Cairns

First, I would like to apologize for taking so long to post these pictures! Second, I just got back from the most incredible weekend in Cairns! If you aren't familiar with Cairns it is located in the north of Australia in Queensland. It is around a 3 hour flight north of Sydney and it is home to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest! We stayed in a lovely (note the sarcasm) hostel called Gilligan's that was near to the center of the city and other hostels and clubs.

The first day of our trip was snorkeling and scuba diving on the reef. They wouldn't let me scuba because I have such terrible sinuses, but I was able to snorkel! Unfortunately, the day we went it was very rough and all the sediment was swirling around so it was difficult to see but it was still pretty cool just to see the massive size of the reef.

The Reef! 

Cairns

A rainbow from the stern of the boat on our way back from snorkeling 

The second day of the trip was a tour through the Daintree Rainforest. We went on a few walks through the rainforest and we went on a crocodile spotting cruise down the Daintree River. We also went for a picnic lunch at the beach where we saw beautiful mangroves and hermit crabs. Here is the scariest thing about crocodiles in Australia: THEY LIVE IN SALTWATER AND FRESHWATER! This means that not only can you not swim in the rivers but you also can't swim at many of the beaches in the area!

The rainforest! 

This is what happens when a climbing fig completely cuts off the oxygen supply of the tree it is climbing up. 

A portion of exposed reef in the Daintree forest. 

Me in the mangroves at the beach in the Daintree forest

(Don't worry, there weren't any crocs here!)

A giant crocodile on the Daintree River! 

The last day of the trip was completely adrenaline filled consisting of skydiving and bungy jumping. I just have to get it out of the way and say that I HATED bungy jumping and would never ever recommend it to anyone. BUT, because I know you all want to see it, here is a video:

I did a tandem jump because I knew I would be too scared to go alone. My friend Caitlin is the other person in the video and she is visibly way more into the jump than I am.... big shock there! 

Here is an actual bungy cord used at the site in Cairns where I jumped! 

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about skydiving! AMAZING! Definitely the coolest thing I have ever done! This will sound crazy but it isn't scary at all and it actually seems very natural and more like floating than falling.

The first shot out of the airplane!

My instructor Rob

I am headed back to the states soon but I will try to do one final post before I leave!