So I have been gone from Sydney for the last week but before I began traveling, I had a few things going on. I was able to use a sweet coupon from this company called Jump On It which is the same as GroupOn back in Virginia at least. My dear friend who I am actually going with to Ayers Rock and Darwin with, Katie, and I were able to get a coupon for $29 for an hour scenic horseback ride along the beaches surrounding Sydney. It was really awesome and I was able to go somewhat fast at least for me.. It was so much fun and I absolutely loved it!!! This past week I was also able to rally up eight of my housemates to head out to downtown Sydney to do some of the things we have yet to do. We headed through Chinatown and got 4 fresh-out-of-the-oven-and-into-your-hands-in-three-seconds cream puffs for $1 and I was able to try dumplings for the first time. Charlottesville has a great dumpling place but no vegetarian dumplings so this was my opportunity and I "capitalized" (as Sally likes to say during sports games). I must say that they weren't bad but I probably wouldn't go back for seconds. We also went to the Powerhouse Museum which had a "Back to the 80s" section, a "Tribute to ACDC" section, a chemistry section in which experiments were performed with liquid nitrogen- very exciting for me because I love that stuff; it is sad to say but I honestly miss chemistry. Basically the place was amazing. In the 80s section, they had the real glove and jacket that Michael Jackson (rest in peace) wore to the Grammys when he won one one year. They also had a party box which played music and flashed movies and beams of light onto the wall making it an awesome dance party. We were planning on going to Luna Park but it was raining so we had to postpone (if you have seen Our Lips Are Sealed you will know what park I am talking about). That week I was finishing up some school work and prepared for my journey to Tasmania.
I flew into Tasmania to meet up with two girls from my house, Anat and Karen. We picked up our campervan and proceeded to drive all throughout Tasmania, eventually driving 1315 km. I had to drive the whole time since I was the only one over 21 with a license. We named the campervan Star and she really did become a guiding, shining light during our trip. Basically Tasmania is a land of rolling green hills. We got cell phone service about three times throughout the whole country and we passed through probably six or so cities which shows you just how small of a place this is. All the roads were surrounded by sheep and cows and we drove up and over mountains, curving in and out as we made our way up to the east coast and then inward. We went to Wineglass Bay which can only be accessed by a 6 km hike up a very very very steep mountain. Of course I still have the whooping cough which made hiking a bit more difficult than it would have been and Karen had just gotten strep throat two days before and was taking antibiotics making it challenging as well. But the beach was worth it. The sand was a perfect white and very fine and the beach was a clear turquoise. But that is not enough to say it was one of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen. In the background there are huge mountains that cover the landscape giving such a variety of scenery for one look. We were also the only ones on the beach and I was able to pet a wild wallaby (which is similar to a kangaroo kind of). Since there is not much light after the sun goes down, we would head to bed around 10:30 each night and the first night we camped near the beach and woke up to the sunrise over the ocean and the sand. It was spectacular!
We then proceeded to head up to what is called Bay of Fires. It has be given this name because there is some chemical mixture either from the ocean water or from the air that causes the rocks to be speckled in redish orangish dots. It is considered the number one prettiest beach in Australia and I think it deserves the title but decide for yourself. This night we were able to camp literally on the beach pretty much. We were about 20 feet from the ocean water. It was incredible to be so close and fall asleep to the sound of the ocean and we could see Bay of Fires from our campervan.
Our next destination was Cradle Mountain which is labeled as a World Heritage site which from what I hear is very prestigious. We did a 6 km hike around the main lake which is next to the Cradle Mountain. It was quite stunning because the mountains had snow on the tops and the clouds and mountain reflected so beautifully off the water. After the hike we headed back toward Hobart where the airport is and where we would spend our last and very uneventful day in Tasmania. We arrived back in Sydney and back at the house around 10:30 and I had to plan for Ayers Rock and Darwin with Katie before completely beginning my paper that I had due the next day at 5 pm. I had to write 8 pages but conquered knowing that it was my final assignment of the semester. I am officially done and only have one more semester of my career as a student. Crazy stuff, huh?
You will not be hearing from me for two weeks because in about 5 hours I leave to go to Ayers Rock (Uluru) which is the dead center of the Outback and very very famous and most iconic part of Australia. I will also be traveling to Darwin which is top north of Australia but dead center between east and west. Katie and I will be camping it "Into the Wild" style with a tent, sleeping bags, fires, lakes for showers, etc. It will be life at it simplest just as Thoreau encourages people to do in Walden. I began reading Walden a few months ago but forgot about it when school work began picking up but recently started it again and recommended it to Katie who also began reading it. We basically want to live like Christoper McCandless by experiencing nature fully. Pray for safety as we are two girls traveling through national parks on our own. There is a lot of documentation that the park requires in order to keep safe but you can never be too careful. Also pray that my cough subsides once and for all as I stayed up for an hour coughing so hard that I threw up about fifteen times. So it seems that the cough will never be gone. But I will tell of my adventures in the Outback and in Darwin when I return. That's all folks!!
We then proceeded to head up to what is called Bay of Fires. It has be given this name because there is some chemical mixture either from the ocean water or from the air that causes the rocks to be speckled in redish orangish dots. It is considered the number one prettiest beach in Australia and I think it deserves the title but decide for yourself. This night we were able to camp literally on the beach pretty much. We were about 20 feet from the ocean water. It was incredible to be so close and fall asleep to the sound of the ocean and we could see Bay of Fires from our campervan. 
Our next destination was Cradle Mountain which is labeled as a World Heritage site which from what I hear is very prestigious. We did a 6 km hike around the main lake which is next to the Cradle Mountain. It was quite stunning because the mountains had snow on the tops and the clouds and mountain reflected so beautifully off the water. After the hike we headed back toward Hobart where the airport is and where we would spend our last and very uneventful day in Tasmania. We arrived back in Sydney and back at the house around 10:30 and I had to plan for Ayers Rock and Darwin with Katie before completely beginning my paper that I had due the next day at 5 pm. I had to write 8 pages but conquered knowing that it was my final assignment of the semester. I am officially done and only have one more semester of my career as a student. Crazy stuff, huh? 
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