Tired... But ready for Part 2 of Mid-Session Break

Today started out at the crack of dawn (4:50am) in our hostel room in Auckland. Everything was packed and ready to go. All we had to do was jump in our clothes, check out, and head to the airport bus down the street. Approximately 40 minutes later, we were at the airport. Isabelle and I were on a later flight than Sydney. We all met up at the Sydney airport, and took a taxi home together (rather than the train). We only had a few hours to recuperate before we need to be back at the airport, so we thought we'd treat ourselves to a much shorter taxi ride. 

I left my Mac at home while in New Zealand, so there have been a few things I haven't been able to upload from my iPhone. Here's the lovely video of my doing the SkyJump yesterday. Can you tell I was totally regretting falling for Isabelle's persuasiveness? I look extremely unhappy and skeptical while walking out on that ledge, and was ELATED to be back on the ground. 

Also, here are some pictures from the caving adventure we did in Waitomo. 

Ready for the 35meter/115feet abseiling into a pitch black cave

To avoid being kicked in the face, we had to lay down on the ground once we had completed the flying fox. 

Isabelle jumping in the water with her tube. BRRR!

Group picture (from the left): Cosmo, Syd, Rudy, Susanne, Isabelle, Sydney, Marigold, and me

We had to crawl through some parts of the cave 

The caves were beautiful 

Our group standing together in a big tube for our group shot (don't ask me why we were standing in a tube). Pretty squished! 

It's been great being home in my apartment, if only for a few hours. It would have been nice to be home for a day or two before leaving, but I am ready for Part 2 of Mid-Session Break. My backpack is repacked (everything in it went straight to the laundry hamper), and I'm all set for 5 days in Cairns (which is pronounced "Cans" by the way). Cairns is located in the far North of Queensland, about a 3 hour flight from Sydney. Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. 

We're a fairly large group of people (ten girls, if my memory serves me right). Some of the girls signed up for a 5-day package deal, while Isabelle, Sydney, and I just booked things separately. I am so happy for that decision right now. I don't think I could handle a super full itinerary after a busy week in New Zealand. We have a few things planned though. 

Tomorrow and Saturday are our "days off", and we have nothing planned for those days (yet). We were hoping to just lay by the pool doing nothing. I have a few books on my Kindle I want to get through this week (before I have to get back to textbooks). As it turns out, we are bringing the gloomy weather with us from New Zealand. Come on, Weather Gods! Be a little bit more cooperative. We've had a week of primarily rainy weather. All we're asking is two days of sunshine so we can come home from break looking a little more sun-kissed than before. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that the forecast miraculously changes. Cross yours, too!  

Time to go back to the airport. Cairns, here we come! Enjoy this awesome song that Sydney, Isabelle, and I have listened to over and over this break. Ahhh... Such a great song! 

Love, 

Suzy