Australia and back-take two

The first time I went to Australia I remember walking around the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Rocks etc, and thinking how a year ago I would never have imagined being able to go to such awesome places. Well, last week I found myself doing the same exact thing as I wandered around the beautiful city for a second time. This time I returned with my parents and coincidentally we went at the beginning of this cool winter light show festival. All of the big buildings and famous landmarks had amazing laser effects projected onto them, there were lanterns all around the city, and cool illuminated statues. We were walking along the wharf when we found a crowd of people staring at a dock in the middle of the bay. A few minutes later an awesome fire show began perfectly in sync with all kinds of music. The next day we woke up early and headed to the Blue Mountains. The first stop was Featherston Wildlife Park where we hung out with some kangaroos and wallabies.. highlight of my day! At the Blue Mountains we saw the Three Sisters rock formation (fun fact- the Blue Mountains are blue because the atmosphere scatters blue light reflected off the sky). As to be expected, the views were phenomenal. We took the steepest railway in the world down to the rainforest for a little tramp.
The next day we headed to meet up with Taylor and Nicole in Cairns for some some relaxation and diving on the Great Barrier Reef. That night we grabbed some dinner and then got a free didjeridoo lesson from a bored shop worker. Nicole deemed herself a fan and now tries the didj whenever an opportunity arises. On Saturday my parents and myself set sail to find a few good diving and snorkeling spots. My first time diving was a success and once again I'm finding myself more and more an adrenaline junky. It was surreal being on the bottom of the ocean floor in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. The scenery was amazing. I saw hundreds of different types of fish swimming all around me, got up close and personal with a friendly sea turtle, and kept my distance from an electric eel. What I found most interesting was how the fish really didn't pay much attention to me, they just kind of accepted my presence and went about their days. I was beat on Sunday and just wanted a chill day so we headed to the lagoon for some sun.. and got more than our fair share.. whoops, the biggest hole in the ozone is over Cairns?! All day on Sunday there was the Iron Man Triathlon competition. Participants were required to swim 2 miles in the ocean, bike 110 miles, then run a marathon of 26 miles.. holy cow- truly inspiring! The race started at 7 am and the winner came in around 3 pm, however, participants were still finishing after 10 pm!
Although it was another whirlwind Australia trip it was still great fun! I headed back on Monday for a week of painstakingly torturous paper-writing and exam-studying. Over the weekend AustraLearn buddy Chris and his brother Matthew paid us a visit. The weekend was so much fun, we checked out the street fair, went star tipping and jumped off the plank into the bay.. in the middle of winter (obviously their winters aren't as brutal as NH's). It was so sad to see them go, but alas, they must continue their adventure onto the South Island! As of yesterday I am a free woman in Wellington, no more school work or stress. Finally, it's summer! Well, winter here but you get the idea. Some friends and I signed up for 10 days unlimited of Bikram Yoga for just $10, can't beat that! The next week and a half will be spent enjoying friends and Wellington because who knows the next time I'll be here again or reunited with my amigos?! I'm looking forward to returning home to see my friends, family, and animals but I'm really going to miss this place! Not to mention the slew of emotional and miserable goodbyes impending. One thing's for certain, my time here in New Zealand has been the best of my life and i'll always look back on it fondly. That's all for now, let's hope the volcanic ash from Chile doesn't cancel my flights home!