The Rat's Nest

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And here I was again, back in Fremantle for the start of my first day after the tour. But here with a good reason- more scuba diving!

I was off for a trip to the waters around Rottnest Island, which is just Dutch for 'Rat's Nest' Island because (apparently) of all the quokkas which are a particularly ratty looking species of kangaroo that live there. Not that I got to see any. I guess they are not noted for their underwater swimming ability.

Well, any of you with a big jealousy thing going on because of the manta rays and whatnot will be pleased to know that the first dive did not go very well at all. OK, I might as well copy it down pretty much verbatim from my dive log book...

'Spent ages on the surface as one of the other divers was messing around massively with her equipment and having trouble descending. Then as the other two descended, another member of the group had trouble descending, eventually only doing so as I grabbed his BC (Bouyancy Compensator- an inflatable/ deflatable jacket used to adjust position in the water) and physically pulled him down. This meant that we drifted away from the shotline in the current, although good viz meant I could still see it. Swam over to see if we could find the other two- couldn't. Confused by mass of divers in the water (about 40!). Also, other person having trouble breathing (turns out air not fully turned on). Ascended, having barely noticed anything wildlife-wise.'

Hohum, good times!

Happily, the next dive was much better. The various issues were sorted out between dives and so we got down to have a proper dive. It was quite unique- a strange mix of seaweedy areas not too different from what you might find in the English Channel, and areas like a coral reef. The fish too, were like a halfway house between UK and tropical diving- not as plentiful and colourful as coral reef fish but more so than cold water species. I quite liked this though, as I have never just been about the nice easy pretty stuff in diving. So I am glad at least that one of the dives turned out OK. Very expensive though- 205 Aussie dollars (about 150 quid) for two dives, admittedly including full equipment hire. Since the Exmouth dives were 145 Aussie dollars for THREE dives, you can see the difference!

Well after that I'm afraid I was pretty boring- I just went back to the hotel (generously I got a lift back with two of the people I had dived with, who were locals) to have some food and start writing all these blogs up.

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