Call Me World Traveller

Well, my month of extreme travelling is in full swing-- and I could never be more grateful. Seriously.

We started this month by going on our Whitsundays sailing trip with the crew from Wings Diving Adventures. On the boat for three days, we met people from all over the world: Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and a few more girls from the US. The crew was absolutely fantastic. They taught me so much about living life to the fullest! They have the coolest job I can imagine... They go on these sailing adventures and their job is literally to make sure people have fun. How rad is that?! We went snorkeling all around the Great Barrier Reef, visited Whitehaven Beach (one of the most incredible white sand beaches that is a constant swirl of shades of white, green, blue, & turquoise), swam with wild stingrays, and soaked up some rays on the boat all weekend long. I did learn one very important lesson on that boat: ALWAYS drink plenty of water and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear sunscreen on your lips. I ended up dehydrated & sun-burnt on the last day, waking up with a puffy face and swollen lips... Not very fun. But the amazing views, fish, beaches, new friends, and experiences were TOTALLY worth it.

Three days later I headed off to my absolute favorite part of this whole adventure: FIJI! I'm going to make a whole separate post talking about some of the things I learned there, but here's the basic summary (Just stay with me-- I loved Fiji so I'll probably talk about it a lot. :) )

The trip to Fiji wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. Starting off, we flew from the Gold Coast to Nadi with Jetstar, Australia's cheapest discount flight company. My luggage was "misplaced," never even leaving the Gold Coast airport. The airline told me that I would receive my suitcase the next morning, but I didn't actually get it until our 5TH DAY on the islands. Since we were on the islands, there were no shops to buy new clothes. However, my friends saved me. They graciously lent me a swimsuit and some clothes to wear, even though they didn't have much to begin with. I learned the valuable skill of washing what few items you have in the sink like a true backpacker. I had to live for five days with the bare minimum... It definitely made me appreciate what I do have! (Though the best day of my life was when I saw Patrick, a worker from our resort, walking up from the transfer boat with my pink suitcase. He was my hero!)

Rewinding a little ways was our second hiccup. Smuggler's Cove, the hostel on the mainland, double-booked our reservation which we had made a month in advance. Instead of staying at this fun exciting place we were promised, we were sent down the road to a Best Western that was full of lizards and looked abandoned. We were terrified for our lives when we heard gunshots outside our window (which turned out to be fireworks celebrating the Indian festival Diwali) and were pretty much left on our own for a night. I've never missed my mom more in my life! However, the next day we caught the ferry to the islands and let the good times roll.

We stayed on 2 different islands, Naviti & Tavewa, at Korovou Eco Tour Resort and Coral View Resort. Though we only had a week in Fiji, I feel like we got the true Fijian experience. Korovou felt more authentic-Fijian. We ate meals all together as a big family and had plenty of time to just relax. Our bungalow was right on the beach, we went on a nature walk, ate mangoes fresh from the tree, hiked up a mountain, and even attended a traditional kava ceremony. I never knew what kava was before going to Fiji, but man do they love it. Kava looks like dirty water, and is made by grinding up roots into powder, putting it into a cloth, and straining water through it into a big bowl. You are then either given a "low tide," "high tide," or "tsunami" sized portion. The kava numbs your mouth after your drink it, and if you drink enough it even numbs your entire face! Overall it kind of gives you this relaxed feeling all over. It was definitely an experience not to forget! The people, though, were the best part. We made some new friends from Scotland and England who were SO friendly and even more fun to talk to. We were all together when we found out about the terrorist attacks in Paris... It was interesting to talk with them about their worldviews and see how people from other places react to tragedies like that. It made me realize that people around the world are more alike than we think! If everyone had the mindset of a backpacker-- open, excited, and engaged with the world-- I think this planet would be a much happier place!

Coral View, our second resort, was more touristy. They had meal options, free water, and definitely more people than Korovou. We went on a few different excursions with the people at Coral View. The first one was cave diving, where we were dropped off at a separate island and given snorkeling gear, then had to hang out in a hole for a while waiting for our turn to enter the cave. We swam through a tunnel in the rocks and into a pitch black oasis that dates back to when Fiji was first settled. The Fijian people had carved these tunnels out of rocks and over time they were covered with water. When our guides shined a flashlight on the walls under water we could really see how cool the caves were! I didn't get very good pictures, but trust me... it was sweet.
Our next excursion was snorkeling at Blue Lagoon. The fish we saw there were unreal! I had more fun snorkeling there than at the Great Barrier Reef. We saw clown-fish, swordfish, starfish, angelfish, sea cucumbers, and so many other types of marine life. The coral was beautiful and the water was so clear. I could have spent hours at Blue Lagoon!
At Coral View we met some more amazing friends from England. They were a couple my age from the UK who were travelling the world together. Hearing their stories about life back home, in Thailand, and all the other places they visited made me want to just drop everything and explore! I'm so grateful for the people I've met along this journey.

The day after we returned from Fiji, I left with Kiersten, Baylee, and Meg on our next adventure, Noosa and the Australia Zoo. I was very excited about this trip leading up to it because I've always LOVED Steve Irwin. People say that sometimes you can find Bindi, Terry, or Robert walking around the zoo but unfortunately they were all in America for Dancing With The Stars (Congratulations Bindi!!!)
Anyways, we went with a small tour company called Adventure Dudes (S/O to Adsy, the best adventure guide out there!) We were the smallest group they've had with only 5 people-- the four of us and one guy from Bond. Even though we were a small crew, we had TONS of fun! Our hostel had a really down-to-earth vibe, same as the entire town of Noosa. The town itself is pretty small, but it's super chill and there is a national park just up the road where we took a cool hike. The beaches were beautiful and we even saw a wild koala! While exploring Noosa Heads was fun, the zoo was my favorite part. It rained on and off all day which was kind of a bummer, but the animals were so cool! We saw Aussie animals like cassowaries, koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, wombats, and lemurs. I even held a snake! We also saw giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and tigers! The crocodile show was my favorite part. They played a video of Steve Irwin (which made me cry) and showed some AMAZING wildlife! It would have been even more amazing if Steve was there to do the show himself.

After three days in Noosa and a whole month of non-stop adventure, we're all tucked safely back in our dorms for a looooong Thanksgiving nap. :)

Coming up next week: New Zealand! I'm stoked!



(Check out my Flickr at the bottom of the page or Facebook for pics!)