LETTERS HOME FROM AUSTRALIA

DAY 1:

Dear mom and dad,

I just wanted to say that I miss you guys and that I’m having a great time here. The flight went great and I watched around four movies, and I really recommend the new Bond movie. If you have been wondering what I’m doing here, then look no further than this letter!

I arrived safely at the airport this morning. I went straight to the hotel and left my bags. I came too early to check in, so I walked to the beach.The hotel was located a little bit outside of Sydney, by the Rose Bay.  It was just a ten minute walk and it felt so good to stretch my legs. I stayed there for an hour or so, it was extremely hot and the water felt great. It was very beautiful and I don’t think I’ve seen anything prettier.

After I checked in I took a short nap, boy was I tired. When I was rested I took a cab to Sydney. The city was quite amazing. I love it and I can bring you guys here some other time, because I definitely think you should see it. I saw the opera house and it nearly blew my mind. I took lots of pictures and you’ll need to see them! I did some shopping because it’s much hotter than I had expected.

Right now I’m sitting at an internet café writing this letter to you. It’s super hot and I’m sweating like a lunatic. I’m going to take a shower now and have dinner. I think there’s a restaurant on the block that serves crocodile, so I’ll have to try that. There’s a ten hour time difference so I’ll be up all night digesting that crocodile, I sure hope it happens in a good way.

I just wanted to check in with you and make sure you know what I’m up to. What about you guys? What have you been doing, I would love to hear. I’ll check in tomorrow again, by then I will have lots of stuff to tell. I’m planning on visiting Sydney and taking a boat ride. Claire told me that there’s a great mall called the Pitt Street Mall, which I’ll be visiting. I’m going back to the harbor as well. I’ll be moving on to Brisbane overmorrow.

Hope that you’re well,

Kajsa

DAY 2:

Hello again!

I’ve done lots of fun things today! Everything is so great here in Australia!

The crocodile tasted just like chicken and it could be my new favorite dish, it’s too bad that it came with a price tag. The restaurant was incredible too, they had some great music playing and everything was delicious. Guess what, I made a friend as well. Her name is Lindsey and she’s from the US. She is so funny and has been down under for about a week now. She is also going to Brisbane tomorrow morning, she’s even on the same plane! We have agreed to travel together for a while. She is so nice and said that she would show me parts of Sydney today.

We met up after breakfast. We went to the shopping mall and just like Claire said, it was great. I loved it. It had all my favorite shops and after some shopping we went to Starbucks. By then I was carrying around big shopping bags. After leaving that mall it was about lunch time, so we went to the Camperdown park for lunch. It was a very cozy park and our lunch was pretty good. After lunch we made our way to the harbor. We went to the cruise office and asked if there were any trips around the harbor. There was one two hours later, so we booked tickets. In the meantime we checked out the harbor bridge and walked around the neighborhood. After walking around and looking in souvenir shops I had collected a miniature opera house, a bridge and a wallaby. By then it was about time to return to the harbor and board the boat. When we arrived the boat was nearly filled, and ten minutes later we departed from the harbor in a pretty big RIB boat. The tour was incredible. The water was gorgeous and we saw fish swimming around in it. The bridge was looking great and the opera house was even prettier from the water. Even though it was expensive, it was worth every penny of the price. It’s a view I’m not forgetting in a long time.

We then separated and went to our own hotels. I dropped off all my things and put on some nicer clothes. Then I picker her up at her hotel and we went to a pub for dinner. The food was good, but not as good as crocodile. Then we went home, which is where I am now, but I better go to bed. Tomorrow morning we’re taking the airplane to Brisbane and spending some time there.

Bye,

Kajsa

DAY 3:

Dear parents,

Here’s another update about my stay in Australia. I hope you enjoy it.

This morning we had to go up very early and head to the airport in Sydney. It was quite big and after a while we boarded our plane. I sat next to an older lady and Lindsey was a few roads in front of me next to a young man, but I switched seats with him. Lindsey had a map with her, and we planned out what we would do in Brisbane.

 

They have some great beaches in Brisbane, and both Lindsey and I wanted to try surfing. She had heard about surf instructors there. Brisbane was supposed to be a great city to bike around, so we planned to do that.

When we arrived at the airport we took a taxi to the city. Soon after getting there we found a rack full of bikes. We payed and got two of them. Lindsey’s map helped us bike around town and it was a great city. Not as much shopping and tourism as Sydney, but lots of local restaurants.

After having lunch in a small cozy restaurant with cabin like decor we biked to the beach. We had our swim suits this time and took a swim. After splashing around for a while we decided to find a surfing instructor. There were some girls standing in a booth surrounded by surf boards, we decided to give it a try. They said that they would teach us for $20 an hour each. We did it for three hours, but we got the hang of it after 2 hours. Now we could be pro surfers. It was great fun and worth the money. The instructors were really nice as well, and I would say that we befriended them.

They told us that they were having dinner at a great restaurant, and that we were invited. We joined them and it was super fun. I got to know a guy there as well. He was super friendly and outgoing, and I found out that he lived in Perth, which is where I was going tomorrow. He had booked a flight one hour later than mine, but he said that he could show me around the city. His name was Jackson.

I’m currently on the overnight flight writing this letter. I’ll arrive in Perth 8am tomorrow morning. He promised to take me kayaking and I’m so excited.

Best wishes,

Your daughter

DAY 4:

Dear mom and dad,

I’m currently on the overnight flight towards Adelaide. Here’s the daily update about what I’m up to here in Australia.

Jackson is the sweetest boy I’ve ever met. I had breakfast at the airport and waited for his flight to arrive. When we arrived we left the airport and Perth was quite a sight. He took me to his house and we left our stuff there. I put on my bikini underneath my clothes for a swim later in the day. He had promised to meet up with some of his friends, and I got to follow along. They were super sweet and we had such a great time, but after lunch we had to part.

He had a surprise waiting for me at the beach, two kayaks next to each other. We prepared them and put them in the water. Then we went off into the water. It was really nice and I don’t regret it at all. We then dried off and put our clothes back on.

He promised me that they had a great zoo as well, and he wanted to show me it. We arrived there and I heard animal noises from quite the distance. He paid for the tickets and we went in. Our first stop was the penguin nest. The penguins were the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and they were shipping around in the enclosure. We moved on to the crocs, they were taking it easy and sunbathing by the shore. We saw all of the animals, and had some ice cream. The ice cream was really good, but nothing like B&J at home.

After exiting the zoo, we went back to his place. We both took a shower and his parents had prepared dinner. It was delicious and with it they had a local red wine, which was one of the best I’ve ever had. Then Jackson drove me to the airport and I hung out there before boarding my flight.

Today was definitely the best day of this trip so far, and I’m planning on staying in touch with Jackson for a long time. He is so sweet and nice.  

Hope you're doing well,

Kajsa

DAY 5:

Hello,

How are you doing? Could you tell me what you've been up to? At least I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing.

I got a proper amount of sleep onboard the plane, so I was rested when I arrived in Adelaide. Jackson had recommended going on a wine tour in the Barossa valley. At the airport I saw a girl about my age who looked lost. I went up and asked her if she was ok. She told me that she wanted to go to the Barossa valley and didn’t know how. I told her that I was heading to the same place and we could go together. Her name was Summer and she was really fun. She lived in the UK, but as travelling around Australia just like me. We rented a car together and drove out to the valley. When we arrived the wine places hadn’t opened yet, so we decided to have a coffee in meantime. We had great conversations and she is such a great friend. If we ever visit the UK we need to make a stop in Southern Wales, which is where she lives.

We moved on to the first wine place and they served a fantastic cheese platter. Then we tried the wines, which were great too. Summer bought a bottle, but I wanted to wait and had a feeling that better wines would come. I was right, three places later I found this perfect wine. I bought two bottles, and don’t worry, you’ll get to try.

After spending hours there, we decided to start heading back to Adelaide. The sun was setting by then. The sky was full of beautiful colors and I have not seen anything better than that. We were driving across Australia in a small red car with the sun in front of us. I couldn’t of dreamed of seeing anything better when I boarded the flight down here. Back in Adelaide, Summer told me about a nightclub that was supposedly great, so we checked it out. They had great drinks and everyone was so friendly. I had so much fun and I hope to stay in contact with a lot of people I’ve met.

I hurried to the boat after leaving the club. It is going to take me to Tasmania. I’m looking forward to seeing Tasmania, but I have to go now.

Bye,

Your daughter

DAY 6:

Hey,

Tasmania is really pretty. Hobart was super cute and there were lots of great parks. My budget is running a little low, so I couldn’t do anything expensive, but it was still a great day.

Did you know that alcoholic beverages are forbidden on city council property. Neither did I, until I saw a group of men get escorted from the grounds. They looked very embarrassed when all the park keepers came up to them while they were obviously drunk and had problems wobbling away from the park.

They had a swim pool that was free of charge, so I took a quick swim. There were mostly old ladies there, but they were all friendly and pleasant. I moved on after approximately half an hour there and I went to the botanical garden. They had lots of plants that I’ve never seen before and in colors I couldn’t have imagined before seeing them. I even bought some seeds for you to plant in your garden. I hope they can prosper in our cold climate, but I’m not very sure.

After leaving the garden, it was about lunch time. I headed to a park close by and bought a hot dog and a lemonade. They weren’t anywhere near crocodile meat, but they did the job.

I wanted to do something that involved exercise, so I went to the nearest tourist information place. They told me about a trail around Hobart. I decided to take it and speed up my metabolism. There were lots of wild animals by the trail, and it was like a walking safari. The birds were extremely colorful and I some pictures that I will show you when I get back home.

That’s pretty much everything I have done today and right now I’m waiting at the airport for my flight. I’m flying to Cairns, where I’ll spend two days before flying home, see you then.

Bye,

Your daughter

DAY 7:

Dear parents,

I’m in a small place south of Cairns, it is called Mission Beach. At the airport I overheard some people talking about how great and beautiful it was, so I followed them there. They knew what they were talking about, and there were palmtrees, the water had a beautiful color, the sand was warm and soft, and the people were friendly. There were cassowaries and wallabies everywhere, they were all incredibly cute and I took pictures, although the Australians seemed to be annoyed with them.

There were other birds than cassowaries, like yellow-bellied sunbirds and bowerbirds. All of the birds were colorful and very pretty. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any good pictures of the other birds, but I have plenty of cassowaries.

I hadn’t done a lot of exercise during my trip, so I wanted to take a hike. There was a trail that seemed long enough and went through the forest. I had a cab drive me there, and it was higher than I thought. The high altitude made it a bit heavier than I expected, but in a few hours I had hiked the trail and was back at the starting point.

I still had some Australian money left, and I was preparing for my home trip, so I wanted to do something expensive, skydiving for example. I walked to the tourist information desk and they informed me about a skydiving place and they booked it for me. 20 minutes later, I was picked up outside the place with a big van along with a few others. The drive took a quarter and the family I was doing it with was nice. The daughter was only twelve or so, and seemed both scared and excited. We went up in the airplane with 20 others. When it was time to jump and I couldn’t see the ground I was scareder than I’ve ever been before. With a little support from the instructor and I made my jump and it felt amazing. My stomach was about to explode, but I felt free and it was fantastic. I had adrenaline pumping in my body and I tried to extend my arms as the instructors told us. At first I was a bit insecure, but as I did it my confidence grew and I felt like I was on top of the world, literally.

Tomorrow evening I’ll be heading to the airport in Cairns to fly home, I’ll send a text about when you should pick me up at the airport. Tonight, I will be staying at a motel, hopefully it will be cheap.

See you in a while,

Kajsa