Wow, i woke to sun shine, that hasn't happened ofter. My first stop today was down a 10km dirt road, (don't tell the car hire company) in search of a giant tingle tree. This tree has the biggest base in the world around 24 metres. Everything in this country seems to have to either be the biggest, tallest, greatest or fastest!! Either way the base of this tree is so huge you can drive your car through it. A little futher down more dirt roads, (sorry hire car company) and I reached the valley of the giants. If I hadn't seen [View Full Entry]

---

---

Finally the weather looks like it is getting better, well for a couple of days anyway. Travelling on from Augusta my first stop was the Giant Gloucester Tree. This tree was used as a fire lookout point as it is the highest tree in the area. Climbing this tree is a must. Spirling up the tree are metal spikes sticking out of the trunk fashioning a very rough looking ladder. With no ropes, harnesses or anything else to hold you to the tree is really gives you the incentive to hold on tight. Did I also mention that this tree is [View Full Entry]

---

---

The following morning I carried on from Margaret River to Augusta. I had not planned on going here but someone told me it was a really nice place so I went for a look. The weather was like normal but I seemed to be leaving the rain behind. I drove through some massive Karri forests before finally reaching Augusta. Augusta sits on the very bottom on the coast and marks the point where the Indian and Southern Ocean meet. I went and climbed the lighthouse that marks this point and tried to look for some whales but again there were none [View Full Entry]

---

---

The following morning it had finally stopped raining long enough for me to walk to the garage and pick up the car. Next stop was the Perth Dive Academy to order the rest of my diving equipment. I now have everything I need to go diving and a very empty wallet. Oh well its only money!! I had intended to stop in Fremantle for the night but on getting there I really didn't like the place and with nowhere to park I just continued out the other side and eventually stopped in Bunbury. By now it had started to rain again. [View Full Entry]

---

---

This morning was the last dash to Perth, just 160 km away. I stopped on the way in at Perth Dive Academy to get myself kitted up with some equipment for when I go back to Exmouth. I soon found that Diving is like any other hobby you can just keep spending. There seems to be no limit to the kind of stuff you can have and for some reason the most expensive equipment always looks the best. (Funny that). I was really good and left without buying anything, I did put quite a few things by for when I return [View Full Entry]

---

---

As I left Geraldton the clouds closed in for the first time in months. Then the heavens opened and it started to rain. Listening to the radio on the way down you would have thought it was Christmas. Farmers and the like were literally dancing in the streets as this was the first rain they had seen for years. Probably wasn’t appropriate for me to ask when it was likely to stop!! When it does finally rain in WA it really knows how to. Coming from the UK I’m used to driving in rain but this was something else. The roads [View Full Entry]

---

---

Geraldton, described in the brochure as an infusion of styles, attractions and entertainment with more than enough for everyone to enjoy. The person that wrote that statement got a bloody good degree in marketing. Geraldton is like many other towns in Western Australia. Small, run down and generally uninteresting. In contrast to this typically bland town the hostel is really nice. It’s a huge old building with large rooms and some lovely communal areas. Typical I find a nice hostel and it’s in a town with nothing much to see or do. I decided that I should make the best of [View Full Entry]

---

---

Finally I manage to get the car out of the car park and onto the road heading south. My first stop however is only a short hour’s drive to Coral Bay. Still part of the Ningaloo Reef, Coral Bay sits on the other end of the reef. The whole town is solely set up for tourists with only 126 people living there, all of which work in the tourist industry. I spent a couple of days lazing around there and starting to read my dive master manuals. As the town is so small it doesn’t have a water or electricity supply. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok so what am I doing still in Exmouth and about to undertake massive training course?? I still have about three weeks left in Australia before my visa runs out so I will be leaving Exmouth and carrying on my journey down to Perth and the bottom of Western Australia. When its time to give the car back I will now be leaving it in Perth and instead of flying out of the country I will be flying back up to Exmouth. It took less than 18 hours to get a 3 month extension on my visa. I have been given [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok so the pier wasn't going to be my last dive.... I have now started my Rescue diver course. Yet another thick manual and this time loads more stuff to learn. There are only two of us doing the course and it’s now starting to get a little bit specialised. Myself and a German girl called Verena. My first day was taken up doing I first aid course and then it was into applying first aid to diving situations. After a day of learning in the freezing cold pool we were off to the beach to practice for real. Oh and [View Full Entry]

---

---