Rainforest!!

Hi!
Had another early morning today. We were picked up at our hotel at 6:45am in a 4 wheel drive bus that took us out for a full day in the rainforest. We made our way north past Port Douglas to the Daintree Rainforest. We went to the Daintree Discovery Center where we had a one hour guided tour through part of the forest where we learned all about the trees and animals. We continued to head up north where we reached Cape Tribulation where there is a stunning beach. On the way there we saw a cassowary and it's chick. This is a bird native to the area and sightings are extremely rare so we are lucky we saw one. We had a great lunch of steak, fish, sausage, and salads out in the rainforest. After that we headed to the Daintree river where we got on a boat and searched for crocodiles! We saw quite a few little crocs but no big ones! Then we headed back down the coast to Cairns. The drive had beautiful views of the coral sea. We had lots of stops for photo opportunities. We drove past the only Bungy jump in Australia, and even though I was tempted, I kept my feet on the ground this time! We had pizza on the esplanade for dinner and then packed our bags to get ready for our flight to Sydney in the morning.
Until next time,
Kimmy

Great Barrier Reef!

Today we had a day set up with Ocean Spirit Cruises! We walked over to the docks at about 8am to board a 105-foot catamaran which took us out to the reef. It was about a two hour ride to get there but they served us tea and coffee and the view was spectacular! It was a bit overcast when we first woke up but once we were offshore it really cleared up and the sun burned bright and hot! Once we were at the reef we had the chance to go snorkeling! The water was so clear and we saw tons of fish! I even saw a sea turtle! We were served a buffet lunch on the boat. We also took a ride on a semi-submarine that took us out to the bigger parts of the reef. It was amazing to see these huge walls of coral! We saw another sea turtle, a massive parrot fish, and we even caught a glimpse of Nemo. We spent some time relaxing on the boat and then it was back to Cairns! Showered up and had a light dinner. There is a casino right across the street from our hotel and since I have never gambled in one before, I convinced Mom and Dad to take me. I lost my $10, so did Mom, but Dad made a small win so he took us out for ice cream! It was a fun day!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Welcome to Cairns!!

Hi!
We had a very early morning today! We were picked up at our hotel in Auckland just after 4am because of our early flight! We got into Cairns (pronounced 'cans') mid morning. Cairns is known as the "Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef" here in Australia. The flight from Auckland was about 5 hours. We checked into our hotel and then set out for an early lunch. We went down the street to Grilled, one of my favorite burger places in Australia. We walked around the area around our hotel for quite a bit and then Mom and Dad wanted to rest up a bit since they were pretty tired from the early morning. After that we did some souvenier shopping which was a lot of fun. We went to a place called the Raw Prawn for dinner which was so good! We all had berramundi which is an Australian fish that is on the list of must-try Australian foods! Heading out to the reef tomorrow and could not be more excited!!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Auckland!

Hello!
Today we woke up in Queenstown, ate some breakfast, did some last minute shopping, and then headed to the airport to catch our flight to Auckland. It was about a 1 hour 45 minute flight so it wasn't too bad. Queenstown is at the bottom of the southern island of New Zealand and Auckland is at the very top of the northern island so we flew all the way across the country today! We checked into our hotel which is right by the harbor. We walked around the harbor for a bit, saw some of the America's Cup sailboats, and then had some seafood. After that we walked just a few blocks to the Sky Tower which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We went up to the observation deck for some stunning 360 degree views of the city. We also watched a short video about the history of Auckland. Auckland reminds me a lot of San Diego. The weather is still chilly but not as cold as Queenstown. It seems like a really cool city and I would love to spend some more time here someday. But for now, we are off to Cairns in the morning! Can't wait for the warmer weather!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Another great day!

Hello!
The original plan for today was to go skiing, however the weather was not the best and since we didn't have all of our heavy winter gear, we decided to skip it. No worries, we still had another great day in Queenstown. The first half of the day we took a tour up to Glenorchy. It is a very small town that has a population of about 200. The scenery around it is absolutely amazing! The reason this tour is so popular is because it takes you to a bunch of filming locations from a number of different movies including Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Wolverine, and the Hobbit. We got a lot of behind the scenes info (very interesting for a film student!) We had a picnic lunch and then headed back into town. The afternoon was packed with fun events! Mom, Dad, and I took the gondola called the Skyline up to the top of the mountain which had spectacular views of the town. Dad and I did the luge which is based by the gondola. We went down three times which was pretty fun. After that we both did a zip line tour. Its a 3 hour tour that includes 6 zip lines and informs you about sustainability throughout the tour. The 6th zip line is the steepest zip line in the world! It was a lot of fun and not scary at all (especially after bungy jumping yesterday!) Once we were done with that we were pretty cold and hungry so we met up with Mom and got some really yummy Italian food! We're off to Auckland tomorrow!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Queenstown!

What a day!!
Today we had a Queenstown highlights tour. First stop? Bungy jumping! What a way to start the day! The Kawarau bridge is where bungy jumping originated. Its 43 meters high (thats about 130 feet or so.) Dad and I both jumped! It was so scary but so much fun at the same time! Jumping off a bridge goes against all your natural instincts but I would totally do it again. I have really great photos and a video that I will post as soon as possible. After that we did some cheese tasting and a little bit of wine tasting. Then we head over to a location where they filmed a scene from Lord of the Rings. We then went to the small township of Arrowtown for a quick stop. Its an old mining town and is very small and quaint. We went back to Queenstown and had lunch at a very popular buger joint called Fergberger. We spent the afternoon exploring the streets of Queenstown. We had dinner at Finz Down Under which was right by the lake and had some great fish and chips!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Milford Sound!

Hi!
Our first day in New Zealand was great! We had a very early morning. We got on the bus at about 6:45 am. The drive to Milford Sound was long (about 5 hours) but it was so beautiful! We saw huge mountain ranges, rolling grassy hills, and lots of sheep and little lambs! They were so cute! There were many stops for photo opportunities. Our bus driver was very knowledgable and told us facts about the landscape for the entire 5 hours. We finally arrived at Milford Sound at 1:15 pm. Milford Sound is a fiord which means it is a massive valley carved by a glacier, filled with sea water. The mountains peak at 9,000 feet and the depth of the water is 1,000 feet! Definitely don't want to drop your sunnies in there!! We boarded the Milford Mariner when we got to the harbor and ate a picnic lunch on the top deck. It was pretty overcast, cold, and windy but the view was absolutely amazing! We took a cruise out to the Tasman Sea where the water got very rough so we turned around and went back to the smoother water. We saw seals and penguins!! We were so excited to see penguins in the wild!! After our cruise we hopped back on the bus and headed back to Queenstown. We then had a late dinner at the hotel. What a beautiful day! I'm currently blogging from Dad's iPad and am having some technical difficulties uploading photos. I will post some as soon as I  figure it out! Or I will just be posting a bunch when I get back to my computer!
Until next time,
Kimmy

New Zealand!!!

Hello from New Zealand!!!
I am currently in Queenstown, New Zealand with Mom and Dad!!! Yay! I took the train from campus down to Sydney with my friend Amy on Saturday. Then after that I met up with one of my friends from high school, Hadley, who is currently studying abroad in Sydney and I was able to stay with her that night since I had a very early flight out of Sydney the next morning. After accidentally sleeping through my alarm and missing the cab that I arranged, I finally made my way to the airport with plenty of time! The flight to New Zealand was only about 3 hours and Mom and Dad had arrived in Queenstown just 10 minutes before me so I met them at the airport. We went to our hotel, had some lunch, and explored the area a bit. They have a bit of jet lag so they are heading to bed early. We have an early morning tomorrow as we head to our Milford Sounds tour! More on that later!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Mom and Dad are on their way!! (almost)

Hi everyone!!
Mid-semester break is here at last!! I have two weeks off school and my parents are coming down to do some traveling with me! I am so excited to see them! I head to Sydney on Saturday and then I have an early flight out of Sydney International on Sunday morning to meet up with Mom and Dad in New Zealand!! We will be in Queenstown for a few days and then we head to Auckland.  From there we head over to Cairns, Australia for some snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. Then its off to Sydney to do some sight seeing. Then we will rent a car and drive up to Newcastle so they can see where I am going to school. I'll stay in Newie while they go back down to Sydney to fly home. With all this traveling I have no idea how much I will be able to update my blog while I am away especially since I am not traveling with my computer. So if I go a couple weeks without posting, I'm sorry! But I'll make it up by putting up a huge post about all of my amazing travels with Mom and Dad!! Stay tuned!!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Camping!!

Hi!
Well this past weekend we all had the brilliant idea to go camping! It was so hilariously entertaining. We chose Myall Lakes National Park as the destination, which was beautiful and right next to the beach! It was about an hour drive from Newcastle. Once we got to the national park we drove around for at least a half hour searching for the perfect campsite. After we selected the perfect one, we started to unpack and attempted to set up the tent only to find out that many essential parts of the tent were missing. There was no way we could assemble it properly. No worries- a few people went into the nearby town in search for a tent or a tarp or something. As dark ominous clouds approached, the people who remained at the campsite successfully attempted to make fire. Once everyone was back from town (without a tent but a pretty decent tarp) a tent-ish looking thing was built (see photo below). After that it was all fun and games! It ended up being a great night and it only rained on us once (while we were cooking dinner!) I'll have to admit, I ended up sleeping in a car but I am perfectly okay with that because I was nice and warm!! The next morning we went to the beach for a bit and then went back to campus! It was quite the experience!
Until next time,
Kimmy

The lake right by our campsite!

Dark clouds approaching.

Attempting to form a tent. (yes thats me sitting and watching on the bottom right. I was pretty useless.)

The finished product. Not wind or bug proof at all...but turned out to be pretty rain proof! Success!! 

Kylie and I being silly!!

Making fire!! 

Making dinner!! I had the important job of holding the torch (thats Aussie for flashlight)

My room!!

Hi!!
I just realized I hadn't shown you my room yet. Living at Teds is great! There are two houses of Edwards Hall- Burnet and Cutler. I'm on the Burnet side. In between the two buildings is the dining hall and the cellar (a popular hangout spot with TVs and couches). We each have our own room which is fantastic! There's a tearoom (kitchen) across the hall from me which includes just about everything except a stove and oven. Just down the hall a bit are the showers and toilets, both co-ed. It took a little getting used to but its not so bad! Check out the pics below to see my room! You'll see I'm wearing my Edwards Hall jersey which is very popular attire here!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Me in my room!!

Other side of my room!

Outside of my room!

Hall Ball and Recovery Day!

Hi!
This past weekend was filled with fun Edwards Hall events! On Friday night we had Hall Ball. Edwards was celebrating its 40th Hall Ball. Its a formal event which was held at a location off campus and they bussed us to the venue. The night included a three course meal, an open bar, and dancing! It was a good night to say the least! The next day was Recovery Day which is a day party out by the pool at the dorm. Everyone wears matching shirts, there's bouncy castles, face paintings, and a DJ. I survived the day without being thrown into the pool so I'd say it was a successful day!
Until next time,
Kimmy

Everyone all dressed up for Hall Ball!

Our Table!

My best friend and I!!

Everyone in matching shirts for Recovery Day!

Hangin' by the pool!

A weekend with Kristina and Rudy!!

Hello!
I had such a nice vacation with Kristina and Rudy (my sister and her boyfriend) last week! Early Wednesday morning I caught the train down to Sydney to meet up with them. We took the ferry up to Manly beach but it was windy and freezing so we had lunch and then didn't stay long. We walked through the Queen Victoria Building which is a huge shopping center. We made our way over to Darling Harbor where we had drinks by the water and then head over to The Rocks for a really great dinner. We ate at Fish at the Rocks where I had prawns and they were delicious!

The next morning we had an early start. We took a luxury coach up to the Hunter Wine Valley. They took us to 5 different wineries,  a brewery for lunch, a cheese shop where we had a cheese tasting, and then a chocolate shop where we had a chocolate tasting. It was so much fun!! We enjoyed tasting some authentic Australian Wines. Some of our favorites included Semillon, Shiraz, and Moscato. They were consistently delicious at every winery. Once we got back to Sydney we had some really great sushi at a restaurant at The Rocks.

On Friday morning we had another really early start as we made our way to the airport to fly to Uluru (some may know it as Ayers Rock).  This is the massive red rock which is in the outback at the heart of Australia. It has major significance to the Aboriginal people of Australia. When we arrived on Friday afternoon we had a little bit of time to settle into our hotel, The Outback Pioneer, and then we got on a bus to go to the Sounds of Silence dinner. This was a truly fantastic experience and if you ever make your way to the outback I highly recommend it! The first thing we did at this dinner was have champagne as we watched the sunset near Uluru. They served us Australian hors d'oeuvres which allowed us to sample both crocodile and kangaroo. We then moved to the dinner area which was lit by candle light and the digeridoo (aboriginal instrument) playing in the background.We were served wine and then helped ourselves to a buffet dinner where we got to try more Australian foods including more kangaroo and berramundi (a type of fish). After that a stargazer came out to explain the southern sky to us and pointed out some constellations we have never seen before as well as some of the stories behind them. They had telescopes set up as well. One was pointed towards Saturn and you could actually see the rings around the planet. The other was facing towards the blue moon where you could see the surface. Stargazing was followed up by dessert, my favorite meal of the day! After that we headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed!

Saturday was an extremely early morning as we were up well before sunrise. We had another bus ride to a viewing area so we could see the affect the sunrise has on the color of Uluru. It changes shades throughout the day so we were excited to see it at sunrise. The tour company served us coffee, tea, and breakfast cookies as we enjoyed the sunrise. After that was finished we got back on the bus and went on our walking tour of Uluru. We had a great guide who told us all about the amazing landscape, the Aboriginal people, their stories, and all sorts of facts about Uluru. It was our chance to really get up close to the rock. Its amazing how much intricate detail there is to the rock once you are up close to it. There are water holes all around it, aboriginal paintings, and different features all over the place. The tour we were on highlighted the main parts of it. We then headed to the cultural center where we learned more about the local aboriginals and their culture. We also hit up the gift shop (of course!) After that we grabbed some lunch and rested up for a bit since we were so tired from our late night and early morning! Once we had a bit of a nap we headed to the camel farm. We took the camel express tour where we rode camels for about an hour with Uluru and the near by Olgas (more big rocks) in the distance. Can you believe I rode a camel?! I can't! It was awesome!! After that we went back to the hotel and had a BBQ dinner where we got to cook our own meat (again crocodile, kangaroo, emu).

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel, did some shopping and flew back to Sydney. From there, I caught the train back to school and Kristina and Rudy head up to Cairns to go scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef. I am so happy that I got to spend so much time with them! I'm also very happy that I made it to the outback. Its definitely a unique part of Australia and I am so glad I got to experience it.
Until next time,
Kimmy

The Queen Victoria building

Kristina and I on the ferry to Manly

Kristina, Rudy, and I at Manly

One of the wineries we visited. Iron Bark Hill. It was our favorite of the day! They had the BEST Moscato!

The three of us at Tempus Two, another winery. It had a very modern feel to it!

My chocolate koala bear I got at the chocolate tasting!

The hotel we stayed at in the outback

This is what the outback looks like!! It was unusually green because of the amount of rain they have had. That red sand gets everywhere!

A demonstration of Aboriginal dance

Uluru at sunset!

On our way to Sounds of Silence!

Sounds of Silence Dinner

Uluru at sunrise!

Sunrise at the outback!

A watering hole by the rock

Aboriginal paintings

This photo shows the chain that people use to climb Uluru. Climbing the rock is considered very disrespectful to the Aboriginal people and their culture. It is strongly discouraged. It is also very dangerous. 32 people have died in the attempt. The reason they keep the chain there is because they figure that people will climb the rock anyways so they leave the chain in hopes that fewer people are injured. At the cultural center you can sign a book that says "I did not climb Uluru!" to show your respect for the rock. 

Meeting a camel!

Riding camels!

Uluru in the background!

So much fun! 

Cooking dinner!

Quick Update!

Hey everyone-
Sorry I've been off the blog for a bit! I've been doing some traveling with Rudy and Kristina and didn't have access to a computer. I'm now back on campus but am extremely busy writing a paper that is due in just a few hours. I promise as soon as I finish it I will post a blog about my amazing weekend I had with them! I have some really cool things to share with you all so stay tuned!!
Until next time,
Kimmy