Where in the world is Rachel?

Back where I began this journey, Malinda and I pampered ourselves by getting a room at the Sydney Harbour Marriott (thanks to my amazing ex-boss and friend back home). The smog and skyscrapers were a harsh awakening from the rainforest and beach lifestyle we were getting used to, but we had some lovely strolls along Circular Quay where we enjoyed the beautiful night lights of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Goodbye for now Australia! You've been fantastic!

A dear friend of Malinda's from home let us stay in his vacant ocean-view apartment for the week, so we finally got to unravel and do some much-needed laundry. The highlights were our long bike rides along the beach and letting Malinda cook dinner for me each night while we sat glued to the Australian Open on TV. Can anyone tell me why Maria Sharapova needs to moan every time she hits the ball?

I returned to Airlie (one of my favorite places so far) bringing Malinda this time and went on another sailing trip out to the Whitsunday Islands. This time was on one of the world's fastest catamarans called the "Camira," which you couldn't miss if you tried, as it is a shocking shade of purple! We jetted out to Whitehaven Beach (easily the most beautiful beach in the world!), soaked up the sun, ate some delicious meals, snorkeled, and let out my inner child with some fun Aussie kids, 10 and 13-year old Zoe and Jake. It was a brilliant day on the sea!

Malin and I hired a car for the day and set off to explore the Tableland Mountains inland from Cairns, where there are hundreds of waterfalls hidden throughout the valleys, crater lakes, and freshwater creeks without man-eating crocodiles. We had a blast cooling off at Josephine Falls, our favorite part of which there's a natural rockslide that I somehow managed to coax Malinda into sliding down...screaming the whole way. Hilarious. Made my day. Yet after viewing about our 83rd waterfall, Malinda lost interest and we decided to move onto viewing giant fig trees instead...needless to say, we only got through 2. But it was a beautifully refreshing day altogether and I so much enjoyed being behind the wheel again, especially on those winding mountain roads...I made Malinda close her eyes.

On the back down south, we stopped at the Mossman Gorge where there was a huge swimming hole to cool off in and a hanging bridge that was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. We then stayed overnight in the quaint little town of Pt. Douglas, which was lovely yet still too unbearably humid to enjoy more than a quick glance at the impressive 4 Mile Beach. Sweat has become our scent du jour.

Malinda and I started off with a bang and headed up north to the Daintree Rainforest, where the rainforest meets the reef, and basically had our own little honeymoon hut a stone's throw away from the pool, bar, and beach. We had a brilliant time doing a crocodile cruise, rainforest walks, spotting a rare cassowary, sailing/snorkeling out to the Great Barrier Reef (where I found Nemo and...a SHARK!), sweating every moment we stepped outside into the dense humidity, and turning right back around to escape into our air-conditioned oasis every chance we got. The entire area is gorgeous and makes you feel like you stepped into a scene from Jurassic Park!

My aunt Malinda flew in today to travel with me for 3 weeks, and it was quite the funny afternoon laughing hysterically at her euphoria mixed with delirium from the 14-hour flight from California. She is so excited to be here and I am thrilled that she's let me take the reins and show her around.

I sailed this cluster of islands (74 to be exact) with about 20 other people for the last 3 days, and it was sheer paradise! We basked in the sun while sailing through incredibly blue waters, walked around the postcard-perfect Whitehaven Beach, learned to scuba, and snorkeled to our heart's content among the 40,000 species of tropical fish (and saw some freakishly large ones that I swear could have swallowed me). Sad news is that I didn't find Nemo yet, but I did meet some great people on the boat...my favorites being an English couple Emily & Adrian, and Adrian's brother Chris...who I knew were cool the moment we donned our extremely sexy stinger suits (to protect every inch of our skin from the killer jellies) and continued to wear them with pride when they were no longer required. Good times...photos will explain everything!

I spent a few days in this beautiful seaside town, mostly in the artificial lagoon they have built by the sea since there are too many dangers in the ocean (see the photo on my website for the listed possibilities). I still find this hilarious...that they have a fake beach within a stone's throw of the real beach. But hey, that's Australia for you. You never know what'll try to kill you next.

Named for the year Captain Cook landed on the shoreline, this quaint little town became my New Year's Eve destination for the lack of a better plan. But what a nice surprise, as it remains to be one of Queensland's last-kept secrets and you feel like one of the locals the minute you step foot into town. With a population of 2,000, it's the definition of relaxation & the ideal surfers paradise. I've been staying at the coolest hostel as well called Cool Bananas, where I met some great people to jump into 2007 with. Happy New Year everyone!

Despite the torrential downpour the first 2 of my 3 days on the world's largest sand island, my group still had a very memorable adventure 4-wheel driving all over the rough sands, camping in the wind & rain, spotting wild dingoes, and getting drenched as we walked to and from the scenic lookouts. It actually became humorous how ridiculous the weather was, but thanks to the fun half of our group (you know who you are), the crappy conditions only brought us closer together and allowed for more time to watch the Swedish girls do their infamous frog dance...which you must witness if you ever meet a Swede! The sun finally broke out the third day and all was forgiven when we got to the glowing white beaches & crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie, where we had a glorious swim!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Everything about this day felt so wrong, but I was able to celebrate with good people in the beautiful weather so I really have no serious complaints. I spent the morning on the beach listening to Christmas music on my ipod (Faith Hill's "Where Are You Christmas" was especially fitting), swam in the pool with all the others at my hostel, and then watched Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with friends. Like I said, it's never too late to begin new traditions.

I hope you all had a wonderful day with your family & friends, and thank you to those of you who answered your phones and cheered me up!

Pretty uneventful overnight stop in the city. Once again I'm convinced that a city is a city, and doesn't do much for me except for the plethora of gelato choices. But I did meet a really fun Brazilian couple named Rafael & Marina who are going to travel with me for the next few days, so I'm glad I stayed.

Ahhh, peace and quiet. I had the last 2 days all to myself in this fun little hippie beach town and spent most of my time wandering the white beaches aimlessly & watching some beautiful sunsets. Oh, except for one morning when I thought jogging on the less-populated beach sounded like a good idea...you know, get some exercise & run off all the gelato that I can't seem to say no to. Yet that was until I discovered I was running through a minefield of jellyfish. (Just a sidenote...Australia has some of the most deadly animals in the world, one of them being the extremely lethal box jellyfish that can kill a human with one sting). Now I'm not exactly sure which these were, but I wasn't ready to take my chances so I preceeded with extreme caution and must have looked quite silly to the beachgoers, tip-toeing the rest of the way back to safety. Sorry that story was a bit anti-climactic and didn't involve me getting stung or peed upon, but you should be glad I'm alive to tell the tale.

I also have a confession to make...I experienced my first official day of feeling homesick. But it wasn't my fault. I was casually browsing the canned food aisle of Woolworth's supermarket, when suddenly "Silent Night" by Kenny G came on overhead and I almost lost it. Pretty pathetic, huh? So yeah, apparently I'm not as immune to normal human emotions as I thought. I DO miss being home for the holidays and everything about Christmas decorations feels so wrong in 90 degreee weather on the beach. Although I have no complaints about the tan.

My friend Sharma (who I met in NZ) was gracious enough to put me up for 2 days & play tour guide in her lovely hometown. We walked all along the beaches & harbour, learned everything there is to know about bananas at the world's largest banana, explored the forests & swam in Never Never Creek in Gleniffer, walked above giant trees at Dorrigo Nat'l Park, and watched fantastic lightning storms all night long...I was elated! Sharma is such a character & the term free spirit was given a whole new meaning after being around her energy. Love ya Sharms!