Australian Journal Part 2

Monday Day 7 October 19th
Today we went to Currumbin Wildlife sanctuary. My sister and I got to feed the lorikeets. They are a type of bird. But we only fed one or two. After that we walked around a bit before we got to hold a baby saltwater crocodile. Then we caught the train to see the snakes and wildlife show. It was really cool because they showed us some pythons and we got to hold a python and pet a possum. Then we went around the sanctuary to see all the animals. My favourite was the wombat. We got to feed and pet the kangaroos. Two had a joey in their pouches. It was really cute. We saw some koalas and my sister got to hold one for a picture. I didn’t get to hold one because I didn’t want Katie to get mad when I complained. Then my parents thought it was a good idea to feed the lorikeets with our afternoon snack. They birds kept trying to eat my ice cream out of my hands. We had 20+ birds on our table trying to eat our food. I had cuts all over my hands after feeding the lorikeets their real food. But I had a lot of fun that day.

Tuesday Day 8 October 20th
Today my family and I woke up really early to go whale watching. It was hard to get out of bed but I did and we had a squished drive all the way there. When we got there a dolphin appeared before we had even set off. When we set off we had a very wavy ride out to sea. I didn’t mind. It was like going on a ride in a theme park. When we got there we saw some whales but they were far away and by the time I had my camera out all that you could see were their fins. One time every one was looking out to the right to see the whales and a whale jumped up right beside the boat on the left side. It was pretty much right beside me but unfortunately I was also looking to the right. We also saw flying fish. My dad saw a hammer head shark. After the whale watching we went to the beach. The waves here are huge! Katie and I stayed in the water for a long time. In fact I didn’t want to leave. Then we went back and relaxed at the time share.

Wednesday Day 9 October 21st
Today we went to Brisbane. It is a really popular city there. It was very beautiful. They had a beach in the middle of the street!! We went on this huge ferris wheel called the wheel of excellence. We had 360 degree views of Brisbane. After that we had a nice lunch of spaghetti and we walked around a little bit. I wanted to go to the building of dramatic arts but we didn’t know what was playing, so we couldn’t. Then we went back to the time share and Katie and I went swimming and we had the whole pool to ourselves so we played my ipod. Then we did some more homework and had a very laid back evening.

Thursday Day 10 October 22nd
Today was a fun day. We went to Warner Bros. Movie world. It was a theme park. Every one but my mom went on rides. They had a sitting in seats ride where the seats move. My dad and I went on a ride called the Bat Flyer. Its like drop zone except that it took off fast and fell down slow. It also had a street that looked like something in a Hollywood movie. It was really cool. Then we saw some shows and we went on a ride called superman. It starts off slow and then it goes really really fast. I rode it 3 times and we went on a flume ride. We rode that twice. After Movie World we had to pack up because we were leaving for Cairns the next day.

Friday Day 11 October 23rd
Today was another traveling day. We got on a plane that went for Sydney. The plane landed in Sydney and then we had to catch another plane to Cairns. Then we unpacked and looked around our room. It had 2 bedrooms and two bathrooms. It also has a full kitchen. It was very spacious. It also had a porch.

Saturday Day 12 October 24th
Today we went to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Centre. At first we heard someone play the didgeridoo and then we learned about the type of food they ate. Then the whole family tried to throw boomerangs. My dad did really well, I did alright and my mom and sis didn’t do the best. We also tried to throw a spear. It was the same results with the boomerangs. We saw some amazing shows and danced with the Tjapukai people. We also got ot paint our own boomerangs. Then we went shopping at Woolworths, which we call woolies. Then Katie and I went swimming at the beach pool. And then we did more homework.

Sunday Day 13 October 25th
Today was the day that my family and I went up to Kuranda mountain. We took a train up to the village on the top of the mountain. It took an hour and a half to get up there. When we got to the top we had a morning snack. Then we walked around the village and went shopping. We got souvenirs and rock candy and a lot of other things. Then my family and I decided that we would like to take a water tour around Kuranda. We caught a boat and the tour guide told us the history of Kuranda. We got to feed fish bread and we almost went all the way to the dam. The dam was there to only allow a certain amount of water down the Baren falls. After we were done all our touring, we had lunch that we brought from home. Then we took a sky rail back down the mountain. The view from in the cable car was breath taking. After that my family and I went down to the pier to see the boat we were going to take in the morning to take us to the Great barrier reef. After exploring the pier, we went back to the hotel and relaxed.

Monday Day 14 October 26th
Today we got up really early because we had to be at the pier by 7:45 am. We left at 8 o’clock for the Great barrier reef. The crew was really friendly and we were served tea, coffee, and muffins. The sail boat took 2 hours to get to our destination. We docked off Green isle where we snorkelled for a few hours. For the first hour one of the crew members talked about all the different fish and creatures that live on the reef. I got to hold a star fish, a sea slug, and a sea cucumber. After that they served us lunch and all but 8 people (including us) got of the ship to go to Green isle. We who stayed on the ship got to go snorkeling again for a few more hours. I only stayed out for about an hour and a half because these little animals called sea lice or sea mosquito’s kept annoying me until I had had enough. Then we made the long sail home and got dried. Katie and I had decided we still wanted to go swimming so we went swimming in the pool behind our building and than did some homework.

Tuesday Day 15 October 27th
We had a late morning and then we set off for Hartley’s Crocodile Farm. We saw many, many crocodiles. The biggest one was 4.6 metres and his name was Paul. There were also 3 koalas and 2 cassowaries. Cassowaries are big, big birds that are about 5 feet tall and are very vicious. We also saw the crocodile hatchery were all the young crocodiles are kept. Then we saw a snake show that wasn’t that great. A few minutes after the snake show had ended we saw a crocodile show that was great. The crocodile wasn’t tamed so it was up to him. The presenter had to run a few times because the crocodile kept trying to eat him!! Then we got to pet a koala. The koala was very confused because she was usually kept away from people in the back. We returned to the resort and we went swimming again.

Wednesday Day 16 October 28th
Today was very rainy. It was a down pour as we drove to Mossman Gorge. But it was a good thing that it was raining because Cairns had not had rain for a long time. When we arrived at Mossman Gorge, it had stopped raining. We walked around the gorge and today was a very calm day so people could go swimming in the gorge. My sister and I got to climb the huge boulders that were in the gorge. After that we drove to Port Douglas and had lunch in a café. Then we went shopping for a little while and then drove up to 4 mile beach. We only put our feet in for about 20 minutes. The water was about 28 degrees Celsius. Then we went back to the resort and went swimming for the last time in Cairns.