Cupcake Weekend Fun

Now to the highlight of my weekend:
There is this fantastic cooking show on here called Masterchef, and on one of their last episodes they all had to make fancy cupcakes. Well, I have not done any baking since I have been here so I instantly had a craving to back and make cupcakes. Wasn't going to try and go the homemade route, so I was really hoping to find the really yummy Rainbow chip kind with Rainbow chip frosting (do you know which kind I'm taking about??!! soooo yummy!!) Well... last night Eddie and I went to Coles, the supermarket, and straight to the baking section I went and nearly cried. It was the saddest backing section I had ever seen, especially compared to Safeway. My options where pretty much chocolate or vanilla plain cupcakes and where was the frosting section you ask... THERE WAS NONE!!! A frosting packet came in the box and you just add milk + butter and mix it up yourself. Oh goodness I am worried. I honestly stood there almost in tears just staring and going, "where is the rainbow chip mix and frosting?!" Eddie was laughing, of course, and saying "well this isn't America remember?!" So I settled on a mix with vanilla cake and chocolate frosting. I will take tons of photos to document this baking adventure. But, as soon as I get home, it is straight to Safeway for proper cupcake ingredients!!!!! Wish me luck!!! :)

 The cupcakes ended up being a huge success and tasted delicious! They didn't last past the weekend. So yummy! :)

OUTBACK 5 1/2 day tour!

Thankfully, my plane departed on time from Melbourne to Alice Springs on Tuesday, 19th of April. When I left Melbourne at 6am it was a very cold 30+ degrees F and when I landed in Alice around 10am it was already high 70s and humid! What a shock to the system. Off came the jeans and on came the shorts. The tour company, Groovy Grape, picked me up at the airport and it was straight onto the road.

Day 1: riding a camel! Yes, it is true that Australia Outback is home to wild camels! I was in shock. Thought I would have to travel to Egypt to experience my first ride on a camel's back. They are quite massive animals but run very similar to horses, just a lot taller!

The drive into the sunset was beautiful and gave us a glimpse into what the Outback really looks like. There wasn't any sand like I had expected but the infamous red dirt was all around. Since Australia has been getting more than normal amounts of rain, the vegetation was in full bloom and looking rather green. We had to stop along the side of the road to collect firewood for our campsite that night. Despite being very hot hot hot in the afternoons, it still got pretty cold at night! This was also going to be my first time truly "camping" and camping in an Australian swag. A swag is a waterproof sleeping bag with a built in padded mattress on the bottom. Surprising quite comfortable but nothing I would ever want to do for more than I had too! This first night was also when I met three really nice girls all from England. We all started talking around the table while helping get dinner ready and I guess the rest is history. We all had a lot in common and a lot to talk about! Lucy and Jessica have been living and working in Melbourne for almost a year before starting their traveling and Katy had traveled over for a 3+ week holiday and to visit some friends. We all stayed up pretty late laughing and talking that night as well as looking at the clearest sky EVER! Stars and constellations were everywhere! Up early (5:30am) so I guess sleeping in was out of the question for this holiday!

Day 2:
The day started bright and early with Nutella on toast and then about an hour bus drive out to Kings Canyon. It is a 6km (3.7 miles) which the sign says should take 3.5 hours. Well, that time was definitely not taking into account stopping so take a million photos, rest breaks to talk about the scenery, and really really slow walkers in our group. We were there early enough to enjoy the sunrise over the canyon was breath-taking. You could see for miles around as well as take in the really unique surroundings of the canyon itself. It reminded me of something you should see on Mars. It was a really good thing we began our hike early in the morning because by around 9am it was already over 70F and climbing. The canyon had once been completely covered by water and you could see this really clearly through fossils in the rock and permanent water ripples left in the rock. Also found half way through the walk was the Garden of Eden, a natural and lush oasis for rare plants and animals out in the middle of the outback. This whole hike I pretty much had to go to the bathroom. Silly me for not going when I had the chance in the parking lot. I was getting pretty desperate after 3+ hours and for the last stretch I basically was in tears and doing a weird skip/hop/jog down the hill and to the loo. My system was pretty mad at me from that point on, that by the end of the day, my bathroom break count was nearly reaching 12. Urghhhh But, I made it and that is all that counts! :)

It was then back into the bus for a long towards Uluru! :)

Cairns: snorkeling, scuba, sun, oh my!

The second leg of my amazing Spring Break adventure took me way up north to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, where I spent three days soaking in the true Australian sun, plus one extra special day which I will explain later on! I was staying at JJ's Backpackers which turned out to be a really nice hostel with both breakfast and dinner being provided! All the hostels around Cairns had a deal set up with a local pub called the Woolshed where we were given meal tickets for each night and a variety of set meals to choose from. I was very pleased plus each night they had some sort of entertainment planned for everyone eating.

You can't swim right off the coastline because of poisonous jelly fish and stingers so there was a large pool/lagoon built right in the middle of town where everyone goes to cool off in the water and tan. This is where I spent the majority of my first day, just relaxing, napping in the sun, reading, swimming, and of course working on my tan (sunscreen was always worn mum!). Ate lunch at a lovely little Italian sandwhich cafe and walked the shops. A very good day one. I had to be up and going the next morning around 6:30am so it was early to bed for me. Who said anything about sleeping in on this holiday!

Day two: Snorkeling at Green Island out in the middle of the reef!! The boat ride took a little over an hour to reach the island and in that time I made a friend from Wisconsin who was on a two week holiday. Since April is a prominent month for stingers and jelly fish around the reef, it was recommended that if you are snorkeling, you should get a full-body stinger suit, and I didn't want to take any chances by having my day ruined by a stinger and all that pain. The suits may have been practical and meaningful, but they certainly were not fashionable!!  I saw so many incredible looking fish that I barely ever looked up to see where I was going. So many different colors: teal, yellow, black, orange and the fish were everywhere around the coral and in the reef. I saw an eel, spotted sting ray, and my favorite... BABY TURTLE!! I was a very happy girl. I think I followed the turtle for a good 15 mins taking 30+ photos and 2 videos of it. So so so so cool!

Day Three: Today I would be aboard the Sea Quest vessel doing my Introductory scuba dive! So excited yet so nervous all at the same time. Boy did I have butterflies as I walked up to the edge of the boat to jump in with all my gear. My biggest fear: contacts getting washed out! The day was perfect with blue skies, hot and the most amazing colors of blue and teal for the water. After getting briefed on all the procedures that will take place in the water like hand signals and basic skills to learn, it was time to get all suited up. We had to wear a weighted belt along with the very heavy gear. I struggled to stand up with everything on. The group of four intro divers plus our guide made our way quickly and most importantly correctly through all our skills, then it was off to explore and scuba!! I was the first one of the group to spot a group of Nemo fish which I quickly begin to freak out about because it was soooo cool!!!! i was smiling on the inside the whole time. What a different view compared to snorkeling. Even got my photo taken by a professional while underwater! I ended up doing two dives that day because I had enjoyed it so much and when was I sure I was going to get another opportunity to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef! The rest of the day I snorkeled and chatted with all the other passengers and crew.

Day Four: My flight was supposed to leave Cairns around 2am for Melbourne on the very, very cheap Tiger Airways. Around midnight it was announced that the flight was canceled, oh joy! I was able to get another flight for the next night with Virgin Air. Luckily, I made three friends while standing in the front of the line so we all got two really nice rooms at the Holiday Inn in town. We were a great mix of internationals from: England, Italy, Norway, and myself. We laughed the whole night and next day while laying by the pool reading and napping before finally heading to the airport. Luckily, my flight to Melbourne this time was not canceled!!

Goodbye Cairns! :)