We woke up around 6 to change and pack up our stuff before heading down to the lobby to check in with our tour group, a company called Contiki. As Candice, Ali and I were trying to figure out what to wear for the day, we realized we had absolutely no idea what to expect of the temperature and weather. So we put on shorts and tank tops and hoped for the best! All six of us headed down to the lobby, where the girls got breakfast but since I wasn't feeling hungry at all, I used the computer. Since we had arrived in Sydney, I hadn't been able to communicate with my parents or Jesse to tell them that I was safe. I sent them emails and as I finished, our Contiki tour group was assembling. Carolyn, our tour manager, introduced herself and explained some paper work we had to do before we could embark. In the medical conditions and dietary needs section, I decided to label myself a vegetarian figuring that this was my healthiest option out of the meals which were included. As we were finishing up the paper work, our coach bus arrived in front of the hotel. The driver, Macca, came into the lobby and introduced himself. After loading our luggage into the storage area of the coach, we boarded and were off on our first coach ride together!

We drove through Sydney into the Royal Botanical Gardens to see our first official sight. The place at which we stopped was called Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. It is a bench carved into sandstone on a little peninsula across the harbour from the Sydney Opera house. After seeing so many pictures of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, it was completely surreal to be standing across the water looking at it. Everyone took various pictures in our allotted time of only 15 minutes at the stop. As we drove off and were told that we had a two hour drive to our next stop, the disappointment sunk in- that was all of Sydney that I was going to see. I was increasingly bitter about missing out on a free day of exploring the city because of the flight cancellation.

The two hour drive landed us in a city called Port Macquarie, which sits right on the coast. I'm sure you're sensing some sort of importance behind the name Macquarie. Lachlan Macquarie served as the governor of New South Wales in the early 1800s. He did quite a lot for establishing the country in terms of infrastructure, exploration and economy. For his tremendous advancements which he made for Australia, he is given the title of the "Father of the Nation" and has various landmarks named after him. Port Macquarie was our lunch stop, so I bought a lunch and wandered down to the waterfront to eat it. The view was so beautiful, and the warmth of the sun felt so good.There were quite a few kids and some adults lounging on the dock shown in my picture. Kids would jump off into the blue-green water and swim right back to shore and do it all over again. I sat in the sun taking in the scenery until I had to get back to the coach. We drove for another three hours to Coffs Harbour which was were our first night's stay would be. As we grew closer to our destination, we passed tons of banana plantations. Carolyn announced that this was going to be our most 'basic' of accommodations, explaining that our stay, which is at a surf camp, is run by a bunch of laid-back "surfer dudes". It wasn't until we got a tour of the place that I fully understood her forewarning.

The place was very open and set up in a definite camping manner. There was one main building which had a dark TV room with a very, very dirty couch. The eating area was outside and was comprised of only an arrangement of picnic tables. Our rooms were the best part: they were dumpster-looking and sized compartments lined up next to each other in two rows. I think they were literally cars of a train. Each room had two bunk beds head to head against the long side with a tiny bathroom at the end. The door for the bathroom was a raggedy shower curtain which wasn't even wide or long enough to cover the doorway. Since only four people could sleep in a room, my group was split up and put next-door to each other. After looking at their room, Chelsea and Lauren announced they refused to sleep in their room because of a big ant's nest. I don't blame them, but now this meant that all 6 of us had to fit in this tiny area. Oh, and did I mention the air conditioning was essentially ineffective becuase of how humid it was? I knew it was going to be an interesting night!

Dinner was served to us in a buffet style where I received my first vegetarian meal of a spinach and cheese pastry. Not quite as healthy as I had hoped, but oh well! The food was better than we had anticipated. Upon finishing, the girls and I headed to the beach to check it out before the sun went down. Candice, Courtney and I walked around and gathered some really neat shells until the sunset had passed and it was getting dark. The sunset was the first of many beautiful ones which I would see throughout the rest of my trip. When we got back to the main area, the eating area had been transformed into a bonfire area. Music was blaring and nearly everyone was drinking and having a good time. The girls and I sat and were entertained watching the people until we were too tired. If you look in the picture of our room, you can see part of a window that is right above the top bed of the first bunk. As we headed back to our room, we saw a HUGE spider in its nest right outside of that window. Naturally, that top bed was mine. I was horrified. To make it even worse, there was a spotlight which seemed to conveniently be placed behind in order to make it that much more visible. It took everything in me to fight my instincts when I climbed into bed. I faced away from the window and talked myself to sleep with as little shuddering and freaking out as possible.