The end of my time in Australia

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Finally have time to add another entry...just read Aly's latest one so felt I had to post one of my own. Sorry its' taken 4 months though.

Guess a quick summary of my last month or two in Australia is the best place to start...

Had the best time at Opal Creek, working for the Lane family. Camilla left at the end of May, after a fantastic weekend in Surfer's Paradise. Jamie took us to the Marriott Hotel and we had an incredible dinner at the tepenyaki restaurant. Then we went out for a few (OK, a lot) of drinks and danced until the early hours. After saying farewell at Brisbane Airport, Fiona and I returned to Opal Creek for another two weeks before heading up the coast to Townsville. Was very sad saying goodbye to everyone, but will definately be staying in touch.

So off we went and ended up going back to Magnetic Island to do our PADI course (scuba diving!). It was awesome! Our instructor, Michelle, was a legend and after a day and a half in the classroom/training pool we were taken in the sea for our first real dive. Over the 4 dives we did in Alma Bay, we saw a wobbegong (a type of shark), a lagoon ray, a pretty big stingray and loads of fish and coral. We learned all the basics, such as clearing our masks, being able to take them off/on under the water, removing our air supply etc. Final part of the course was a written test, which I got 100% correct (yes, because I am a giant nerd!)

With our Open Water Diver Certificates in hand, we then set off back to the mainland to catch a bus down to Airlie Beach. First we booked a trip to Reefworld - a big floating pontoon out on the Great Barrier Reef. It's on the Hardy Reef and is the only one of it's kind. We jumped on the boat at 8am, very excited at the prospect of doing a dive at the most famous reef in the world, and spent the next 3 hours watching a video about all the amazing things we might see under the water. Arriving at the pontoon, we stepped off the boat and in to the semi-sub viewing chamber, which took us along the wall of the reef, and made us even more excited to go diving. We then headed to the "Groper viewing chamber" - not an area for pervy old men as the name might suggest, but the place to see George the Groper (a fish, although I was very quick to point out he looks more like a whale - he's about 3metres long!)

After getting all our scuba gear on, our dive instructor led us, along with another 4 divers, down the stairs and in to the big bad ocean. We then moved along the reef wall and saw thousands of fish and an infinate amount of coral. We went down to 18.5metres (only qualified to go to 18m, very naughty!)

Whilst at Reefworld, Fiona and I also went snorkelling - not amused when one of the staff members threw fish food at me, naturally causing fish to appear all around me en masse. Fiona, however, found it hilarious, along with a few people who came to check out what the screams were all about!

Whilst at Airlie Beach, we decided to be "adventurous" and go camping, Robinson Crusoe style. We were dumped on one of the Whitsunday Islands with a tent, a gas-stove and a box of cooking utensils and left to fend for ourselves for a night. There was no-one else on the island so I pitched the tent (Fiona had left it until this point to inform me that she possessed no camping skills whatsoever!) and we sat with cups of Tetley tea and a few McVities chocolate digestives. After some macaroni cheese for lunch, we chilled out until it was time for dinner, then realised that there was no gas left for the stove. Disaster! We must have left the switch on. So, there was only one thing left to do - crack open the goon (a 6litre box of the cheapest wine known to man) and enjoy a liquid dinner. After a few glasses, I decided it's not really camping if you don't make a campfire. So I made one, illegally, and spent a lot of time and effort trying to get the damn thing to light. Perseverence paid off in the end and we spent the remainder of the evening getting sozzled by the flames. All in all, a success!!

On the 22nd June it was time to fly south to meet up with another Fiona (the one with the crazy hair from Kingswells!) in Sydney. With nothing to wear but t-shirts and flip-flops, I spent just over a week looking like a proper tourist who was refusing to accept that winter in Australia can actually be cold. Didn't stop us having a great time though. We stayed at a very nice "flashpacker" hostel courtesy of Fiona T, who clearly hadn't adopted the usual backpacker motto of "only the cheapest will do". We did a ghost tour of The Rocks, spent a day at Olympic Park (which involved Team Fiona hiring a tandem bike - hilarious!) and Fiona B climber the Harbour Bridge. We also stayed a night in Bondi Beach, back at the wonderful Surfside Backpackers. While in Sydney I met up with Park, a friend from uni hockey - always great to see a face from home.

So that brings us to the end of my travels in Australia. Eight amazing months of fun in one of the most amazing countries in the world. Definately want to go back asap!

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