Hello hello!! I have been home for 8 weeks now. I have fully adjusted back to life and am no longer jet lagged (thank god). It is hard to believe that I was in Australia not that long ago. It feels like yesterday, but also a lifetime ago. I am looking forward to my next Australian adventure (which I hope is soon). I hope everyone is doing well! I am FINALLY going to talk about my final days in Gold Coast, Australia 🙂 Sorry for the delay.
As my other blog posts have told you, I was notified on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 that I had to be out of the country no later than Monday, March 23rd, 2020. This meant I had 6 days to say goodbye to friends, do anything that I hadn’t yet, book a flight, and pack all of my belongings. It also meant that I had to kiss my trip to New Zealand with my friends goodbye 😦 I do plan on going back to NZ as soon as I can though!
The last few days in Australia were nothing that I had expected, but I still enjoyed every second. Everyone was stressed out with having to pack up their belongings and deal with flights being canceled. Campus began to implement social distancing. This meant no in-person classes (not that I was going anyways…oops), standing 6 feet apart to order food, no seating at Lakeside, hand sanitizer everywhere, etc. At this point in time, a lot of our friends had left already, so only Alyssa, Lillian, and I were still in AUS. On Thursday, March 19th, 2020, the three of us went to the SkyPoint Tower in Gold Coast!! This tower is 322.5 meters tall and is one of the tallest residential buildings in the world. There is an observation deck at the top level (level 77). They also offer a climb to the top of the tower, which is what we did! If you are a Bachelor fan, this is where Peter Weber and Madi Prewett went on their date!! Our instructor was actually the one who brought them up there that day! According to her, Peter was very flirty and the couple were just kissing constantly (tea, I guess). But enough about Bachelor drama haha 🙂
The instructors helped us into our suits and showed us how to work our harnesses. We clipped onto the railing with our harnesses. This kept us safe for the entirety of the climb. We took an elevator that brought us from the ground level to level 77 in 42.7 seconds!! We followed our instructor out of the observation deck and up some stairs to the top. She took pictures for us during the experience and gave us some background on the tower.
The view from the tower was amazing. We could see all of the Gold Coast and beyond. The Gold Coast is very special because not only does it have city life, but it also has beautiful hinterland. Here are some pictures of my friends and I at the top!! (It was VERY windy at the top)
After our climb experience, we walked around Surfers Paradise for a while. We popped into some gift shops and grabbed a drink at the Beer Garden (which is decked out in Corona merchandise…ironic). Afterwards, we went back to campus for a while before going out to dinner that night.
Friday morning, I got up early to say goodbye to my roommate. She was driving back to Central Queensland and was leaving at 6AM. I said goodbye to her and then I was all alone in my room. To be fair, most of the dorm was empty at this point. Later that morning, we said goodbye to Lillian 😦 We got brunch together and wished her luck on her journey to Chicago. Lillian and I go to the same university so I am looking forward to meeting up with her again when we are both back in DC! Alyssa and I hit the beach Friday afternoon. We went to Broadbeach and hung out there for a few hours and enjoyed each other’s company. That night, we went down to Surfers Paradise again so that Alyssa could get her tattoo!! (Don’t worry, Mom. I didn’t get one…although I did think about it). She made her appointment and then we hung out at a bar for a short while until it was time!! She got a small wave on her ribs so it didn’t take long and she did so well! It looks great and she loved it.
Saturday morning, I met up with Alyssa and we got brunch together. Saturday was the day that Alyssa was leaving 😦 and she was leaving campus around 2:30PM. We spent the morning walking around campus and reminiscing on all the good memories that we had made. It was really sad to see her leave, but I can’t wait to see her again! It is great to know that I have a good friend out in Iowa/Minnesota 🙂 I can’t wait to visit her when it is safe to travel again. I spent some time on Saturday night packing my own things and cleaning out my room.
Sunday morning, I got up early and headed to Tamborine National Park. I hired a driver to pick me up and drive me there. It was about an hour drive. My driver was very friendly and had many stories to tell. I was supposed to go to Tamborine National Park the following weekend with my abroad program, but obviously that was canceled. I still wanted to go so I went on my own 🙂 He dropped me off at the mountain and I began hiking. I hiking along a waterfall and it was beautiful. I spent some time at the bottom of the waterfall, enjoying the day. After a while, I hiked back and called my driver. Tamborine National Park was unlike any other mountain I had visited before. There were plenty of people who lived on the mountain (it was a little town) and it had lots of activities for families to go on vacation. You could see Surfers Paradise from the top of the mountain. I was really glad that I made the trip up there.
Monday arrived and I was leaving around 4PM. I got my last workout in at the gym that morning, finished packing my belongings, and cleaning out my room. It was a pretty sad day. I was definitely soaking in my last moments in Gold Coast, but it was also hard to not be a little sad. I was definitely not ready to leave. Like I said before, I really want to go back and spend a lot of time in the Gold Coast again. I’d love to live there for a year or two at some point in my life.
I met my bus driver at 4PM and we picked up the rest of the passengers before heading to Brisbane International Airport. We finally arrived and I checked my bags. It was a pretty easy process and they didn’t ask me many questions besides: Have you been out of Australia in the last two months? Did you pack your own bags? Are you aware of everything you are carrying?
I met my friend Maggie at our gate. We booked the same flight from Brisbane to Hawaii to Boston. Maggie and I graduated from high school together. I am so glad that I had a friend to fly with. It definitely made the experience a lot better. I slept through most of the flight from Brisbane to Hawaii. In Hawaii, we went through customs and security, which wasn’t to difficult! We boarded our flight to Boston and it was the longest 9 hours of my life. I did not sleep at all since I was on Australian time. I arrived in Boston at 5:34AM on Tuesday, March 24th. I was filled with mixed emotions. Excitement to see my family and Oliver. But, also sadness because I wanted to be in Australia with my friends living our best lives.
Oliver picked me up after I got my bags from the baggage claim and it was so good to see him 🙂 He drove 3 hours to pick me up and quarantined with me for 2 weeks at my house. He definitely made the transition back to life in the United States a lot easier and I am very thankful for him.
It has been 8 weeks since I have been in Aussie and I miss it every single day. I can’t wait for the day I book my next flight to Australia. I highly recommend visiting Australia at some point in your life 🙂 Especially in January!!
I want to thank everyone that has read my blogs! It means a lot to me 🙂
Until next time, Australia. Thank you for everything and for showing me all of your beauty. I’ll be back 🙂
Bonus: Here is me about a week after being home, going on a walk in the cold Massachusetts weather while wearing my Bond hoodie 🙂
Ali's Australian Adventures 