The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News

Third-year public relations student

After a six-hour flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles followed by a 13-hour flight to Brisbane, I finally arrived in Australia. Still, another two-hour flight to my final destination, Cairns, was to follow. That is where I had orientation.

Cairns is best described as the Cancun of Australia. Because of its location near the Great Barrier Reef, the city is a huge tourist attraction and the cheesy bars playing American '90s music or songs that were way overplayed just a year ago are reminiscent of the popular Mexican paradise.

I didn't care so much about the bars as I did the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. We went snorkeling on the second day I got there, and it was just as beautiful as everyone described.

There were so many exotic fish, and the coral was absolutely breathtaking. There was a light rain most of the day, and the ocean was a little choppy, but it was completely worth it.

I wasn't lucky enough to see any "Nemos," or angelfish, or any huge turtles, but a few people I was with did. I was, however, lucky enough not to see any sharks or stingrays. "Ha!" to all the people who have been trying to scare me for the past few months. The water isn't as dangerous as everyone thinks.

The Great Barrier Reef wasn't the only great thing about Cairns though; my favorite thing was going to a zoo-like place called "Rainforestation".

It had all the Australian animals people love. Kangaroos were roaming around everywhere so people could pet and feed them. I went to go feed one kangaroo and another came walking up to me to get some food too. It was awesome, but a little scary with the thought that these animals could have you flying through the air with a simple kick of their legs.

There were also parrots, crocodiles, dingos, wombats and even koalas. Koalas are even more adorable in real life. They are the laziest animals because they sleep 20 hours out of the day and eat the other four; what a life..

While in Cairns I stayed in a hostel-like resort. It had three bunk beds, one shower and no TV. I've realized Australians don't watch as much TV as Americans do. Instead, they are very into outdoor activities and cable is fairly expensive here.

Within the next month I will start school, take a surfing trip and hopefully join a rock climbing club. Everything here is so exciting and new.

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