Leaving the Land of Oz

My last few weeks in Australia have been JAMMED with activites that have all been so fun, but have left me little time to, ehem, "blog" about them. Sorry to all my sportsfans! Since I left you, I went to a little place called Magnetic Island and learned how to scuba dive! It was a great way to learn, it was almost like private tutoring, as there was only one other person in the class. The only other thing to note on Magnetic was the Cane Toad races that I attended. Basically 8 toads hop from the center of a circle to the outside and whoever gets there first wins. Man, these Aussies get creative with their entertainment and they will bet on anything. Even Toads.
Next I was off on a Sailing Adventure in the Whitsunday Islands, purported to be some of the loveliest places in Australia. When the weather is good. Not to be too whiny, but the weather was not the greatest. Our boat braved choppy waves and wind and rain, but, as I am a salty sea dog, I didn't get seasick. I will say this about the Whitsundays: there is a beach there with the softest whitest sand I have ever seen. I bet on a beautiful day, it would be a little slice of heaven. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time, but that had much more to do with the people aboard our boat, the mighty Pegasus. Every person I talked to was a nice, interesting, funny person, and through some fluke, they all seemed to enjoy me just as much. It was magic.
Then to Cairns, to complete one of my life time goals: Dive the barrier reef (though techincally I learned on it, but shh!). I signed up for a 3 day live aboard boat, where I got to complete 12 dives! I high fived a sea turtle, snuggled a sea cucumber, said hi to Nemo (clownfish) and defeated any issues I had about being in the water with sharks without protective gear. I dove at night, which was a little scary, but exhilerating when you look up and see the silhouette of 5 sharks that are 10 meters away from you. I had a great time, and found a new joy in diving. I hope I can afford this new hobby! After the boat trip, I spent my time living it up with my dive buddies, completely exhausting myself. After a day in sydney recooperating, I'm off to New Zealand. Land of Hobbits! Actually, I'm not planning on doing any Lord of the Rings stuff, but I am planning of enjoying the heck out of myself: skydiving, dolphin swimming, hangi eating, and other shennagins. Good Bye Oz!