Returning to the States

Saying goodbyes was not bad as I thought because I know I will see some of my closed friends again. 

New Zealand and Australia its been fun and its been real but its time for me to jet set back to where I belong. You taught me alot. Be Strong Live Life and No Stress Ki Ora. Back to the States as a novelty love ya Never Forgotten ... Aye No worries Mate.  

After a 3 hour flight to Sydney Australia, 13 hour flight to USA, 3.5 hr flight to Chicago, a 2 hr flight to Baltimore Happy 4th of July, American Independence. 


Welcome Back :)

On the Move: No Stress Just Live Life

Over the past 5 weeks, I have been to over 20 accomodations. I have become pro at packing up and unpacking moving and settling in; its been crazy. We have been up non-stop from sun up to sun down for the last 35 days. I have learned so much from this experience. I have learned about myself and I cant wait to apply everything to my life back at home when reality hits again. All the places we have been are listed below. They were all so unique and amazing and I would love to come back on any given day.

New Zealand: North & South Island, Auckland, Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown

Australia: Sydney, Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Chillagoe the Outback, Cookstown, Mareeba, Daintree & Port Douglas Rainforest, Hellenvale Tropics

Cuddling with Australia's Most Popular Wildlife

  Quigley the Kaola

Birdlife

My Girls @ the City Dome Zoo

Croc

Wallabies and Kangaroos

The Challenging Walks of New Zealand & Australia

We call it hiking, New Zealand calls it tramping, and Australia refers to it as bushwalking, you say potato I say potato, same thing to me, ONE BIG CHALLENGE. Some of the big walks we did are listed below, please feel to look them up and see some of the beautiful landscapes that we walked through around above and across. They were hard but oh so worth it. Absolutely breath-taking.

New Zealand:
    The Abel Tasman Route to Bark Bay
    Mt. Cook(glaciers)
    Mt. Aspiring National Park

    Routeburn Track

Australia:
   Port Douglas Rainforest
   Mossman National Park
   Outback in Chillagoe
   Cedar Bay/Waterfall

Evidence of Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef

I felt exhilarated when I was Masa offered me  a second chance to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. I freaked out the first time and got all the way in the water to and simply turned back I could not get my breathing patterns together neither could I convince myself that I could breathe underwater. I couldn't sleep good that night in knowing that I was giving up such a wonderful opportunity so I practiced my breathing all night and I went out for a morning dive and it was certainly a transformational moment for me. I loved every moment of it, seeing all the sea life, swimming through schools of fish, finding Nemo, and most of all paddling around the seas where reef sharks dwell so comfortably. It was awesome.

The Cultural Aspect of New Zealand & Australia

 We learned so much about the natives of New Zealand who are referred to as "Kiwis" or the Mauri people and the Aboriginal people from Australia. it was interesting hearing about the comparisons and contrasts between both cultural groups. We actually went to museums, different landscapes where they use to live, and an Aboriginal guy's house out in the tropics named Harold. He took us to his sacred healing place and taught us the Aboriginal way of hunting, cooking meat underground, plant resources and medication, and

We also saw the movie entitled "The Apology to the Aboriginal People," which was the prime mister saying sorry for abandoning the culture of the natives of Australia and that the country will begin to embrace it again no matter how long it takes. It was very emotional to watch, I could not imagine how the people felt who actually attended the Apology. I'm glad this took place however, because culture is so important and significant in one's well-being and maintaining it is another.

Cairns, Australia Absolutely Magnificent

What can I say more than Thank you. After coming from a few rainy days in Sydney, Australia; walking around the beautful harbor at night; learning about the Aboriginal people, and of course taking pictures in front of the Opera house; it was about that time for some sunny hot weather.

We arrived in Cairns and all I could say was Wow. Our hostel was across from the "mud beach," the Lagoon, the volleyball courts, and several other recreational fields and the weather was gorgeous. We had a free day so we went downtown and ate, socialized, and experienced how big locals are about watching a rugby game on a big screen as we are about the NFL. 

Our plans for the next few days are to swim, tan, chill, and relax until we are ready to board the Great Barrier Reef 2-Day Cruise Ship "Rum Runner" on Saturday where we will be snorkeling and scuba diving, seeing so much wildlife including various species of sharks, fish, corals, and reefs. I cant wait.

Hopefully I can FIND NEMO.