Scuba Diving at the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world. Scores of tours leave the city of Cairns every day. People can go snorkeling, scuba diving, or simply cruise along on a glass bottom boat. The amount of biodiversity in the reef is breathtaking. I saw fish I had never even seen in aquariums or in science textbooks. There are also many varieties of coral. The entire Great Barrier Reef is made up of close to 3,000 individual reefs.

the mask I wore

the oxygen tank that is used when scuba diving. here you can see how large it is in relation to the diving instructor's leg

people snorkeling. notice the difference in water color where the reef is

people getting their scuba equipment put on while sitting on the platform at the back of the boat

sporting the wetsuit I wore. again notice the difference in water color

holding on to the rope that the boat was anchored on while I practiced breathing through the apparatus and edged deeper and deeper into the ocean

underwater in all of my equipment. I did two dives. each lasted about 25 minutes. the furthest I went down was about 10 meters

Cairns

Cairns is considered "the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef." The city is much smaller than places like Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne, however it is still famous due to its proximity to one of the natural wonders of the world. The city is right next to the ocean, however people do not swim in the ocean because of the high prevalence of crocodiles in the area. Instead, the government created an enclosed area of ocean water called the "Lagoon," in the central business district of Cairns.

the mudflats where crocodiles frequent

lowtide

the area around Cairns is very tropical, has mountains, and rainforests 

the Lagoon

Auckland

Auckland is the most populated city in New Zealand. 1.5 million people live here. That's 1 in 3 New Zealanders! The city's nickname is "The City of Sails." The tallest structure in the southern hemisphere at 328 meters, the Sky Tower, is located in the center of the city. The city is built on scores of dormant volcanoes.

looking up the Sky Tower

looking at Auckland's skyline from a suburb called Devonport

one of Auckland's dormant volcanoes in the distance

the huge marina for which Auckland gets its nickname of "the City of Sails"

Australian Ranches

Much of Australia's land is made up of ranches. These ranches make up a large part of Australia's economy and also the country's culture. Ranches have various animals like sheep, rams, goats, cattle, chickens, etc. some of the same types of animals one might see on an Indiana farm. The livestock industry makes up a significant part of the Australian economy.

ram

sheep being herded by a sheep dog

the dog then herds the sheep into a paddock

a sheep shearing demonstration

waiting for their turn to be sheared

States of Australia and the Country's Political System

Like the United States, Australia is made up of states. There are six states, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia. Like the US, there are state governments and a federal government. There are state parliaments and a national parliament. All of the parliaments, except for one state have an upper and a lower house. The heads of the states are called premiers. The head of the country is the prime minister. The current prime minister for the country is Tony Abbot.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the world's oldest and largest sanctuary for koalas. While here I had the chance to hold one of these famous creatures. However koalas are not the only animals on display here. Other famous Australian animals that could be seen are platypus, emus, and kangaroos. I even got to feed some of the kangaroos!

Laughing Kookaburra 

holding a koala

a selfie of me feeding a kangaroo

we became good pals

roo

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The city has over two million people in it and at the center of the city is the Brisbane River. Brisbane as of late has been referred to as "Australia's New World City." In 1988 the World Expo was held here and in 2014 the G20 Summit was located in Brisbane.

Brisbane's Story Bridge

Brisbane's City Hall

Brisbane was an important location during WWII

prior to the 1988 Expo, statues representing life in Australia were placed all over the city 

looking at Brisbane's CBD, Central Business District

Kiwis

The national bird of New Zealand is the kiwi bird. The bird is native to the country and is flightless and nocturnal. The bird has become a symbol for the country. A slang term for New Zealanders is kiwis.

on the back pillow is a kiwi bird. the image on the front is just a popular Maori icon

a stuffed kiwi at the Auckland Museum 

Silver Fern

A common symbol of New Zealand is the silver fern. There are of course different species of ferns, the majority of which are green on both sides, however there is a species of fern native to New Zealand where one side is green whereas the other side is silver.

Kauri Trees

A species of tree native to New Zealand that grows quite large, similar in size and age to California Redwoods, are Kauri trees. These trees were used extensively in past times for Maori war canoes also known as wakas.  Nowadays this type of tree is protected in order to preserve the remaining population.

Hobbiton

The Hobbiton Movie Set is the location where the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy were filmed.

Waitomo Caves

Another unique tourist attraction in New Zealand famed for its natural beauty are the Waitomo caves. Although the cave system itself is something to marvel at, that is not the reason that people make the trip. The actual reason is in order to take a boat ride along the cave's river system with the only light coming from the bioluminescence of the cave's thousands of glowworms.

where I exited the caves. I couldn't actually take any photos within the caves. But it is possible to find some photos online

Treaty of Waitangi

1840 is perhaps the most important year in New Zealand's history, a year as important as the United States' 1776. In 1840 is when the famous Treaty of Waitangi was signed. This was a treaty signed between New Zealand's British colonizers representing the British crown and many Maori chiefs representing their respective tribes. The general outcome of this treaty was that New Zealand would become an official colony of Britain and the Maori would become British subjects.

a replica of the treaty

info about New Zealand's history. English on the left, Maori on the right. The flag is "The Flag of the United Tribes." 

Bay of Islands

One of New Zealand's more popular tourist attraction famed for its natural beauty is an area in the northern part of the country called the Bay of Islands. This area is actually what the name suggests. I went on a cruise of the area and learned about some of the history of the area. This place was where some of the first Maori settlements began. Additionally, there were locations within the Bay of Islands where Captain Cook docked his ship while on his famous expedition of the region.

Paihia is the gateway to the bay of islands

the hole in the rock

dolphins can be found in the area