Saw 4 sea turtles on a beach today! And we went to our real condo which is pretty fancy. We also watched a little hula demonstration which was pretty cool.
Kaloko Honokohau
Antigua>Piquip, Mayan Ruins
Had french toast for breakfast and it was like deep fried french toast and it was the best thing ever! Then we started driving to Piquip and bus rides are always a joy! 2 hours later we stopped at some Mayan Ruins and ate lunch. There was a big hole toilet thing and Rob was like, “Make your mark at the Mayan Temples and poop!” It was so much fun! 2 more hours later we were in Piquip or somewhere around there and we finally got to see some kids! All the girls are in one hostile and we were making sandwiches and we stayed up laughing so hard! We though it was late like 10:00, but it was only 8:30!
Brisbane>Sydney, Parliament
We had to get up at 3am to go to the airport to get to Sydney. At least we got to have sparklers since it was the 4th of July! We had a lot of time in the gate and I actually fell asleep on my leg which left a mark on my forehead! Sadly, we had to leave behind Alana and Heidi who couldn’t stay the extra two days. By the way, we were supposed to be going home today (like Heidi did) but because of United, we got to stay 2 more days.
After we got to Sydney we went to the Olympic Aquatic Centre and got to swim in the not so lazy, lazy river (or just river). We all had to dry off once we got out because it was time to go to Parliament. We got to see the queen’s chair which was very fancy!
After the Parliament tour, we were able to go back to the hotel to change to warmer clothes before getting on our dinner cruise boat. We shared it with a high school People to People group who were fun to dance with! Some of the little guys like Ian and Mason got to dance with some girls! The food on the boat was really good, along with some of the boys’ moves! We could see the Sydney Opera House at one point too but sadly, the light show was not on yet.
Horseback Riding & Hiking
Before we went horseback riding, we had a little extra time so Alana taught us the basic rules of Cricket. When it was time to go horseback riding, I got the most gentlest, kindest, and calmest horse named Shy! I didn’t even have to do any work since she knew the way all by herself. But, apparently Amelia’s horse, Jude, didn’t like Shy because his ears were always down (which means they are mad, angry, or annoyed) when he was around her. He actually chased her up hill while I half screamed, half yelled stop while pulling on the reigns, but it was fun even though it startled me.
When everybody got back from horseback riding, we went on a hike up Sunshine Mountain and it was so beautiful! On the way, the ranger showed us jumping ants and how to crack a whip. After dinner we went to the dance cabin and danced to some aboriginal songs and rocked out to some new pop like “Call Me Maybe” (which soon got really annoying during the trip) and “Cotton Eyed Joe”!
I was scared because Ann (one of our leaders) bought a whip! 🙂
Daydream Island>Kroombit Farm
We got off of Daydream Island and I was excited to finally sit with Maddie (who I haven’t been able to sit with). But apparently somebody spilled soda (which you’re not supposed to have out) and somebody else left a bunch of trash (which you’re supposed to pick up) so the leaders chose where we sat for the rest of the day. I was at the back of the line to get on the bus though, so I got to sit in the front by myself! Sitting by myself was better than somebody who is not my favorite person because I can sleep more comfortably on chairs and don’t have to talk or listen about something that doesn’t interest me.
When we got to Kroombit Farm (Queensland), we sat around a campfire and sang Australian songs; then showed the ranger something about America and/or Colorado.
Capricorn Caves & Dreamtime Aboriginal Culture Centre
We had 2 hours of free time at the hotel but we couldn’t swim or get wet. I did table tennis, then we all did mini golf. When we were done, it was time to go to Capricorn Caves. At the cave, it was pretty much just walking through a rainforest and caves. We went through a skinny cave by candlelight, but since I didn’t have a candle, and the person in front walked too fast, and the the person in back had to stop, I was left me in pitch dark so I hit my head, but at least Heather had her camera for a little light. We also learned that guano is bat poop and is used for make-up in some countries around the world! I really hope it’s not in America!
After that, we went to Dreamtime Aboriginal Culture Centre where we learned about the Aboriginal culture, watched a weird but cool aboriginal dance and saw the didgeridoo being played. It was really cool because you can make different animal noises like the dingo, kookaburra and kangaroos riding motorcycles! We also learned how to throw boomerangs, but I wasn’t very good so I bought one to practice in the backyard.
