I'm a threat to marine life everywhere

Jenny, Andrea and I returned two days ago from our whirlwind tour of all Queensland has to offer. We were gone for about 10 days, and here's the breakdown of our trip:

1. We flew from Sydney to Cairns where we snorkled the Great Barrier Reef and toured the Daintree Rainforest.

2. We took a bus to Airlie Beach, a much more laid back beach town south of Cairns. There we went on a two-day sailing trip of the Whitsunday Islands.

3. From there we flew to Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. We explored the city for a bit before renting a car and driving about an hour outside the city to visit Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo.

4. After Brisbane, we caught a train to Surfers Paradise. For our three-day stay, our itinerary consisted of little more than lying on the beach. It was AWESOME.

Looking back, we really accomplished a hell of a lot in less than two weeks. I personally get a kick out of all the modes of transportation we used during our holiday--planes, trains, buses, cars, boats--we really should have stolen some kids' bikes and we really would be set.

Anyway, here's a more detailed account of my trip. We began in Cairns, which is located in tropical north Queensland, so the weather is crazy muggy. Its close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest (in addition to its crazy amounts of nightlife) make it a real hit with the tourists, particularly Americans.

Anyway, I have a bit of a jaded impression of Cairns for two reasons. First, I developed the worst sunburn known to humankind while on the Great Barrier Reef. We were on this boat for 10 hours and the weather was scorching. I thought I put enough sunscreen on, but it was obviously no match for the Queensland sun, which is known to be the worst on the planet. Seriously, that fact is written on the paper bags you get from the pharmacy (and I would know because I found myself there buying the largest bottle of SPF 30 they sold...). Apparently two out of every three Australians develop some form of skin cancer at some point in their lives. I wonder if that statistic includes stupid foreign students who also happen to live in the country.

The second reason I didn't get the best impression from Cairns is also from that same snorkeling trip on the Reef. Turns out, I'm from Iowa and not the biggest boat person. So for a fair portion of the trip, I was pretty seasick. Also, I have never been in an ocean before, so basically the Great Barrier Reef was my introduction to it. When it came time for me to get in the water, I was scared to death. Seriously, I can safely say that as they lowered Jenny and I in, it was the scariest moment of my life.

Once I was in the water, I floated motionless for a bit. I was grasping Jenny's hand and she kindly reminded me that I was wearing fins and that I could, in fact, swim. It took me a good 3-4 minutes to actually put my head under water because I just knew there would be a smiling Great White waiting casually below waiting to gobble me up for lunch (because, you know, they only eat you when you look at them). But when I eventually did take my first glimpse under water, it was absolutely breathtaking. The reef was a mix of beautiful green, blue and purple hues and fish jolted in and out of its countless cracks and crevices. It was amazing. I let go of Jenny's hand and was perfectly fine on my own. Well, until Jenny told me to look down.

Once Jenny got my attention and suggested I put my head under the water, I noticed everyone around me looking my way. Jenny didn't seem alarmed or anything, in fact, she was really excited, but I suddenly got really freaked out. I heard someone yell that there was a sea turtle and I almost simultaneously felt a light nip at my ankle. Instictively, I kicked my fin as hard as I could and felt something hard.

"You kicked it!" yelled a guy swimming right in front of me.

Yep, I did. But I swear, it was only an accident and I feel terrible about it looking back. After I kicked the poor turtle, I practically jumped into Jenny's arms and demanded that she take me back to the boat. Poor turtle. In retrospect, maybe my sunburn in a bit of karma for potentially harming a poor, defenseless (did I mention nearly extinct?) animal. Something to think about, I guess....

After the snorkeling trip, we went on a tour through the Daintree Rainforest. There we got a few close-up looks at some native Australian fauna--namely koalas, kangaroos and crocs and went on a boat tour of the croc-infested Daintree River. The rainforest was really beautiful, though the weather was really rainy and muggy. I guess I can't complain too much, considering where we were and the wonderful weather we had throughout the rest of our trip.