Entry 17

Tomorrow is my last day in Sydney. There aren’t enough words to describe the experiences I’ve had over the past five months. This last week in Cairns has been as good as any vacation I’ve had. After four exams I was ready to relax. Cairns (pronounced like cans), is one of the largest cities in Queensland (the most north-eastern state in Australia), and primarily revolves around tourism and the environmental attractions in the area. I booked a scuba dive with Passions of Paradise on the recommendation of a friend and could not have had a better experience. We shipped off at 7am and visited two locations on the Great Barrier Reef for about an hour each. I could have spent days underwater looking at the chromatic corals and kaleidoscopic fish and still be impressed by the natural beauty living under the ocean surface. I saw three clown fish, two angelfish, parrotfish, and massive Maoris all around me. The crew made us an amazing lunch, while my fellow divers and I suntanned on the deck. The entire week I was in Cairns it was sunny and warm. On my last day in town I went to the Dome Zoo, which is built on the roof of a twenty-story casino/hotel. The zoo functions as an open aviary, where talking parrots, cockatoos, starlings, pigeons, owls and other birds fly around you as you walk between exhibits. The coolest part of the zoo in my opinion wasn’t what animals I saw, but how I saw them. Inside the dome there were two ropes courses to climb and zip line up and down from one side of the zoo to the other. The final zip of the high-ropes course took me right over a crocodile pit! After the climb I got to cuddle with a koala and have our picture taken. The koala was soft and calm. I think one would make an excellent pet, but I’m not sure we would clear customs. Now back in Sydney its been sad saying goodbye to the amazing international and local friends I’ve made, but I know I will keep in touch, and have great people to visit all over the world. Wednesday morning is my flight back to the states. I can’t wait to see my family, my home, all of my friends in Wilmington, and a big bowl of Shrimp and Grits.