Reef Trip!
Today we went on our trip to the Great Barrier Reef and it was absolutely incrediable! We boarded the boat around 9:00 and went out to Fitzroy Island where we had about an hour to explore. Then we went out to a pontoon boat right on the reef. We went snorkeling for awhile and it took a little while plus a few gulpfulls of salt water to get used to it. Right as soon as I got in I was surrounded by tropical fish though and it was awesome. And when I say surrounded, I mean it. There were hundreds of them in one small area and they weren’t scared of us at all. If we just reached our arms out we could touch about 10 of them. The farther out we swam the more beautiful it got. There was coral of all colors and so many different kinds of bright colored fish that it was hard to decide which ones to look at. We saw clams that were almost as big as me and lots of sea cucumbers and other wierd creatures. It was so cool. We got back on the boat for a quick lunch and then Lana and I went scubadiving! It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and a bit nerve-racking at first too. Our dive instructor took us about 8 meters down (approx. 24 feet) and we got to touch and feel all of the coral, plants, animals, etc. It was especially neat to look up towards the surface and see hundreds of fish swimming over our heads as well as some snorkellers who waved to us. Lana and I got our picture taken underwater with our scuba gear on so I’ll scan it and post it just in case you don’t believe me. (haha) The whole experience was amazing though and its something you have to see for yourself because it’s indescribable.
As far as the last few days have been, I had yet another very eventful weekend. Thursday was my day off so my friend Bree stayed the night on Wednesday and we went into town Thursday morning. We walked around downtown for awhile and she showed me a bunch of her favorite shops and then we went to Cairns Central where we ran into about 20 of our friends from school who we hung out with for awhile. At 3:00 we walked to Cairns High where I caught the bus home with Lana. When Gordon got home we went to Palm Cove (which is the nicest beach in Cairns) and that was really cool cuz I hadn’t been there before. Friday was really fun at school cuz I had double photography and we worked in the darkroom for the first time on our own. (And you can imagine how exciting that was for me!) Afterschool Kita came and picked us up and took us shopping to buy Gordon’s birthday cards/presents. When we finally got home around 5:30 we got ready for dinner and then went out to a cool Thai food restraunt that was right on Trinity Beach. After dinner Andrew (Lisa’s boyfriend) dropped me off at Mark’s house in Redlynch. I had a fun night hanging out with him and all of his friends plus a bunch of other people that I met during the evening. On Saturday after Lana got home from dance we went to the beach to meet a couple of friends and in the evening we went to church. My friend Teresa was having a party for her birthday that night but I was so tired and decided to just stay in for the evening.
So, with the exception of a few minor things, everything has been going great over here and I’m sill having a blast and enjoying every day. We were talking about this today and it sounds like Kita and Lana will be visiting me in Michigan over Christmas break so a lot of you will have a chance to meet a couple of the people you’ve been hearing so much about. Well I’m off for now, so take care everyone and as always, have a great day!
