The Great Barrier Reef! - January

Hi Everyone!

Sorry this blog post is late - I have been back in the U.K travelling around quite a bit so just haven't found the time. It also makes sense to me to write about England all in one go and then get back to Australia for the next blog post :). 

So this month has been another month of two halves. The first half was spent up on Airlie Beach which is on the coast of Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef! Ollie and I went up for five days. We also spent more time around Brisbane and went to Stradbroke Island. Then on January 11th Ollie and I flew back to the U.K together where I have been spending time with my family in Exeter as well as doing a bit of a tour of the U.K travelling up to Lancaster, Glasgow and the Midlands seeing friends and family.

The flight home was absolutely awful. We were delayed 11 hours in Brunei after our plane set off, had a fault and had to land again after two hours! All in all we ended up travelling for 42 hours from leaving my flat in Brisbane to being back in Exeter. I was so glad Ollie and I were travelling together - it would have been even more miserable to travel that alone! However I am so glad that I have come back...it's nice to avoid the wildfires and its been lovely seeing everyone back home. And I have enjoyed the colder weather, although the weather has been brutal at times...going from 37 degrees to -5 has been a bit of a shock! And as I am writing this Storm Ciara is in full swing.

I'm looking forward to going back to Australia. I haven't studied since the middle of November and, as nice as the break has been, I'm ready to get back to uni. I'm also ready for predictable weather, I love walking outside and knowing that you'll be just fine all day in shorts and a tshirt, even though the heat can be a bit much. It's funny - I do feel like I am going home, even if it is a temporary home. 

Stradbroke Island

This was a day trip that Ollie and I went on right at the start of the new year. I hadn't been yet so it was lovely going somewhere new together. Stradbroke was amazing! We saw mantra rays and sea turtles just off the beach on the North Gorge walk and the scenery was gorgeous in general. It would have been lovely to stay longer but a day was just enough to see a bit of everything and enjoy a swim in the sea on Cylinder Beach. 

The beautiful view of Main Beach from the North Gorge Walk

Whitsundays 

Our trip to Whitsundays was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We did a perfect mix of relaxing and adventure, as we did a tour of the Great Barrier Reef and Whitehaven Beach as well as spending a good few days lying in the sun and enjoying the cafe's on Airlie Beach. 

We were staying in a perfect location only a five minute walk from the centre of Airlie Beach and the gorgeous lagoon which is man-made and right on the beach and is the place to swim to avoid the sting rays and sharks in the sea. We got into a nice routine of going for an iced coffee at a lovely cafe and then heading over to the lagoon for a lazy day lying in the sun (we went through two bottles of suncream!) and swimming. 

The view from the lagoon in Airlie Beach

The landscape around Airlie Beach was beautiful, its surrounding by national parks on either side as well as a view of the Whitsunday Islands. We got woken up in the morning to the sound of cockatoos which was so cool to see in the wild! But the best wildlife was on our tour of the Whitsunday Islands on Whitehaven Beach. We saw huge butterflies, beautiful birds and amazing coloured lizards!  

Ollie and I on a lookout over Whitehaven Beach and the surrounding Whtisunday Islands

For our tour we chose only a one day tour which was a good amount of time to go - we both feel as though we saw everything that we wanted to. We first went to Whitehaven Beach which is voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was incredible, the water was so blue and warm and the sand was totally white. Then we went to the Great Barrier Reef! We swam with literally hundreds of fish, including a kobudai, that were all amazing shapes, sizes and colours. It was one of the best things I have ever seen in my life. The second place we went to in the water was to see the coral. A lot of it was sadly bleached but when we saw the colourful parts it was just incredible. I'd definitely go back and would love to do it all over again. 

Overall it was an amazing holiday in a total paradise and it was lovely to spend quality time with Ollie after so many months apart. 

Loch Lomond

Now onto a very different location, which reminded me how beautiful the U.K can be. Living abroad has made me realise that I haven't been around much of the U.K at all and there's so much on my doorstep I really feel as though I should appreciate it more. While I was up in Glasgow to see Ollie we went to Luss on Loch Lomond and climbed Beinn Dubh. It was a far cry from the well pathed moutains of New Zealand and the weather left a lot to be desired but at the top it was just stunning. And only an hour away from Glasgow by coach! After slipping and sliding back down the mountain through a stream of mud we enjoyed hot chocolate and cake in a lovely little Scottish cafe in Luss. 

A stunning view halfway up Beinn Dubh looking onto Loch Lomond

-----

I'm not sure what the rest of February will be like yet. I might be going to Melbourne for a weekend with an old friend who's living on the Gold Coast for six months, but mostly I will be settling back down in Brisbane and starting back at university again.

All my love,

M xxx