Camping, crocodiles, and cruising the beaches!

I've done so much in the past 5 or 6 weeks, so prepare yourself for a very long read!....And this is just the highlights really...

Broome
I flew from Sydney to Broome on the 21st of June. I was a little scattered in the days leading up to my trip, and I had forgotten to book a room at a hostel. I called right before my flight, but because it's a popular time to head north in Australia there were no beds available anywhere! I got on the flight a little worried, but I met a girl from Spain who also hadn't booked a room so we decided to stick together. :-) We met a man from Broome on the flight, and luckily he had some contacts and was able to get us in one of the hostels for the night. I spent a few days just laying on Cable Beach and relaxing. I went to Town Beach one night and watched the "Staircase to the Moon." It's a big thing in Broome...Every month when there's a full moon, right after the sunset the moon is on the horizon, and the reflection of the moon on the water looks like a staircase leading all the way to the beach. It looks awesome!

The Kimberley
I went on an 8 day trip from Broome to Darwin travelling through the Kimberely region. The people in my tour group were all young and heaps of fun...Mark and Jen from the UK, Ian from Scotland, Adele from Melbourne, Big and Tamaki from Japan, and our tour leaders Celia and Cass. We spent every night sleeping in a swag under the stars in the outback with no one else around. We only got one shower on the 4th day so we were all pretty dirty and gross....but I think this is something you just have to do in Australia!
We drove along the Gibb River Road for a few days which is a long dirt road that is only possible to drive on in the dry season (winter) because it's completely flooded in the wet season. Oh yeah, winter in northern Australia is like summer in Florida. It's hot and sunny every day...and it never rains!
We saw huge termite mounds that you just won't believe until you see photos...I've seen some 5 feet tall! There is also an abundance of these massive boab trees. One was even used to keep people in, like a jail. We went to Tunnel Creek and hiked through caves that had about ankle deep water. We hiked Windjanna Gorge, got within 1 meter of a freshie (freshwater crocodile), and used the mud from the river as a facial mask! (Btw, freshies are very small and not dangerous. It's the huge salties that will kill you!) We hiked Bells Gorge, went swimming in the waterhole there, and I licked a green ant's butt! I know that sounds strange, but everyone does it for some reason. It tastes really sour! We hiked Galvan's Gorge and Manning Gorge which has a beautiful waterhole at the end with a waterfall. We went swimming and just enjoyed the great scenery for a few hours. Went to Zebedee Springs which are these great hot springs with a tropical surrounding filled with palm trees. By this time, we were entering the East Kimberley which still has quite a bit of red to the landscape but is much greener and has heaps more trees than the West Kimberley. We went to Marlgu Billabong and spent a couple of hours watching the wildlife and birds. Saw some jabaroos, brolgas, egrets, and darters. Next stop was the Bungle Bungles! This is a huge rock formation that covers 3000 sq km. I rode in a helicopter ride over it, and it was just spectacular! I think this was my favourite part of outback Australia. We hiked the Mini Palms, Echidna Chasm, and Cathedral Gorge tracks in the Bungle Bungles National Park. This place is so beautiful...green palm trees, bright blue skies. The sunsets and sunrises were amazing as well! Wildlife I saw in the Bungle Bungles: dingoes, kangaroos, and exotic-looking birds. Then we were off to Kununurra, Lake Argyle, and Katherine Hot Springs before getting into Darwin.

Darwin
A small town but very nice. I spent most of the time laying out and drinking by the pool at the hostel. Went to the Mindel Beach night markets where they had some cool crafts and food for sale as well as some street preformers. Spent most of the time with Ian and Adele from the Kimberley trip...very laid-back atmosphere.

Kakadu
Took a 3 day trip from Darwin to Kakadu National Park. Again, loads of hiking and sleeping in a swag...although we did have showers this time! :-) Went on the Mary River and saw huge salties! He drove the boat to within a couple of meters of some of them. They are amazing creatures....a little scary though! Saw some aboriginal paintings at Ubirr, saw the beautiful and enormous Twin Falls, and hiked Barramundi Gorge to a cool waterhole. Took a day to hike Jim Jim Falls where we spent a couple of hours swimming in the waterhole at the very top.

Cairns
Flew from Darwin to Cairns and got an amazing view of the Great Barrier Reef from the plane. Spent a couple of days at the huge pool by the beach. Went to Fitzroy Island for a day where I did some hiking and laid out on a nude beach. Went to Cape Tribulation one day and saw the rainforests, Mossman Gorge, and the Daintree River.

Magnetic Island
Magnetic Island is a short ferry ride from Townsville and is gorgeous! I spent a couple of days there laying on the beach and hiking some of the trails on the island. I ran into a couple of friends from Sydney while I was there...very random!

Airlie Beach
Spent a couple of days laying out at the Airlie Beach lagoon...getting very tan now!! Airlie's not that big, but it's a great little beach town. Spent the days in the sun and the nights at the bar. I love it!

The Whitsundays
Took off for 3 days from Airlie to sail around the Whitsundays. This is probably my favourite part of the east coast. It is so beautiful....I think I could've lived on that boat forever! There are two major islands on the Whitsundays - the Whitsunday Island and Hook Island. We went to Whitehaven Beach on the Whitsunday Island first. It has beautiful, pure white sand, and when the tide goes out you can see heaps of "disappearing islands". Looks amazing! On Hook Island, we spent some time on another beach and went snorkelling and diving. They do a 30 minute introductory dive for beginners. We only went down about 10 meters, but it was really cool! Got to see the reef and bright, colourful fish. Saw some dolphins swimming next to the boat and a beautiful sunset....a perfect day!

Fraser Island
Went to Fraser Island for a couple of days from Hervey Bay. Saw dingoes and goannas (huge-ass lizards)! The dingoes are so cute...I want one as a pet! It's hard to remember that they are actually wild animals. Went to Lake McKenzie, the rainforests, Pile Valley, and Eli Creek. We saw Rainbow Gorge and The Pinnacles which has cool coloured sand dunes. Went to Indian Head and saw whales in the ocean! (It's the season for them to migrate north now.) Saw the Maheno shipwreck. It was stranded on the beach in 1935 and has been there ever since. I was really facinated by it. It's all rusted and falling apart now, but it was really cool to look inside.

Brisbane
Took the bus to Brisbane where I met up with Danny!! He flew there from Sydney, and we rented a car to drive the rest of the way down the coast. Spent a few days in Brisbane just looking around. Went to the casino there, but it wasn't as good as the one in Melbourne. There's heaps of cools stores in Brisbane though. I was just excited because it's the first major city I've been to in a month. (Broome, Darwin, and Cairns just don't count as major cities.)

East Coast Driving Trip With Danny
We spent a week just cruising down the coast, stopping at cool little beach cities along the way. We went to Surfer's Paradise, Byron Bay, Nimbin, Coffs Harbour, Seal Rocks, Treachery Cove, Cresent Head, Mungo Brush in Myall Lakes National Park, and The Entrance. We had a good time just exploring the little cities. We camped in some places like Cresent Head and Mungo Brush (which is the same place we went to for Anzac weekend; I loved it so much I had to go back!) and stayed in hotels in the other places. I taught Danny how to make S'mores...this is apparently something Aussies don't know about yet. He really liked them though so maybe the word will spread. I tried to explain that it's just not a complete camping trip without S'mores. :-) Everywhere along the coast here is beautiful! Still can't believe it is supposed to be winter!

Sydney!
Arrived back in Sydney yesterday exhausted but extremely happy with my travels.

As you can tell, I had an amazing and unforgettable time! Saw some beautiful places, met some great people. I was lucky to have great weather for the entire trip. It only rained for a day in Hervey Bay and a day in Brisbane. I'm staying with Danny until I leave for New Zealand on the 18th of August. We're going to lunch with his parents, sister, and her fiance tomorrow. Then we're going to a party with everyone from work on Tuesday. It'll be really great to see everyone again! I'll be returning to the States on the 2nd of September, but hopefully not for long if my visa application goes well. (Sorry to family and friends who aren't as excited about the idea as I am.) I'll give another update from New Zealand. See you all soon!