HELLOOOOO ALLLLL! I sincerely apologize for the month and a half drought… to say the least, things have been a little crazy – Birthday parties, Mom Dad and Jessi visiting, exams, Thanksgiving, moving, summer classes, and planning Christmas and New Years. Phew!
Starting wayyyyyy back to October 21st – Maggie’s 21st birthday! Went to a Moroccan restaurant, had some delicious half-baked bday cake and watched a movie :) Then the rents came shortly thereafter. Mom, dad, and Jessica (Winthrop roomie and most incredible girl on the planet) were here for two weeks and we packed it in!
Happy 21st Maggie!!!
Mom and dad arrived in Sydney first and spent a few days touring the Opera House, Darling Harbour, and the vineyards. Meanwhile, Jessi got to recover from jetlag in Mooloolaba and we got some one-on-one time. M&D picked us up and the four of us headed North to a beautiful beach called Noosa. They rented a beach house where we grilled out, had friends come up and stay, dad got his biking in, mom did souvenir shopping, and Jessi and I got a tan! Perfect first few days.
Our gorgeous house in Noosa!
The family :)
Charleston will never look the same again...
The "kids" out on Friday night
Dad's bike paths in Noosa
Next stop, Mooloolaba. I was so excited to show them my side of Australia and everything they've heard me talking about for the last four months in person. I got some really good one-on-one time with both of them - dad in the ocean and mom and I went apartment shopping. I was living in the campus apartments but it's slightly isolated so I recently moved to the beach! Perfect for summer - and a job...
At the wharf in Mooloolaba
Moonlit Dinner
While in Mooloolaba we took a day trip to another beach called Rainbow beach - it's known for its 72 colors of sand, amazing! We went on a kayaking, dolphin watching tour. It was a small group which made it much more interesting - the (attractive) tour guide was able to take us up and down the coast, even though it wasn't on the agenda. There were massive sand cliffs that had layers of pink, yellow, while, orange, and green sand. When we pulled over to put the boats in I was so nervous about paddling through the waves but as soon as we got out there was a pod of four dolphins feeding just a paddle-length away! So worth it!! And mom and I didn't even flip surfing back in :)
Amazing colored cliffs (taken with the water-proof camera)
Uh oh! Someone waited until the
tide was a little too high...
Mom and me conquering the ocean 
They then got to experience there first official bush walk with me to the top of the cliffs. The scene is called Carlo Sandblow and it truly blew us away!
On TOP of the sand cliffsCalled Carlo Sandblow
Good thing Jessi was there ;)
He's still got it ;)
Once back in Mooloolaba, we went to Brisbane where we planned how we were going to make our last few days together as meaningful as possible. We decided to go on a day trip in the morning and headed two hours south to Byron Bay. Mom and I planned a surprise and we off-roaded it to a little village called Nimbin on the way down - hippie town of Australia! It was wild! Everything was brightly colored with rainbows and mushrooms – the rents felt like they'd time warped to the 60's and they loved it! All in good fun - it was definitely memorable!!!
Road trip: which way to go?!
This epitomises Nimbin quite well!Took dad right back to college ;)
Back on the road we finally made it to Byron Bay, the most Easternly point in all of Australia. Byron Bay is one of my favorite places I traveled to on my Semester break road trip. When the weather is nice, it is simply gorgeous - filled with tourists and locals, you are bound to meet someone interesting. We took the Pacific Coast Hwy through the Gold Coast back to Brisbane. Everywhere we went we wished we could stay longer - there is just so much to see!
Byron Bay
Lighthouse in Byron Bay
Back in Brissy
I somehow got conned into participatingin a street performance. Hmm....
After spending the next day in the CBD of Brisbane, I said bye to the rents for the next eight months and Jessi and I headed off to Sydney. I love Sydney! I haven't been in a big city in so long - it was so nice to see the bustling people, lights, street music, sky scrapers and here in Syd, the harbor! We experienced some nightlife, went to Hillsong United Church, did a seafood-buffet harbor lunch tour, botanical gardens, walked the Sydney Harbor Bridge, largest Imax in the world, Aquarium, Darling Harbour, show in the Opera House, Fish Markets and lastly the Sydney Skytower - phew!! Amazingly enough, it was incredibly stress-free. The way it should be when you're with the ones you love. I'm so thankful that I got to spend a few weeks with my parents and with Jessi - I couldn't have asked for anything more.Saying bye to the rents
for a long looong time
Our first sight in SydneyThey always say to start with a bang!
Darling Harbour Bridge...
Holding up the Opera House!
Our lovely bed and breakfast
Hillsong United Church!
Aquarium tunnel - so cool
Jessi, if your scared of crocs, snakes, and spiders...why did you come to Australia?!?! ;)
Gorgeous Darling Harbour at night
after seeing "A Christmas Carol" in IMAX
The next morning, we started with a bridge walk - it's so nice to get a feel for the city on foot instead of in a taxi.
Bridge Walk!
The Rocks is the area of Sydney that we
stayed - location, location, location!
This is why they call it the rocks!
Sydney Opera House from the Darling Habour Bridge
We made it back to the hotel in just enough time to shower and jump on our harbour tour. We had an AMAZING seafood buffet and learned so much about Sydney and it's past.
Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, me
On the harbour lunch tour
Love her
While waiting for the play at the Opera House, we toured the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful - so many paths, flowers, and mini castles! How cool!
Flowers of the botanical gardens-Taken for you mama!
Monkeying around :P
Jessi getting cheeky withthe statues!!!
Sneak Peak (illegal) photo of inside
Hillsong United Church!
Jessi, if your scared of crocs, snakes, and spiders...
Gorgeous Darling Harbour at nightafter seeing "A Christmas Carol" in IMAX
The next morning, we started with a bridge walk - it's so nice to get a feel for the city on foot instead of in a taxi.
The Rocks is the area of Sydney that westayed - location, location, location!
This is why they call it the rocks!
Sydney Opera House from the Darling Habour Bridge
We made it back to the hotel in just enough time to shower and jump on our harbour tour. We had an AMAZING seafood buffet and learned so much about Sydney and it's past.
On the harbour lunch tourLove her
While waiting for the play at the Opera House, we toured the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful - so many paths, flowers, and mini castles! How cool!
Monkeying around :P
Jessi getting cheeky with
Sneak Peak (illegal) photo of inside the Sydney Opera House!
'God of Carnage'
Our last morning we started at the Sydney Fish Market and had some lovely fresh sushi. We were in an area called Pyrmont... I could definitely see myself living there ;) We then wandered over to the Sydney Skytower where you view the city from above. It was simply amazing...
Shadow of the Sydney Skytower
Overlooking the city
Beautiful Darling Harbour
Morning Sydney Markets
Immediately returning to Sunny Coast, I had exams to complete, apartments to find, Thanksgiving to plan, and plane tickets to book! I always say that a busy life is an interesting life!
Oh, in case I forgot to mention - I have decided to stay in Australia another semester!!! It was an even harder decision than coming at all. No holidays, birthdays, graduations, or family time for 12 whole months - scary! The idea was born when I realized there was no way I would be able to see and do the things I was hoping to in just six months. Some things are once-in-a-lifetime... if you don't grab them now the opportunity will be passed forever. I knew it was highly unlikely that I'd ever be able to live in Australia for another year of my life. So if anyone wants to do some traveling between now and July - come on over! I would LOVE to have you :)
