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Published: December 1st 2006
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Scuba Diving on the Great Barrier Reef
My first dive as a certified diver - without the instructor! Stepping off the plane at Cairns International airport, the warmth hit us and my wardrobe increased ten-fold as I was once again able to wear all of the summer clothes Garry had encouraged me to pack some six months ago! After checking in to our hostel, I booked myself a PADI open water divers course, which I took over fours days. After passing the theory test we headed out to the ocean and I was able to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef which was an amazing experience. Garry joined me on the boat for a snorkelling session once I had certified and was fortunate enough to see a huge turtle and a reef shark! Needless to say the fish were awesome - there were literally thousands of different types, made up of every colour in the spectrum. Cairns itself is a pretty albeit touristy town with a well-kept promenade area and a large public (and free) swimming pool which is called The Lagoon which is just as well as the tide goes out to far to bathe. There are also bbqs for all to use and often bands playing, entertaining the sunbathers. This set-up was repeated in most of
Billabong Animal Sanctuary
Gaz hand feeding the kangaroos. the towns we visited, where the public amenities were very impressive and totally geared up for outdoor living. The lagoons are a necessity in much of Queensland where you can't swim in the sea due to the deadly jellyfish which come in to shallow waters during the summer.
After six days in Cairns, we collected a campervan and started our four-week road trip. We headed an hour north and spent a couple of nights in Cape Tribulation, a tropical paradise of white sandy beaches and palm trees. It felt like being in Fiji all over again. However, at the nearby Daintree River we took a crocodile, an hour of boating along the murky croc-infested river and we soon remember where we were. We only spotted two crocs in total as summer is breeding season so they tend to lie below the surface of the water.
Heading due south we stopped at a few different campsites close to the sea, although the one which is most prominent in my mind was at Bingly Bay (near Mission Beach). It was a small, basic site right on the beach and we spent three blissful days covered in sand and sea salt.
Since qualifying for my dive certificate, I was eager to keep up the practise so we went to Townsville where I was able to dive one of the worlds most popular shipwreck, The Yongala. The ship sunk after being caught up in a storm nearly one hundred years ago and all 122 passengers & crew on board were lost so although it was an amazing experience, I had to remind myself that I was actually diving the exact spot where so many lost their lives. There are still human remains at the site although they are not clearly visible to the untrained eye as at that depth, it is fairly dark.
Since Townsville has little else to offer apart from the dive, we left the following morning via Billabong animal sanctuary south of the town that is home to a selection of Australia's unique wildlife. We were able to hand feed the friendliest kangaroos and even cuddle a koala which made my trip! Garry's highlight was the crocodile feeding time where we witnessed the overly confident ranger make five metre long crocs jump for their food. According to the ranger, there are about 0.6% deaths caused by crocs
Billabong Animal Sanctuary
A message for my sister, Lorraine:
1)No, they do not travel well
2)No, I can't buy you one
3)No, you can't have one each year and most deaths reported are of locals. Apparently one local who was attacked was asked why he stuck his head in the river after having read the warning signs stating that the river was full of crocodiles. His reply was that he thought they had only put that sign up for tourists.......We have found the Aussies to be a bit slow on the uptake to be quite honest!
Cruising through hundreds of kilometres of bush and passing hundreds of dead kangaroos, we arrived at Hervey Bay, the gateway to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. We flew to the island on light aircraft (despite Garry saying 'never again' after the flying over the Nazca Lines) and landed on the beach. Here we collected our 4x4, the only way to negotiate the island since there are no roads - just dense forest and sand tracks. Clearly the Paddies and their tarmac have not reached the Southern Hemisphere yet but they certainly have their work cut out when they do! Fraser Island is a rugged paradise and home to the wild dingoes and over creatures you probably do not want to encounter in your sleeping bag,
Lake Mackenzie at Fraser Island
Nic wading through the clear water to an island within the lake. hence we decided to keep our trip to just one day. We drove along the incredible bumpy sand tracks though the forest of trees so tall you can barely see the sky, some with 213 cm diameter trunks and all home to an array of magnificent birds and camouflage for lizards. However, wild life aside, the most awe-inspiring site on the island was Mackenzie Lake, a crystal clear oasis with its own beach. Since it is a lake and not connected to the sea the water is fresh and the sand does not contain any shells or coral and is therefore as soft as talcum powder on your feet. The lake was so stunning in fact we ended up spending the remainder of our afternoon there before flying back to the mainland.
Continuing the journey, we spent a night at Tin Can Bay where we stood in the shallow waters by the harbour and had two wild dolphins swim around our ankles waiting to be fed fish which volunteers bring to them each morning. They have been visiting the bay for about ten years now, since one of the pod was injured and found that the local fishermen would
Tin Can Bay
Fast food for dolphins feed her if she swam by their boats. Word travels fast in the dolphin community and soon she brought her friends along for the dolphins' version of fast food. No wonder they are among the smartest of sea creatures and clearly far more intelligent than us as on arrival we realised that the camera was out of battery hence the rather naff picture!
We had a flying visit through Surfers Paradise, one incredibly long stretch of beach full of surprise surprise, hundreds of surf dudes and a skyline that distinctly reminded us of Benidorm. It was also 'Schoolies' week when the Year 12's leave school and go on a week long bender so the town was full of spangled youngsters (despite the fact it was about 11am when we got there) so we made a swift exit. Besides, they were making me feel old and Garry felt absolutely decrepit, so we went and sunbathed in Byron Bay for a few days just to highlight our wrinkles. We loved Byron Bay with its stylish yet alternative feel and it was probably our favourite coastal resort. On our way back up north to Brisbane we passed through Nimbin, a fabled town
Barmy Army!
We met Jimmy, the Barmy Army's top boy! of leftover hippies from the 60's where old ladies were selling hash cookies from stalls in the street. Shocking!
Brisbane was a good crack - we didn't see much of the city as we spent the entire time at the GABBA watching the cricket or when we couldn't get tickets, we recovered from our hangovers watching it on TV. We ended up in the middle of the Barmy Army, singing our hearts out which I have to say was one our highlights of Australia. The atmosphere was outstanding, even though we were defeated. If any of you cricket fans are watching the Ashes series, look out for us on the second day of the Perth test!
We are currently in Sydney and have visited Hyde Park, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, which turned out to be much smaller in the flesh as is the city itself. All of the streets and areas are named places in London....and guess what? Garry has booked us a hostel in Kings Cross. Oh joy! The weather is pants so our Bondi Beach time is limited, much to Garry's disappointment as that means we will have to stay in our
The Opera House
Oh, I wonder where this one was taken...? Answers on a postcard to Sydney.... hostel and watch the cricket!
This will we our last blog before Christmas, as from here it's on to Perth to recharge our batteries for a few weeks at Garry's brother's house. So Merry Christmas everyone and a fab 2007! Can't wait to see you all in the New Year!
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Trevor
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Route 66 Trev
Gah ive seen all them places!! Lake Mackenzie and scuba diving :-s. Its a year since me and Kim left on our travels!! Keep having fun guys