Springbrook National Park

This weekend ended up being pretty great! We were going to go to the Glasshouse Mountains, but the trail we wanted to do was closed due to rock falls. Instead, we decided to go to Springbrook National Park, about 2 hours from Brisbane. We rented a car and Jordan did a beautiful job with the driving (for the most part). There was one incidence of driving on the right side of the road (when we should have been on the left), but that was short-lived and there was no traffic around. Anyway, we saw some wild wallabies before starting our trek through the rain forest. The park was up in this tiny rural town. It's the kind of place that would be really fun to vacation in. The track we wanted to go on was closed due to landslides, so we decided to do the Twin Falls Circuit and then go find this swimming hole. The waterfall you see us standing by in the picture is part of the Twin Falls. We started our hike around 11 and were immediately in the heart of some pretty awesome forest. There were waterfalls and creeks all over the place and we narrowly missed stepping on lizards on more than one occassion. I don't have too much to say about the hiking. It was absolutely gorgeous and Becca, Beth, Jordan, and I all had a great time. After going around the Twin Falls Circuit, we went in search of this pool. We had all intended on swimming, so we brought swim suits and towels. Unfortunately, the water was absolutely freezing, like stop-your-heart cold. Of course, Beth talked me into swimming with her anyway. We had an enjoyable time jumping off the rocks into the pool. And, yes, we did check to see if it was deep enough before doing this. Even though it was freezing, we had a fun time and there were a bunch of people there watching us act like crazy people. These two little girls were inspired by us and got in too. They were pretty brave kids. So, we finally decided we'd had enough of the frigid waters and got out to dry off and change. I noticed a black spot on my foot that was kind of shiny. Sure enough, it was a leech (which they warn about in the trail guide). Jordan picked it off of me, but not before it left a little spot of blood on my foot. I'm not quite sure why having a leech attached to my foot makes me feel adventurous, but it does. The walk back up from the pool was tough. It was in a very deep canyon and there were a lot of stairs. I'm obviously not working out here at all. I think we hiked about 15 kilometers over the course of the day. The entire day was just a blast and we're hoping to go to the Glasshouse Mountains the weekend after spring break. Speaking of which, we leave for New Zealand in just one week! I'm really looking forward to it!

That's pretty much it for the weekend. I've got a paper that I have to finish before we leave next Tuesday, so I'll be doing that this week. More blog posting upon our return from the South Island of New Zealand!

Nicole

P.S. Pictures from the hiking trip are up on Flickr.

In Bruges and New Camera Skills

My friend Beth and her friend Chris came over for dinner last night and we sat around and talked for a bit before going to see In Bruges. During the course of the conversation, Beth asked about our living situation next year and after a bit of a discussion it was decided that she would live with us when we get back to DU. I am really excited about this because it means that I don't have to find someone random when I get back to school and I know I'll really like who I'm living with. As much as I'm loving Australia, I'm also really excited to get back to Denver and my life there. Anyway, we went to see In Bruges last night (I dragged Jordan along). It was really good! I was quite impressed. It's a little bit hard to describe because it was both funny and very sad. The humor for the most part was very politically incorrect, but nonetheless, quite funny. Jordan liked the movie too. Shocking. All in all, it was a really great night and I had a lot of fun.

When we got back I called my dad to chat and let him know that we had found a 3rd roommate and we ended up getting around to talking about my New Zealand trip in a couple of weeks. He was trying to explain to me how to configure my camera so that there would be higher pixel definition so when I blow the pictures up they won't look funny. As he's explaining this I'm fiddling with my camera, which I know very little about (obviously), and discovered that my camera has all these setting that I didn't know about! It has a mode for fireworks and a panorama assist mode. Both of those would have been quite helpful in the recent past. In any case, I'm really happy I figured it out before I take off for spring break.

Next weekend Jordan, Chris, Beth, and I are going to the Glasshouse Mountains to do some hiking. The mountains are old volcanic formations and have a link to the mainland aboriginal people. It should be a good time and I'm sure there will be lots of pictures.

After next weekend we have just one more week before spring break in New Zealand! I'm getting really excited about this trip! It's going to be such a good time and I'm certain it will produce many fabulous photos. The week after we get back from New Zealand my mom and sister will be here and we're going up to Cairns to do some diving. After about a month of not doing too much, it's looking like the rest of my time here is going to be pretty packed with adventures!

Also, Beth and her sister Becca are going to be taking a trip to Fiji in November. I'm hoping to join them, provided I still have any money. Anyone wishing to donate for this cause should shoot me an email. :)

Love and miss you all!
Nicole

So, while in Sydney on the harbour bridge, I took a panorama of pictures with my camera. Unfortunately, I have no software on my computer to link them together and actually create a panorama. The other day Jordan figured out that he has the software to do that! I now have two panoramas of the Sydney harbour and opera house. I'm having trouble posting them on Flickr, so if you don't see them on there, that's why.