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Scuba Diving - the Great Barrier Reef

I was on the internet and got thinking that it has been so unbelievably long since I have e-mailed you so I figured I would give it a whirl! I was looking at the date and I can't believe that I have just about been in Australia for 5 months bizarre hey? Or should I say Eh? Gotta live up to my Canadian expectations.

Chris and I just bought a deep water dive for tomorrow out on the Great Barrier Reef and I am so extremely excited. We are doing an actual Scuba Dive going down 28 meters. The Reef is honestly the most amazing thing I have ever seen, it is so colourful, and the fish are gigantic. They are so big and there are hundreds of them everywhere. When we went snorkelling on the Whitsunday, it was so exciting even just from the surface. There are so many turtles and everything, as you can tell I'm kinda pumped.

Well I said my final farewell to Emma last night then she and Kelsey caught the midnight bus back to Airlie Beach. Both of us started to cry so it was kinda hard. We were talking to Chris and talking about possible plans but I think we might stay in NZ for a month longer and she is going to come to NZ a month later so Chris and I will do one month of it on our own and then one month with Emma. That would mean that we would fly home on April 10 instead of March. It was kinda cool because Chris was talking about maybe staying over there for like a month extra just by himself and just go to the mountains camping, which is cool. I never thought he would want to leave me. It's all just up in the air right now because it is impossible to make plans while travelling but we are just getting ideas.

I'm definitely getting over my bad stage of homesickness and now starting to get it through my head that if I can do even any extra time it will be worth it. I'm going to run but I know you know this already but I can never say it enough, how so unbelievably important you are to me and how much this trip has made me realize how important you and dad are to me. You have given me so many amazing opportunities in life and I LOVE YOU for everything in this entire world that you have ever done for me.

Anyway, I have to run and eat my traditional supper of Pasta and Salad. So I love you and will definitely give you a call the day after tomorrow and let you know all about my diving experience on one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Love LaRae

Off for a Whitsunday Sailing Adventure!

Hey,

 

Well it's definitely been quite some time since I've wrote because we have been so busy on the road lately. We just finished doing Fraser Island yesterday morning which was once again amazing and great to see everything a second time. After we got back to Harvey we spent the night and were on the road driving for 14 hours to Airlie Beach to do the Whitsunday Sailing Adventure.

 

We actually joined forces with a guy named Craig from England down in Brisbane and are riding with him doing all the stops along the way from Brisbane all the way up to Cairns so we have an "adopted Canadian". It has definitely been so much fun and a big Aussie "road trip". It has also been good for Chris to have another guy otherwise I think he would be going nuts with 3 girls.

 

Tomorrow morning Chris, Craig and I are heading off on a large sail boat for a 3 day 3 night sail stopping at all the beaches and getting to do some dives on the great barrier reef so I am super excited about that. We are splitting up with Emma and Kelsey now so we will kinda do our own route until New Zealand now.

 

Other than that, not too much is new except for the fact that this country is so unbelievably hot at least plus 40 each day. I hope everything is going amazing back home and I can't wait to see everyone, which I am starting to get really excited for. Other than that I will try writing sooner next time but I miss everyone and will talk to you soon.

            Lot's of Love

                 LaRae

 

 

Happy New Years!

Hello,

 

Well things are going great in the world down under!! Christmas, given the circumstances away from home and family was absolutely amazing. We ended up going to Mike from Vancouver's place and hanging out with him and the Kiwis during Christmas day then went to our staff Christmas party that evening (Which resulted in getting home at 5:30 am and working at 6am) which didn't go over well. Christmas was hard but it's over and done with so now it's all good.

 

Emma and I were feeling a little bit crazy the other day and went down to the transit station in Surfers and booked a plane ticket to Sydney the next morning(Dec 31) to meet up and have New Years with all of our friends in Sydney. Thank goodness we did because it was absolutely freakin remarkable. Sydney is supposed to have some of the worlds best fireworks shows and it definitely lived up to its rep as it was the coolest thing I have ever seen. They had a show at 9pm and then the big sha bang at midnight and we were right down by the Sydney Harbour by the Opera house and nothing could've topped our New Years!!

 

The next morning we hopped on a bus to Brisbane as Chris and Kelsey are arriving here in 2 days. The bus ride turned into quite the adventure as we got about 1 hour out of Sydney and were heading threw a valley when some spot forest fires started in front of us due to the 45 degree Celsius weather it was yesterday. We ended up in a major traffic jam pretty much at the front of the line and ended up being stuck around these fires as they were trying to evacuate all the vehicles and homes in the surrounding areas. It was pretty cool though because we stuck there for a couple hours and watched these forest fires getting bigger and bigger and there were tons of emergency vehicles and helicopters all around us. We ended up getting turned around and having to go back to Sydney and taking an alternative route which all together added about 10 hours extra on the bus. It was worth it though; definitely a cool sight to see and we got lots of pics.

 

Other than that, things are going extremely well and we can't wait to get back into the backpacking mode once they arrive. We just booked into a hostel in Brisbane and I love the atmosphere and how cool all backpackers are. The only thing is that it is getting so unbelievably hot and apparently Jan is the worst month. Yesterday it was plus 45 and only getting to plus 33 during the night and today is a staggering plus 47, Yikes!!

 

Anyway I hope your Christmas was absolutely wonderful and all of the best to you and your family in 2006. Have a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you when I get home.

 

                  Lot's of Love and Best Wishes

                               LaRae

 

LaRae's email to Keaton

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 9:36 PM

Subject: Hey Keaton!!

Hey Keaton,

Thanks so much for the e-mail! That's definitely a scary thought that Kelby will be driving soon. I'm sure she will be great at it.........eventually.

Aussie life is great here although it kinda sucks that I won't be able to be there for Christmas. It is totally different here and doesn't even really feel like Christmas because it is so hot all the time. Even when it's cloudy the air is still warm. I can't believe that I have already been gone for 3 months… time is sure flying by. I almost want to stay longer.

Chris and I are talking about maybe getting off in Singapore on the way home and going to Thailand for a month or two. Do you think you will travel once you get out of school? I definitely would encourage anybody to travel as it is really a great learning experience and you learn so much about life all around the world. Especially Australia… it is such a cool place. I have actually heard stories of people boxing Kangaroos but I don't think it actually happened, although it does make for a good story! We have seen tons of Kangaroos! I have pics of me with them and one of me holding a Koala Bear. The other day we got to hold a 6 month Kangaroo which was very cool as they usually don't come out of the mom's pouch for a year. The mom had died in fire and these people found it in a field. Its legs were kinda burnt but it was still the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Well Take Care and I hope you are feeling better soon and enjoy your Christmas Dinner. Be sure to eat some Turkey for me. They don't even have turkey in Australia.  Love Ya Keaton!!

                  LaRae

 

Burleigh Heads

Hello!!

I have no idea when the last e-mail was that I wrote so hopefully I don't repeat myself too much.

 

Emma and I are renting a master bedroom with an ensuite and bathroom in Burleigh Heads, which is a suburb just off of Surfers. We are living with a guy named Chad who is 25 and his younger sister Beth and her boyfriend that are 21. It is really nice here, and feels kinda homish. Other than that not too much is really new as we are just working to save up for the remaining couple months.

 

We are working two jobs, one in the morning from 8am till 1 working for a charity company and then working at a little Italian Restaurant on Main Beach named Milan. It is really cute and really high class with only 19 tables in the entire restaurant. We work evenings there and are starting mornings this weekend. The weather is just getting warmer and warmer as it approaches Christmas which is really weird to think as I'm used to the white Christmas's. It's really good in a way because it really helps with not getting homesick around Christmas time because it totally does not feel like it. It's weird to watch TV and see all the Christmas special ads and look outside and see a sunny bright blue sky and palm trees and such.

 

Schoolies is on right now which is absolutely insane; the gold coast gets so much action. It is when the Year 12 students come to the gold coast after graduation for 3 weeks of straight partying. Last week there were over 30,000 17 year olds roaming the streets. It's kinda cool though because every night they have massive concerts on the beach and it is all patrolled by the cops and tons of security so it is really a cool thing to see.

 

Other than that, life is not too exciting over here, except for the fact that I'm over here. Give me a couple weeks till we are back on the road then the adventure stories will come out. I hope everything is going extremely well back home and have fun with your Christmas shopping. We have e-mail at our house so I check it pretty much everyday so definitely write back if you want as I love talking to people from home. Take Care

                                                                           LaRae

 

 

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