Australia, As Told By ... Jentry Holt (Vol. 3)

Remember the way I described Melbourne? Picture the exact opposite and you'll probably be imagining Cairns. The two cities were polar opposites but equally astonishing!

Cairns is more of a laid back beach town. Less hustle and bustle, much warmer weather, waterfront restaurants and lots of flip flops.

We started our adventure in Cairns with a water rafting escapade. They took us into the heart of the tropical mountains where George of the Jungle is sure to live. When I say mountains I mean mountains, not like the "hills" we have back home.

With GoPros strapped to our helmets and ores in hand we set off to conquer the Tully River. Our guide was a mustached man from Chile. He steered the raft from behind and shouted instructions to keep us on course. Every time we successfully made it down a rapid we would smack our ores together and shout "Pura Vida!" This means pure life in Spanish.

None of us in our boat capsized but we sure came close. One rapid was particularly bumpy and caused me to flip backwards. As my feet were flying up I happened to kick Jared (one of our world-class managers) in the head. The impact of my foot and his helmet must have counteracted my backward momentum and slung me back into an upright position. Needless to say this made for a fantastic GoPro video!

The next day we set off for the Great Barrier Reef, and let me just say it really is great! It took us a little over two hours on a boat to reach the reef. Many of us have not spent a lot of time out on the open ocean so motion sickness was ever present. When we arrived we had the option to snorkel or scuba dive. I chose to scuba dive. They taught us the technique needed to operate the dive equipment as well as hand signals to communicate underwater.

With weight belts, wet suits, oxygen tanks, flippers, and goggles we were ready to go! They told us the hardest part of our day would be standing up with all the gear on and they were right. Very. Heavy.

We jumped off the boat and into the water. I was perfectly calm until that moment... All I could think was "there is no air down there." All of my senses were on full alert. Water was in my goggles, I felt 100 pounds heavier and I was not used to my only source of air coming from a small mouth piece. I probably had half of my air tank sucked down in about 30 seconds.

Once underwater I began to calm down. It was completely silent except for the sound of yourself breathing and my body felt weightless. We were approximately 20-30 feet underwater as we approached the reef. It left me speechless. I've never experienced something so beautiful in my entire life. Giant clams, coral, vibrant fish, stink rays, sea turtles. We even saw Nemo and his dad in an anemone! As I looked at this wonder of the world I felt a feeling of unwavering peace. Now when people ask me what I want to be when I grow up I'm going to say "a mermaid."

Our next stop was the beach! Palm trees lined the shores and small islands dotted the horizon. It's winter here in Cairns and it was a beautiful 80 degrees. I definitely understand why birds migrate.

Our last day in Cairns could not have gone better. It literally was the cherry on top. We got to hold and take pictures with a Koala bear! I added this task to my bucket list and checked it off all in the same day. They were adorable and so soft! They are only allowed to take pictures for 30 minutes a day three times a week. They have a very rigorous schedule of eating eucalyptus and sleeping 18-20 hours a day. I need that kind of job!

Sydney will be our third and final stop. With bridge climbing and the Opera house still left on our schedule I imagine I'll have plenty more to talk about!

                                                                                                                                       Thanks for reading!
                                                                                                                                       Jentry

P.S. cotton candy is called fairy floss and if you want a milk shake you better order a thickshake or you'll get milk.

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