Antipodean Antics, Part 1

Oh yeah, I went there with the pretentious blog post title. If you don't like it, you can stop reading. I figure I'm just going to go ahead and write what I want, since this blog has basically two main audiences:
-people forced to love me by ties of blood
-people forced to pretend to like me because we grew up/went to college together and I have a lot of material for blackmailing them.

I just got back from two weeks in Australia. I was traveling with my dear college roomie Breanna, who it turns out is as awesome a travel buddy as she is a roommate, to see our friends Steph and Michael get hitched in Melbourne. Breanna is also a teacher, only the qualified kind with a master's degree and everything. The theme of the trip for me, little squat-toilet-frequenting expat that I am, was, "Wow! This is just like home, only sometimes better!" and for Breanna it was, "Wow! Everything is so different!" We packed a lot into our trip, so you know that means I have to pack a lot into this blog post. Hold on to your hats.

1. Sydney
Highlights
-Seeing the Opera House from every conceivable angle (on a boat! from a bridge! on foot!)
-The most delicious Lebanese bakery in the world, with the possible exception of bakeries that are actually in Lebanon. We went there just about every day for spinach and cheese pies and other assorted savory things wrapped in bread.
-A comfy bed and using Breanna's jet lag as an excuse to be asleep by 9 pm every night
-Relatively affordable joy rides on commuter ferries

We only spent a few days in Sydney, but I found it a very nice town. Here are some photos with captions.

Breanna and I had a lovely Lebanese baked goods picnic on the grounds of the Royal Botanical Garden, with a view of the Harbo(u)r Bridge.

We took a nice tour of the Governo(u)r's House led by a charming elderly guide. I kind of want to be her when I grow up. The mansion has stunning harbor views. 

View of the bridge from the bridge; we walked across. 

There's that Opera House! Spoiler alert: It doesn't always look super white like you'd imagine. Sometimes it looks kind of beige, or even taupe. Possibly ecru.

2. Cairns

Ok, let's be honest: Cairns itself is no great shakes. It's super touristy and doesn't even have a beach. It has mud flats and a manmade saltwater "lagoon," which is basically a public swimming pool with good views of the ocean.

What is really great shakes, though, is the Great Barrier Reef. We did an overnight diving trip on the reef, and it was a life highlight. The visibility and biodiversity are incredible. Luckily, Breanna, who boldly tried diving for the first time on the trip, really loved it.

Cool things we saw on the dive trip:
-A white whale called Migaloo. (All names in Australia must be humorous.) The water was so clear that you could see the whale when he was slightly below the surface as a sort of white blur. The ship's crew was really excited about the sighting. We realized just how rare an event it was when we returned from our trip and saw the whale's picture on the front page of the newspaper.

Courtesy of official shipboard photographer

-The friendly fish. Breanna's personal highlight, I think, was meeting a fish we called "the friendly fish." (I think it's real name is the humphead wrasse, but that has no ring to it.) The fish came up to her and the dive guide and gamboled about (can fish gambol?) and let them pet it. Apparently this fish is a regular on diving trips.

Courtesy of official shipboard photographer

-Sharks! But not the scary kind.
-I went on a night dive and saw a sleeping sea turtle. Also, holy moly, I went on a night dive. That was thrilling, although terrifying. It's very interesting to see the reef world, so full of color and tiny fluttering fish by day, all grayed out and peopled with huge, wraith-like gray fish by night. The only light was from divers' flashlights. Of course I was a total klutz and flashed my light in several people's eyes and almost dropped it (which should be impossible to do while it's tied to your wrist, unless you're me).

Aside from diving, I enjoyed just spending time on the boat. I think I have naval blood, because I enjoy the feeling of sleeping while the waves rock and the economical use of space on ships somehow appeals to me. We met some nice people, ate delicious ship-cooked meals, and stared at the Milky Way from the top deck.

Morning coffee on deck. Aww, yeah!

Our quarters. Yes, that is the doorway in the foreground. Barely enough room to turn around, but all very shipshape.

I should also mention, just so you don't think I'm getting too big for my britches, that Breanna and I took all our dinners in Cairns at a place called The Woolshed. Apparently every hostel in town gives you a free meal voucher there, so they have a well-oiled system that brings in backpackers, has them quickly choose a pasta or rice meal from a list of 5, and then serves it to them through a window, much like in prison. It was the place to be, I must say.

This seems like a good stopping point. Next post will detail Melbourne adventures, which were many.