I am now midway through the semester which means mid-semester break is here. My aunt, Sharon, came over to Australia to visit for break… Thus begins part 1 of our adventures – enjoy!

Friday March 30th:
Sharon arrived safely from the US and drove to my apartment from Brisbane! She got all settled in and then we took a walk around Uni, which we got to see a few kangaroos relaxing in the shade. Soon after that we joined Erin & Michael for a trip to Mooloolaba Beach. Sharon and I ended up walking the whole distance of the beach and back, allowing for some great catch up time!

Of course, afterwards we all had to get gelato from the Esplanade and then introduce Sharon to the delicious chips and gravy – yum! Afterwards we headed back to my apartment and went swimming in the pool with the rest of my roommates. After a delicious stir fry dinner, which put Sharon to sleep (or was it the 14 hour flight that did that? Haha) I just hung out for the rest of the evening.

Saturday March 31st:
Today was a big hiking day! We got up early and drove to the Glass House Mountains and hiked Mount Ngungun. Thankfully, it wasn’t as hot or humid as the last time I hiked it, and the breeze at the top felt amazing. I will never get tired of the view at the top, the mountains made from volcanoes are just so unique.

Then we headed down the mountain and back to the apartment, and had a bit of time to rest our legs before another hike. At about 5pm we headed out with Erin, Becca, Luke and Michael to Mount Coolum (also meeting Alex and his family there). We chose a night hike because there was a full moon that night and everyone says it looks gorgeous at the top. The hike wasn’t too hard, just rock stairs most the way which made our legs burn (especially after just hiking that morning). We reached the top right as the sun was setting in the West and saw the moon rising over the ocean in the East. Thankfully, the clouds decided to clear up for us every once in a while so we were able to see the blue moon/full moon! The hike back down required torches (flashlights) and we were rewarded with slurpees from 7 Eleven afterwards! A much needed relaxation time was fulfilled by watching Finding Dory that night!

Sunday April 1st:
Happy Easter! Sharon, Erin & I started off the day by attending a morning church service. Once we got back from church, the boys were hard at work baking chocolate cakes for Easter. Although they probably won’t admit it, they were happy us girls were back and came to the rescue. (Only joking, Michael & Luke’s cake was delicious!) When everyone headed out to Noosa to meet Alex’s family for Easter lunch, it was Sharon & I’s turn to take over the kitchen. We made a delicious, protein-packed brunch and sat and talked at the table. Before we knew it, it was 3:00 so we figured we better get going to our hike before it got too dark.
This was our first adventure to a place I’ve never been before: Kondalilla National Park. It was beautiful! It was about a 2km hike down to the bottom of the waterfall with scenic stops along the way. The largest waterfall, Kondalilla Falls (aboriginal name for rushing water), was a massive 80km in height. It was a beauty to look at from all different angles. After spending some time at the bottom of the waterfall we continued on with the other 2km of the circuit and made it back to the car park just as it was getting dark. It was definitely a gorgeous place to be!

(Note: I got to play around with my camera settings and got some nice, smooth water flowing shots!)

Monday April 2nd:
Easter Monday we got up relatively early and made our way up to Noosa Heads. Our first stop was exploring Noosa National Park. I have been here before, but it was just as beautiful as before! We saw the Boiling Pot, Fairy Pools & Hell’s Gate. Unfortunately, it was starting to rain while we were there, which ruined our plans to go to the beach. Instead we got fish and chips for lunch, poked around the town, and headed home. We spent the rest of the night relaxing, as I had some homework to get done. And then later in the evening, Erin, Becca, Michael & I dyed Easter eggs with a golden egg & sparkly egg kit that my mom sent along for me with Sharon! Our decorating rocked, I must say.

Tuesday April 3rd:
The alarm went off at 6:00 am this morning, but I didn’t mind as today was the day that we’d be heading to Lady Elliot Island and going to the Great Barrier Reef! But Tuesday & Wednesday deserve their own blog post…

Note: I am currently going through the many, many beautiful pictures and videos from Lady Elliot Island and will hopefully have things out soon! Trust me, it’s something you won’t want to miss 🙂 But please enjoy this sneak peak picture:

Next Adventure:
Thursday morning we’re headed to Byron Bay for the day and then spending the rest of the days in Brisbane until school starts & Sharon flies out on Monday – look for this post in about a week!

Cheers!