Cory U of CUExperiments

Just a few more shots from the waves of Byron Bay. Surfing at the most easterly point of Australia wasn’t the easiest, but it sure was fun.

-Cory U

In the last month in Brisbane, I met a group of really awesome people. From all over the world, they were in Australia to improve their English while having a great excuse to see such a beautiful country. Every weekend they planned barbecues in the park & I was so lucky to be invited to join in. While some people would find it rather frustrating, it was a joy talking to people that were so eager to improve their English. The conversations were never boring.

It’s funny how no matter where you go, your closest friends always end up being fellow travelers. My offer will always stand to show any of my new found friends from all of my travels around my own little part of the world if they ever come to visit.

-Cory U

Just a few more postings of Australia, & my stories from this adventure are complete!

There was no other option for me to spend my last weekend than beside a beach & trying to surf yet again. Dom & I headed to Byron Bay for the day & did nothing but fight the wind & waves all day. I’ve never been so beaten up by a beach before that day. A month later & I still have a nice mark on my leg. Most surf tries, the board ended going one way while we got devoured in another. So worth it though!

This was another day where my amazing waterproof digital camera came to good use. Love that thing.

-Cory U

At the end of the weekend we were all exhausted. After two lessons the day before & up all night getting to know each other, a 9am surf lesson was brutal. By the end of the weekend, my whole body was sore. So when it came to my third surf lesson of the weekend, sometimes it was just more fun sitting on the board than trying to pull myself up.

Had a blast!

-Cory U

Still can’t believe how many times I actually got up on the board. I got so excited with the weekends’ success that a few weeks later Dom & I headed out for our own surf day. Can’t say it was as great a success as this was, but I don’t think you can have a bad surf day. It’s just too much fun! (So much fun, I didn’t realize my blue rashie was gradually riding up my body.)

-Cory U

I have to admit, it didn’t take much time to get back on the board being my second go at it. The waves were a lot more gentle to start & less people definitely gave more room to give it a go without running into someone else’s board. Staying up on the board was a different story. Lots of nose dives & wobbly wipeouts for sure.

-Cory U

Finally got the “professional” surf weekend photos back & totally excited to finally be able to write about it & finish up my Aussie Adventure 2012 stories.

It was two surf packed days back at Mojo Surf & I couldn’t be more stoked try it yet again. Our group was smaller & just as multi-cultural as before. It was great!

Of course, before heading to the water, it was time for surf yoga yet again & a few lessons on the sand.

-Cory U

Finally settling into everything at home again & currently downloading hundreds of surf photos from one of my last weekends in Australia. It took so long because the site that has all these photos makes me download every single file individually. Takes hours!

I’m pretty happy I’ll finally be able to tell the last few stories from my trip & start yet another chapter in whatever comes next. To be honest, still not really sure what that is at this point.

So until I get to the final days of my Australian adventure, here’s a pretty hilarious shot of me trying to tandem surf. Definitely not a real skill I accomplished. I did prove I’m pretty awesome at a starfish whipeout though…

-Cory U

Under the sea. Near Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia.

-Cory U

Goodbye Australia. Sand sculpture at the Brissy airport.

The Southbank festival made me miss my days at Disney. The place was decked out in Chinese lanterns, people were gathered everywhere with music & good food, & a musical light show played every hour over the waterfront.

Why did it make me miss Disney? It was like I was watching a knock-off version of Fantasmic without Mickey Mouse! It just made me want to be standing infront of Cinderella’s Castle again listening to pirates attack & watching an amazing production of fireworks like I did all summer long two years back. Can you tell I miss WDW? Australia, you just can’t replace it.

-Cory U

PS Don’t get me wrong… I did have an enjoyable time.

Here sits the reflection of a girl who just found out she’s stuck in transit for 3 very long days. Visa expiry rules are ridiculous! Think of me a Tom Hanks in “The Terminal” tomorrow.

Traveling is awesome, but I think I’m repeating myself by saying it’s SO much better when you know someone to travel with. When I settled in Brisbane for a few months I started out alone in a suburb with a family I didn’t know & no idea what to do with my times off. Lucky for me, Dom (who I caught up with during my East Coast tour) was still in Brisbane & practically neighbours to me.

By neighbours I mean that she was a 3 km walk away. Up hills. Both ways. In my mind, I think of it as the “extreme” version of exercise on a treadmill where the incline keeps getting worse & worse & changes constantly. There are times where I can see the whole road ahead to where I’m traveling only because I’m at the top of the hill & can see all the twists in the road (& the peak of the next hill). Brisbane is anything but flat or a simple grid.

The past few months have just been nights of food experiments, hang outs in the city, patio relaxing, weird “art discoveries” (a shoe tree), & awesome beach traveling weekends. Wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.(…Is that too cheesy to say? Gonna miss ya while you’re still in OZ Dom!)

-Cory U

One of my days off, I ended up exploring the free exhibits at the Brisbane Museum. It was fun wandering around to see all the artifacts & information that represented Brisbane or Queensland. I found it really interesting to see how their houses here are built differently for both air circulation & flood preventions. One of the flashiest parts was seeing the old Surfers Paradise Metermaid outifts. Love the hat! haha.

Of course, with my luck & also my favourite part of the museum day, there was a fashion exhibition featured at the time showcasing Australian designs from the 60s. I just loved looking at all the classic designs & such detailed stitching. I could’ve stared at each outfit in detail for hours! When I get home, there’s a few new sewing techniques I want to try now.

-Cory U

The surf beat us up today. With @dominikamonicka in Byron Bay for my last weekend!