Australia Week 3

Max's Vacation Adventure 2006
Hawaii  
Australia
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Day 15 in Australia April 29 2006

Day 15 in lorikeet land 15/21

 Today we woke up in the Formule 1 hotel, walked downstairs for breakfast, walked back up, packed our bags and walked downstairs again to wait for the shuttle that would take us to airport. The shuttle came and we hopped in while the driver put our bags in the back. We drove to the airport and stopped to get coffee (hot chocolate for some) before we got on the plane and flew to Cairns (Kans). From the air port we took another shuttle to our hotel where we relaxed and swam in the pool for the rest of the day. I stopped swimming for a while and we had supper and ice cream then we bought some cereal and yoghurt (yogurt spelled in Australia) for breakfast the next day. By then we were wiped out so we walked back to our room and went to sleep.


 

Day 16 in Australia April 30 2006

Day 16 in the home of Jet, Oasis, and Midnight Oil (names of Aussie bands) 16/21

Today I got up early with mom and dad so I went in the pool right next to us and almost screamed as some kind of dinosaur bug swam above my head. I tried to get out of the pool but as I did another one swam in front of me. I swam under them and threw myself onto the ground. I looked back to see what the heck they were and realized (Aussie spelling) that they were…harmless frogs! I jumped back in, caught one and watched it swim before I took it out of the pool. I was going to catch and release the other one but he had disappeared. I swam some more before I saw a huge water bug on the side of the pool. I got out and unsuccessfully tried to get it out with my crocs. I gave up and waited while one of the hotel staff got it out of the pool. I swam some more until we all migrated to the croc pool which had a crocodile slide in it. That was all I did then.
I swam the rest of the day, ate supper, and slept.      


 

Day 17 in Australia May 1 2006

Day 17 in Tazzy (Tasmanian devils) land 17 /21

Today I woke up late and dad was saying, “We have a car” over and over again. Apparently he had gotten up early and rented a car. I got up drowsily and got in the car where I read my book and drew while dad started to drive to Kuranda where we had lunch at a sandwich shop/café and after lunch we walked across the street to look at aboriginal art. The paintings were incredible and while we were there I saw a boomerang shaped piece of wood except one side was thicker. I asked the lady what it was and she said that it was a weapon that the aborigines used to hunt kangaroos and other animals. I bought a boomerang and we looked some more before we drove back. We stopped at a camera museum for about an hour then we continued to drive. After a long drive, we stopped at a market to have supper and look around. We had supper and I ended up getting a glass echidna and a tattoo (fake). We drove home and I fell asleep after looking at the dragon on my arm.       


 

Day 18 in Australia  May 2 2006

Day 18 in “Ow! Bloody Echidna (an echidna is an egg-laying mammal and is like a mix between a porcupine and an anteater) land”18/21,

Recent studies show that it’s actually 18/20  Today I woke up to dad talking to someone on the phone. He mentioned the great barrier reef and I fell back asleep thinking nothing of it. I woke up a second time and unfortunately had to get up this time. Dad told me we were going to the Great Barrier Reef and I got in the car with the seatbelt on in about 2 seconds, ready to go. We drove to a place called Quicksilver and got on a boat to go to the GBR.. It was an hr and a half of sitting down or getting plastered to the wall by wind so I‘ll just skip that part. We arrived at the GBR and got on jellyfish suits, fins, a mask, and a snorkel. We dove in and immediately saw a bunch of fish. Even though you could see them without getting wet, I liked this better. We swam around looking at fish and coral when a huge black fish swam next to me. Mom went in so dad and I took a little break and we saw a big jellyfish. Dad and I swam around more before we took a path along the shallower part which was the best out of the trip. We dried off, changed, and waited another 2 hrs before we sunk into the pillows at our room.   


 

Day 19 in Australia May 3 2006

Day 19 in “sugar glider flying zone” land 19/20

Today I woke up with a sore throat and a stiffly nose. I got up a few hours later and got dressed by then I was feeling better so I went in the pool. Dad came also with his laptop and sat by the pool while I swam.  After about 2 hours of swimming I was ready to get out so I went to get my drawing stuff. As soon as I walked in the door I started to feel really sick so I lied down and watched King Kong for the rest of the afternoon. The movie was about a movie maker who went to an island called Skull Island to film his movie. While he’s there he and his cast find King Kong and try to kill him. They eventually knock him unconscious and bring him to New York to make money off of him. King Kong dies eventually and the movie ends. I ate supper and went to sleep sick that night and woke up late the next morning.

 

Day 20/21 in Australia

Day 20/21 in a sunburned country.

 Today and the day after today are both Thursday because of the time change so I thought I would do them both in the same entry. Today I woke up late and got up, I was feeling better so Mom and I went for a walk while dad finished up his packing. We decided we would walk down to the next town called palm cove to get breakfast and coffee/smoothies. We had breakfast and walked back to our room. A shuttle came to pick us up and drove us to the airport in Cairns where we flew to Sydney then Honolulu (I slept the whole time.) and finally Kona.  When we got to Kona we got a rental car (a convertible) and drove to Holly and Roberts house again. When we got there Yuri was there to greet us, we gave hugs and went inside. After hugs Robert drove Yuri and I to a neighbors house for some sugar cane we drove back up and Yuri cut some sugar cane for me. Later on we had dinner at the “back to the 50’s café” and I had my first sundae. We drove back up the hill and went to bed in the Tea house for the second time.

Day 22 in Australia

Wrap-up day 22

Today was our last day on vacation we were all pretty much ready to go home. We had one last swim in Hawaii before we got on a plane to go to Phoenix and eventually Colorado. I think that we went for too long and we should go for maybe 3 weeks or shorter next time. I had been looking forward to getting home and I was overwhelmed with happiness when I saw my dogs. I had been away for so long that I’ve started to forget what everyone looks like. I missed everyone terribly and I can’t wait to see everybody again. I ‘m going to miss our Hawaiian and Aussie friends but we’ll meet in Hawaii again in 08. Everyone has been so kind on this trip so I’d like to thank David, Jeanne, Murray, Annette, , Holly, Robert, Yuri, Ku and friends and family for their hospitality, my dad for making my website, My mom for helping me to keep track , my dogs, for not killing me when I walked in the door and for loving us when we got back, I’d like to thank Craig, Lise, Suzanna, and Jess for being so enthusiastic for me to go on this trip, Everyone else at the school for being internationally minded, I’d like to thank everyone in bar-k (and bar-k) for always being there, (and loaning us snorkel gear) especially my friends and Peter and Holly who helped me with the math and for giving us insight and information on Australia. (Cari and Tom too),  Devon for taking care of the shop and Laura and Tom for taking care of the plants, animals, and house.

I’d like to thank Hawaii and Australia for being so vacation friendly.

 And finally you, the reader of my entries.

Thank You
Max DeVincenzo

 

The END