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Sorry it's been so long since my last post, it's been a crazy few weeks. I'm back home in Davis now and it's good to be back. I missed my family and friends and it's excellent to be able to sleep in my own bed and cook in a kitchen that doesn't make me sign out dishes.

The last week or so in Australia was very mrmorable. As I said in my last blog entry, I was in Noosa for a 3 day, 2 night kayaking trip, which turned out much differently that I expected. I was picked up for the trip at a bus stop along with a couple of English guys and taken to the grocery store so we could buy our food for the trip. We got a clue of how the trip would turn out when the van driver stopped on the way to the camp so he could pick up his laundry.

The scene turned into the beginning of "Deliverance" as we drove off of the main road down a bumpy dirt road lined with thick trees. Our overnight camp was at the far end of a tent city, and we unpacked our things before cooking dinner. A Dutch girl going on our trip was already there and waiting for the information meeting that was happening in a half an hour. The other four members of our trip arrived a few minutes later and after eating, we had our meeting. One of the slightly tipsy staff members laid out a map and used his glass of Jack and Coke to weigh it down. He started off the meeting by explaining that we weren't going to be using kayaks but Canadian canoes. Then, he said, "On your self-guided canoe trip..." Which was interrupted by everyone else's "WHAT?!?" This was the first that anyone had heard that the trip would be self-guided. The staff man acted like this was no big deal and confirmed our shock before continuing on about the path that we would take, repeating everything at least five times, possibly because of his rapidly disappearing drink. After a while, we were done and it was time to get to bed before our early wake up the next morning.

After a quick breakfast, we piled into the van and rode to the lake. I got into a canoe with the two English guys and we headed out. In the two hours it took to get to our first stop, at the other end of the lake, we definitely took in a couple inches of water. It was a good time for a stop and a dumping of the water. Soon enough, we headed out again. The paddling was enjoyable enough and we were making good time up the river. Eventually, we made it to an area of reeds, which turned out to be a dead end and we had to turn around. By this time, the wind had picked up and was in our faces, making it pretty tough to paddle, especially considering that we had already been at it for about four hours. Another two or so hours later, we arrived at our camp, unpacked, put our boats up on the shore, and stopped paddling for the rest of the day. After dinner, we hit the sack at about 8 at night. Lucky for us, because at about 8:15, the rain started.

The next day, the rain had passed and we got back into our boats and paddled upriver. A few km later, we found our stop, which was a small dock that was also the trailhead for a path up to hilltop sanddunes. The trail was white sand and an enjoyable 7 km walk. About 45 minutes later, we made it to the top of the hill and it was an amazing sight. Soft yellow sand dunes all around, way above the sea. We ran around, jumped from the top of dunes, and buried one of the English guys with sand for the next few hours. Eventually, we headed back down to the canoes and leisurely paddled back to our camp for some dinner and hanging out around the table before turning in. Once again, the rain visited after we zipped up our tents.

4:45 am. Very early in the morning to hear my phone's alarm, but that's what we had to do because we had to be back to our initial drop-off point by 9 in the morning and our trip back would be around 4 hours long. Our early wakeup ended up being very worth it. The river was absolute glass, reflecting the trees that lined the bank. Keeping in with the theme of our trip, one of the English guys in my boat and I decided that we would paddle our canoe under the lowhanging branches on the edges of the river. I say one of the English guys because the other was definitely not interested in our daredevil ways. I'm not sure how he felt about our near constant singing, but who wouldn't enjoy hearing "Stand By Me" over and over before hearing just the chorus in repeat? We made it back to the mouth of the river without any problems, which was good because there was really only one way to go.

Out on the lake, the wind picked up a little bit and we had a few close calls with waves, but after a while, we made it to the drop-off point. All of us were exhausted and glad to make it back to the camp. The two English guys and I were stuck at the camp for about an hour until our van left for town. After checking into our hostel and taking quick showers, we headed out to lunch at Subway and enjoyed it immensely. To pass the time in a very energy-free way, a few of us went out to the movies before dinner. The hostel had a dinner deal and we played some pool before I headed to bed.

The next day, I had a few hours to kill before the bus showed up to take me to Byron Bay, so I bought a phone card and made a few calls home. When the bus finally did show up, the bus driver was Squirtal, the cool driver from the beginning of my trip up in Cairns! It was cool to see him again. Our first stop was about an hour away and I got another suprise, when Kaley, Jenny, and Clare got onto the bus. They were also from earlier on the trip and had a bunch of stories to tell. A few hours later, we stopped at a zorbing place. Now, zorbing is an activity where you get inside of a ball that is suspended inside of another ball and roll down a hill. Clare, Jenny, and I signed up for it and it was a blast. It was kind of like going down a hill on a huge slip and slide. I'll have to show you pictures to have it make more sense.

Whoops, I have to get to work so I'll finish this off later.