School is actually getting somewhat serious at this point, so I apologize for the lack of blog updates. Anyway, there were definitely some interesting things that happened this weekend.
Rottnest Island
On Friday all 20 residents of Hotel Cleos (plus Taylor) camped overnight at Rottnest Island, a place that is the definition of an island paradise. It's only a 30 minute ferry ride outside of Fremantle, and it's definitely worth the the $60 round trip ticket. Settlement and vehicle traffic are severely limited (cars are not even allowed on the island), so the island is a haven of natural wonder. Also, it's the only place on earth where Quokkas live. The are basically huge marsupial (kangaroo hopping) rats. At first they are cute, but by the end they were a nuisance. My favorite part was easily the endless number of bays and inlets (like the one pictured above). After renting bikes we explored almost every one on Saturday in a 15 mile journey around the edge of the island.
The island is also famous for snorkeling, which I did for the first time in my life! At one point one of the girls came back from snorkeling and said she had only seen fish. In my mind, she saw fish!! I guess being a beginner makes you impressed by everything. Alissa and I explored one of the best snorkeling spots on the Island and saw massive coral reefs. They are so full of life! While snorkeling I saw an angel fish, a neon rainbow colored snail, some bright purple coral, and lots of other random sea wildlife. It was amazing. I did the whole thing without flippers, so it was quite the workout.
Camping was awesome! Friday night we barbequed sausages and hamburger, and Alissa's mom brought us marshmellows and graham crackers! (Both of which they do not have in Australia. Can you believe it?) So the dinner was great, dessert was better, and we were all having a great time. Of course, a group of 20 girls and 1 guy usually encounter more on an overnight camping trip than just nature and barbequing. True to that statement, we were camped right next to a huge bachelor party! The guys had brought a huge amount of alcohol and were in a great mood! Some of the girls joined them in their partying, but other than that the night went pretty smoothly.
Most of our group wandered out to the beach at night to talk and look at the starts (I've never seen so many) Eventually my tent went to bed, even though one of the girls who was sleeping with us was still partying. I didn't sleep well, and remember waking up and hearing the fourth person come back into the tent and feeling really squished. Next things I know, Leah was waking me up. Looking up at her, I heard "Kurt, a guy came into your tent and was trying to cuddle with Courtney. She left to get away and you really need to kick him out." I was still really groggy at this point and had no idea what she was talking about. I replied something like "A guy, where, what happened to Courtney?" Leah, not understanding my confusion replied, "She is outside the tent, and the guy is laying right next to you!"
What happened next was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I stopped looking at Leah and looked to my left, where to my complete and absolute surprise lay a man who I have never seen before in my life. For second my mind was confused. You know how you can be so sure of something being that you can't understand what's happening when that isn't true? Well that is what happened here. I was so sure that Courtney was next to me that I couldn't process what I was seeing. Finally coming to my senses, I went into action mode. I sat up, grabbed the guy by the shoulders, and started shaking him awake. When he came to (he was definitely drunk), I simply said "Dude, this isn't your tent. What are you thinking? You need to go over there (and pointed back to the bachelor tents)." Dazed and confused, he shook my hand and stumbled back to his tent. Drunk Bachelors=Not good judges of where to sleep. At least Leah woke me up so I could take care of it, Courtney just left the tent and was about to sleep in the bathroom! Gees. Still, Rottnest was amazing!
So that's what been happening in Australia. This week I have lot of work to do so I probably won't get back to blog writing until Sunday. I love you all, and I hope everything is going well.
Cheers from Australia =)
Rottnest Island
On Friday all 20 residents of Hotel Cleos (plus Taylor) camped overnight at Rottnest Island, a place that is the definition of an island paradise. It's only a 30 minute ferry ride outside of Fremantle, and it's definitely worth the the $60 round trip ticket. Settlement and vehicle traffic are severely limited (cars are not even allowed on the island), so the island is a haven of natural wonder. Also, it's the only place on earth where Quokkas live. The are basically huge marsupial (kangaroo hopping) rats. At first they are cute, but by the end they were a nuisance. My favorite part was easily the endless number of bays and inlets (like the one pictured above). After renting bikes we explored almost every one on Saturday in a 15 mile journey around the edge of the island.
The island is also famous for snorkeling, which I did for the first time in my life! At one point one of the girls came back from snorkeling and said she had only seen fish. In my mind, she saw fish!! I guess being a beginner makes you impressed by everything. Alissa and I explored one of the best snorkeling spots on the Island and saw massive coral reefs. They are so full of life! While snorkeling I saw an angel fish, a neon rainbow colored snail, some bright purple coral, and lots of other random sea wildlife. It was amazing. I did the whole thing without flippers, so it was quite the workout.
Camping was awesome! Friday night we barbequed sausages and hamburger, and Alissa's mom brought us marshmellows and graham crackers! (Both of which they do not have in Australia. Can you believe it?) So the dinner was great, dessert was better, and we were all having a great time. Of course, a group of 20 girls and 1 guy usually encounter more on an overnight camping trip than just nature and barbequing. True to that statement, we were camped right next to a huge bachelor party! The guys had brought a huge amount of alcohol and were in a great mood! Some of the girls joined them in their partying, but other than that the night went pretty smoothly.
Most of our group wandered out to the beach at night to talk and look at the starts (I've never seen so many) Eventually my tent went to bed, even though one of the girls who was sleeping with us was still partying. I didn't sleep well, and remember waking up and hearing the fourth person come back into the tent and feeling really squished. Next things I know, Leah was waking me up. Looking up at her, I heard "Kurt, a guy came into your tent and was trying to cuddle with Courtney. She left to get away and you really need to kick him out." I was still really groggy at this point and had no idea what she was talking about. I replied something like "A guy, where, what happened to Courtney?" Leah, not understanding my confusion replied, "She is outside the tent, and the guy is laying right next to you!"
What happened next was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I stopped looking at Leah and looked to my left, where to my complete and absolute surprise lay a man who I have never seen before in my life. For second my mind was confused. You know how you can be so sure of something being that you can't understand what's happening when that isn't true? Well that is what happened here. I was so sure that Courtney was next to me that I couldn't process what I was seeing. Finally coming to my senses, I went into action mode. I sat up, grabbed the guy by the shoulders, and started shaking him awake. When he came to (he was definitely drunk), I simply said "Dude, this isn't your tent. What are you thinking? You need to go over there (and pointed back to the bachelor tents)." Dazed and confused, he shook my hand and stumbled back to his tent. Drunk Bachelors=Not good judges of where to sleep. At least Leah woke me up so I could take care of it, Courtney just left the tent and was about to sleep in the bathroom! Gees. Still, Rottnest was amazing!
So that's what been happening in Australia. This week I have lot of work to do so I probably won't get back to blog writing until Sunday. I love you all, and I hope everything is going well.
Cheers from Australia =)