Driving in Oz...

Today we had our first experience driving on the wrong side of the road with the Aussie's. As was told by our Fijian cab driver Australians drive very fast and any accidents we could possibly get in would be 'fatal'. That having been said we were a bit apprehensive to get our car and drive on the wrong side of the street. Brooke however took it like a champ and only had problems maneuvering the turn signals as they are on the opposite side of the steering wheel.

Our first car in Australia... tear*

As the purpose of renting the car was to travel to see the great beerier reef we immediately set out to drive north to the Town of 1770. 1770 is thus named for the year when Captain Cook first landed in Queensland Australia, on May 23, 1770 (who knew Amy's birthday coincided with something so monumental eh?). Liam's dad helped procure for us a bungalow cabin in 1770 for the night, which we were very grateful for as all other accommodations were booked full. Our bungalow was fabulous, and with a fully furnished kitchen, we enjoyed our first personally hot cooked meal.

A lovely feast of broccoli and pasta, YUM!

Bright and early we set out for Lady Musgrave Island on a boat called the Spirit of 1770. Lady Musgrave Island is a coral island on the southern tip of the Great Beerier Reef, where we had booked a day tour that included snorkeling and glass bottom boat coral explorations. Before we set out for the island, the skipper kept warning everyone about the possibility of motion sickness which often happened on the boat ride out to the island. None of us were prepared for what would happen next however. Initially we started out on top of the boat, but after a few minutes of the ride when the crew members came to ask us if we wanted to wear rain jackets as we would most likely be soaked by the freezing cold ocean water as it sprayed over the boat, we decided to go down stairs and ride instead in the enclosed cabin.

Making our way from the top of the boat to the bottom... not as easy as it looks.

The boat was seriously hauling and it would rise and fall nearly 5 feet at a time, the skipper was not kidding when he warned us of getting sick. We, unaware of where to sit on the boat of course chose the roughest seat in the house, and sat in the front row. I for one was very sick and by the time we finally arrived at the island (90 minute boat ride) I was so grateful to just sit and not be constantly bouncing up and down and jarring left and right.

Seriously? I am about to puke, and Bree is sleeping like a baby... Seriously?

Once we got into the lagoon at Lady Musgrave all was well, my stomach began to settle and we began to explore. We took a bush walk around the island and experienced our first sea cucumber.

Larry the sea cucumber

There is only one way to describe the sea cucumber, and that is absolutely disgusting. They are slimy and all around just nasty buggers.

Lady Musgrave Island

After exploring the island we returned to platoon where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch (seriously, I think the best part of this vacation is the obscene amounts of food we consume when given the chance) and snorkeled on the Great Beerier reef.

Scuba Brooke...

Snorkeling on the reef was fabulous; the water was a beautiful turquoise and was fairly clear. A highlight was the 6 large sea turtles we saw while snorkeling. Green sea turtles actually nest at Lady Musgrave Island and many were consequently hanging out around the island.

Sea Turtle... ahhh

After snorkeling we returned to the boat and began our journey back to 1770. Fortunately for my stomach, the return trip was much less bumpy and I enjoyed it sitting on the bow of the boat.

Bree, diggin for gold...

While on the bow I saw sea turtles coming up for a quick breath of air, dolphins swimming and marvelous flying fish that skip along the water. All in all the reef was a fabulous experience and we returned to our bungalow substantially tired and ready for a shower and sleep.