Hello mates! I created this blog in hopes of keeping the memories from my trip down under alive. As time passes, I don’t want to forget the best month of my life overseas. Here you can live vicariously through me day by day as I traveled through 11 different cities in two different countries. During my 26 day trip I traveled to Wellington, Picton, Nelson, Kaikoura, Abel Tasman, Mount Cook, Queenstown, South Curl Curl, Manly, Sydney, and Byron Bay!

Scroll down to the bottom to start from day 1 or just browse around at your own convenience!

Cheers!

-Hanna

AIR NZ SAFETY BRIEFING

Here is the youtube video of our safety briefing that we had to watch before every flight! In the states, we have your typical boring safety briefing but on Air New Zealand they involved the movie, The Hobbit, into this comedy-filled safety video!

The actors in this briefing are actual flight attendants for Air New Zealand! The guy with the long hair was a flight attendant on our last flight to LAX! I called him out for it while he was walking past me, but he smiled and tried to deny it saying, “No pictures please!”

WE ARE ALWAYS RUNNING FOR THE THRILL OF IT

Australia and New Zealand are two completely different cultures although some may think otherwise.

New Zealand has a small town friendly-feel to it. It resembles The Lord of the Rings to a “t” (for those of you who aren’t aware, Lord of the Rings was filmed in this beautiful country). Many citizens in New Zealand are concerned with sustainability. Sustainability is basically being eco-friendly to the environment. In New Zealand you have to ask for a napkin, paper, and a plastic bag when your grocery shopping. These things aren’t just handed to you like they are back in the states.

Australia has a busy feel to it in the city areas and a relaxing atmosphere in the towns. As a group we got to experience both. Sydney was chaotic; where as Byron Bay was relaxing. It was breathtaking to be able to experience both!

After two international flights, one domestic flight, and over 35 hours of pure traveling you could say I’m a bit jet lagged.

The last month of my life has felt like a dream. From waking up to the waves on the ocean, skydiving from 16,500 feet, bungy jumping off a bridge in New Zealand, and scuba diving at the Julian Rocks in Australia you could say I’m beyond blessed. On this trip I’ve learned things that I would have never been able to learn in a classroom at WSU, and for that I’m thankful beyond words.

Flying away from the daylight on my flight back to the states.

THE LINGO

THE LINGO DOWN UNDA’

MATE=FRIEND

SWEET AS = AWESOME, COOL, ETC

LAID OUT = DRUNK

CHEERS = THANK YOU

RUBBISH = GARBAGE

WICKED = AWESOME

TOILET = RESTROOM

JANDALS = SANDALS

TRAMPING = HIKING

NO WORRIES = YOURE WELCOME/THANK YOU

BREKKIE = BREAKFAST

DAY 24 — SURFING AND 21ST BIRTHDAYS!

I tried my first hand at surfing today. My instructor was a middle aged blonde mom named Colleen. She was the cutest!

I have to say surfing is pretty tough though. Due to a high crime rate at the beach, I was unable to bring my camera to take any pictures. Nonetheless it was still nice to just relax and have some fun in the sun without worrying about my camera gear.

I spent the rest of the day at the beach in Byron Bay since it was our last full day of the trip. It was an overcast day but I still managed to get burnt. The UV levels in Australia are extreme. Minnesota tends to be a UV level of three or four. Where we stayed it was an 11+ UV level, which is the highest.

We ended our last night at Hog’s restaurant in Byron Bay with all twenty of us. Dave drove to Byron Bay to have our last meal together. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my last day abroad any other way.

We love our wine!

BYRON BAY ROOMIES!

Mexican lunch in Byron Bay.

Hippies doing their hippie things.

Cocomangas!

Birthday girl!

Me and Steph!

The boys.

Me and Kimmie!

Obsessed with this baby.

The dude wiped out.

This dude was making a music video.

Crazy

Soaking up every ounce of the sun.

DAY 23 — SCUBA DIVING AT JULIAN ROCKS IN AUSTRALIA

One of the easiest activities of the trip seemed like the hardest today for me at first. We headed to a local shop in downtown Byron Bay as a group to prepare to scuba dive for class (yes, I’m getting academic credit for this, awesome right?)

We started off practicing in the pool with our two instructors. We practiced emergency moves such as clearing your mask if it fills with water and how to get emergency air if you’re tank runs out. Of course none of the following happens too frequently.

Next we headed to the ocean and hopped on an inflatable boat. We took off and arrived at Julians Rock in no time. Five out of the eight scuba divers weren’t able to equalize their ears under water so only Steph, Morgan and I headed down to the bottom of the ocean.

We saw a sand shark, stingray and various other aquatic life. Being able to do a task I was nervous for was exhilarating. Its weird how I can jump out of a plane without any nerves but I get uneasy while scuba diving. And oh yeah our instructors name was Scuba Pete.

Scuba Pete asking if we were alright.

Scuba Pete doing his thing.

First thing we saw was a shark — don’t panic.

Floating down to the bottom.

Sea turtle in the top left hand corner! Wicked awesome sweet as bro.

DAY 22 — ARRIVING TO BYRON BAY — OUR LAST STOP OF THE TRIP

Byron Bay would be seen as a textbook example in the dictionary of the word hippy. I’ve never seen so many vans with political cry outs, elders with dreads, or herbal and natural remedy stores.

The place is humbling and I can’t wait to try out surfing here! Today we got sushi (shocker) from a sushi train bar and it was awesome! After, we hit up the streets to check out the shops and eventually the beach.

Tomorrow consists of a day in the sun where we get to try our hand out in scuba diving and snorkeling. A full day at the beach sounds like my kind of day.

Our little four person cabins!

Hitler — yes we can? Wow. No words.

Mmmm gelato 🙂

Hipsters doing their hipster things

Showing off for the American girl with a camera. I stuck out like a sore thumb here.

Surfers.

Beach art — sweet as, bro.

DAY 21 – PIT STOP—CAMPING OVERNIGHT IN BONNY HILLS

I had to hit the beach early this morning for a swim before we left for Bonny Hills so I did just that. I’m going to miss Freshwater and the South Curl Curl Surf Club.

When I got back from my morning swim I found out Dave’s mom has passed. My heart ached even worse this time. Dave doesn’t have kids or a significant other so instead he traveled with us two hours out of South Curl Curl to meet up with the second group. I’ve never met someone so selfless and stubborn at the same time.

Instead of being on his own today, he decided to help guide us to Bonny Hills, which is our halfway point to Byron Bay.

In the wake of Dave’s absence, Beth from pacific challenge group 2 joined our team as a leader. She is great.

Later that night Beth, Amanda, Steph, Sara, Allison and I headed down to the beach from our campsite to check out the stars. The view was amazing because we weren’t surrounded by any city lights. We even saw a shooting star! Tomorrow we’re headed to our last stop, Byron Bay.

Luxury camping I’d say.

Playing cards in the van on the way to Byron Bay

DAY 20 – SYDNEY

Sydney was one of the most chaotic places I’ve ever been. Molly, Morgan, Allison and I headed to Manly Wharf to take the ferry over to Sydney. We thought we missed the bus, but we later found out we were suppose to flag down the bus driver instead of just sit at the bus stop. We took a taxi instead to Manly Wharf.

Once we arrived in Sydney we stopped for lunch at a Japanese sushi sit down. You literally sit down at the counter as a sushi train comes by and pick up any plate you want. The plate prices vary according to the color of the plate. It was unbelievable.

Next we hit the city for some shopping. It was a Sunday, so the place was packed with other tourists. I’ve never seen so many people in my life aimlessly taking pictures with their iPads.

We continued to wander around the city until we headed to the Sydney Opera House. Once we arrived we did our tourist thing and took pictures. Then we headed to the bar and ordered BBQ coolers. I think the drink consisted of mint, gin and a lemonade mix.

Later on Jordan, Taylor, Randi, Sara, Beth, Amanda, Steph, Dave and I headed to a fancy seafood restaurant called Whitewater back in Manly. I ordered my favorite dish, Barramundi, for my first classy seafood dinner. This place was not your typical fish and chips shack.

Waiters in New Zealand and Australia don’t work for tips. Being a waitress myself, I took this as a shock. Instead of getting paid minimum wage like I do in the states they make a rate ranging from $20-$50 an hour.

The service industry here is so different. Some of the girls from the group ordered wine, but instead the waiter brought out “mocktails” (fake cocktails—aka no alcohol). He thought they would like them more as he figured wine would be too expensive for them. Of course they didn’t know they were “mocktails” until we got the bill.

RANDI, MOLLY, ME, MORGAN, AND ALLISON

AWESOME SUSHI

Winterbourne

ICONIC –Sydney Opera House

DAY 19 – HARLEY RIDE IN AUSTRALIA

We started the morning out with a Harley ride throughout Freshwater, Curl Curl and Warrington. My driver was named Phil, and he was quite the character. He was probably one of the nicest guys in the biker gang that we had. He said he’s been to Las Vegas and Hawaii, but he still doesn’t consider that he’s been to America because he went to tourist locations.

He showed me all of the scenery throughout the towns. He even pointed out where Angelina Jolie stays when she comes to New South Wales. The ride ended too soon, as it only lasted an hour.