We are now ENGAGED!As my mom has probably already told you, Christian and I have decided to get engaged! I know this is hot on the heels of Natalie and Hillal's good news, but don't worry, our wedding probably won't be for a while (2 years? It's very TBA).
Ever since we started this trip, we have been spending almost 24 hours in each other's company (except when I got the job with Greenpeace). It's been amazing - to see the world with a man I love and who loves me, who sees beauty in places I wouldn't look, and who knows how to lift my spirits with a smile or a laugh. We celebrated our fifth anniversary in May.
The engagement happened at Tjaynera (Sandy Creek) Falls in Litchfield National Park, Australia. We had been "pre-engaged" before this (it happened over eggs and Christian jokingly insisted it was not a good time to get engaged because his hair didn't look good that morning). It was day one of our Northern Territory Tour with Mom and Dad, and we had a couple of hours sitting out on the rocks near the falls. The scenery was beautiful and serene, and Christian's hair looked good as he had just been swimming. So we decided this was a good spot to get fully engaged. No ring, just a promise. It was nice to tell Mom and Dad when we swum back to shore. The funny thing is, we kept being in more beautiful spots over the course of our Australia trip and kept saying, "This would have been a good spot to get engaged too!".
While it makes me nervous to promise the rest of my life to someone, I look at Christian and remember the beautiful person I am entrusting it to and feel in love.
I love you, my family, and happy to share this good news with you all.
Love,
Laura
Thanks Bob & Ellen for an unforgettable trip.
Tjaynera (Sandy Creek) Falls 
Simon next to some termite mounds. The mounds are termite homes and only one third of the mounds height is above ground.
Check it out Yoko, a snake! We came across this snake along the road. Some Aboriginals would pull the heads off these snakes with their teeth. Apparently, this snake is poisoness and its current position is an aggressive one. I didn't learn this until after I got about a meter away and snapped a few pictures.
"Freshie" (freshwater crocodile) enjoying the sun. 
On our first day in Brisbane, we traveled to The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We had seen heaps of wildlife on the trip, but had yet to see koalas and clearly were intriuged by an ad in the local paper that said, “Come cuddle koalas and feed kangaroos.” I wasn't sure exactly how the whole cuddling thing would work... I mean cuddling isn't something you just do with a stranger much less a koala! But we had to go and see what it was all about.
The place had tons of animals. Not sure if you can call them “wildlife” because most of them were born in captivity. Fortunately, that means that they live longer and get treated like kings. People pay them to give them hugs and feed them. Not a bad life. We saw many breeds of kangaroos, dingoes, wombats, lizards, frogs, turtles, tons of birds, the Tasmanian devil was on vacation, and of course koalas. The place is FULL of koalas!!! Not just five or ten, but lots.. I'm not even sure how many.. but they were all over the place. They kinda look like little bears with big fuzzy ears and inquisitive eyes... but kinda act like monkeys... walking around, climbing, swinging. After, munching away on eucalyptus leaves, they place themselves in these ball positions and balance themselves between branches as they sleep. The funniest thing is when the baby koalas are on there mothers backs running around and climbing. Looked like fun. Laura and I tried it for a bit. I had fun, but I think Laura's back might have been a little sore from lugging me around.
We decided to pay fifteen dollars to cuddle a koala and get a photo. Kinda pricey, but it went to building more shelters for koalas. I was introduced to a koala named Conrad. He was a pleasant fellow with a very bad body odor problem. Conrad noticed that I was a bit uncomfortable with his smell and looked over at his handler. She explained that it was a very normal smell and that male koalas tend to smell more than the females. I got accustomed to his odor and gave an affirming look telling him that we have the same problem with our species as well. He gave me a grin and put his head on my shoulder.
AWWW!
Naptime.
Most Kangaroos ate right out of our hands. This one I had to turn the charm on.
good feed.
"I'm an Emu... i think... wait what... who are you?"
Wombats rule.
"Watchooo lookin at?"
Laura and Lorikeets.
"yummmy tourists."
it's a hard life. We spent a few days touring around Brisbane hanging out with my friend Jewels. He showed us the “City Cat” that he takes to commute to uni everyday. On time, frequent, and consistent public transport is great. When its on a catamaran, its even better! This was our favorite Australian city. Great climate, nice architecture, awesome public transport, and numerous other elements really impressed us. Thanks Jewels, for putting us up for a few days, for showing us around, and for lending me your zoom lens! It was great to see you! Thanks Again.
Laura and Jewels.
Public Transport Rocks!
Construction of Brisbane's Arts Center After spending time in the arid Northern Territory and in the tropical climate of the Whitsundays, Laura and I decided to head inland to visit the rain forest. The primary goal of the trip was to catch a glimpse of the ever elusive and extremely dangerous... platypus. On our second night we spotted one, just off of the very public viewing platform. It is truly a frightening beast.
Big leaves.
Cockatoos are a pest, but look cool.
The elusive, man-eating PlatypusBack on the mainland we visited the Vic Hislop Shark Expo in Airlie Beach. The shark pictured below is a white pointer shark, otherwise known as the great white shark. It was captured and frozen to be displayed.
Supposedly, the great white cannot be held in captivity, as they go crazy and end up bashing their heads against the tank until they die. They also have a very small brain and lack a central nervous system, meaning they feel no pain. All they are programed to do is hunt, attack, eat, purge, and then hunt again.
We watched videos of Vic Hislop catching both great whites and tiger sharks. It's is as crazy as it sounds! He then explored their stomachs and found remains of various life, like turtle shells, seagulls, and even human bones!!!
There was a few rooms where the walls were covered with hundreds newspaper clippings about shark attacks in Australia. Laura and I were happy we visited the expo after we completed our snorkeling!
Sushi anyone?
Do I have Gingivitis? After our tour of the Northern Territory ended, Laura and I spent a day in Darwin and then took an overnight flight to Brisbane. This was directly followed by a 15 hour drive up to the Whitsunday Islands, which is just outside the Great Barrier Reef. We spent three days and three nights camping on South Molle Island. We had hoped for a “secluded island” feel, but instead happened to choose an island with a resort, a golf course, and a few other campers. After a brief moment of disappointment we decided to make the most of it and ended up having a really great time. Activities included, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and good old relaxing in the sun.
Snorkeling was the highlight of our time there. Laura and I have limited snorkeling experience, so we were both a little apprehensive. Once we got in the water Laura quickly grabbed my hand and never let go. Any time she saw an interesting fish she squeezed my hand and vice versa. It was both comforting and romantic to hold her hand as we swam. The amount of vibrant marine life we saw was ridiculous. The fish seemed like they were glowing and we are pretty sure that we found Nemo.
Airlie Beach.
Day Moon.
We shared our camp with a couple of german guys, a perpetually topless russian woman, and these guys, Aussie teenagers James and Jake. They were very excited that we brought a guitar and played and sang any songs they could think of. 
Low Tide.
Menorah Tree (according to Laura).
Sunset from Spion Kopp.Here are some shots of the Yellow Waters Wetlands. We visited twice, taking a sunset cruise, and again a few days later for sunrise. The area is full of interesting wildlife, birds galore and “salties” the nickname for the saltwater crocs. The salties are the larger more dangerous crocs. Pictured below is “Pluto,” the local 4.5 meter (14 feet!) long croc.
Sunset.
A "Jabaroo". Blue head, Red Legs, 3 feet tall!
Pluto the 14 foot croc heads silently to work.
Sunrise. 
CooooooEEEEEE!
Simon likes his job.
