The Boyfriend Visits!

My boyfriend (Mr. CT Lawyer) came to visit me from NYC for two glorious, short weeks. It was a sigh of relief to have him with me and share some of my life here, and I am so sad that he could not have stayed here longer. We had never been with each other nonstop for longer than a four-day period, and the two weeks helped us learn more about our relationship and our boundaries in a way that I believe has helped us get closer to each other.

We have already agreed to meet up for the holidays in a few months somewhere (Hawaii? Japan?), though I wish it was sooner.

We had a good amount of down time during his visit, and I realized that my lifestyle here is much quieter than it is when I’m in NYC. This should have been obvious to me before arriving here, but I am still surprised just how different it is from my normal life. We were able to scale all of Brisbane in about three days, and we had another week (and four days up north) to figure out what to do around town. We rented a car so that we could take some road trips around the area and explore the beach towns. We even bought me a bike and he patiently helped me navigate my newly-acquired skill around campus, so that I would have more possible activities to enjoy when he is not around.

What we did figure out to do was great. And having him meet my local friends over dinner and chocolate was comforting.

We shared some pretty fun experiences I think are worthwhile telling.

Cairns & Port Douglas: We took a four-day trip up north towards the tip of Australia, where the tropical rainforests and Great Barrier Reef glisten and shine in the equatorial heat.

Cairns is like a big hippy town that reminds me a bit of Atlantic City. We actually did not spend any time in Cairns once we landed and got our car; honestly it looked like we would not have had as relaxing an experience had we stayed around.

Instead, we made our way an hour further north to a small yet fancy beach resort town called Port Douglas. It had one main drag with the quintessential tourist shops and al fresco restaurants you’d expect in any decent beach town. Little bungalow-like resorts speckled the lush landscape.

We stayed at a colorful gay-friendly resort called the Pink Flamingo, and we could not have had a better experience with the disco music-playing pool area hosting an inflatable flamingo float named Bruce. And, of course, with our large, airy apartment-style room. We spent hours leisurely walking up and down admiring the shops and food options, and took time to relax in our quiet room, recuperating from city life.

Great Barrier Reef: On our second day up north, we headed out on a family-owned reefing boat to visit the Agincourt Reef (on the Outer Reef) and admire one of nature’s biggest successes with some snorkels. The boat had maybe sixty people on it, which meant our day on the water was quiet while we visited three sites (though the water was choppy). We did not end up staying in the water snorkeling very long – he did not feel up to managing the deep waters for too long, and I ended up getting very seasick from swimming in the undulating ocean.

What we did end up seeing was beautiful and worth the sickness and anxiety we felt floating on the Pacific. The colors on the fish right under my feet were unreal (electric pink!), and the intricate curves of the coral and plant life was mesmerizing. I might have felt sick as a dog for most of the time, but I am so glad I was able to witness such incredible natural beauty.

The crew on the ship were also super patient with our sad team of two and helped me feel better with sickness medicine and advice for managing my queasiness. They even kept an eye out for us while we floated in the choppy waters. Even so, I was very happy to be back on land when we returned to port.

Mossman Gorge: A World Heritage Site is only 20 minutes away from our bungalow, so we drove to the Daintree Rainforest area and enjoyed hours walking along the green paths and bridges around the mossy green gorge. (I mean, I was not huge on the swaying bridges part, but that is because I apparently cannot tolerate neither water nor height-centric experiences. Low-level land will do for me just fine.)

I was happy to learn that the area was managed by a local Aboriginal community, and that we were experiencing an area that has been respected for its nature by the locals for a long time.

Australia Zoo: When we returned to Brisbane, we headed off to the Steve Irwin Zoo on a rainy day because I had booked a special experience for us. We walked a wombat! The zoo does a great job keeping the animals active and happy by getting them to socialize with humans and explore other areas of the zoo with walks, and we happily reserved the wombat’s enrichment time for the day.

I have been looking forward to this experience since I arrived in Australia, and it was just as awesome as I had expected it to be, rain and all. We got to the zoo early in the morning and we were brought over to a big, pudgy wombat being trolleyed around in a wagon! Her name was Laura, and she was a fluffy ball of power – she ended up walking the zookeeper and us (not us walking her) for about 30 minutes. She ended up dragging us back to her enclosure when she was done walking us. We got to pet her and see how strong, stubborn, and smart wombats are. I could have squealed the entire time, but I controlled myself.

We also walked around the rest of zoo so that we could feed some kangaroos, espy a jerk cassowary, and get my CT Esquire to do the mandatory holding of a sleepy koala. Despite the rain, our day at the zoo was pleasant! We got to see a lot of animals, which was the point.

Noosa (& Cabarita Beach): What is Australia without its beaches? With our rental car, we drove a few hours north for a brief day visit to one of the prettier beaches in the area called Noosa. The town itself was similar to Port Douglas, but the beach was more dazzling I felt. The beach was lined with a rainforest on one side, and we lounged on the sand for a few hours (well, I napped) and walked around the cliffs of the beach to watch surfers doing their thing as the sun set.

We also went south to Cabarita Beach in New South Wales for another brief beach day. We got to play with some puppies running on a big open beach and relaxed on the cooler rocky shores before getting some delicious seafood. We ate a lot of seafood on his visit, but this one place was particularly tasty.

Wheel of Brisbane: On his last day, we decided to fork over the ludicrous amount of money to sit on the city’s large Ferris Wheel. It was a brief 15-minute ride around the wheel, and my feelings for staying on the ground was reinforced as we dangled from the top of the wheel.

The wheel also showed to me just how quiet Brisbane can be for me. In the 15-minute ride, we had an audio tour of the landscape, and most of the mentioned points of interests made us chuckle and scratch our heads. Why would we need to learn more about a bridge that was used for the filming of “inspector Gadget 2”? That was even a film? When did a convention center become an important part of the city’s history?

I am glad we got to laugh about it all, but it reminds me once more just how much I miss him when he is not with me while I live in my quiet little town city.

I took him to the airport Saturday morning, crying my eyes out as he walked towards the security check point and became my long-distance boy again until Christmastime. I continued to cry as I walked out of the airport and headed to a local food festival, where my friends were waiting to comfort me.