Diving the Great Barrier Reef

Wednesday - pick up at 7 am to the Prodive training center. The first day of the 5 day SCUBA course involved training videos, gear introduction and knowledge review quizzes. In the afternoon we got suited up and in the pool, doing shallow water exercises. The next day we were in the pool first thing in the morning, and then in the classroom in the afternoon. A dive gear expert came in to talk to us about costs, and pros and cons of owning your own gear (mainly mask/snorkel/fins). In the evening we went to Reef Teach, a 2 hour talk by the resident expert marine biologist. This included identification of fish, hazards of the reef, and what to look out for. On Friday we were picked up at 5:45 am and boarded the ScubaPro III. After getting assigned cabins we had our predive brief and then around 10 when we arrived at Milln Reef we did our first open water dive. We followed that up with another dive around 2 then a snorkel and paperwork. There were about 30 people on the boat, some certified, some doing an advanced course, and some just to snorkel. We did 4 dives on Saturday, moving reefs near midday. On our first dive in the morning, our instructor (Dan J.) took us to as he put it "one of the top 10 diving sites on the reef" he also told us we weren't supposed to be allowed to go there. At any rate, there was some notable sites, such as a moray eel, white-tipped reef shark, and the impressive fan corals. Due to the very reasonable cost of doing 3 of the 5 required dives for the advanced certification, myself (and most of the others) did a night dive that night. Very surreal. Shrimp, crabs, and tons of the other creatures come alive at night. In the morning we did a deep dive to 30 meters. At this depth they say you can start feeling the effects of nitrogen narcosis (a calming, harmless effect of breathing at depth). I didn't feel that much of a high, but definitely tired afterwards. After taking a dive off, (snorkelling) we did a boat dive - pretty simple just a backroll entry off of a dingy and underwater exploration. We arrived back at about 3:30 yesterday, and had a dinner at Rattle and Hum, on the Esplanade and then went out to the Woolshed.

Cape Tribulation, Daintree Rainforest and Atherton Tablelands

On the 15th (Saturday), talking to people in the hostel, I found a British couple, David and Haley, who were interested in renting a car with me and spending 2 days travelling around the Cairns region. Being the only one over 21, I was the driver. As you can imagine, driving on the left side of the road was a new experience (as was renting a car for the first time...). On Sunday morning, we took off. We drove north to Mossman, and its crowning feature, Mossman Gorge. This is a section of the Daintree Rainforest Parklands and has a spectacular swimming hole, tons of very large fig trees, and untouched rainforest. Birds, salamanders and fish were seen. After taking a quick dip (fairly cold) we got back in the car and drove north, crossing the Daintree river on the cable ferry and through narrow, curvy, and densely forested roads to Cape Tribulation - the most northerly part of Queensland you can reach on sealed roads. The weather didn't allow us to stay on the white, expansive beaches for very long, but I can imagine the combination of rainforest at the waters edge, fringing reef off shore and great beaches quite spectacular on a sunny day. After having a lunch break we drove south back across the ferry and through Mossman. We stopped in Port Douglas for the night. I slept in the car while David and Haley rented a double room at the Port O'Call YHA. At night in the car the forests were alive with animals and their sounds (I had the window cracked - it is the tropics). We left early to hit the Atherton table lands - inland, between the outback and the coast. We made our way down through Mareeba, Atherton and to Milla Milla. In the area there are lots of waterfalls and lakes. We visited the Malanda, Milla Milla, Zillie anmd Ellinjaa Falls. I swam below the Milla Milla falls. Swimming under falls over 100 feet high was pretty cool. We also went to Lake Eacham, a crater lake formed by volcanic action, superheating aquifers which then exploded. The last place we saw was Lake Tinaroo, formed by damming the Barron River in the 50's. We drove back to Cairns through Gordonvale. The road through the forests definitely qualifies as top 5 curviest roads I've ever been on. With our little car, I had a lot of fun driving the endless swichbacks and tight corners. Today (the 18th) I returned the car and got my dive medical done so i'm ready to go for tomorrow. Next post: diving and what the heck am I going to do with the rest of my time?

Magnetic Island and the end of the pillgramage - Cairns

After staying in Bowen a week, I jumped on the bus to Townsville, the largest city in the tropical north. From there I took the 20 minute ferry to Magnetic Island and stayed at a hostel called Base. Large, right on the water with people diving, snorkelling and kayaking in the bay. The evening I got there I met a couple dutch, welch and british people. It was guys cross-dressing competition and ladies night with 1$ champagne. (really bad champagne) Enough said. Spent another night there and during the day rented a bike and toured around the island, doing the forts walk (3km, WWII armamant to protect Cleveland Bay and Townsville) and finally seeing some wildlife - Koalas (I saw 2 along the way). With the bike I went to the north of the island to horseshoe bay and along the way passed many nice beaches. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible, so it wasn't quite as nice as it could have been. On the morning of the third day there, I caught the ferry back to Townsville and the bus to Cairns (5 hours). Arriving late, I checked in at the Travellers Oasis hostel, on the futon. Even with all the accomodation in Cairns (something like 20 hostels) everywhere was booked solid. At any rate, the futon in the common room wasn't that bad. The next day I recovered a bit, walking around town, visiting the Peter Lik gallery and the Esplanade. The weather was still overcast and drizzly.

Bowen

After chilling out with the girls in Airlie, and celebrating Independance day with Angela (the American), I took off to Bowen, about an hour north of Airlie. It is mainly a farming town, and there is pretty much no tourist developments here. A nice change from the typical situation. The first couple days I didn't work, though I checked in at a working hostel, Reefers. On my third day here, a fellow came through the hostel looking for workers for a construction project out at Rose Bay, on the east side of town. Great job, and good boss, and better yet, 15$ an hour, cash in hand. In other news, the Reefers hostel played against the Backpackers hostel in football yesterday at the park, and many stayed up late to watch the World Cup final between France and Italy. The day before yesterday (today being Monday the 10th) I went into town to meet Jason who is staying at Backpackers, and unfortunately I got kicked out because they don't allow visitors after 9. Oh well. Not much to write about, just working and getting pumped for my dive course in 9 days...

Sun, Sand and Bikinis: Airlie Con't

Independance day today. Still in Airlie beach. Angela and Andrienne, after working for an extra week in Bundy took the overnight bus to reach Airlie this morning. But back to the 30th. Andrew, Jay and I took it easy that night, cooking some food in the next door hostel, lounging on the beach and reading. Meanwhile I have been trying to improve my hack skills with a soccer ball I picked up. On Canada day, we hit Beaches, an open air bar for a couple drinks and met some fellow Canadians; however, once 9 o'clock hit, the England vs. Portugal game came on and the bar was overtaken with Brits. At any rate, it was a fun night, but not that late and surprisingly responsible. Jason took off for Bowen, a town about an hour north of Airlie on Sunday (2nd). I would have also gone, had there been any room in the hostels. I'll call again today. I also want to book my scuba course in Cairns however, I am waiting to find out whether I'll get work in Bowen first. Yesterday, I took to the camera shop to see about waterproof cases for my camera, but they are too expensive. I also was playing soccer with a number of other guys, from Switzerland, BC, Britain and some local Airlie beach highschool students on their winter break. I am really sore today as we played for a good 4 hours on the beach. I have also been hitting the the public lagoon, which is fresh water and surprisingly warm. I'll update again once I move on. . . that's the lot for now, cheers