June 16

         Today we took a train to the town of Kuranda and their rainforest.  Both the rainforest and the city were beautiful.  We then took a gondola back down to Cairns where we went to an aboriginal place where they put on a show with digridoo's.  We also threw boomerangs and spears at this place.  After that we went back to the hotel and walked around the city and got dinner.  After this we went back to the hotel and all the teachers gave speeches about the trip in general. They asked us to create a top 10 for the trip so here mine is.  1-Rugby Match/Courthouse bar-I liked this alot because I appreciate sports and there is nothing like being right in the heart of it at a local bar. 2-Great Barrier Reef-I really enjoyed snorkling and seeing all the beautiful fish and coral.  It was surreal to see it in person. 3-Rangitoto College-It was fun learning the Haka from all those kids, and meeting students from New Zealand. 4-Whakarewarewa-seeing the Maori village and how they lived was awesome.  Also the heat and steam from the springs was really cool as well. 5-Sydney-Sydney was so sick, going to the Opera House and the tower.  Seeing such a magnificent city so close is truly astounding. 6-Pot Pies-I loved eating the different types of pot pies.  They were a nice break from cheeseburgers and hot dogs. 7-Blue Mountains-Even though it was foggy, the waterfalls were amazing and seeing a baby kangaroo in the wild. You cant beat that! 8-Alec (our tour guide)- he was so cool and easy to joke around with. He took us to a local place to watch a rugby match which was my number 1. No other tour guide would take us to a place where they were id-ing people to get in. 9-Roommates-I loved chillin with Zach and Jack they were so fun to just hang out with in the room. It was also fun to get to know Zach more and more as the trip went on. 10-Passport Jokes- I thought making jokes with Mrs. Titus about where my passport was was hilarious and always kept me on my toes.

June 15

          At the beginning of the day we took a coach to a wharf.  Then at the wharf we loaded on to our ship.  Then on the ship we took a hour tide to a island that we dropped some people off at.  After that I went out on the deck and looked at the scenery for another 40 minutes until we arrived at the reef.  After that we docked at the floating platform.  After 10 minutes of them cleaning up the platform we went on it.  Immediately after Jack and I threw on some snorkel equipment and jumped in.  Right away I was amazed by the fish and stunning colors of the reef.  I saw many types of bright colors of fish and many sizes of fish.  I did not only see just fish I saw many types of beautiful coral.  I snorkeled around for another 30-45 mins.  After the snorkel session of diving and observing coral we headed back on the boat, dried off and got some lunch. At lunch we looked at the the city of Cairns.  After eating lunch and sitting around for a little we decided to go back in the water and explored the beauty of the reef once more.  After more diving and etting up close and personal with the coral and fish for another 45 minutes we headed back to the platform for a rest and to warm up.  We then went on a boat tour with a glass bottom.  On that tour we saw a tortoise.  After the tour we learned that Schagrin lost his wedding ring so we went in and looked for it in the reef. We didnt find it but we did enjoy the reef. We then re-entered the boat and made our journey back to the city.  At the city our tour guide took us to an outdoor bar place called the Courthouse.  At the Courthouse we watched the State of Origin rugby match between Queensland and New South Wales.  He explained the rules to us while we cheered for New South Wales.  It was very fun and possibly my favorite part of Cairns.  After that we headed back to the hotel and watched the second half of the State of Origin and went to bed.

June 13

         Today we went to the Blue Mountains and saw beautiful waterfalls and mountains.  We went on long hikes through the rainforest while it was pouring rain.  Before we went to the mountains we stopped at the Sydney Olympic park, which was awesome.  After spending the whole day in the mountains we went to Sydney to see a light show on the Opera House.  I think I could travel on my own because I know how to get around.  Me and my sister have gone down to Chicago and Milwaukee many times just by ourselves without our parents.  When we go it is not that stressful either because we have a plan.  If you have a plan when you are traveling and you follow that plan everything will turn out alright.  Also you need to know the city.  If you don't know the city you will be walking around not knowing where to go or what to do.  If you do know the city you probably wont end up getting lost.  Also you need to know your limits. If you cant walk very far I wouldn't plan a hike or long walking tour.  I would strongly enjoy traveling by myself.  I plan one day to go backpacking to places I have never been.  I will probably come back to Australia/NZ one day.  I really want to go backpacking soon in a place like Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. Overall I think that traveling by myself is within my reach and that I could go on a trip and figure out good things to do while staying within my limits and having a good time.

June 12

         Today we went to various points of Sydney.  We went to a park that had a nice view of the Opera House.  Next we went to another park that had a bunch of bluffs.  After that we went to Bondi beach, which is the main surf beach of Sydney.  After that we went right up to the Opera House.  We then walked to a wharf and took a boat tour of the harbor that dropped us off at the Sydney wildlife center.  We then walked home after that.  The 1st reflection I have on my travels is how well I am dealing with the time change.  When i went to Europe I missed some of the first few days because I stayed up the whole plane ride to Ireland.  On this trip I planned when I should go to sleep so I could fully adapt to New Zealand time. My 2nd easiest thing that I have dealt with was adapting to hotel life and living out of a bag.  Ive traveled a lot so I am getting better a just using my bag.  Along with that I am not making much of a mess in the hotel room.  Before all my clothes were all over the place but now I am more compact and clean.  My 3rd easiest thing is dealing with the airport.  By airport I mean checking in, going through security, and going through customs.  Before this trip I never checked in and got my boarding pass by myself, my parents would always do it for me.  Security has never really been a problem for me but I am just polishing up my skills.  I also gained the skill of lying in customs, I told the man I didnt have food but I really did.  I would love to come back to Australia and New Zealand again and I would recommend this trip to anybody as long as they can take the plane ride here.

June 11

          Today in Sydney we tarted off by going to Hyde park and saw the large trees and a fountain.  The fountain had many sculptures in and on it.  After that we ate lunch at a large food court.  WE then crossed the street and went up the Sydney tower.  It was a large tower that looked very similar to the space needle in Seattle.  It had a very sweet 360 degree angle of Sydney.  It also had the highest working mailbox in the Southern Hemisphere.  After the tower we walked down the Rocks and had an amazing view of the bridge and the Opera house.  We then walked to a market that was only there on weekends and contained lots of stuff for girls like art and jewelery.  After that it started to rain and I walked back to the hotel.  We went to a place called Istanbul for dinner and it was pretty good.  Sydney is familiar to Chicago in that they both have large parks that people go to for recreation.  Both places have destinations that are for tourists and civilians.  Each city has places that hold different cultures.  Also each have a large park that holds various events.  Each city is big and awesome as well.

June 10

         Today started off a nice and early with our trip to the Redwood forest.  Right off the bat it started raining, and it didn't stop.  We took the bus to the forest then took a hike for about 45 minutes.  It was cool to see all the vegetation and silver ferns.  We got split up from the other group of students so we went to the parking lot and kicked around a soccer ball while we waited for the other group.  After about 30 minutes of waiting in the pouring rain the other group showed up and we took the bus back to the hotel.  We then cleaned up changed out of our wet clothes and got on the bus and headed for Rangitoto college.  After a 2.5 hour drive we arrived at the high school.  I was immediately amazed by all the sports fields they had, and the views from the college.  We walked into the meeting room and saw a bunch of kids to the Haka which is a Maori war dance.  It was really intense and cool. After that they let people out to start mingling.  We ate our food and stood around for a little thinking that this was going to be really awkward and not very fun.  But then we met some girls that were pretty cool.  We ended up hanging out with them and talking to them the whole night.  After talking for about 1.5 hours we walked around their campus.  They showed us all their sports fields and explained their school.  It was really cool to see a different type of school.  After the guys that did the Haka showed us how to do it and it was really fun.  I felt really bad ass when I was doing it.  This was probably my favorite part of New Zealand.  After saying goodbye to our new friends we went to our hotel in Auckland with a clear view of the harbor.  We then went to bed and prepared for our day of travel to Sydney.

June 9

          I woke up in the morning and headed outside to see on of the most majestic sunrises I have ever seen.  Directly after we took a tour of 3 different lakes in a WWII duck boat.  We couldnt go in the main lake because of a seaweed problem.  The duck tour provided a lot of info about the lakes.  After that the duck boat dropped us off at a current Maori village.  The name of the village was Whakarewarewa or Whaka for short.  The guide showed us the meeting room and explained in detail what the carvings meant what it is used for.  He then showed us the meeting room and explained in detail what the carvings meant and what the house is used for.  He then showed us the springs and mud pools.  He gave us a tour of the rest of the village, then I went and bought a pot pie made from the geothermal heat of the pools.  After that we headed over to the Agrodome where we pet sheep and watched on grody man shear sheep.  After the Agrodome we went outside and saw a border collie herd sheep.  After that we went ogoing, which is when you roll down a hill in a ball with a little water in it.  Most of my day had to do with Maori culture.  The village obviously was significant because the man showed us everything and explained it all in his village.  It was much more meaningful when we actually saw the Maori man and when he showed us his town because it was much more authentic compared to the duck boat.  The duck boat was cool but it wasnt as fun or cool as Whaka.  It was cool to finally see the culture of the Maori after studying it all winter.  The dinner with the Maori people at the hotel people wasn't that fun.  The food was god awful, and the guys probably werent Maori, just some dudes trying to make money.  It was even worse when they turned the lights off and the people were glowing in the dark.  Overall my day was awesome