The End of my Study Abroad Adventure

The last week in Australia was a lot of fun. After our crazy adventure in the Great Barrier Reef we spent time in Cairns relaxing and enjoying the extremely hot, humid weather. On Monday our hostel provided a free trip to the Crystal Cascades waterfall and swimming hole, right in the middle of the tropical rainforest. We drove out west from Cairns to reach the waterfall. When we got there we first did a small hike through the rainforest to reach another waterfall. We had to watch out for the deadly stinging tree, whose leaves attack your nervous system. Seriously everything in Australia is dangerous. But we managed to escape the dangerous tree to reach the beautiful waterfall. It was exciting to finally arrive at the Crystal Cascades because it was such a refreshing swimming hole to escape the intense heat in northern Queensland. We swam for a while and even went down the natural waterslides that the rocks provided. It was such a fun day! On our last day in Cairns we just relaxed and swam in our hostel pool, enjoying our last few days of summer before heading home.


From Cairns we flew back to Sydney to visit a few of our favorite places before leaving Australia. We bought souvenirs at Paddy's Market, including a hand made boomerang! We also spent a day in Newtown, a very eclectic and ethnic neighborhood of Sydney near the university. It's well known for its many cheap Thai restaurants so I was very happy. I also visited the famous Sydney Fish Market, which was so cool! There were hundreds of different types of seafood like oysters, scallops, crabs, lobsters, and various fish. It all looked so good. On our last night in Australia we went to the night market at the Rocks to listen to live music, eat great food and admire the interesting art and souvenirs. Overall, we had such a wonderful time in Australia. I would have loved to stay longer, but it was such a perfect vacation.

Now, I am back in New Zealand ready to fly home. I've repacked all my suitcases, after having to donate a lot of clothes due to my unfair weight limits set by Thai Airways (how am I expected to only pack 20 kg of stuff after 5 months?!?!) Anyway, I leave New Zealand with more confidence, many wonderful memories and lots of new friends. Thanks to everyone who made my experience so amazing. My semester in New Zealand is something I will never forget.