Arriving in Australia to study abroad was a very intimidating and nerve-wracking experience. But having an organized week of fun thanks to WorldStrides made me totally comfortable in the new place down unda! Hopping right into activities in a fantastic tropical environment with other study abroad students in the same boat allowed me to overcome the nerves and ignore some of that intense jetlag.
The Flights
Flying so far across the world was a first for me, but now I think I’m addicted to the flying experience. I had great food and great company! On the flight from Vancouver to Brisbane, I sat next to a man named Albert from Canada who was visiting his father in Australia. He had been to Australia many times before and was able to give me lots of amazing recommendations for my time abroad.
A Bird’s Eye View of the Great Barrier Reef: The different colors in the vast blue ocean are parts of the world’s largest collection of coral.
Landing in Brisbane after 16 hours, I was finally able to meet two of my roommates. We then tried Vegemite for the first time, and all I gotta say is DON’T eat it alone!! Then, we got on our final flight to get to Cairns. We flew over the Great Barrier Reef!
Flying over Cairns: This is a picture of the ocean I took on the flight from Brisbane to Cairns of the beautiful green-blue ocean!
Welcome to Australia
Picture this: a Montana native leaving the -30°F weather and arriving in Cairns’ humid tropical climate…in a gray sweat suit. I hopped off the plane drenched in sweat!! I was relieved to be in a place where I could comfortably be outside without thousands of layers. The nicest thing was getting into the sun after what felt like an eternity without its warmth!
Bye-Bye Montana: Here is me leaving my hometown airport and the soon-to-be sweaty groutfit (all-gray outfit).
After getting our luggage we were acquainted with our WorldStrides leaders and Resident Directors! Then, we took a taxi to our hotel for the week. IT WAS A 5-STAR LUXURY HOTEL FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABILITY!! The hotel we stayed at was the Crystalbrook Riley. The views from the hotel pool of the ocean were amazing. Right away, we unloaded our luggage and went to a meeting room to learn about Australian culture and plan our week.
Five Stars in Cairns: This is the accommodation we had for orientation week.
Palms and the Pool: How pretty is this view!
Crocs, Roos, & Koalas
The first full day started with a quick lesson about Australia’s education system and other important information to help get acclimated to the new culture. Afterward, we spent the rest of the day traveling to a zoo in the jungle right outside of Cairns! This was a zoo unlike one I had ever been to before. Honestly, it didn’t even feel like a zoo; I felt like we were one with the animals. There were kangaroos, wombats, emus, snakes, and cool lizard guys! We also went on the craziest, most entertaining crocodile boat tour, where our tour guide fed the crocodiles right below us! They are some feisty creatures, and I am now very afraid of them!
Alex and Sally: Sally is a 6-meter python that lives at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventure!
And Pose: This kangaroo loved the camera, and he looks like a supermodel in this picture.
Marsupials in Australia: The cutest little lounging bears.
Croc Daddy: After teasing the Crocs and making them jump, our tour guide gave them a big hunk of meat for a treat!
G’Day at GBR
NEMO NEMO NEMO!! The next day I was able to find Nemo at the Great Barrier Reef! We spent the whole day on a crazy cool pontoon boat in the middle of the turquoise-colored water, snorkeling and exploring the world’s largest coral ecosystem. We had on the coolest wetsuits and each got our own snorkel and flipper fins for the day. I felt like a real professional swimming with all the unique fish!
Flippers and Fun: I was so excited to hop on the snorkel with all of the Aussie fish!
Underwater Flowers: At the Great Barrier Reef, I took a glass-bottom boat ride over the reef.
Swimming Buddy: This fish got up close and personal while swimming over the reef.
NEMO: The long-awaited Nemo pic! Clownfish are so beautiful, and seeing them up close was so surreal.
Aussie Pride: On the boat ride back to land, we sat outside, and the Australian and Aboriginal flags were waving in the breeze.
I also was able to do an intro scuba dive session. Getting the scuba gear on was interesting! We had to tie rocks around our waists to combat our natural buoyancy. It was hard to stand with these rocks tied to us and a huge oxygen tank on our backs. Luckily, when we got in the water, all the weight just disappeared! Our instructor’s name was Brandon, a professional Cairns native diver. He was so awesome and showed us all the coolest things that were even deeper (10-15 meters)! We were all able to meet Wally on our dive, this huge fish that I swear was supposed to be a dog; he was so friendly and playful. He loved getting in all our photos!
Roomies on the Pontoon: We called our wetsuits our penguin suits. We thought we looked so silly!
Scuba Steve AKA Alex: Here’s me barely able to stand while waiting to hop in the water for my first-ever dive!
Here I Go: Into the water I go to do the dive.
Wally the Fish: Here’s Wally, everyone’s favorite part of the GBR!
Skydiving!
Thursday morning was our final full day in Cairns, and we had a free day to sign up for activities of our choosing. I decided to embrace the thrill-seeking, risk-taking, adventurous culture of Australia and started my morning with a 15,000-foot tandem skydive!!
Kangaroo and Skydiving, What!?: The promotional stuffed animal that was so cute, it helped calm my nerves before hopping out of a plane!
This was such a surreal, euphoric feeling! We went on an overcast day, but the views were still stunning. My favorite part of the dive was the free fall through the clouds. I had never touched a cloud before. One would think it was all soft and fluffy, but since it was about to rain, I was feeling all the prickly rainwater droplets. The experience through the clouds kind of felt like acupuncture, but I loved it! (I’ve already signed up for my next one.)
Peace Out, Plane: The initial jump was the scariest part, but I thoroughly enjoyed the rush of adrenaline.
Flying Like a Bird: After skydiving, I was FULLY convinced that the Earth is most definitely round, haha!
Happy Flyer: A lil up-and-close action right out of the plane.
Selfie with Liv: Liv, my tandem gal, was a Kiwi (a person from New Zealand), and I loved her. She made the experience amazing! 10/10! If you’re ever in Cairns and going skydiving at SkyDive Australia, request Liv.
Rainforest Tour!
Right after skydiving with some of my future roommates for the semester (a real bonding moment), we hopped on a bus to take a rainforest waterfall tour. The views were amazing. There was a whole group of us. On the tour, I saw my first Australian spider species, a golden orb spider. It was slightly creepy!
Nature’s Slip-n-Slide: The afternoon of my free day was spent exploring the beautiful rainforests right out of Cairns. We all were able to slide down this waterfall!
Green, Green, and More Green: I was amazed by how rich the greens were in the rainforests. It was such a fulfilling feeling being one with nature!
Our tour guides were excellent and taught us so much about the Aboriginal culture around us and told us stories about the crazy land features. We spent about six hours exploring the nature waterfalls and swimming holes. It was so fun to be with everyone enjoying Australian nature!
White Water: We hiked more to get to see these crazy currents made by large rocks in the area.
Swimming Hole: After our long hikes, we were rewarded with a quick cool-off in the most beautiful swimming spot I’ve ever seen.
Farewell, Cairns
After such a full, adventurous day, WorldStrides organized a farewell dinner for us at an Australian cuisine restaurant right on the ocean. At the restaurant Ochre’s, I tried kangaroo and crocodile! I kind of felt bad indulging in these meals after meeting them at the zoo earlier. For dinner, I had a (cow) steak, and it was the most flavorful steak I have ever had! After dinner, a group of us went out to get froyo from Yo My Goodness, and it was delicious.
Evening Ocean Walk: We took a quick, refreshing ocean walk to our farewell dinner!
I Love Cow: My delicious steak on a bed of yummy mashed potatoes!
This first week was such an amazing way to get into the time change and really channel the Aussie culture. I am very thankful for the experiences, memories, and new friends. After this week, all my homesickness, nerves, and anxiety about what was to come were gone. Now, it’s time for Sydney. Stay tuned!