UMW Abroad

This weekend, I went on a two day field trip with my Conserving Tropical Rainforests class to Mossman Gorge, the Cow Bay Region, and Marrdja Boardwalk.  Each of the three places was absolutely stunning in its own way, and I was constantly writing down notes and taking pictures!  I took over 350 photos!  Here’s just a few.

Mossman Gorge

The backpackers' lodge in the middle of the rainforest!

Crocodylus.

Crocodylus.

Crocodylus.

Mangrove forest in the Cow Bay Region.

Some coral I found at Cow Bay.

An adorable conch shell I found on the beach in Cow Bay! I want to make a necklace with it.

Delicious ice cream from the Daintree Ice Cream Company. Flavours: banana, wattleseed, mamey sapote, and black sapote. Too good!

From the gardens near the Daintree Ice Cream Company.

From the gardens near the Daintree Ice Cream Company.

Marrdja Boardwalk.

The coolest tree trunk I have ever seen, at Marrdja Boardwalk.

A beautiful creek by the Jindbala Boardwalk.

Alexandra Lookout. A beautiful view from the side of a mountain!!!

Alexandra Lookout with the girls.

I only wish that it hadn’t been POURING rain the whole time.  I will just have to go back on some sunny days.   Then again, it is the rainforest.

What an adventure today!  Even though I reapplied my sunscreen three times, I still got a really awkward burn all over my body. XD  It’s so splotchy and yucky.  Anyway… today was awesome.  The weather was GORGEOUS and I went to some truly amazing places.

A beautiful creek running through the rainforest on the way to Josephine Falls.

Josephine Falls! Gorgeous waterfalls at the bottom of Queensland's tallest mountain, Mount Bartle Frere!

This looks like it was straight out of The Lord of the Rings.

A natural waterslide! We weren't allowed to go down it though because the current was too strong. Maybe next time!

We swam in the calmer parts of the pools.

Bramston Beach! The sand felt like silk, it was so soft.

I had to show some love for good old UMW.

These guys were seriously EVERYWHERE; ranging in size from the size of a quater, to bigger than my entire hand.

The Devil's Pool at Babinda Boulders. The aboriginals believe that evil spirits inhabit the pool and are the cause behind the numerous deaths.

Babinda Boulders!

Babinda Boulders, such a beautiful place.

Somehow, two baby geckos have found their way into my room.

Please note how I said “first,” because I plan on going a billion times.

Today, I did two SCUBA dives on the Great Barrier Reef.  The first was at Norman reef and the second was at Saxon Reef.  I want to have visited all of the reefs before I leave.

I can honestly say that it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  There was so much diversity.  I got to hold some sea slugs, touch some anemones, and play with some fish.  I saw a sea turtle, a white-tip reef shark, a cuttlefish the size of two footballs, and more fish than I can even begin to list.

My parents are probably seething with jealousy.

This morning/afternoon, Jess and I went to the zoo to play with some Aussie animals.   Here are some photos highlighting the trip:

CRIKEY!!!!

Me and Buster.

I went cable wake boarding last night and it was soooooo much fun!  I didn’t do very well, but who cares, right?!

I played photographer for a while and took pictures of everyone.  It’s super cheap every Tuesday, and was really awesome to do in the rain.  I might make this a regular thing.