To put it plainly, the holiday was INCREDIBLE. As much as I love Christchurch and New Zealand, holiday in OZ was beautiful, relaxing, and WARM. 80 degree weather in their late autumn/early winter? I'll take that any day. It was also nice to get away from the after shocks, chemical toilets, and having to boil water for a little over a week. Now that I am back in CHCH, I feel way more relaxed, at ease, and ready to get back to work. It was the kind of rejuvenation I really needed after going non-stop since the earthquake, really.
Here's a little look into what we did on our holiday:
DAY 1
Flew into Brisbane and drove to Amy and Joe's friends' house (Tim and Jess) where we were going to be staying. We basically just spent the evening catching up with them, relaxing, and eating delicious food. And we went to bed super early. Already a good start to our holiday. Not to mention, OZ reminded me a LOT of America... McDonald's everywhere, multi-lane motorways, and tolls... a little piece of home, ha.
DAY 2
We woke up early, ate breakfast, and headed to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary right on the outskirts of Brisbane. If you ever go to Brisbane, you need to go there. It is AWESOME. I was stoked to see a koala. I LOVE koalas. But seeing dozens of koalas at once was better than I ever imagined it would be... they are some super cool animals. They have two thumbs, sleep 18-20 hours a day, and when they are born, they are the size of a jellybean. Sweet as, right?! We spent most of the morning and afternoon there just exploring and looking at all the different animals... including getting to wander around a big open park and just mosey up to wallabies and kangaroos. I, however, stayed clear of the crocodiles. I even got to see a sheep dog and sheep shearing demonstration. Really neat! Made me want to watch 'Babe'. That afternoon, Jess, Amy, and I went shopping, which was SUCH a treat since everything in NZ is so flipping expensive. It was nice to hang out with some girls and just chat about life... and clothes. Pretty refreshing. That evening, we all went to a mexican restaurant to get $10 unlimited chili. I have missed mexican food A LOT. They don't have it in NZ. Kiwis are for SURE missing out. However, it was some SPICY chili... which the restaurant probably did on purpose so that people wouldn't eat as much. Little did they know that I can eat like a fiend. Joke was on them.
DAY 3
Spent the morning with Jess, Amy, and a few of Jess' Aussie friends. We had morning tea and just yacked for awhile. They all had babies too, so once again, it was an invasion of young moms + Beth. Everyone kept asking if I was married or had a baby. Nope... I just always hang out with mums and bubs (moms and babies). That afternoon, Jess, Tim, Joe, Amy, the babies, and I went on a walk to South Bank and downtown Brisbane. Downtown Brisbane is so gorgeous... they have HUGE inner-city, lagoon pools that are completely open and free to the public. It's right along a river (that has sharks in in... fact) and it super artsy. We got ice cream and dinner in the city centre and just walked around and looked at the beautiful sights. I wouldn't mind living there.
DAY 4
Jess, Amy, and I went on a super good walk through the wetlands around Jess' house... where we saw a real life Kangaroo... IN THE WILD. Only in OZ. I was giddy for the rest of the day about this sighting. Amy, Joe, and I left Brisbane that afternoon for the Gold Coast, about 45 minutes south. On the way, we drove west a little and went into the mountains to do the Skywalk - a little hike through the rainforest. It was so beautiful. Gorgeous white trees, twisting vines everywhere, exotic flowers, and water falls. I also saw a big snake just hanging out on a rock. Two wild animals in one day? Double thumbs up! After hiking/walking for a couple hours, we headed to our hotel on the Gold Coast... and it was LITERALLY on the coast. Walking into the lobby was kind of hilarious because we stuck out like a sore thumb... we looked so out of place compared to all the fancy couples and business men. Amy and I couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation. We could see the water and the beach from the lobby and from our hotel room. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool, reading, and swimming in the ocean. I LOVE the ocean. And I drank one of the best smoothies I have ever consumed. And ate super good Thai food. Oz is so good.
DAY 5
Due to circumstances (Amy's tooth falling out... ha, long story), I had the morning and afternoon to myself. I wandered through an art gallery across the street, read for a long time, relaxed by the pool and went on a walk. It was kind of a cloudy, dreary day with some scattered thunderstorms, so I just chilled out. It was nice to have some time to myself. That afternoon, we went wandering through the marina at spotted some CRAZY boats and yachts... like 5 million dollar yachts... one that looked especially like a spaceship. Tim and Jess drove down to spend the night/next day with us. We ate dinner at a seafood tavern next to the marina. Later that night, we got dressed up and went to the Hotel Versace to have liqueur coffees and dessert. Again, a place where I felt super out of place because it was so fancy, but this was such a fun night of laughing, telling stories, and just spending time with each other. I love laughing so hard that my stomach starts to hurt. We were all so in our comfort zones.
DAY 6
We basically spent the entire morning laying by the pool and playing at the beach. That afternoon, we checked out of our hotel, drove further down the Gold Coast to an area called 'Surfer's Paradise' - a completely appropriate name - and Amy and I took Surfing lessons. These were no ordinary surfing lessons though... this was seriously surfing boot camp. Our instructor, Dale, was as tall as I was, except for he was around 45 years old, SUPER skinny, really tan, and had long blond hair. Pretty much a rockstar. Our class did surfing drills one after another for a good portion of our lesson... then we tested it all out in the water. Surfing is a lot harder than it looks... especially in Aussie waters where the waves are huge and NEVER stop. Not to mention, the sand banks in the water were super inconsistent and up and down, so I got tired just from walking through the water. It took me a little while to actually stand up on my board, but after I did it, I was actually super good at it! Low center of gravity, of course. I took one super good nose dive where I unintentionally did a flip on my way down... I hope the photographer at the beach caught that epic fall. That night, I babysat Joe and Amy's daughter Brooklyn while Amy and Joe went on a date... I love that little girl. SO cute.
DAY 7
We spent all day Sunday at Dreamworld in the Gold Coast - a pretty great amusement park! It was no Cedar Point and wasn't as massive as a lot of theme parks in the states, but they had a few super fun rides. I love amusement parks so much, I didn't even care... I was just glad to be there! The best was for sure the tower of terror... proof by the entrance being a giant skull. It was just a perfect, beautiful day to be in the Gold Coast.
DAY 8
Day number two in a theme park... expect this time, we went to Whitewater world, the water park right next to dream world. It wasn't very big, but it was SO fun. I haven't been to a water park in a long time, so I forgot how great they are. My favorite ride there was called 'The Wedgie'... great name, right? I know. It was a one-person slide. You got in this pod thing at the top, and it basically shoots you out down this slide... you are at the bottom in 4 seconds. Super scary looking, but really fun once you do it!
That evening, Joe, Amy, and I made dinner and went out for ice cream in Surfer's Paradise... perfect end to an exciting day.
DAY 9
Our last day on the Gold Coast... so what better way to spend our morning and afternoon than a walk around town and on the beach?! I had one last dip into the gorgeous ocean and basically just sat and read my book... oh, and people watched. The Flammer's and I had a great game of 'Spot the American'... I was SO good at it... not gloating, just making a statement. I was really sad to get on the plane in 80 degree heat and come back to mid-50 degree weather... blah.
DAY 6
We basically spent the entire morning laying by the pool and playing at the beach. That afternoon, we checked out of our hotel, drove further down the Gold Coast to an area called 'Surfer's Paradise' - a completely appropriate name - and Amy and I took Surfing lessons. These were no ordinary surfing lessons though... this was seriously surfing boot camp. Our instructor, Dale, was as tall as I was, except for he was around 45 years old, SUPER skinny, really tan, and had long blond hair. Pretty much a rockstar. Our class did surfing drills one after another for a good portion of our lesson... then we tested it all out in the water. Surfing is a lot harder than it looks... especially in Aussie waters where the waves are huge and NEVER stop. Not to mention, the sand banks in the water were super inconsistent and up and down, so I got tired just from walking through the water. It took me a little while to actually stand up on my board, but after I did it, I was actually super good at it! Low center of gravity, of course. I took one super good nose dive where I unintentionally did a flip on my way down... I hope the photographer at the beach caught that epic fall. That night, I babysat Joe and Amy's daughter Brooklyn while Amy and Joe went on a date... I love that little girl. SO cute.
DAY 7
We spent all day Sunday at Dreamworld in the Gold Coast - a pretty great amusement park! It was no Cedar Point and wasn't as massive as a lot of theme parks in the states, but they had a few super fun rides. I love amusement parks so much, I didn't even care... I was just glad to be there! The best was for sure the tower of terror... proof by the entrance being a giant skull. It was just a perfect, beautiful day to be in the Gold Coast.
DAY 8
Day number two in a theme park... expect this time, we went to Whitewater world, the water park right next to dream world. It wasn't very big, but it was SO fun. I haven't been to a water park in a long time, so I forgot how great they are. My favorite ride there was called 'The Wedgie'... great name, right? I know. It was a one-person slide. You got in this pod thing at the top, and it basically shoots you out down this slide... you are at the bottom in 4 seconds. Super scary looking, but really fun once you do it!
That evening, Joe, Amy, and I made dinner and went out for ice cream in Surfer's Paradise... perfect end to an exciting day.
DAY 9
Our last day on the Gold Coast... so what better way to spend our morning and afternoon than a walk around town and on the beach?! I had one last dip into the gorgeous ocean and basically just sat and read my book... oh, and people watched. The Flammer's and I had a great game of 'Spot the American'... I was SO good at it... not gloating, just making a statement. I was really sad to get on the plane in 80 degree heat and come back to mid-50 degree weather... blah.
Even though I adored my holiday and being able to spend time with Joe, Amy, and Brooklyn, I feel extremely rejuvenated and ready to be back in CHCH. I'll miss just relaxing and having time to do whatever I want, but I feel more prepared than ever to get back into the swing of things and finish the second half of my internship with devotion and enthusiasm. Nonetheless, I WILL be making my way back to OZ in the future...
... any other takers?
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