VOLUNTEERING (continued) 8/13/14 (early a.m.) I really don’t have much to say…and I have lots to say. I am nearing the end of my trip. I took a few photos today…did two dives, one at sixish and one at eleven a.m. It was very dark at six and I had to take all photos with the flash. I was expecting a mess and almost every photo was a keeper. I did do some photo shop to lighten them a bit but I was happy with what I got. Such a surprise. The weather has really started to blow so I imagine we will be diving here all day and tomorrow as well. We saw two turtles yesterday so maybe we will see something new. If not I will continue to take photos of the corals. I ... read more

Kangaroo Explorer Australia Barrier Reef One day after the Spirit of Freedom live aboard trip, Cairns Dive shop picked me up at 7:50 am and delivered me to a boat that would act as our ferry to the shops dive boat, Kangaroo Explorer. The Explorer is a substantial size boat, not as nicely appointed as the Spirit, but I felt more at home, probably because I had the two bunk room to myself. It was a very small room, but quite adequate. We had a short introductory session with the boat director and were soon suiting up for a check out dive. I could not bring my camera because the dive masters were dealing with several people and didn’t know how much experience any of us had. It made some sense, although I had just returned ... read more

Thank goodness, I had no trouble in the airport upon arrival in Melbourne Australia. My visa was waiting for me…I applied for it on line about a month ago. But I didn’t find accommodations before I arrived and everything was closed down by ten p.m. There seem to be no mid-price hotels. There were conventions this weekend and all the prices are inflated. I did some photo editing for most of the night and the next morning I talked to a nice young man at the Travelers Assist desk and I got a hostel in the heart of the city. It is huge, over 750 beds. I am in a four bed mixed dorm room, which costs $30 Australian. This hostel is huge, clean and impersonal. (There is nice music on in the common room here.) ... read more

INTO THE JUNGLE In addition to the river cruises, each day there were two scheduled jungle walks. Rubber boots and high cotton boot liners with draw strings could be rented for the duration of your stay. The trails through the jungle quickly became a mire with so many guests following guides on the same paths. My first jungle walk started out quite briskly around ten a.m. and, at first, I was concerned about keeping up the pace for three hours. Soon my focus was almost entirely on avoiding giving a free ride and a free meal to a leech. During the day walk you were almost guaranteed to see, if not experience, leeches. The guide explained that they have an anticoagulant in their venom and the doctor’s wife told us they were good for extracting pus ... read more

After two days on Mabul Island and diving the third day on Sipadan I was ready for something different. Spartan budget accommodations on Mabul encouraged me to I booked a room in a nice hotel; one with hot showers, a balcony overlooking the sea, and even a TV. I was so tired from three grueling days of diving and small speed boat travel that I stayed at this hotel for three days. I used this down time to book a day in Sepilok to see the orangutans and two days at the Kinabatangan Safari Center for river cruises and jungle walks. It was a seven hour bus ride to the Jungle Hotel which was a real resort near the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and the Rainforest Discovery Center. I was exhausted so I walked to the Center ... read more