Well. What the devil have you been up to now????


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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Glebe
February 12th 2008
Published: February 12th 2008
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Well I will tell you! A LOT!!! Im now in Sydney and have been here since very very very early saturday morning. 6.30am my flight arrived to be exact and I've been terribly busy since......but first, I believe I need to catch up on the last 2 weeks and what a 2 weeks they have been. Oh lordy yes.....

I left Global Palace backpackers ( a very gd hostel right in the middle of Cairns and only $19 for a dorm with single beds - cf my comments on bunk beds!! and you will appreciate this mention) at 5.30 am to get to Pro Dive across the road for my 3 day 2 night liveaboard for my advanced diving. It wasnt quite what I expected to be honest. I was expecting a smaller group, there was 32 of us in all, on quite a large boat, 20 of whom were doing their open water certificate; one other girl doing the advanced diver course with me; 8 were there to do the 11 dives and 2 snorkellers, bless em. The crew were not that friendly either, rather brusque in fact and as far as my instructor was concerned, Anthony, seemed to lack any sort of interest in teaching us anything at all and relying utterly on us just doing the dives with little or no theory. I was not impressed. The dives, however, on the outer barrier reef, were superb. The vis was again not fantastic, I would say 8-10 m only, but it's the experience that you just cannot beat. We were there to dive and eat, dive and eat, dive and eat, dive and eat for 3 days! It was very tiring but worth every second. The night dives were great, with grey reef sharks swimming around the outisde of the circumference of the boat lights and feeding from the huge red bass that were attracted to the boats scraps. It was fun to see them, then to kit up and jump in and look down and around and see them. Amazing. My buddy though, who was also doing the advanced, seemed to lack any enthusiasm whatsoever and I can only describe as thoroughly miserable. She also began to annoy me terribly by taking ages to get ready. We only had to put on a stinger suit, which is much easier than a wetsuit and she managed to do it so badly, it took her 3 attempts on one occasion! how is that possible??? So as soon as we finished the course we still had 3 dives left and so I ditched her for an Irish dive master and off we went! What was more fun was the offer on the last day that there were spare places on the boat behind and for another night and day and 5 dives more for $95! Erm yes please without question! So after i finished my 11th dive, I was transferred over to the other boat and lunch! The crew were much nicer and more approachable and I loved it. My last day diving was just breathtaking. I was with my new buddy when we saw x2 moray eels; x2 cuttle fish, turtles and oh yes, sharks both at night and during the day. On my 2nd to last dive, there were 2 grey reef sharks, about 4-5m swimming together. I grabbed my buddy and indicated "shark" and we then proceeded to watch them see us and come in closer. They really studied us for ages, as we just hung motionless in the water no less than 1 m away from us, our hearts in our mouths, my fins between us and my buddy behind me!!! We began to move away from them and they followed for a few moments, then clearly got bored and went off. We did see them again shortly after. Just amazing. I am addicted! I'm looking to do my Rescue diver course ASAP, but prob not over here as is expensive and prob not with Prodive. I'm looking forward to diving in NZ, as I believe the Manta Ray breeding season is in March and I definately want to experience that.

So back to cairns a day later than anticipated, I sorted out a 2 day trip to Cape Tribulation, which I have seen twice but is so lovely, I wanted to squeeze in before I left for darwin on the 9th feb. So that night, I did my laundry, unpacked and repacked and went to bed for another early start, ie 6.30am for a 7.15am pick up. However, the pick up didnt seem to arrive and in my new laid back attitude, I took advantage of the additional time to call some friends I had not spoken to since i had left. I got hold of Chris and J and how bloody lovely was that!!!! it was so great to hear their voices and catch up and be told that I'm missed and loved. It does mean so much esp when you're travelling alone. As much as i'm loving every second, it's special when you have that someone, that comfort with you, that you dont get when you're on your own, so to get it verbally means a lot. The van eventually turned up and out jumped potentially the most hapless man I've ever laid eyes on! His name for future record was Matt. He was late, he tried to make out but later verified to be not entirely true, was that some people werent where they were supposed to be. mmmm. anyway, i was the last pick up as it happens and we were by then over an hour late...still Im sure he was going to try and make up the time....but we then pulled into a service station for an unscheduled toilet stop on the request of a passenger....so apparently not. 10 people got off, I was not one of them and tried to snuggle down for some shuteye. people back on board, Matt then asked whether there was a spare seat at the back, of which there was, as there had been before we stopped. He got off and we pulled away, to stop on the road for another 10 mins. Matt then came on board again and frantically declared that "this was why they dont do unsch stops as there was one person missing" What, I thought, is he talking about? It transpires, the fool thought the spare seat was someone missing! The idiot didnt even know how many people were on his bus! dear god! give me strength! we enlightened him and finally off we went with him continually trying to get us to smile and chastising us when we couldnt be bothered. It was 8.30am on a sat morning for crying out load, but he took it that we werent bothered about the tour. oh dear. But i humoured him and said it was a bad crowd and not to get worked up about it. (I was being a little facetious i admit, as he was an arsehole but i think he meant well....so we went on the Daintree, did not see any crocs. apparently it couldnt have been a worse time of year to spot them what with the females nesting and the males sleeping in the water as it was so hot. great! but we got to see some flying foxes..in the trees....and a lot of brown water, so not a total loss. We then had to endure a boardwalk with the hapless Matt, which entailed him attempting to become the new Steve Irwin, excitedly jumping down to catch a miniscule mud crab, only to drop him as he unsuccessfully raced back to his expectant group. ah well. it's the thought.......After abusing the rainforest as my toilet, we drove off again finally to Cape Trib and I have to say i was very thankful to get there. I had also been trying to arrange an upgrade to a double bed which I had been told by my agent would be only $20! A room to myself with a double bed for $20! oh yes please! however during the trip, hapless Matt said i owed them another $80! His office told me that it was because the price was per person and so i literally had to pay for the other side fo the room! Oh deary me, no that will not do at all. forget it. regrettably i could not afford this and sadly accepted my fate to share a room with another 5 people. sigh. upon arrival however, i was asked whether i wanted the double and again, mournfully explained i could not afford it. the receptionist then suggested an upgrade which would be....$20! what? Fantastic! I'll have it, I nearly hugged her in relief and proffered my veritable thanks at her genius! Oh joy! my own double room. I cannot express the utter beauty and bliss at having my own room, my own space, my own time. I threw my bags on the floor and myself on the bed! ahhh! then realised that I had to get ready to go JUNGLE SURFING!!! Oh yes! ziplining through the oldest rainforest on earth, at up to 80m from the ground..and upside down! It was incredible and I am of the belief that I am still trying to regain the hearing in my left ear which seems to have been reduced albeit minimally, ever since. there were 5 of us altogether, including 2 fabulous girls called Holly and Vicky, aka Smurfet (sic) and Princess Leia. I was of course ...Tinkerbell, which was very apt I thought. These were names given to us on our helmets during the surf and became our names for the rest of the trip as it happens! What a wicked time.....please refer to the photos. there was one line that required the camera skills of the person in front...I had the misfortune of having Princess aka Holly, in front of me and you will see 2 photos she took of me ziplining at speed towards her, which turned out brilliantly for everyone else, but as you will plainly see, she failed utterly and completely to afford me the same courtesy! Have you ever seen worse pics than these?! honestly, they are outrageously rubbish! ha ha ha! We all came back to the base and started drinking, as any decent person would do and had a great night. we were the entertainment for the rest of the bar...so they told us both that night and the morning after! apparently they would have shut the bar early if it wasnt for us! nice to know we were appreciated and the staff were lovely! Fabulous day. Had a lovely walk the next day to Cape Trib Beach and back and then had to return to Cairns. I have to say its been the only place so far that I really did not want to leave and was sad to leave the girls, but we hope to meet up in NZ in March. So its all good!

The trip back was an easy ride, esp so as Matt was not present which was an immense relief for me I have to say! We did however, stop off at Mosman Gorge, which is a beautiful spot, but was not a great experience for me, admittedly. After taking pics, we are then invited to go for a swim. It was cold, but I swam over to the bottom of the waterfall where 2 other gilrs I knew were and saw one of them jump into the swell that was the water coming from the waterfall and glide gracefully down. So, i got into position and launched myself into the swell, but it was a rapid and took me under completely. Now I'm a strong swimmer, but I struggled desperately to get to the surface, but I just couldn't get to it. I couldnt understand why not and tried desperately over and over again to get air. I finally thought Id got there but it took me back under. I honestly thought I was going to drown, when I surfaced, totally breathless and not at all having fun. I slowly struggled back to the shore and saw that the other girl had experienced the same thing as me. It took a few moments to get my breath back and I will most certainly NOT be doing that again. Be warned. Do NOt swim there. Several people have drowned and it is deceptively beautiful. I still cant understand how it happened, but it has given me a healthy concern and respect for water.

Back at Global Palace again and when I checked in, I got chatting to the girl on reception and told her of my dives and just back from Cape Trib and that I was exhausted. She asked whether I wanted a dorm room on my own! oh yes! god yes please! sorted. I thought i'd push my luck and ask for a lie in as my flight was not until 1.50pm and she gave me an extra hour. Thank you! So that night, as always, i unpacked and re-packed and enjoyed a fab sleep and lie in. Wonderful!

On the airport shuttle bus, $10, I met a girl called catherine who was on my first dive boat who was also going to Darwin. We got off at domestic, for it was a domestic flight and waited for the desks of Jetstar to open....when this uniformed lady came by and nonchalently asked whether anyone was waiting for the fligt to darwin...erm yes, oh did you know it was at the international terminal?? well apparently not, no. so off we trecked to the other side of the airport. Now considering that this was in 30 degree heat, with a heavy backpack and belly bag, this was not anticipated and we turned up at int departures dripping and generally unsightly...travellers really i suppose. I checked in, ensuring my penknife was in my hold luggage and nothing sharp etc in my hand luggage and went to go through..to then have my mossie spray, sun cream and the remnants of my aloe vera confiscated as they were all in 120 or 150ml bottles, despite the contents not filling them. i was pissed off. really. this was the last straw. i am still in the process of replacing the stuff that was taken and they take more. What danger am I sposed to pose with mossie spay, suncream and aloe vera for godsake??? what did they expect me to do? attempt to render them unconscious with heavy duty deet and then threaten them with greasing them up with aloe vera and sun factor 30?? it's ridiculous and is tantamount to legalised theft as far as im concerned. theres nothing wrong with the items and I want to know where they go to. perks of the job for airport staff presumably. and its not common to find items that you need in handluggage in containers under 100ml...toothpaste for eg. It's disgusting. rant over, but take note!

So I thought id cheer myself up by buying some nice perfume, as opposed to some cheap toilet water, but sadly while i was busy sniffing away, covering my arms in various scents, i was kindly informed that as I was flying domestic, i couldnt purchase anything anyway, despite being in an international terminal. GREAT! I'll stop sniffing at your wares then and slunk out to buy some water and crisps instead. flight uneventful and arrived in Darwin. It was hot! and humid. We caught the shuttle bus $7.50, which took us straight to cavenaughs hotel (and backpackers) and as it happens catherine and I were sharing a dorm! well i never! the place looked nice but the room left a lot to be desired. at least we had our own bathroom, which looked decidedly more comfortable than my mattress, which was more springs than mattress. So, i settled down to unpack and repack for my 3 day safari and another very early start. this time was 5.30am again.

Morning came far too quickly and i went down to put my backpack away in storage and asked the guy at reception for the key. He pointed to where i was to go and off I went. I thought it a little odd that it seemed to open a half door under the staircase and that there were no other bags in there, but when I asked him about this, he assured me this was correct. OK. The bus arrived and off we went. We were just to pick up one more person and while everyone was paying I slipped off to the loo. When I got back, the other person had arrived and was in my seat! What is it with people liking my place...if its not my bed, its my seat! Jees, i even left my water bottle on the seat this time and it still doesnt appear to work! hrumph, so i sat down heavily next to him after saying that I was sitting there, but to no response. I simmered for a while, but then got over it, in the Aussie way and it turns out he was from Hong Kong, so I spoke some cantonese to him, but he just looked at me and gave me a crooked smile. so i naturally presumed he didnt understand cantonese, as of course my cantonese, altho pigeon admittedly, was fluent...and that he spoke mandarin instead. But no, he assured me cantonese was him mother tongue. Im not sure what his problem was then. how could he not appreciate someone speaking to him in his own language? how often would that happen? ah well.

A bit of a weird mix group this one. It transpires that 3 of them were from Salt lake city in Utah and were Mormons, all aged 18 and 19 and all returning to the fold in a weeks time, to take up missionary positions (this is meant religiously and nothing else!). mmm interesting, so I sparked up conversation with one of them and had quite an interesting chat. Not that I agree or condone religion in any way, but I have to say that i was glad that they had been given the chance to see a bit of the world and that they werent so indoctrinated, not to appreciate an alternative lifestyle. 3 aussie girls, sisters and a cousin; a really weird 19 yr old german girl (uncomfortably weird, but I got the last laugh..as she was pretending to be a croc in one of the watering holes and grabbing at this guys leg, so as i had the mask on, I dived down and grabbed her leg. i even heard the scream from underwater!! ha ha ha! ah dear, im still laughing now); 2 very strange belgian men, who just stared at me a lot; the hong kong guy who didnt understand his own language and a lovely dutch girl called Caroline and of course Luke the tour guide.

Well, we travelled, I'll say that much and covered much of Kakadu. The tour, with Adventure Tours, was very good, but I was unhappy with the food. I have only the food on the other tours to compare of course, and that has been fantastic. but lets face it, boiled hot dogs for lunch on the first day with no breakfast, is not good. not even a BBQ for goodness sake! Poor effort. The watering holes were amazing, but the best was the 2nd day when we went for a 2 mile walk, in a thunderstorm. It was pouring with rain, with lightening flashing past us. Fantastic! We arrived at this exquisite watering hole, which was called the Garden of eden. It was the best by far, but unfortunately as it was raining, no pics were taken! The pics are of the other places we swam. We also went on a jumping croc tour, which proved to be exactly what it says it was, including some very large pythons. The criocs appraoched the boat, jumped for the meat and then swam away. It was amazing that these huge creatures, that would attack without hesitation, were so close. The pic with just the crocs head, was of a 5m beasty and was no more than 40cm away from me when I took it.

We returned to Cavenaghs and altho i was not checking in, Caroline had offered me the use of her shower, which I was very thankful for after 3 days away....but i needed to collect my bag first. I was given a key, which curiously didnt look like the one I was given previously, but off i trotted to recover my precious belongings, but the key did not work. so i returned and explained, but she insisted that that was the only key to the only luggage storage room. I explained the previous scenario and described where i had placed it and she just looked at me in disbelief. the guy on reception who gave me the key was new and must have given me the wrong key but she had no idea which key he had given me. I got the manager and expalined the problem and again he said he had no idea where the key was and the guy was not contactable. oh dear. i just really wanted a shower and to change my clothes, but had nothing clean with me. he would try and unlock it. 10 mins later, no key would fit and he had gone through the whole lot! there was nothing for it but to break in...and there was my bag. well, it had been safe at least!! showered and changed and a meal with the strange group later, Caroline and I had to return as we both were leaving early. I caught the shuttle bus, $10! and off i went, arriving at Darwin domestic terminal. I ensured that there were no containers whatsoever in my hand luggage and smugly checked in. I walked thorugh security confidently, to have my bag checked and my penknife found! ohdearlord! i was so engrossed in having no containers, that id forgotten the knife. i ran back and asked whether i could get my bag back, but sadly no, but...she offered to put it in a small armahs bag for me and lable it! bless her! TAKE NOTE...DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING WITH YOU BY HAND ON THE PLANE UNLESS YOU BUY IT ON THE OTHER SIDE. IT'S JUST NOT WORTH IT!

The flight was virtually empty, so i stretched out on 3 seats and had a gd sleep, arriving at 6.30am, to get to Glebe Point Hostel at 7.30am, but check in not being until 12! so i chilled out in the TV room. My room number is 209 and rather nicely quiet, for now anyway! So ive been busy seeing Sydney, which is a beautiful city and the hostel is nice and homely. I've got several things on over the next few weeks to keep me busy but to be honest im glad of the opportunity to relax as well, as it has been none stop since I left. It's also nice to be able to buy proper food that can last several days, which is convenient but saves on money as well.

So there we have it. All up to date and hope you are enjoying my blogs as much as I enjoy writing them. What a good idea of mine to do so! You all keep in touch now you hear!!!x




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