In Oz

I just paid $6 for some really slow internet, so this will be a short blog.

I flew to Australia on Friday and we went to stay with Phillip and Kelly, some great friends of mine from when I went to Avondale. They live in the suburbs west of Sydney. On Saturday, we drove up into the Blue Mountains and saw the three sisters rock formation. We then hiked through the national pass area. It was beautiful scenery and lots of gorgeous waterfalls. Another good friend of mine, Brett, met up with us to do some hiking. It was great spending time with old friends.

On Sunday, we took a boat into Sydney, saw the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and Botanical gardens. Then we took a ferry out to the cliffs along the harbour entrance. That was beautiful and also had a great view looking back at the city.

On Monday, we went into the city and walked around. We went up the Sydney Tower and saw a great view. Then we walked around and ate at Darling Harbour. We flew out Monday evening to Cairns.

Our first day in Cairns, we took an afternoon trip out to Green Island. The ride out was awesome because we got to see dolphins and a humpback whale that was jumping. While there, I did a little snorkeling, walked around the island, and just hung out at the beach. While walking back out the dock to the boat, I saw a sea turtle and a reef shark and her baby. I'm glad I was on the dock when I saw that, though they tell me they don't bother with people.

The next day we did a full day trip to the outer reef. I went diving at the first location and snorkeling at the second location. It was pretty windy and choppy, but still a great time.

Today, we drove north past Port Douglas. We stopped at Daintree Village in the Daintree rainforest and did a crocodile cruise on the river. We saw 3 crocs, one really tiny one, one on land, and one swimming in the water. We continued north to Cape Tribulation and stopped at several boardwalks through the rainforest and overlooks over the beach. I saw a cassowary on one of the walks.