered hamburgers and salads.

A group of young men passed by our table. Two of them were riding longboards. The other men were walking and smiling. One guy had brown dreads that came down to his shoulders. Another guy had long, beach blonde hair. All of them were wearing tank-tops and surfer shorts.

The guys sat around the giant wooden outdoor plank. The plank is in the middle of the outdoor walkway, the midpoint between the shops and the harbor. Some people use the wooden plank as a chair-- it’s only about a foot high. Others stand on it to take pictures.

The guy with the brown dreads looked over to the blonde-haired guy and began to laugh. They were sitting and standing around the wooden plank smiling and laughing. One of them eventually looked over our way.

Eventually, our drinks came. My friend Paola asked, “What is that? Bring it this way-- it smells so good!” The orange cinnamon tea smelled exactly how it is described: like orange and cinnamon. It was the best tea I’ve ever had, hands down.

About 10 minutes later, our food arrived. The first thing I’ve noticed about my egg and bacon roll is that it wasn’t really a “roll” as I initially thought. My roll was nothing more than a sandwich with giant hamburger buns.

The poached eggs did not have yellow yolk. The yolk was orange, signifying that they were farm fresh; and no chemicals or preservatives. I made a similar observation with the Australian bacon-- it was very thick, meaty, and contained little fat-- which meant the animal who sacrificed its life wasn’t under a lot of control or stress.

Everywhere you drive or walk around Australia, there are certain areas in which farmers allow their animals to roam around freely. Most examples that I’ve seen include cows, sheep, horses, and goats.

After we ate lunch, the group and I decided to do more walking around. Each person we passed by had a style to his or her own. Australian's clothing styles were unique, individualistic, stylish, yet laid-back. Their clothes and personalities reflect their behavior-- friendly, upbeat, outgoing, and chill.

The guys have a California-like style when it comes to the clothes they wear. Most of the ladies have long hair that is tied back in a ponytail. There’s about a 50/50 ratio when it comes to blondes vs. brunettes in Australia.

Everywhere we walked, there was a restaurant or shop playing classic American rock songs. People smile and wave to you wherever you walk. Most people appear very happy, friendly, and seem content with their lives. If you’re in trouble, don’t worry. There will always be an Australian to have a talk with you and make you smile.

Eventually, the group and I went to the boardwalk to meet our boat, “Aliara.” We would be using Aliara for the next 9 days exploring as much as the Whitsunday islands as possible. The boat had a dinghy, a kitchen, 4 bedrooms, 4 toilets, and an indoor couch that could turn into a kitchen table.

The front of the boat had two white trampoline-like nets. While sailing, we could sit on them or lay on them, if we pleased. The bow also had two opposite seats where we could sit while the boat’s in motion. It gives a huge adrenaline surge when you sit on them because it feels like you’re going to plunge right into the water with every giant wave you crash into.

When the group and I went on the research expedition boat, we could not believe our eyes: the further we sailed, the bluer the water appeared. The sand on each island was so white and soft. There was also a wide variety of plant life on the islands, too. Down by the sand, there were a lot of mangroves and colorful crabs that lived in them. While hiking, we saw a lot of cool trees that looked like mini weeping willow trees.

One day, when we decided to go scuba-diving for the first time, everyone put on their rental wetsuits, grabbed their face masks and oxygen tubes, and headed into the water. My friend, Sierrah, was scared to go into the water.

Sierrah said, “I’ve never been in an ocean before. Can you hold my hand?” As I slid off the boat, I grabbed her hand and proceeded to swim underwater with her. After a few minutes of snorkeling, she bobbed her head up and mumbled something. I asked, “What did you say?”

Then, I heard her scream, “Ah!” “What, what?” With my heart beating, I was afraid there could have been a shark down below. I bravely looked back down underwater. My body jumped and my heart throb. There were colorful coral reefs surrounding me. Tiny fish were bobbing in and out of their homes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so beautiful. It felt like I was swimming in an aquarium-- only difference is that this was real life.

Everywhere I walked around Airlie Beach, it felt like I was living in the 80’s. However, when I went on a road trip to the Blue Mountains (Australia’s version of the Grand Canyon), I noticed something that caught me off guard.

Volkswagen vans. Volkswagen vans everywhere. Even though they were on the opposite side of the road, I was still able to spot them. With every 30 or more cars that pass by, you see at least one Volkswagen van.

Some of the vans that pass by are fairly old (from the 1960’s era). Other vans however, look brand new. My evidence was confirmed when our rental van drove by a dealership with about 20 new Volkswagen vans for sale. They looked exactly how the Volkswagen vans from the 1960’s looked-- only thing is that they were shiny and new. The dealership had any color or color combination you could think of-- Variety galore!

Anywhere you walk, there’s a great chance that you will cross paths with a wallaby (a small animal that looks like a kangaroo) or a cockatoo bird (a white bird with a yellow mohawk). If you go on a hike, you might see spiders the size of the palm of your hand with really long legs-- don’t worry, they’re friendly! You might even see a king toad. Don’t touch them. They are poisonous.

Wherever you decide to go in Australia, there will always be something exciting to do, see, or explore. Queensland had a variety of things to do. I can only imagine what the rest of Australia holds! If you have the time and money, be sure to make Australia one of your top destinations! You will <em style="box-sizing: inherit; color:� font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">not be disappointed.

---