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Published: December 20th 2016
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Well, I couldn't decide which day to celebrate my birthday since we're about a day ahead in Australia. On the 16th here, I was still technically 29. I decided to celebrate both days 😊
On the 16th, I went out and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. I went on a tour boat and we spent the day on the water. The reef was about a 2 hour boat ride out from the coast. I met a group of people who were traveling alone. 3 were from the US and one from the U.K. I sat with them and we chatted during the trip.
We stopped at 2 sections of the reef. Apparently it is "stinger" season which is when all the little tiny jelly fish are out. We had to wear these full body blue suits, that covered your head and your hands too. It was pretty funny to see everyone in these suits. -we all looked like smurfs. I was dumb and checked the box saying I had an inhaler. She asked if I was a confident swimmer and I said yes, that I had played water polo in college. She told me to stay near the boat
and that I should take a noodle just in case.... ?
Apparently the water is too warm there for the big sharks that would be a concern. There are only the reef sharks which are not aggressive. I didn't see any though. There were all different kinds of coral and bright fish. I like the parrot fish. They have a little beak and eat the corals. Apparently their waste is what creates the sand. Sand=fish poop
We got back to the harbor around 5 and it felt REALLY nice to take a shower. I went out to dinner at a Greek restaurant. It was next to a pub and a uke club was there having a meeting/dinner. There was probably 30 of them and they all sat around playing. It was fun to listen to them and watch. The owner of the Greek restaurant was really nice and he came and sat with me for a bit while I ate. Toward the end of the meal, a belly dancer came and the owner smashed plates on the ground.
On my American birthday, I had planned on taking a train through the rain forest to a village, but
I was so tired from the Sydney hostel and had to get up early the day before for my boat, I slept in instead. I walked down to a little zoo that is in top of a casino and held a little koala nameD Manic. I LOVED him. There are only certain times you can hold the koalas because they sleep 21 hours a day and then need time to play and eat. I waited in line for 20 min before it opened and was still the only person there when it was open. He was so cute- I loved his little ears!
After meeting Manic, I walked around the zoo. There were some cute little birds and a little kangaroo thing- I forgot what they are called. They are very small and shy, but friendly. There was also a huge sea croc. It was awful. You could go on a ropes course above his tank and even feed him. I took a hard pass. It makes me shudder just thinking about him.
Afterward, I walked down to the casino. I decided to try gambling, as it was something new and, considering I was the only adult unaccompanied
by a child at the little zoo, I thought maybe I should balance it out with an adult activity.
I bought $15 worth of $1 coins and played the slots. Won $30 and decided to quit-that way I paid for my beer and got all my money back 😊
Anyways, I learned gambling is really not my thing. It made me sad when it ate my coins. I think I just don't like that it is luck and you can't control it be "good" at it. Oh well, it's probably not a bad thing to dislike 😊
Afterward, I walked around the town and went back to the hostel. At the hostel there was a group of people playing drinking games. I had some wine I sipped and pretended to drink during the drinking games.
I hung out with 2 18 year olds guys from Germany for a bit. They were interesting and fun to talk to. They said I had to go out with them because it was my birthday. I asked them why they wanted to hang out with an old lady and they said it's ok they hang out with old people all
the time. Lol, thanks...
I ended up going next door instead and saw the captain from our boat the day before. He was really cool and I hung out with him and his friends. He is from New Zealand and had worked on fishing boats for 20 years, but now was on the snorkeling boat. His friends were nice and super welcoming.
The next day, I left for New Zealand. I met a girl from France on the way to the airport. She has been traveling the world for a few years and was fun to talk to. On my flight from Melbourne to Christchurch I sat next to a couple- Doug and Steve. They were really funny and my favorite people I met so far. Doug slept most of the flight, but Steve and I talked the whole 3 1/2 hours straight. I'm sure our neighbors didn't appreciate that since it was a red eye-oops! He grew up on Australia and Doug is from Iowa. Steve lived in the US for 20 years and that is where he met Doug. They now live in Australia and own a little diner. Steve and I talked about everything- politics,
civil war, movies, New Zealand, my trip, ex boyfriends, etc. He was really excited about my trip and supportive. Doug woke up when we landed and Mariah Carey was playing on the speakers and he said, "ugh, I'm so sick of this bitch." I'm surprised you couldn't hear me laughing from CA.
They couldn't get my passport to scan so I had to go through a special check, which was great because they had to stamp it!
I got in at 4:45 am and nothing was open. The hotel was supposed to have 24 hour reception- fun fact, it does not. The taxi driver gave me a free trip to McDonalds. I hung out there for like an hour and half then went back to hotel and sat in the parking lot for an hour and a half brrr. I curled up in a chair with all my stuff-I felt like a vagabond. While I waited, I met a guy from Malaysia who was interesting. He was traveling with his family in New Zealand. We talked about my trip in Malaysia and his upcoming trip to the US. When the reception finally opened, they let me leave
my big back pack, but I couldn't check in until 12 ish they said. I wandered around and was SO tired I thought I was gonna die. I went to get a SIM card for NZ and met a man with a bunch of face tattoos waiting for it to open too. He was quite nice.
When I got back to the hotel, my room was ready and they let me check in super early. I slept for 21 of the next 27 hours. When I woke up, I wandered the town and bought some groceries. There is a ton of construction everywhere in the town. There was a big earthquake here about 5 years ago that devastated the city and it is still rebuilding. I have never seen so much construction in my life! It's still beautiful and everyone is quite nice.
Tomorrow I am going to the nature reserve to see the wallaby and kiwis. Then I leave on my Contiki tour through NZ at 6:30. I bought a loaf of bread and peanut butter so I don't have to buy food everyday. Jacque said drunk people on Contiki are gonna steal it. I'm gonna be
real mad if that happens ?
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