12
Location: Kuranda Rainforest
Today started bright and early with a 6:30 am bus ride from Townsville to Cairns. Our bus ride consisted of beautiful views and a chance to catch up on some sleep. Once we made it to Cairns, we hopped in a van and were on our way to the rainforest. We all got situated in our rooms and then had a group forum and snack time outside enjoying nature. We talked about emotions and why they are so important. After the forum, three girls and I helped Rain make a delicious meal, which consisted of chicken, beef, and a lot of vegetables. I made the rice and prepared my mom’s delicious stir-fried broccoli! Knowing the limited amount of kitchen material, we felt really accomplished to have made that meal. After dinner came the main event of the day, Frog Monitoring! We met up with our guide, Cathy, and started our adventure in the rainforest. It was really dark, so everyone had to wear their headlamps, and to be honest, that was one of the things that I was most excited for. As we made our way into the rainforest, Cathy pointed out sparkly spots on the side of a hill…they were SPIDER EYES! Many people, including myself, were scared nearly half to death. While on our journey we saw slugs, leaf bugs, stick insects, many spiders (ranging from all sizes), leeches, small fish, a river python, and finally a yellow stony-creek frog. After the monitoring, we got ready for a good nights sleep for our full day tomorrow of volunteering. Today was scary and stressful, but it will definitely be another unforgettable day on our Australian Journey.