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| What I did as soon as I got home |
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| What we had to sit on for over 20 hours... |
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 10 June 17th 2011
This was our last traveling day of the trip so I was happy about that. We had to take three connecting flights from Cairns to Sydney, Sydney to LAX, and LAX to Chicago. Finally home! The plane rides were not bad but they were not fun. They took forever and I was super tired when I got home so I went right to bed as soon as I got home.
Day 9 June 16th 2011 Last Non-Traveling Day
Prompt: End of the Trip: Top Ten
Summary: Today we visited the rainforest and went to the town of Kuranda and got to explore around and eat at some cool places. We took a gondola ride over the rainforest which was awesome and also took the train out to the rainforest.
My top two are tied for the top 10
1. Alec taking us to watch the Rugby game. Alec took us to a palce to watch the state of origin Rugby game so we got to see what it was really like when Australian's watched Rugby and how they treated it within their culture.
2. Rangitoto College- It was so much fun to make friends with New Zealanders and see how much different they are from us in many ways.
3. Maori Village- In New Zealand we saw an awesome Maori village and saw what life was like for the natives and had an awesome tour guide to show us around.
4. Sydney- This city was a spectacular city and I fell in love as soon as I got there. Sydney made me think that maybe when I'm older it would be awesome to live here or anywhere else in Aussie.
5. Cairns- The city of Cairns was awesome and also inspired me to live here because it was so chill and the restaurant Outback Jack's was great which we went to two nights in a row.
6. Great Barrier Reef- The GBR was very cool obviously and is only far down on the list because there were so many other amazing things that we experienced on this trip so it was hard to make a list of everything.
7. Blue Mountains- Even though it was wet and foggy, it was still awesome to see all the waterfalls and different hiking trails, but unfortunately not the views.
8. Rotorua- Despite the smell, it was a cool town and it was nice to see the sulfur lake which was right outside of our hotel.
9. Ogoing- Ogoing was awesome and was unique because it originated in New Zealand. Rolling down a hill in a ball full of hot water with my friend Erik definitely deserves a spot on my top 10.
10. Pot Pies- Eating the delicious meat pies throughout the trip was awesome and they were delicious. It was nice because they had these pies at basically every cafe we went to.
Summary: Today we visited the rainforest and went to the town of Kuranda and got to explore around and eat at some cool places. We took a gondola ride over the rainforest which was awesome and also took the train out to the rainforest.
My top two are tied for the top 10
1. Alec taking us to watch the Rugby game. Alec took us to a palce to watch the state of origin Rugby game so we got to see what it was really like when Australian's watched Rugby and how they treated it within their culture.
2. Rangitoto College- It was so much fun to make friends with New Zealanders and see how much different they are from us in many ways.
3. Maori Village- In New Zealand we saw an awesome Maori village and saw what life was like for the natives and had an awesome tour guide to show us around.
4. Sydney- This city was a spectacular city and I fell in love as soon as I got there. Sydney made me think that maybe when I'm older it would be awesome to live here or anywhere else in Aussie.
5. Cairns- The city of Cairns was awesome and also inspired me to live here because it was so chill and the restaurant Outback Jack's was great which we went to two nights in a row.
6. Great Barrier Reef- The GBR was very cool obviously and is only far down on the list because there were so many other amazing things that we experienced on this trip so it was hard to make a list of everything.
7. Blue Mountains- Even though it was wet and foggy, it was still awesome to see all the waterfalls and different hiking trails, but unfortunately not the views.
8. Rotorua- Despite the smell, it was a cool town and it was nice to see the sulfur lake which was right outside of our hotel.
9. Ogoing- Ogoing was awesome and was unique because it originated in New Zealand. Rolling down a hill in a ball full of hot water with my friend Erik definitely deserves a spot on my top 10.
10. Pot Pies- Eating the delicious meat pies throughout the trip was awesome and they were delicious. It was nice because they had these pies at basically every cafe we went to.
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| Sydney: One of the Coolest Cities Ever |
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| Rugby game we watched in Aussie |
Day 8 June 15th 2011
Prompt: Summarize your day at the Great Barrier Reef
Going in today, I did not know what to expect. There are so many cool pictures and talk about the Great Barrier Reef so I had high expectations. I was very antsy on the boat ride out because I couldn't believe I was actually doing this and I just wanted to get into the water. As soon as I saw the reef and all the clear blue water, I was just in awe. I thought it was so cool to see this huge reef in the middle of the ocean just sitting there. The GBR is so popular and talked about a lot so I was so excited to be in the middle of it. I was one of the first ones to get into the reef and I was amazed once I got in. When I got in, I didn't care about the temperature of the water, I only cared about all the fish and coral I saw. As soon as i dove into the water there were some awesome blue fish with yellow tails and they were basically surrounding me. I then explored around in most of the shallow coral and was barely floating above it. On most of the oral beds, it was so shallow that I had to hover my body above the coral so I wouldn't knock into it or get any scrapes. It took a little bit to get used to breathing through the tube but after swimming around for a while I strapped my life jacket on to one of the rest stations and I started diving around and getting closer to the reef. There were a lot of cool rainbow colored fish that live within the coral and there were also these cool fish with basically needles on their foreheads. Once my life jacket was off, I dove to the bottom and touched the sand but it hurt my ears a tremendous amount. Even though it hurt and i got a mouthful of saltwater, it was very cool to be so close to the coral and all the other animals down there. It was such a surreal experience and it is hard to explain the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. The only bad part about swimming around in the reef was that every once in a while I got a mouthful of saltwater, but I wasn't very worried about that. It was so cool how they had a roped off area for everyone so I knew exactly where to explore. I was hoping to see some sort of shark or turtle but i only saw a turtle when I was on the glass bottom boat tour. Mr. Schagrin and Mr. Ewen saw a shark so after that I wanted to find it so Caleb, Mason, Erik and I went in to find it but we didn't have any luck. After getting out for the final time we had the opportunity to feed the fish which was awesome. Overall, the GBR was quite the experience and is something I'll most likely never do again so I can cross that one off the bucket list.
Going in today, I did not know what to expect. There are so many cool pictures and talk about the Great Barrier Reef so I had high expectations. I was very antsy on the boat ride out because I couldn't believe I was actually doing this and I just wanted to get into the water. As soon as I saw the reef and all the clear blue water, I was just in awe. I thought it was so cool to see this huge reef in the middle of the ocean just sitting there. The GBR is so popular and talked about a lot so I was so excited to be in the middle of it. I was one of the first ones to get into the reef and I was amazed once I got in. When I got in, I didn't care about the temperature of the water, I only cared about all the fish and coral I saw. As soon as i dove into the water there were some awesome blue fish with yellow tails and they were basically surrounding me. I then explored around in most of the shallow coral and was barely floating above it. On most of the oral beds, it was so shallow that I had to hover my body above the coral so I wouldn't knock into it or get any scrapes. It took a little bit to get used to breathing through the tube but after swimming around for a while I strapped my life jacket on to one of the rest stations and I started diving around and getting closer to the reef. There were a lot of cool rainbow colored fish that live within the coral and there were also these cool fish with basically needles on their foreheads. Once my life jacket was off, I dove to the bottom and touched the sand but it hurt my ears a tremendous amount. Even though it hurt and i got a mouthful of saltwater, it was very cool to be so close to the coral and all the other animals down there. It was such a surreal experience and it is hard to explain the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. The only bad part about swimming around in the reef was that every once in a while I got a mouthful of saltwater, but I wasn't very worried about that. It was so cool how they had a roped off area for everyone so I knew exactly where to explore. I was hoping to see some sort of shark or turtle but i only saw a turtle when I was on the glass bottom boat tour. Mr. Schagrin and Mr. Ewen saw a shark so after that I wanted to find it so Caleb, Mason, Erik and I went in to find it but we didn't have any luck. After getting out for the final time we had the opportunity to feed the fish which was awesome. Overall, the GBR was quite the experience and is something I'll most likely never do again so I can cross that one off the bucket list.
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| Fish hidden in the coral |
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| Great Barrier Reef and a Sea Turtle |
Day 7 June 14th 2011
Prompt: No Journal.
Summary of the Day:
This was the first day that we arrived in Cairns and we were all so excited to be there because it was the warmest part of the trip. It was nice to be out of the rain and in some nice 80 degree weather and sun. We were driven to the hotel and afterwards we went to some kind of pool/beach and got to chill out and get some lunch with our friends. It was a very chill day and later that day we were aloud to walk around and get dinner wherever we wanted which was fun. We went to a place which was called Outback Jack's which was really good and afterwards we all got some good sleep that night so we were all well rested and ready to go for the Great Barrier Reef the next day.
Summary of the Day:
This was the first day that we arrived in Cairns and we were all so excited to be there because it was the warmest part of the trip. It was nice to be out of the rain and in some nice 80 degree weather and sun. We were driven to the hotel and afterwards we went to some kind of pool/beach and got to chill out and get some lunch with our friends. It was a very chill day and later that day we were aloud to walk around and get dinner wherever we wanted which was fun. We went to a place which was called Outback Jack's which was really good and afterwards we all got some good sleep that night so we were all well rested and ready to go for the Great Barrier Reef the next day.
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| Restaurant we ate at |
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| Beautiful Cairns |
Day 6 June 13th 2011
Today was a long day, we visited the Sydney Tower, we went to the Opal store, we then took a tour of Sydney and also went on a harbor cruise. We ended the day by going to the wildlife center and then eating.
Prompt: Could I do this trip alone and what are my strengths as a traveler
This trip is very long and requires a lot of traveling so I don't believe I could do this alone, definitely not at my age. I think that if i was above eighteen and had everything planned out, I would be able to do it. I think they key to successful traveling is being organized and knowing exactly where to go. I am a well organized person but i think I would get lost because I have never been to these countries and I am still very young. As a traveler, I am very organized and never lose any of my belongings. I am also a very experienced traveler within the states and also internationally. Because of this, I feel like once I am a legal adult, I will be able to travel on trips like this alone or with some of my friends. However, I feel that now if I went somewhere in a different country, I would not know what to see but on this trip now we have Alec who is awesome to show us all the best places and that is a real help. Once iI am more educated and older I will be very interested in traveling to many different parts of the world either alone, with friends, or with family. I love traveling and meeting new people so I think if I traveled alone it would not be a problem as long as i went to the right places where I could meet new people. TRaveling with a tour group is always good but I feel that if I am not clearly dressed as a tourist I would be able to meet some new people and explore on my own. My main strengths as a traveler are mostly that I am very outgoing, organized, and love to explore different places.
Prompt: Could I do this trip alone and what are my strengths as a traveler
This trip is very long and requires a lot of traveling so I don't believe I could do this alone, definitely not at my age. I think that if i was above eighteen and had everything planned out, I would be able to do it. I think they key to successful traveling is being organized and knowing exactly where to go. I am a well organized person but i think I would get lost because I have never been to these countries and I am still very young. As a traveler, I am very organized and never lose any of my belongings. I am also a very experienced traveler within the states and also internationally. Because of this, I feel like once I am a legal adult, I will be able to travel on trips like this alone or with some of my friends. However, I feel that now if I went somewhere in a different country, I would not know what to see but on this trip now we have Alec who is awesome to show us all the best places and that is a real help. Once iI am more educated and older I will be very interested in traveling to many different parts of the world either alone, with friends, or with family. I love traveling and meeting new people so I think if I traveled alone it would not be a problem as long as i went to the right places where I could meet new people. TRaveling with a tour group is always good but I feel that if I am not clearly dressed as a tourist I would be able to meet some new people and explore on my own. My main strengths as a traveler are mostly that I am very outgoing, organized, and love to explore different places.
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| Traveling the globe |
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| Traveling alone, having the opportunity to explore |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 5 June 12th 2011
Today Alec took us to some more view points and we also got a walking tour of the rocks. It was a cool place to be and there were so many spectacular views.
Prompt: Reflect on overall travel experience
Coming into this trip, I knew there was going to be a lot of traveling but I knew what was coming because I would say that I am an experienced traveler. There were many things that were easy for me while traveling but it can be narrowed down to 3. One easy thing that I got used to was passing through customs. Customs is not very hard if you know what to say which I do because I have traveled internationally before. Another thing that was easy for me was checking in and getting my boarding pass. I am an organized person so it was easy to check in because I knew where everything I needed was so I was quick and efficient. The easiest thing for me was passing through security which is always significantly easy. Having traveled multiple times with my family, I have learned the ways of traveling so going through security is a breeze. However, over the course of this trip I believe I have grown as a person because my mindset has changed. Seeing how simple traveling can be if one is organized, I now feel like it would be awesome to come back to Australia later in life with friends or family while it is summer time there. I also feel like later in life somewhere down the road, I will want to move somewhere out of the U.S.A., possibly somewhere in Europe, but especially Australia/New Zealand because this trip has been awesome.
Prompt: Reflect on overall travel experience
Coming into this trip, I knew there was going to be a lot of traveling but I knew what was coming because I would say that I am an experienced traveler. There were many things that were easy for me while traveling but it can be narrowed down to 3. One easy thing that I got used to was passing through customs. Customs is not very hard if you know what to say which I do because I have traveled internationally before. Another thing that was easy for me was checking in and getting my boarding pass. I am an organized person so it was easy to check in because I knew where everything I needed was so I was quick and efficient. The easiest thing for me was passing through security which is always significantly easy. Having traveled multiple times with my family, I have learned the ways of traveling so going through security is a breeze. However, over the course of this trip I believe I have grown as a person because my mindset has changed. Seeing how simple traveling can be if one is organized, I now feel like it would be awesome to come back to Australia later in life with friends or family while it is summer time there. I also feel like later in life somewhere down the road, I will want to move somewhere out of the U.S.A., possibly somewhere in Europe, but especially Australia/New Zealand because this trip has been awesome.
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| Airport Security, easy |
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| Airplane, how we mostly traveled |
Day 4 June 11th 2011
Today we arrived in Sydney and it was amazing. It was such a big clean city and we were taken to so many cool spots where we could see the Opera House and the bridge. We also went to one of the markets in Sydney.
Prompt: Sydney compared to other major cities
For expectations of Sydney, I knew that it was going to be a big city but I didn't know what it would be like in comparison to other cities such as Chicago and New York City. Because we live near Chicago, most cities seem like nothing because we always see Chicago which is one of the biggest cities in the world. Sydney is a very big city and is unique in its own ways compared to other cities. Sydney has a lot of unique buildings and structures that other cities do not have. However, in comparison to other cities such as Chicago and New York, they also have unique buildings such as the Sears Tower and the Empire State building and also the Opera house and that Sydney Bridge for Sydney. When we went to the top of the Sydney tower I was amazed at the view from all the way up there. It was very cool to be able to see all the different buildings of Sydney at once and we could also see the suburbs of Sydney. Walking around the city was quite the adventure because we were exposed to a lot of the town and got to see one of the parks which had a really cool fountain in the middle. Everything in Sydney is just so much bigger and it is much like any other big city in America because there is a lot of traffic, people, and places to see and visit such as different unique structures and buildings. It is also a lot different because I feel like it is much cleaner than the US and the people are nicer. Compared to New York City, Sydney is a lot smaller suburb wise and in general because NYC has more parts where there are suburbs and also has more sky scrapers. Sydney does have suburbs and buildings but just not as much. Sydney is a very big city and has so much to offer just like any big cities in America.
Prompt: Sydney compared to other major cities
For expectations of Sydney, I knew that it was going to be a big city but I didn't know what it would be like in comparison to other cities such as Chicago and New York City. Because we live near Chicago, most cities seem like nothing because we always see Chicago which is one of the biggest cities in the world. Sydney is a very big city and is unique in its own ways compared to other cities. Sydney has a lot of unique buildings and structures that other cities do not have. However, in comparison to other cities such as Chicago and New York, they also have unique buildings such as the Sears Tower and the Empire State building and also the Opera house and that Sydney Bridge for Sydney. When we went to the top of the Sydney tower I was amazed at the view from all the way up there. It was very cool to be able to see all the different buildings of Sydney at once and we could also see the suburbs of Sydney. Walking around the city was quite the adventure because we were exposed to a lot of the town and got to see one of the parks which had a really cool fountain in the middle. Everything in Sydney is just so much bigger and it is much like any other big city in America because there is a lot of traffic, people, and places to see and visit such as different unique structures and buildings. It is also a lot different because I feel like it is much cleaner than the US and the people are nicer. Compared to New York City, Sydney is a lot smaller suburb wise and in general because NYC has more parts where there are suburbs and also has more sky scrapers. Sydney does have suburbs and buildings but just not as much. Sydney is a very big city and has so much to offer just like any big cities in America.
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| Sydney Bridge |
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| Opera House |
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