On Saturday the 8th of March, the Bucknell group hopped on a plane, marking our last day in Sydney. Although the sad goodbye, this marked the first day of our amazing trip in Cairns. On our first full day, Sunday, GAV took our group on a day tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Here I was able to snorkel and scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef, a mind-blowing experience. My diving group was able to see an amazing array of fishes, a shark and many different coral types. Some examples include, a 3-foot Reef Shark, Parrot Fish, Stingrays and much more. Overall, this experience this Sunday was one of my favorite of all time.
Our GAV scheduled trip for today consisted of a bus tour of the beautiful mountains in Cairns, as well as many amazing stops along the way. Our most notable stops today include a stop at a 100-foot waterfall and another at an amazing freshwater lake. We were lucky enough to be able to swim up and behind the waterfall and take many amazing photographs and ultimately have a wonderful time. The pictures were amazing as the sun shining off the water created a wonderful golden glow. The freshwater lake spot was another very fun stop. The water was super warm and there was a dock we could dive off of. Although all we saw were turtles in this lake, our guides told us stories about the singular fresh-water crocodile which lived in the lake. Thankfully, our group did not have any run-ins with this crocodile, probably for the better.
Overall, this trip has been amazing, and we still have more than a half week to go. Our time in Sydney was also super amazing and enriching but, I am happy that we have been able to see more nature in Australia and make it to the Great Barrier Reef before we leave to Singapore.