Today we spent the day on Morton Island. We started out by snorkeling through the Tangalooma ship wrecks. These boats were deliberately sunk to help with erosion and I am sure they also help with tourism. The fish near the shipwrecks were so colorful. It was neat swimming through the crevasse. Some of the kids were screaming and being a bit ridiculous. What I didn’t like about it was that they kept us so packed together that we kept kicking each other. They didn’t give the students any instruction on how to use their snorkel so most of them had their heads above water the whole time. It would have been nicer to spread out. I saw a clown fish and a black and white fish like the one in the dentist's office on Nemo. Probably the funniest part was us all trying to squeeze our asses into the wetsuits. These were a little thicker than our surfing ones. We were all helping each other pull. We hiked Jill’s halfway up and realized it was on backwards. After snorkeling we were all freezing so we went back to our rooms to take shower number 2 for the day.

Refreshed from the shower we went to the jetty and watched the pelican feeding. These were the biggest pelicans I have ever seen in my life. The kind you see in cartoons.

One of the kids wasn’t feeling good so we had to do rock, paper, scissors to decide who was going to stay behind with him while the rest of the group went sand tobogganing. Verna and Jill decided that they would rather stay behind on the beach then brave the sand so Adam and I got on the bus. They called it an island tour but they really should have called it a rollercoaster. I was the last one to get on the bus and the only seat was the giant bench seat in the way back. It ended up being a good choice because it was the bounciest seat. The driver was flying through the forest on a deep, sandy road. The trees were inches away from hitting the bus and we were going really fast. Every time we went over a bump everyone in the back would go flying out of our seats. At one point I landed on the lap of the kid next to me with another student in my lap. Finally the road opened up and we were in the middle of a desert. There were giant sand dunes surrounding us. You couldn’t really tell how big they actually were until you saw someone climbing on one. They looked like ants compared to the hill. When I got off the bus the sand was surprisingly cool on my feet. Then we started the long hike up the hill. I definitely had to stop a few times to catch my breath but the view from the top was great. The instructor waxed down a thin piece of particle board at the top of the hill and explained to us how to lay on our bellies and hold the front up. With the tips of my toes I pushed myself off the edge and flew down the hill. The key is to hold the front of the board up and keep your mouth shut so you don’t get a face full of sand. No matter how many times the instructor told us, almost everyone got covered with sand. I had it in every crevasse of my body. I went a second time and raced a few of the students down the hill. It was fun but the hike was rough. One girl did it seven times and won a t-shirt.

When we got back to the beach we had some free time because the students went to an animal lecture. I took shower number 3. Then Jill and I went and sat out on the Jetty to watch the sun set. As we were watching I noticed a ripple in the water. Then we saw fins getting closer and closer. It was the wild dolphins swimming in for some free food. They were so fun to watch because they just played in the water near the jetty for at least two hours. Jill got some good pictures but my camera battery was dead.

Today was another travel day. We left Coffs Harbor and drove north towards Morton Island. Halfway there we stopped at the Big Prawn. When we went to leave, the bus wouldn’t start. John, the bus driver, had to call a mechanic and we sat there for about two hours. We thought we were going to miss our ferry to Morton Island. We made it just in time but had to skip the light house we were going to stop at. The ferry to Morton Island was nice. It reminded me a lot of the high speed ferry to Block Island, RI. When we got close to the island we could see things moving around in the water. The closer we got we could start to see fins. Then we realized they were dolphins! When we got off the ferry we went straight into the water to feed them. At the time I assumed they were in an enclosure but come to find out they were wild dolphins that had been coming here for years. It was nearly dinner time when we arrived so we went quickly to our rooms to change. The island was beautiful. We stayed at the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. The place was perfect for the students. There was a lot for them to do with little supervision needed. After dinner they had karaoke at the restaurant. Adam, Jill and I sang Bon Jovi. The students sang a few songs as well. There was another delegation there whom our kids developed a bit of a rivalry with. The resort had an early curfew for the students so Jill, Verna and I were able to stay out and have a couple of drinks before bed.

Went camping this weekend....for the first time in a loooonnnng time.  With all my travels, I really haven't made it out traditional camping with friends for awhile.

Monica and I headed off with Tim (Trena's boyfriend), Ash (Tim's friend), and Ash's girlfriend.  Trena had to work Friday so she decided to join us on Saturday.  Moreton was really similar to Fraser island.  All the roads are sand and only 4 x 4's can make it through.

We were camping right on the beach and spent most of Friday setting up tents and camping stuff, reading, and sitting on the beach.  On Sat, we went on a great little hike along the coast.  It got pretty steep in parts.  Tim almost fell off a cliff at one point.  Yikes.  Very beautiful scenery though.  There was a little tiny lagoon next to our campground where you could go swimming so Tim, Trena, Mon, and I jumped in to try out my underwater camera and try some water stunting.  Tim and Ash headed off for a little surfing as well.  I tried surfing for a bit as well but, there was only a short board to use and I could not catch a wave with it.  Plus, I was a little nervous about sharks...it's not really a patrolled beach so I lasted about 5 mins. out there...Whadda wimp :)  Safety Sandra...haha.

There were some crazy huge spiders in the bathroom.....they were everywhere.  I wouldn't go in there because I was too freaked out.  These are the first bug spiders I've really seen in oz though.  Yucky!  It was a great trip though.