Here are a few of my favorite things I’ve done since I’ve been here! I’ve had so much fun already and it’s only been a month!
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
This is one of my favorite places I’ve visited so far. One of the reasons I was so excited to come to Australia was because of the incredible wildlife that exists here. I got to HOLD a KOALA and pet KANGAROOS. These were honestly some of the most exciting moments I’ve ever had aside from the crippling guilt that I have to live with knowing my pets back at home are offended by the pictures I took. There were all kinds of other animals as well, and it was so fun to spend the afternoon there and see everything up close.
Springbrook National Park
Last weekend I took a day trip over to Springbrook National Park for a hike. It was very beautiful and it was super cool to swim in the bottom of a waterfall. The thrill of it all almost made up for the strange rash I developed upon returning (story for another time). The excursion included a visit to a fudge shop on the way back. My judgement was compromised from engaging in physical activity for longer than five minutes, so something came over me and I purchased a block of fudge because I didn’t want to feel left out, when I know darn good and well that I hate fudge. So, now I have a very thoughtful souvenir to send to my family. Nothing says “wish u were here” like a melted slice of fudge with teeth marks all over it.
Byron Bay
I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a weekend trip to Byron Bay that I reserved through Bond’s Student Flights office. We stayed in a hostel, which I thought was neat since I’ve never been to one, and I think it was a great value especially given how close it was to everything. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and plan to come back at least once before I leave Australia. Upon arrival I went on a hike to Cape Byron Lighthouse and got to visit the most easterly point in mainland Australia on the way there AND saw a wallaby in the wild!
My favorite part of the trip was the silent disco that I stumbled upon at the beach Friday night; you purchase a pair of headphones for $10 so you can listen to the DJs spinning sick tracks. Then you basically sing and dance with other people on the beach until midnight, and everyone has the headphones on so you can sing as loudly as you want and NO ONE can hear (my dream come true). It was very freeing! I’d honestly go back to Byron Bay solely to go here again.
I also had the great fortune of going ocean kayaking with dolphins, except there ended up being no dolphins. The entire purpose of the trip was to see the dolphins, but we couldn’t find any so the trip consisted mainly of our entire group getting seasick and me nearly having a heat stroke and repeatedly shouting to my kayak-mate that I didn’t think I could make it any further. Despite this, I had a great deal of fun and felt like a seasoned outdoorsman. I didn’t expect the challenge since I’ve been kayaking in lakes millions of times, but this was completely different because of the giant waves, and also because I was paranoid the entire time that I’d be attacked by a shark.
