Finally have internet!!

After over a week I finally have internet and its free!!!!! Soooo much has happened again since I was last able to blog that I don't even know where to start! Right now I'm on Orpheus Island at their research center and it's our last island so after this we go to Cairns where we have no school work! (not like the stuff we do on the island is even really school work) But since the last time I was able to get on I've also been to Heron Island which I have to say is my favorite island!! It was the most gorgeous place I have ever seen! I can't even begin to give enough detail but the beaches were white and the water was so clear and blue! We did lots of snorkeling and I saw sooo many different things such as: manta rays, sand sharks, reef sharks, jelly fish, tons of tropical fish and different coral, sting rays, barracuda and sea turtles! We actually got to see some sea turtles hatch and I held one (which your not supposed to do but I just couldn't help it) but it was really sad because they are supposed to hatch at night and these did during the day so pretty much all of them got picked up by sea gulls. We went on a night snorkel one night and that's when we saw the barracuda and sting rays which was pretty scary, but then I also got to dive down and pet a large sea turtles shell while he was sleeping so that was pretty excited! While on Heron my group decided to do our research on the amount of sand to coral coverage in the different reef zones. Conclusion: pretty obvious, sand decreases as coral increases the further you get off shore. It was pretty hard to collect our data because we had to take a tape measure of 20m out to the reef crest and swim along and measure the coral and with the tide it kept pushing us away. But once we got that done we didn't have a whole lot to do so everyday I got to spend a couple hours laying out on the beach!! The last night after presentations we went out and celebrated on the Jetty which was a ton of fun and a few of us even ended up jumping in :)
After we left Heron we had a 2 day trip to Orpheus. We stopped in Rockhampton which is the beef capital of Queensland so yes I had a steak for dinner, it was good but not as good as Jerry's steaks on the smoker :) The hotel-motel we stayed at there was a really hold historical one that was really spooky and had no elevator so I had to carry my luggage up 2 flights of stairs so it definitely was an adventure! The next night we were in Townsville which is a pretty big city so all of us girls got dressed up to go out while on the guys went to a movie. What we thought was going to be a great night out on the town turned to be horrible. It was a monday so no one was out and this drunk guy at a bar with 5 other people wouldn't leave us alone so when the manager asked him to leave they got in bar brawl! It was interesting for sure!
The next day we finally made it to Orpheus and it's gorgeous here! It has a lot more jungle and the bathrooms aren't quite as nice because the toilets don't flush but it's really not too bad. EXCEPT, they have frogs!!! I saw my first frog yesterday and it was ok but I was ready to leave right away. But I'm toughing it out and its not too bad!
I have sooo many more stories but I don't even know how to tell everything so if you have questions please let me know because sometimes that's easier!!
O I almost forgot! On are way to Heron we stopped at 2 more beaches and got to hike and then lay out at these beautiful remote beaches. It was heaven!! Then at one of our stop overs we went to this place at Tin Can bay where every morning they have 1 or 2 hump back dolphins swim in to get a fishy snack! I got less then a foot away and it was really cool!
But thats all for now I guess, and like I said ask questions!! Love you all!!