INTERNSHIP ABROAD

So, this past weekend encompassed some of the most unbelievable days of my entire life. I could not be more thankful to the ISA internship program for the opportunities that I am experiencing right now. No, I didn’t skydive, but we have cleared plans to get that done this next week…FINALLY!!! I’m booking my skydive in like 5 minutes actually. But anyway, as I was saying, my four-day trip to Cairns, Australia was incredible. I went on a dinner cruise in crocodile infested water, went scuba diving and snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, rode a beautiful horse named Molly through the rainforest, and bought basically all of the souvenirs in one of the gift shops.

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

I feel like I’m a totally different person right now because my life normally isn’t this interesting. I don’t just casually take a boat into the middle of the ocean and dive down to the bottom…like, that’s just not something that normally happens for me. I mean, I LOVED it, but it was definitely out of my comfort zone.  The scuba diving experience as a whole was indescribable. The SEASTAR crew who took us to the Great Barrier Reef and taught us how to dive was phenomenal! The staff made the trip SO much more fun and really helped ease our nerves about, ya know, SHARKS (and everything else in the ocean that is pretty terrifying). So, after gathering up the courage to jump in the water with a weighted belt and oxygen tank strapped to my back, I stepped off of the boat into the deep blue. It’s rather hard to explain how I felt in the moments after that. I had that sinking feeling (quite literally) in my stomach, but I also felt strangely at ease and peaceful. It was almost like an “out of body” experience. So, after sinking for about five minutes, we hit the ocean floor 40 meters (131 feet) below the surface. I witnessed a sea turtle eating some algae, saw all types of colourful fish, witnessed a super beautiful reef, and I found Nemo! BEST.DAY.EVER.

Casual, Everyday Horseback Ride Through the Rainforest

After scuba diving, I thought that the weekend had for sure hit its peak. Nope! It was just getting started. The next day we went a few miles of Cairns (with Blazing Saddles) to ride horses through the rainforest. It was so much fun! My friend Alexandra Drye (who we call Flex) had me laughing so hard that I got a years worth of ab workouts in. She had never been on a horse before and was very clearly terrified once she hopped on…andddd her horse, Squirt, was also the youngest horses at the place…so he didn’t mind commands as well as the other horses. That’s just how her luck goes though. So, everything was going smoothly, we were having a good time and slowly adjusting to the fact that the horse could bolt away at an given moment, and then WHACK!!! About five minutes into the ride, Flex hit her head on a tree branch and almost fell backwards off of Squirt. It was one of the funniest things that I have ever had the pleasure to witness. You think that sounds mean? No! She had a helmet on, guys. Come on, I’m not that terrible of a friend! Close, but not quite. 😉

Keeping Up With My Newly Exciting Life

If you want to see more of my adventures and unfortunate confusions, you can head on over to my Instagram @kaycee_marie7 or you can go to the ECOTREASURES Instagram or Facebook page to check out what I’m up to! I know you’re ready for me to stop rambling and that you’re really only here to see the pictures, right? Ready? Me too!