Currently Listening to: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys
Hello from Sydney International Airport! Apologies for not posting much this week. I arrived in Port Douglas and truly embraced the slow pace of life and upon arriving back in Sydney took off to go camping on the beach. So here’s some more on what I’ve been up to:
Fish swimming along the Great Barrier Reef
Saturday night’s sunset at Putty Beach
Port Douglas was a great town to relax in for a few days. It seems as though even the locals are on holiday. I also noticed that it is so relaxed in that town that men can grocery shop with no shoes and no shirt on. My first full day there was spent lounging by the beach, strolling through town and then lounging by the pool at my hostel. The next morning I was up early and headed straight to the marina. I boarded a boat and spent about 8 hours on the water. I was able to snorkel three different areas of the reef and soak up the warm sun in between each hour of snorkeling.
I also had the most adventurous experience as I was the only person on my tour to see a grey reef shark. I was among the first people out in the water at our first reef stop and out not too far from the boat, when all of a sudden out of the corner of my left eye I saw something moving. It was a shark. It swam in front of my came back past me and circled around again off on my right side. I froze and just watched it not sure what to do. Just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. I was later told by the crew that I was very lucky to have seen the shark, as it is rare to see them in snorkeling groups. I don’t really consider lucky, as I think it was quite possibly the scariest thing I have ever witnessed. After that moment of panic the rest of the day was far more relaxed.
My quick stay in Port Douglas ended Thursday and I was back on the road to Sydney. Friday after we rented a car and I drove on the other side of the road to Bouddi National Park to camp at Putty Beach. A group of about 12 of us were there to celebrate Rachel’s birthday. We camped steps away from the beach and it was beyond beautiful. The weather was also exceptionally warm for this time of year and we took advantage of it by spending all day and all night on the beach. It was a perfect ending to my two week stay in Australia. I see why Rachel is so happy here and I guess this means I have to come back and explore the country some more.
Now I am boarding a flight to Vietnam. In just about 9 hours I’ll be landing in Saigon and a new adventure begins.
Strange Trails 