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Wednesday, April 20, 2011
New Travel Blog
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Friday, June 11, 2010
All done in Auckland
Finished the last of my travel adventures today and am back in Auckland now for the last supper. Tommorrow will consist of sleeping in (finally!), wandering around the harbour and probably going up the tower for a few hours, before catching the bus to fly back home. I leave at 7:15PM and arrive 30 minutes later at 7:45PM on the same day, after 18 hours in transit. Normally I'd be dreading the long flight, but that time difference is messing with my psyche and making me thing this will be nice and short.
Anywho, here's the final update from abroad...
Rotorua
Stinks. But it's pertty.
Wednesday was a pretty full day starting with a hike through Waimangu Valley, apparently the only volcanic ecosystem whose entire history is known from written records. It was an area of rolling hills until one night in 1886 a series of eruptions created a barren valley, wiping out all plants and birdlife in the process. A few minor coughs since then, it's now a lush forest, complete with hot water streams and boiling lakes. Highlight was Frying Pan Lake, so named because you can actually hear it sizzles. Quite bizarre to watch steam rising off an entire lake.
From there I squeezed in a visit to Te Puia, a combination Maori cultural and historic center, kiwi reserve, and geothermal park, complete with bubbling mud pools and steaming geysers. Highlight for me was finally spotting a kiwi. They are nocturnal birds, but the enclosure was setup with a reverse lighting system so they think it's night during the day and you get to see them active. In theory at least. I looked for 15 minutes and saw nothing. Came back after watching the geyser blow off it's steam and saw one just as it darted off again. It shocked me a little because I was expecting a little sparrow-sized thing, but it was like an overgrown bowling ball with hair. Runs like the dickens too.
For a night cap, I took in a Maori hangi... as expected, very much like a Hawaiin Lua, except that it was barely 4 degrees here. The food was pleasant but not as exciting as a Lua, although I enjoyed the entertainment far more. Less showy and more informative, demonstrating Maori welcome ceremonies, instruments, weapons (with staged fights between warriors), and the famous haka. I think I'll try greeting the airport security guards with that tomorrow. I'm sure they'll appreciate it and it won't cause any trouble at all, since it's part of their culture here (their sports teams do it before every game). The host was also very entertaining. There was less than 50 people there, but from 12 different countries. Impressively, he carried on a brief conversation with each person in their native tongue. Since I was the only Canadian, he just asked me how the hockey was going and moved on. :) All in all, a very cool cultural experience.
Waitomo
Made it back and true to their word, it was open. I didn't get to do the full Black Abyss tour I wanted that includes the rappelling, sorry in New Zealand that's abseiling, and spelunking, but did get to spend a couple hours walking through incredible caves with rapid streams, floating on tire tubes and jumping past the waterfalls. It felt treacherous, and you could barely see even with headlights. Many steps where taken on faith, assuming that because the water is frothing there, it must mean there's a rock to step on. Of course it probably wasn't as bad as it seemed, the guide seemed to have no trouble, but for us first timers it kept you on your toes. Or bellies in some cases... there were parts where you had to float on your stomach with your head turned sideways just to fit between the water and roof. For those who have been to Jerusalem, this put Hezekiah's tunnel to shame. Amazing!
Coromandel
Dropped off the car last night with no further incidents, then bussed back to Auckland. This morning I caught a coach tour to the Coromandel Peninsula to see Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Springs, and Driving Creek Railway. Another beautiful area, but I'll have to cut the description short as I'm almost out of Internet time.
In short, I have LOVED my time in New Zealand. It's such a beautiful and laid back country. Sleepy almost. In fact, I think they invented things like Black Water Rafting, Zorbing, Shweebing, Bungy jumps and the like just to keep the people awake. But it's wonderful and undisturbed place where one could be at their leisure for months on end. Great people too... humble, quiet, and unassuming. Reminds me of Saskatchewan... although the landscapes are more like the offspring of Scottland and Hawaii.
After more than 4 weeks though, I am more than ready to come home. Maybe not ready to return to work exactly. But ready to unpack and stay still for a bit. I miss my couch.
See y'all soon! Thanks for reading along.
PS. Summary post and pictures will be dealt with back home. Stay tuned for that, if you want.
Anywho, here's the final update from abroad...
Rotorua
Stinks. But it's pertty.
Wednesday was a pretty full day starting with a hike through Waimangu Valley, apparently the only volcanic ecosystem whose entire history is known from written records. It was an area of rolling hills until one night in 1886 a series of eruptions created a barren valley, wiping out all plants and birdlife in the process. A few minor coughs since then, it's now a lush forest, complete with hot water streams and boiling lakes. Highlight was Frying Pan Lake, so named because you can actually hear it sizzles. Quite bizarre to watch steam rising off an entire lake.
From there I squeezed in a visit to Te Puia, a combination Maori cultural and historic center, kiwi reserve, and geothermal park, complete with bubbling mud pools and steaming geysers. Highlight for me was finally spotting a kiwi. They are nocturnal birds, but the enclosure was setup with a reverse lighting system so they think it's night during the day and you get to see them active. In theory at least. I looked for 15 minutes and saw nothing. Came back after watching the geyser blow off it's steam and saw one just as it darted off again. It shocked me a little because I was expecting a little sparrow-sized thing, but it was like an overgrown bowling ball with hair. Runs like the dickens too.
For a night cap, I took in a Maori hangi... as expected, very much like a Hawaiin Lua, except that it was barely 4 degrees here. The food was pleasant but not as exciting as a Lua, although I enjoyed the entertainment far more. Less showy and more informative, demonstrating Maori welcome ceremonies, instruments, weapons (with staged fights between warriors), and the famous haka. I think I'll try greeting the airport security guards with that tomorrow. I'm sure they'll appreciate it and it won't cause any trouble at all, since it's part of their culture here (their sports teams do it before every game). The host was also very entertaining. There was less than 50 people there, but from 12 different countries. Impressively, he carried on a brief conversation with each person in their native tongue. Since I was the only Canadian, he just asked me how the hockey was going and moved on. :) All in all, a very cool cultural experience.
Waitomo
Made it back and true to their word, it was open. I didn't get to do the full Black Abyss tour I wanted that includes the rappelling, sorry in New Zealand that's abseiling, and spelunking, but did get to spend a couple hours walking through incredible caves with rapid streams, floating on tire tubes and jumping past the waterfalls. It felt treacherous, and you could barely see even with headlights. Many steps where taken on faith, assuming that because the water is frothing there, it must mean there's a rock to step on. Of course it probably wasn't as bad as it seemed, the guide seemed to have no trouble, but for us first timers it kept you on your toes. Or bellies in some cases... there were parts where you had to float on your stomach with your head turned sideways just to fit between the water and roof. For those who have been to Jerusalem, this put Hezekiah's tunnel to shame. Amazing!
Coromandel
Dropped off the car last night with no further incidents, then bussed back to Auckland. This morning I caught a coach tour to the Coromandel Peninsula to see Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Springs, and Driving Creek Railway. Another beautiful area, but I'll have to cut the description short as I'm almost out of Internet time.
In short, I have LOVED my time in New Zealand. It's such a beautiful and laid back country. Sleepy almost. In fact, I think they invented things like Black Water Rafting, Zorbing, Shweebing, Bungy jumps and the like just to keep the people awake. But it's wonderful and undisturbed place where one could be at their leisure for months on end. Great people too... humble, quiet, and unassuming. Reminds me of Saskatchewan... although the landscapes are more like the offspring of Scottland and Hawaii.
After more than 4 weeks though, I am more than ready to come home. Maybe not ready to return to work exactly. But ready to unpack and stay still for a bit. I miss my couch.
See y'all soon! Thanks for reading along.
PS. Summary post and pictures will be dealt with back home. Stay tuned for that, if you want.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Rong turns to Rotorua
I woke up in Auckland this morning and am now at my hotel in Rotorua as planned. However almost nothing went according to plan in between.
I'm not one to try and cover up my own guffaws, so instead I'll just share them and invite you to read on for some good laughs at my own expense. Enjoy! :)
Best Laid Plans
More than any other morning on this trip, everything had to work out perfectly to get things to line up. I needed to get up, pack up, check out, walk 1Km to catch the 7:25AM bus to Hamilton, where I would arrive at 9:25, walk another 1Km to pick up a rental car, drive another hour and 3 minutes to Waitomo, leaving about 10 minutes to throw on my swimmers before my 11:00 booking for black water rafting. Tighter than the wetsuit I'd be wearing, that schedule left no room for anything to go wrong.
In short, it would be a terrible morning to sleep through one's alarm.
And so I did.
After all that debating last night about whether I could afford to sleep until 6 or should set the alarm a bit earlier, I rolled over this morning to be greeted by a red-lettered 7:02 on the clock, and shot out of bed like a rocket. 5 minutes later I wouldn't have had a hope and would have commenced alternate planning, but 23 minutes was just enough time to think I might be able to pull it off.
And so I did.
I literally ran up to bus as the driver was stepping on to go. Still not 100% healthy, and of course feeling worst first thing in the morning to begin with, I was sweating, shaking, rasping, and near ready to chuck chunks, but just collapsed into a seat and didn't move for half-an-hour. Eventually I was able to settle in, scarfed some buns and juice I had in me bag, then tried to catch a few winks.
Surprise!
I managed to doze off just as we pulled in to Hamilton, so I was nice and groggy for the demands of the next leg of the trip. A 1Km walk quickly becomes 2Km when you go 1/2Km the wrong direction first. I got my East-West right, but my North-South wrong, meaning I was going to have to test my cough-scared lungs again to get back on track.
When I finally got to Hertz, I had 58 minutes left for a 63 minute drive and was trying to figure out how to make up the difference given I'd already heard on the radio that New Zealnd was cracking down on speeding this year and pulling people over at 5Km above the limit as a rule. Better call ahead and tell them I might be a bit late.
"I'm sorry, we're closed due to flooding, but the dry tour is open"
Wha-???
I should have stayed on the line and figured out what to do next, but I was completely flustered, with Hertz guy asking me to sign stuff, another asking me on the phone what I want to do about Mother Nature, and my brain still trying to calculate how to get there by 11 for my canceled tour that it hadn't realized was canceled yet.
"I'll decide when I get there"
Wha-???
Why am I still driving there? Nothing and everything was making sense at this point, so I grabbed the keys and proceeded straight to the wrong car door! :)
I deftly pretended that's what I meant to do though. Real suave-like, I unloaded my bags into the passenger side, then walked to the other side without making eye-contact with Hertz guy so he wouldn't have a chance to reconsider letting me waive the insurance. Ignition still on the right of the steering column? All good then.
Have you heard the one about...
What do you get when you mix a Canadian driver with a New Zealand round-about?
Yup. An Accident.
I didn't get 50 feet out of the parking lot before I came within inches of full on broad-siding another car.
When I was on the bus I got thinking that after 3 weeks of being immersed in it, it no longer seemed weird that drivers were sitting on the right of the car. Plus I had been studying how Kori handled traffic circles in Sydney so I figured I was good to go with this whole left-lane-driving business. But then pulling up to my first round-about, I got stumped.
"whoa, this one's got 2 lanes, which one am I supposed to be in???"
Presumably, since I was going straight I probably shouldn't have been in the outside lane going past the first exit. But in my defense, that guy probably wasn't supposed to be taking the first exit from the inside lane either. I had to nail the brakes just to hold up inches short of slamming into the passenger on his shotgun side.
In his defense though, he was probably only in that lane because I didn't see him when I pulled into the round-about in the first place. :s
Thank goodness the brake pedal is still on the left of the gas pedal or that would have been ugly for sure. Unlike the turn signal. No matter how frantically my wipers flail on my dry windshield, other drivers still don't know which way I'm turning. I think I've got that one figured out now, but the rear-view mirror has also moved to the left, which I can't seem to get used to. Half the time still I glance right and use the side mirror instead without even realizing it.
Some things remain the same though Drive still goes forwards. Neutral still goes nowhere no matter how fast you rev the engine. To back out of a parking stall, you still have to use reverse. Which I did. Eventually. Third times a charm!
In short, it's probably good no one had to share a ride with me. Pity the poor blokes that had to share the road with me though...
Everything I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten
This is an untrue statement. In order to survive and thrive in this fast paced world you have to learn something new everyday.
For instance, today I learned that no amount of yelling will get an oncoming driver to change lanes when you are the one in the wrong lane.
In my defence, at a distance of 1/2Km, an oncoming truck on the highway looks just like a car passing a slower one in Canada. However at 1/4Km away, it suddenly becomes crystal clear that something isn't quite right.
In that situation, instinct will cause you to scream "what the $%#&* is this guy doing?!?!" Fortunately, my brain immediately yelled back "wait a minute, what the #$%&* are YOU doing?!?!" and then told my arms to pull the car back into the left lane.
The look on that lady's face as we blew by each other, thankfully not in the same lane anymore, would have been priceless had I not been busy trying to get my heart to start pumping again.
Sheesh.
I'm lucky to be alive. Perhaps that's a right-of-passage everyone goes through when switching sides on the road though, because I did not have any trouble figuring out which lane to be in the rest of the day. At all. Lesson well learnt.
A wizard is never early nor late
Got to Waitomo in one peice and discussed the situation with the very helpful staff at The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. I could do the 3 hour dry tour of the glow worm caves or try to come back another day. They only closed yesterday and were hopeful it would re-open tommorrow. They even gave me a free slice of cake and cappuccino while I sat down to see if I could manage to fit it in another day.
A little bit of creative juggling and long distance calling later, I left for the shire instead, arriving precisely when I meant to be there, as Gandalf would say. In short, I'm basically doing these three days in reverse now. Te Puia might have to get squeezed out in order to get back in time for the rafting on Thursday (which would be a shame as that's my chance to see live kiwis), and it's a lot of extra driving, but I'm just glad I'll get another chance to do it. New Zealand is an awfully long way to have to come back.
Money well spent
As you've probably gathered, getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road is mentally taxing... At least for me anyway. So is navigating unfamiliar roads. Rather than trying to do both, I decided to splurge and spend the $9.95-a-day for a GPS, and it's been a life-saver. I haven't found many (if any) deals on this side of the world, but this one pays for itself, assuming my life can be valued at least $1095-a-day.
I hadn't tried using one of these since the first versions came out but they've come along way since then. It's been a spot-on navigator, talking me through the directions with such ease I haven't even had to look at a map. Clearly the audio algorithms have been improved because it's been giving me the perfect amount of lead-time for whatever my speed is, including for 2 turns in a row when they were close enough to warrant it. I've also been impressed with the routes it has chosen, taking me through rural shortcuts and secondary highways that seemed to be saving a lot of time, while still avoiding anything unpaved, and letting me see parts of the country I never would have otherwise. It even switched the display to night-mode automatically as soon as it got dark enough outside. The last hour to Rotorua was dark and rainy, but having that thing tell me where to go made the drive to the hotel a cake-walk.
In short, I'll be eliminating any future vacation-driving stress by renting one of these bad boys everytime I drive unfamiliar territory from now on. Maybe by then it will even be programmed to tell me when I'm in the wrong lane. (This message has been brought to you by Hertz).
There and back again
Sorry, I just realized I touched on the shire tour but said nothing about it. It was both cool and lame. The cool part is seeing the pictures from when it was fully set up compared to how it looks now in it's mostly restored state, and hearing the incredible stories of the lengths they'll go to to create the magic of film. The lame part was that the entire set is less than 10 acres and the 1 hour walk through it could have easily been done in 15 minutes and still seemed slow.
It included a live sheep-sheering demo, which was also both cool and lame. You can add lambs to the list of animals I've petted on this trip.
In conclusion
New Zealand is GORGEOUS. Almost enough to cause you to drive off the road while staring at it. Sigh. Yyyup....
More than any where else I've been so far, this is a place I would love to come back to and just hang out for a few months. Or maybe years. And that exchange rate might just be enough to make me do it.
I'm not one to try and cover up my own guffaws, so instead I'll just share them and invite you to read on for some good laughs at my own expense. Enjoy! :)
Best Laid Plans
More than any other morning on this trip, everything had to work out perfectly to get things to line up. I needed to get up, pack up, check out, walk 1Km to catch the 7:25AM bus to Hamilton, where I would arrive at 9:25, walk another 1Km to pick up a rental car, drive another hour and 3 minutes to Waitomo, leaving about 10 minutes to throw on my swimmers before my 11:00 booking for black water rafting. Tighter than the wetsuit I'd be wearing, that schedule left no room for anything to go wrong.
In short, it would be a terrible morning to sleep through one's alarm.
And so I did.
After all that debating last night about whether I could afford to sleep until 6 or should set the alarm a bit earlier, I rolled over this morning to be greeted by a red-lettered 7:02 on the clock, and shot out of bed like a rocket. 5 minutes later I wouldn't have had a hope and would have commenced alternate planning, but 23 minutes was just enough time to think I might be able to pull it off.
And so I did.
I literally ran up to bus as the driver was stepping on to go. Still not 100% healthy, and of course feeling worst first thing in the morning to begin with, I was sweating, shaking, rasping, and near ready to chuck chunks, but just collapsed into a seat and didn't move for half-an-hour. Eventually I was able to settle in, scarfed some buns and juice I had in me bag, then tried to catch a few winks.
Surprise!
I managed to doze off just as we pulled in to Hamilton, so I was nice and groggy for the demands of the next leg of the trip. A 1Km walk quickly becomes 2Km when you go 1/2Km the wrong direction first. I got my East-West right, but my North-South wrong, meaning I was going to have to test my cough-scared lungs again to get back on track.
When I finally got to Hertz, I had 58 minutes left for a 63 minute drive and was trying to figure out how to make up the difference given I'd already heard on the radio that New Zealnd was cracking down on speeding this year and pulling people over at 5Km above the limit as a rule. Better call ahead and tell them I might be a bit late.
"I'm sorry, we're closed due to flooding, but the dry tour is open"
Wha-???
I should have stayed on the line and figured out what to do next, but I was completely flustered, with Hertz guy asking me to sign stuff, another asking me on the phone what I want to do about Mother Nature, and my brain still trying to calculate how to get there by 11 for my canceled tour that it hadn't realized was canceled yet.
"I'll decide when I get there"
Wha-???
Why am I still driving there? Nothing and everything was making sense at this point, so I grabbed the keys and proceeded straight to the wrong car door! :)
I deftly pretended that's what I meant to do though. Real suave-like, I unloaded my bags into the passenger side, then walked to the other side without making eye-contact with Hertz guy so he wouldn't have a chance to reconsider letting me waive the insurance. Ignition still on the right of the steering column? All good then.
Have you heard the one about...
What do you get when you mix a Canadian driver with a New Zealand round-about?
Yup. An Accident.
I didn't get 50 feet out of the parking lot before I came within inches of full on broad-siding another car.
When I was on the bus I got thinking that after 3 weeks of being immersed in it, it no longer seemed weird that drivers were sitting on the right of the car. Plus I had been studying how Kori handled traffic circles in Sydney so I figured I was good to go with this whole left-lane-driving business. But then pulling up to my first round-about, I got stumped.
"whoa, this one's got 2 lanes, which one am I supposed to be in???"
Presumably, since I was going straight I probably shouldn't have been in the outside lane going past the first exit. But in my defense, that guy probably wasn't supposed to be taking the first exit from the inside lane either. I had to nail the brakes just to hold up inches short of slamming into the passenger on his shotgun side.
In his defense though, he was probably only in that lane because I didn't see him when I pulled into the round-about in the first place. :s
Thank goodness the brake pedal is still on the left of the gas pedal or that would have been ugly for sure. Unlike the turn signal. No matter how frantically my wipers flail on my dry windshield, other drivers still don't know which way I'm turning. I think I've got that one figured out now, but the rear-view mirror has also moved to the left, which I can't seem to get used to. Half the time still I glance right and use the side mirror instead without even realizing it.
Some things remain the same though Drive still goes forwards. Neutral still goes nowhere no matter how fast you rev the engine. To back out of a parking stall, you still have to use reverse. Which I did. Eventually. Third times a charm!
In short, it's probably good no one had to share a ride with me. Pity the poor blokes that had to share the road with me though...
Everything I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten
This is an untrue statement. In order to survive and thrive in this fast paced world you have to learn something new everyday.
For instance, today I learned that no amount of yelling will get an oncoming driver to change lanes when you are the one in the wrong lane.
In my defence, at a distance of 1/2Km, an oncoming truck on the highway looks just like a car passing a slower one in Canada. However at 1/4Km away, it suddenly becomes crystal clear that something isn't quite right.
In that situation, instinct will cause you to scream "what the $%#&* is this guy doing?!?!" Fortunately, my brain immediately yelled back "wait a minute, what the #$%&* are YOU doing?!?!" and then told my arms to pull the car back into the left lane.
The look on that lady's face as we blew by each other, thankfully not in the same lane anymore, would have been priceless had I not been busy trying to get my heart to start pumping again.
Sheesh.
I'm lucky to be alive. Perhaps that's a right-of-passage everyone goes through when switching sides on the road though, because I did not have any trouble figuring out which lane to be in the rest of the day. At all. Lesson well learnt.
A wizard is never early nor late
Got to Waitomo in one peice and discussed the situation with the very helpful staff at The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. I could do the 3 hour dry tour of the glow worm caves or try to come back another day. They only closed yesterday and were hopeful it would re-open tommorrow. They even gave me a free slice of cake and cappuccino while I sat down to see if I could manage to fit it in another day.
A little bit of creative juggling and long distance calling later, I left for the shire instead, arriving precisely when I meant to be there, as Gandalf would say. In short, I'm basically doing these three days in reverse now. Te Puia might have to get squeezed out in order to get back in time for the rafting on Thursday (which would be a shame as that's my chance to see live kiwis), and it's a lot of extra driving, but I'm just glad I'll get another chance to do it. New Zealand is an awfully long way to have to come back.
Money well spent
As you've probably gathered, getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road is mentally taxing... At least for me anyway. So is navigating unfamiliar roads. Rather than trying to do both, I decided to splurge and spend the $9.95-a-day for a GPS, and it's been a life-saver. I haven't found many (if any) deals on this side of the world, but this one pays for itself, assuming my life can be valued at least $1095-a-day.
I hadn't tried using one of these since the first versions came out but they've come along way since then. It's been a spot-on navigator, talking me through the directions with such ease I haven't even had to look at a map. Clearly the audio algorithms have been improved because it's been giving me the perfect amount of lead-time for whatever my speed is, including for 2 turns in a row when they were close enough to warrant it. I've also been impressed with the routes it has chosen, taking me through rural shortcuts and secondary highways that seemed to be saving a lot of time, while still avoiding anything unpaved, and letting me see parts of the country I never would have otherwise. It even switched the display to night-mode automatically as soon as it got dark enough outside. The last hour to Rotorua was dark and rainy, but having that thing tell me where to go made the drive to the hotel a cake-walk.
In short, I'll be eliminating any future vacation-driving stress by renting one of these bad boys everytime I drive unfamiliar territory from now on. Maybe by then it will even be programmed to tell me when I'm in the wrong lane. (This message has been brought to you by Hertz).
There and back again
Sorry, I just realized I touched on the shire tour but said nothing about it. It was both cool and lame. The cool part is seeing the pictures from when it was fully set up compared to how it looks now in it's mostly restored state, and hearing the incredible stories of the lengths they'll go to to create the magic of film. The lame part was that the entire set is less than 10 acres and the 1 hour walk through it could have easily been done in 15 minutes and still seemed slow.
It included a live sheep-sheering demo, which was also both cool and lame. You can add lambs to the list of animals I've petted on this trip.
In conclusion
New Zealand is GORGEOUS. Almost enough to cause you to drive off the road while staring at it. Sigh. Yyyup....
More than any where else I've been so far, this is a place I would love to come back to and just hang out for a few months. Or maybe years. And that exchange rate might just be enough to make me do it.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Now in New Zealand
Arrived in Auckland yesterday, sick as a dog. I caught something in the outback and by the time I got back to Sydney was achy and sniffling. Determined not to let it ruin my vacation, I went to the mall and purchased a pharmicy, drugs now occupy more space in my back pack than clothes.
There was nothing on the agenda today, and the weather forecast was calling for "gale force winds" across New Zealand, so I figured I'd just sleep in and take it easy. Surprisingly though, the weather has been reasonably good today, and I'm also feeler better than I have for days, albeit still coughing and notably weaker. Another early bed time is in order, after which I'll hopefully be rested up and ready to tackle this itinerary for my final week:
Tuesday: Waitomo
I catch an early bus to Hamilton, where I'll pick up a rental car, and drive down the wrong side of the road to Waitomo for several hours of rappelling, spulenking, and tire-tubing through glow-worm infested underground caves and rivers. I hope my expectations aren't unreasonably high, but this has been one of the key activities I've been looking forward to on this trip. From there I drive another couple hours on to Rotorua. I have no idea whether the caving or driving will be more hazardous to me!
Wednesday: Rotorua
Rotorua is New Zealands equivalent to Yellowstone, a geothermal area full of geyers, bubbling mud pools, boiling lakes, and hot springs. I'll spend a day and a half hiking around this region, and one evening taking in a Maori dinner. The Maori are New Zealands aboriginals, and from what I can tell this should be similar to a Hawaiin Lua. Only different.
Thursday: The Shire
After another morning in Rotorua, I drive up the highway to Matamata, famous as the site of the Lord of The Rings Hobbiton filming. It's the only set from the trilogy that's still partially intact. The tour includes a sheep farm demonstration, which apparently is a big deal here... New Zealand has more sheep than humans in its population.
Friday: Coromandel
I drop off the car and bus back to Auckland Thursday night, then take a day tour of the Coromandel Peninsula. Rainforests, mountains, hot water beaches, and Cathedral Cove, it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas in the country.
Saturday: ET Go Home
All good things must come to an end, and I'll be leaving on a jet plane Saturday, albeit not until 7PM so I'll have some time to take in a bit of Auckland first, hopefully this time fully healthy and able to enjoy it.
It's hard to believe I'm already down to the last few days, it's gone by in a total blur. But obviously I've got a lot to look forward to this week yet, so it's not worth fretting about just yet. Instead, I've got to figure out where I catch this bus tomorrow...
There was nothing on the agenda today, and the weather forecast was calling for "gale force winds" across New Zealand, so I figured I'd just sleep in and take it easy. Surprisingly though, the weather has been reasonably good today, and I'm also feeler better than I have for days, albeit still coughing and notably weaker. Another early bed time is in order, after which I'll hopefully be rested up and ready to tackle this itinerary for my final week:
Tuesday: Waitomo
I catch an early bus to Hamilton, where I'll pick up a rental car, and drive down the wrong side of the road to Waitomo for several hours of rappelling, spulenking, and tire-tubing through glow-worm infested underground caves and rivers. I hope my expectations aren't unreasonably high, but this has been one of the key activities I've been looking forward to on this trip. From there I drive another couple hours on to Rotorua. I have no idea whether the caving or driving will be more hazardous to me!
Wednesday: Rotorua
Rotorua is New Zealands equivalent to Yellowstone, a geothermal area full of geyers, bubbling mud pools, boiling lakes, and hot springs. I'll spend a day and a half hiking around this region, and one evening taking in a Maori dinner. The Maori are New Zealands aboriginals, and from what I can tell this should be similar to a Hawaiin Lua. Only different.
Thursday: The Shire
After another morning in Rotorua, I drive up the highway to Matamata, famous as the site of the Lord of The Rings Hobbiton filming. It's the only set from the trilogy that's still partially intact. The tour includes a sheep farm demonstration, which apparently is a big deal here... New Zealand has more sheep than humans in its population.
Friday: Coromandel
I drop off the car and bus back to Auckland Thursday night, then take a day tour of the Coromandel Peninsula. Rainforests, mountains, hot water beaches, and Cathedral Cove, it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas in the country.
Saturday: ET Go Home
All good things must come to an end, and I'll be leaving on a jet plane Saturday, albeit not until 7PM so I'll have some time to take in a bit of Auckland first, hopefully this time fully healthy and able to enjoy it.
It's hard to believe I'm already down to the last few days, it's gone by in a total blur. But obviously I've got a lot to look forward to this week yet, so it's not worth fretting about just yet. Instead, I've got to figure out where I catch this bus tomorrow...
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Travel Agent Challenge
Aside from one more day in the Sydney region, my time here in Australia is coming to a close. I've seen the Big Three: Great Barrier Reef, Outback,and Sydney Harbour. But this country is HUGE. You can fit all of Europe or almost all of continental US inside it, so there's a lot I haven't seen... Melbourne, Tasmania, the Top End, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast...
Still I think I've done fairly well in just under 2 weeks. But it's got me thinking, if a person had only 2 weeks to see Canada, what should they aim for? Suppose you were their travel agent, what itinerary would you suggest?
I'm curious to hear, so post it in the comments, and I'll add mine next time I'm online again too. Alternatively, if you are an Aussie, or been here yourself, what should I have seen instead (and what should I have dropped to make it possible)?
Still I think I've done fairly well in just under 2 weeks. But it's got me thinking, if a person had only 2 weeks to see Canada, what should they aim for? Suppose you were their travel agent, what itinerary would you suggest?
I'm curious to hear, so post it in the comments, and I'll add mine next time I'm online again too. Alternatively, if you are an Aussie, or been here yourself, what should I have seen instead (and what should I have dropped to make it possible)?
I Heart Australia
I'm long overdue for an update. Shortly after leaving Japan I ran out of gas. Might have been the overnight flight. Maybe the two days at sea followed by an 11 hour road trip into the rainforest. Or maybe it's the disorienting feeling of standing upside down all the time. For whatever reason I've shifted gears from my usual wide-eyed, do-everything-and-then-some, energizer-bunny traveling mode to a laid-back, I'm-on-vacation, leisure mode. The result has been a bit of a work-to-rule slow down, including blog updates.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm still enjoying myself immensely, and if anything, I'll come back to work better rested for it (that sound you just heard was my boss cheering). Plus Australia is a great place to slow down. There's less urgency to "see everything" like in Europe, and the climate and culture is similar enough to feel right at home.
Well, almost. It really is somewhat disorienting when you first get here. Coming from Japan, you feel like you are in a foreign culture so you shouldn't be able to speak to the locals. Then you realize they are speaking English and you should be able to speak to them. Then you realize you can't because you miss every third word with that bloody accent! :) Everything is the same except slightly different in subtle ways that you can't quite put a finger on, which is a real head trip compared to Japan or even Europe, where everything is different and you know it. At least for me anyway.
Anywho, time to get on with the update, rapid fire style...
DAINTREE RAINFOREST
- this was a day trip from Cairns, starting at 7AM and not finishing until after 6PM, most of that time spent driving... Ugh
- I had no idea that Australia was so tropical. I had always pictured it as a small fertile strip sandwiched between the Ocean and a vast barren Outback, but the Top End could rival Hawaii. It looks to be even closer to Papa New Guineau than Florida is to Cuba
- highlights for me were the beautiful Mossman Gorge (worth a google image search!), seeing an 8-foot croc feeding in the wild, and a brief stop at a rainforest habitat where I saw a cassowary (also worth a google search), petted big red kangaroos even tamer than the Nara deer, and got dive bombed by some of the wild birds :). The guide was also very informative, pointing out flora and fauna in the rainforest I never would have seen otherwise, and I now know more about the sugarcane industry than I'll ever need to know. An interesting tidbit he shared: apparently the shrimpers all the way over here are benefitting from the BP fiasco in the Gulf.
SYDNEY
- met up with the Jones', which was the whole excuse for this trip, and enjoyed their company and hospitality for several days in Sydney. Whether it's been Lisa feeding me, or Kori cramming for two weeks so he would have a couple days free to visit, or just generally showing me around and putting up with my laundry hanging all over their apartment, they have been great hosts. It's been great to spend time with them again, and hard to believe they left Calgary almost 3 years ago. (For those who don't know them, the Jones are friends of mine from Calgary. Kori is here doing a Renewable Energy Engineering Degree at UNSW, the first program of it's kind in the world, while Lisa is learning the ins-and-outs of immigration laws by actually trying to eke out a living as an immigrant and avoid getting kicked out!)
- they live a 10 minute walk from the beach so after picking me up from the airport, Kori and I headed out to make the best of one of the few rain-free days Sydney has had lately (although I heard Calgary was getting snow still!). We did the fantastic 15Km Coastal Walk from their place near Maroubra, starting on rocky shores with crashing waves, before ending in a, uh, romantic moonlight beach stroll at Bondi beach where we met Lisa for dinner.
- Saturday we braved the rain (still feels warm to me!) and went down to The Rocks, strolled around the Harbour, and caught a free ferry to Cockatoo Island where I saw the strangest "art" exhibits I've ever seen. As an example. We watched one film where 5 female dwarfs are tending their overgrown vegetable garden, that naturally produces a tuxedo wearing opera singer, an old woman wrapped in skin-tight white cloth, and of course a transvestite, whom they start to care for before deciding to off Mr. Opera. I'm sure you can guess how the story goes from there. Self explanatory really. Ha! And that was one of the displays that made sense! Sorta.
- we also strolled around the iconic Opera House, which was lit up with ever changing images and lights as part of a 2 month Vivid Sydney fair going on here.
WALLONGONG
- On Sunday we decided to head for a day trip to explore the coast and wine region south of Sydney. When we stopped at a visitor information center a couple hours later, I was treated to a stunning view of Wallangong, the next major city south of Sydney, situated right on the coast and overlooked by high green cliffs. It was at that moment when I first stopped thinking this country is a little strange and realized how beautiful it is and that I could totally see myself moving here. Afterall, any place with an abundance of t-shirts that say "I Heart the Gong" has to be cool.
- after a wild goose chase trying to find a poorly marked lookout point, we stopped for lunch at the ocean and watched the waves come crashing in. I forgot how amazing the ocean is, and I could have stood there all day, but we needed to head towards Shoalhaven before the wineries closed. That area was just as beautiful, and the free wine and liquer (mmmm... Macadamian liquer) were wonderful, if perhaps a little too free-flowing :)
POOR STORY
- the Joneses had to return to reality on Monday, so I slept in, did some laundry, walked to the beach, got blown back to the house by the wind, and raided Kori's excellent stash of books.
- In one day I blazed through a book and a half, including "Poor Story", an enlightening read on Africa and why the International Aid movement has failed to pull that continent out of poverty. It changed the way I will donate, and also altered my perspective on global "free" trade agreements. As a teaser, we may have abolished slavery, but we still find a lot of creative and "legal" ways for people with money to take advantage of those who don't. We, as in the "West", have a long way to go still. For anyone with an interest in social justice issues, it's a must read.
- the other one I'm still working through is "China Inc" which takes a look at the economic growth of that giant country and how it affects the rest of the world. The numbers are mind boggling.
THE OUTBACK
- Tuesday I caught a plane to Yulara for a 3 day trip through the Outback's most famous sights, Uluru, Olgas, and Kings Canyon. Lots of time on the bus, but this was the Australia I had always imagined. Semi-arid, vast spaces, and remote, sparse civilization, it's been an absolute visual treat. Apparently, I caught it at it's most "lush". They've had 400mm of rain already this year, compared to 161mm all of last year. One guide told me that if I'd been here in December, there would 50% less leaves on the trees and 70% more grass, with a red-haze in the air from all the dust. Totally normal though, the dry-wet cycles here aren't measure in seasons but years, and sections of the Outback can go almost a decade with very little rain before one wet month brings the whole desert back to life, germinating seeds that have lain dormant in the red dirt since the last good rain. All kinds of plant and animal life that looks very foreign to me thrives out here in such a harsh climate.
- even in winter here, the sun is very hot. Supposedly it's only 20 degrees in the day, but that must be an average of shade and sun temperatures, because it has to be a 10 degree difference. It's an art to find a spot with the right mix of sun and shade hitting your body to stay warm, cool, and unburnt. The temperature plumets as soon as the sun sets, going from near 20 to near freezing in less than an hour. One night it was cool enough that I started to shiver, so I quickly ran to the nearest building and smashed the window to get inside and stay warm. Just Kidding! Or am I?
- Uluru surprised me. I thought it would just be a big rock in the middle of nowhere, but mountain is a more appropriate term. It has a lot more geographical features than the postcard pictures let on, and it was surreal to walk up to it (no I did not climb!) and feel like you were deep in a mountain range, only to turn around and see that you were actually on a flat plain. One image that will forever remain in my mind is the black silhouhettes of Uluru and strange, sparse-leafed desert trees against a rainbow coloured sky as we drove towards it for a sunrise viewing. I've never seen anything like that. B. E. A. Utiful.
- The Olgas and Kings Canyon were equally scenic but this is getting long enough and I've got a plane to catch so I'll save that for when I'm able to get more pictures up. Incidentally, I had a mis-hap with my phone in the rainforest that resulted in losing all my videos :( Chanting crowds in Asakusa, hugging deer in Miyajima, Karoeke in Hiroshima, Dr. Fish in Osaka, incredibly loud birds in Cairns... Ne'er shall any such things now see the light of YouTube. Still have all my pictures at least.
BACK TO SYDNEY
- I'm in Alice Springs at the moment, enjoying my first real hotel room in days after "roughing it" in cynder-block prison cells, I mean, hotel rooms with outdoor toilets and showers in the outback. I fly back to Sydney for another day and 2 nights keeping up with the Joneses before flying on to Auckland Sunday.
- Hard to believe I've been gone over 3 weeks already, or that I'll be back home again a week from tommorrow. Hopefully this cold I've woken up with this morning goes by just as quickly so I can enjoy New Zealand before then.
And now, you are up to date.
Greg
Posted from my crapPhone.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm still enjoying myself immensely, and if anything, I'll come back to work better rested for it (that sound you just heard was my boss cheering). Plus Australia is a great place to slow down. There's less urgency to "see everything" like in Europe, and the climate and culture is similar enough to feel right at home.
Well, almost. It really is somewhat disorienting when you first get here. Coming from Japan, you feel like you are in a foreign culture so you shouldn't be able to speak to the locals. Then you realize they are speaking English and you should be able to speak to them. Then you realize you can't because you miss every third word with that bloody accent! :) Everything is the same except slightly different in subtle ways that you can't quite put a finger on, which is a real head trip compared to Japan or even Europe, where everything is different and you know it. At least for me anyway.
Anywho, time to get on with the update, rapid fire style...
DAINTREE RAINFOREST
- this was a day trip from Cairns, starting at 7AM and not finishing until after 6PM, most of that time spent driving... Ugh
- I had no idea that Australia was so tropical. I had always pictured it as a small fertile strip sandwiched between the Ocean and a vast barren Outback, but the Top End could rival Hawaii. It looks to be even closer to Papa New Guineau than Florida is to Cuba
- highlights for me were the beautiful Mossman Gorge (worth a google image search!), seeing an 8-foot croc feeding in the wild, and a brief stop at a rainforest habitat where I saw a cassowary (also worth a google search), petted big red kangaroos even tamer than the Nara deer, and got dive bombed by some of the wild birds :). The guide was also very informative, pointing out flora and fauna in the rainforest I never would have seen otherwise, and I now know more about the sugarcane industry than I'll ever need to know. An interesting tidbit he shared: apparently the shrimpers all the way over here are benefitting from the BP fiasco in the Gulf.
SYDNEY
- met up with the Jones', which was the whole excuse for this trip, and enjoyed their company and hospitality for several days in Sydney. Whether it's been Lisa feeding me, or Kori cramming for two weeks so he would have a couple days free to visit, or just generally showing me around and putting up with my laundry hanging all over their apartment, they have been great hosts. It's been great to spend time with them again, and hard to believe they left Calgary almost 3 years ago. (For those who don't know them, the Jones are friends of mine from Calgary. Kori is here doing a Renewable Energy Engineering Degree at UNSW, the first program of it's kind in the world, while Lisa is learning the ins-and-outs of immigration laws by actually trying to eke out a living as an immigrant and avoid getting kicked out!)
- they live a 10 minute walk from the beach so after picking me up from the airport, Kori and I headed out to make the best of one of the few rain-free days Sydney has had lately (although I heard Calgary was getting snow still!). We did the fantastic 15Km Coastal Walk from their place near Maroubra, starting on rocky shores with crashing waves, before ending in a, uh, romantic moonlight beach stroll at Bondi beach where we met Lisa for dinner.
- Saturday we braved the rain (still feels warm to me!) and went down to The Rocks, strolled around the Harbour, and caught a free ferry to Cockatoo Island where I saw the strangest "art" exhibits I've ever seen. As an example. We watched one film where 5 female dwarfs are tending their overgrown vegetable garden, that naturally produces a tuxedo wearing opera singer, an old woman wrapped in skin-tight white cloth, and of course a transvestite, whom they start to care for before deciding to off Mr. Opera. I'm sure you can guess how the story goes from there. Self explanatory really. Ha! And that was one of the displays that made sense! Sorta.
- we also strolled around the iconic Opera House, which was lit up with ever changing images and lights as part of a 2 month Vivid Sydney fair going on here.
WALLONGONG
- On Sunday we decided to head for a day trip to explore the coast and wine region south of Sydney. When we stopped at a visitor information center a couple hours later, I was treated to a stunning view of Wallangong, the next major city south of Sydney, situated right on the coast and overlooked by high green cliffs. It was at that moment when I first stopped thinking this country is a little strange and realized how beautiful it is and that I could totally see myself moving here. Afterall, any place with an abundance of t-shirts that say "I Heart the Gong" has to be cool.
- after a wild goose chase trying to find a poorly marked lookout point, we stopped for lunch at the ocean and watched the waves come crashing in. I forgot how amazing the ocean is, and I could have stood there all day, but we needed to head towards Shoalhaven before the wineries closed. That area was just as beautiful, and the free wine and liquer (mmmm... Macadamian liquer) were wonderful, if perhaps a little too free-flowing :)
POOR STORY
- the Joneses had to return to reality on Monday, so I slept in, did some laundry, walked to the beach, got blown back to the house by the wind, and raided Kori's excellent stash of books.
- In one day I blazed through a book and a half, including "Poor Story", an enlightening read on Africa and why the International Aid movement has failed to pull that continent out of poverty. It changed the way I will donate, and also altered my perspective on global "free" trade agreements. As a teaser, we may have abolished slavery, but we still find a lot of creative and "legal" ways for people with money to take advantage of those who don't. We, as in the "West", have a long way to go still. For anyone with an interest in social justice issues, it's a must read.
- the other one I'm still working through is "China Inc" which takes a look at the economic growth of that giant country and how it affects the rest of the world. The numbers are mind boggling.
THE OUTBACK
- Tuesday I caught a plane to Yulara for a 3 day trip through the Outback's most famous sights, Uluru, Olgas, and Kings Canyon. Lots of time on the bus, but this was the Australia I had always imagined. Semi-arid, vast spaces, and remote, sparse civilization, it's been an absolute visual treat. Apparently, I caught it at it's most "lush". They've had 400mm of rain already this year, compared to 161mm all of last year. One guide told me that if I'd been here in December, there would 50% less leaves on the trees and 70% more grass, with a red-haze in the air from all the dust. Totally normal though, the dry-wet cycles here aren't measure in seasons but years, and sections of the Outback can go almost a decade with very little rain before one wet month brings the whole desert back to life, germinating seeds that have lain dormant in the red dirt since the last good rain. All kinds of plant and animal life that looks very foreign to me thrives out here in such a harsh climate.
- even in winter here, the sun is very hot. Supposedly it's only 20 degrees in the day, but that must be an average of shade and sun temperatures, because it has to be a 10 degree difference. It's an art to find a spot with the right mix of sun and shade hitting your body to stay warm, cool, and unburnt. The temperature plumets as soon as the sun sets, going from near 20 to near freezing in less than an hour. One night it was cool enough that I started to shiver, so I quickly ran to the nearest building and smashed the window to get inside and stay warm. Just Kidding! Or am I?
- Uluru surprised me. I thought it would just be a big rock in the middle of nowhere, but mountain is a more appropriate term. It has a lot more geographical features than the postcard pictures let on, and it was surreal to walk up to it (no I did not climb!) and feel like you were deep in a mountain range, only to turn around and see that you were actually on a flat plain. One image that will forever remain in my mind is the black silhouhettes of Uluru and strange, sparse-leafed desert trees against a rainbow coloured sky as we drove towards it for a sunrise viewing. I've never seen anything like that. B. E. A. Utiful.
- The Olgas and Kings Canyon were equally scenic but this is getting long enough and I've got a plane to catch so I'll save that for when I'm able to get more pictures up. Incidentally, I had a mis-hap with my phone in the rainforest that resulted in losing all my videos :( Chanting crowds in Asakusa, hugging deer in Miyajima, Karoeke in Hiroshima, Dr. Fish in Osaka, incredibly loud birds in Cairns... Ne'er shall any such things now see the light of YouTube. Still have all my pictures at least.
BACK TO SYDNEY
- I'm in Alice Springs at the moment, enjoying my first real hotel room in days after "roughing it" in cynder-block prison cells, I mean, hotel rooms with outdoor toilets and showers in the outback. I fly back to Sydney for another day and 2 nights keeping up with the Joneses before flying on to Auckland Sunday.
- Hard to believe I've been gone over 3 weeks already, or that I'll be back home again a week from tommorrow. Hopefully this cold I've woken up with this morning goes by just as quickly so I can enjoy New Zealand before then.
And now, you are up to date.
Greg
Posted from my crapPhone.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Soaked and Sertified
Well, I completed my 2 days of diving at the reef today. I can officially scratch another thing of my bucket list: Scuba Diving and the Great Barrier Reef!
I was pretty tense going in because I thought I would probably get sea sick and I hate that feeling, so I didn't really enjoy the first few dives. Crowded boats, nervous tension, cold wetsuits, forgotten material from my pool dives... by lunch I was contemplating skipping day 2. But by the time I finished the 3rd dive yesterday afternoon, I was quite enjoying myself. I got used to the rythm of who goes on deck when, when and how to get ready for my dives, remembered what I was supposed to be doing in the water, and generally just relaxed as I realized the motion sickness medication was doing it's job quite well. Plus the spot we went to after lunch may as well have been a pool it was so calm.
In fact, I'm starting to think I have a horse shoe growing out of my butt as just about everything on this trip has been going perfectly (aside from the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon being closed). The waters were so calm that even the crew was excited because they got to go to sites that some of them had never been able to go to before. They said this was as calm as it ever gets, and even last week the water was really choppy with lots of people were getting sick on the boat. Perfect timing for me!! The calmness also means underwater visibility was "amazing" to quote my dive instructor. Couldn't ask for anything better!
Have to admit though, it didn't really look any different than other reefs I've snorkeled in, but it certainly was bigger. I guess I thought "Great" meant it would be the most spectacular thing on Earth, but apparently "Great" just means "Super-Duper-Big". And that it was. The size, combined with the visiblity made for some very memorable views. Saw a shark on my first dive, giant (and I mean GIANT) clams, eels, and an incredible array of colorful fish and corals. Even found Nemo hiding in a soft coral plant exactly the same as in the movie!
Anyway, long story short, I completed my dives and am now a PADI certified open water diver. It felt surprisingly rewarding to get out of the water and have all the crew congratulating me, I wasn't expecting that. I went with Tusa diving, and would highly recommend them. Very friendly and helpful crew, good food, and I got my own private instructor for all 4 of my certification dives. They even let me go back out for a free guided dive with the other certified divers this afternoon since I was done my training. Incidentally, it is A LOT more fun Scuba diving when you get to just explore the reef and swim between the nooks and crannies instead of stopping to show you can clear your mask or retrieve your regulator multiple times.
Tommorrow I'll have to put on some clothes again (haven't showered or dressed in days, just been hanging out in my swimmers and t-shirt since I got here!) and join a day trip to the Daintree Rainforest. That's my mandatory decompression day before flying so that I can exhale all the excess nitrogen in my blood, as well as allow my jaw to re-align... does anyone else find their bite is all screwed up after snorkeling/diving, or am I just biting on the regulator too hard???
Day after that I fly to Sydney to Keep Up With the Joneses. I figure that'll be when I finally start getting more pictures up again. Stay tuned.
I was pretty tense going in because I thought I would probably get sea sick and I hate that feeling, so I didn't really enjoy the first few dives. Crowded boats, nervous tension, cold wetsuits, forgotten material from my pool dives... by lunch I was contemplating skipping day 2. But by the time I finished the 3rd dive yesterday afternoon, I was quite enjoying myself. I got used to the rythm of who goes on deck when, when and how to get ready for my dives, remembered what I was supposed to be doing in the water, and generally just relaxed as I realized the motion sickness medication was doing it's job quite well. Plus the spot we went to after lunch may as well have been a pool it was so calm.
In fact, I'm starting to think I have a horse shoe growing out of my butt as just about everything on this trip has been going perfectly (aside from the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon being closed). The waters were so calm that even the crew was excited because they got to go to sites that some of them had never been able to go to before. They said this was as calm as it ever gets, and even last week the water was really choppy with lots of people were getting sick on the boat. Perfect timing for me!! The calmness also means underwater visibility was "amazing" to quote my dive instructor. Couldn't ask for anything better!
Have to admit though, it didn't really look any different than other reefs I've snorkeled in, but it certainly was bigger. I guess I thought "Great" meant it would be the most spectacular thing on Earth, but apparently "Great" just means "Super-Duper-Big". And that it was. The size, combined with the visiblity made for some very memorable views. Saw a shark on my first dive, giant (and I mean GIANT) clams, eels, and an incredible array of colorful fish and corals. Even found Nemo hiding in a soft coral plant exactly the same as in the movie!
Anyway, long story short, I completed my dives and am now a PADI certified open water diver. It felt surprisingly rewarding to get out of the water and have all the crew congratulating me, I wasn't expecting that. I went with Tusa diving, and would highly recommend them. Very friendly and helpful crew, good food, and I got my own private instructor for all 4 of my certification dives. They even let me go back out for a free guided dive with the other certified divers this afternoon since I was done my training. Incidentally, it is A LOT more fun Scuba diving when you get to just explore the reef and swim between the nooks and crannies instead of stopping to show you can clear your mask or retrieve your regulator multiple times.
Tommorrow I'll have to put on some clothes again (haven't showered or dressed in days, just been hanging out in my swimmers and t-shirt since I got here!) and join a day trip to the Daintree Rainforest. That's my mandatory decompression day before flying so that I can exhale all the excess nitrogen in my blood, as well as allow my jaw to re-align... does anyone else find their bite is all screwed up after snorkeling/diving, or am I just biting on the regulator too hard???
Day after that I fly to Sydney to Keep Up With the Joneses. I figure that'll be when I finally start getting more pictures up again. Stay tuned.
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