Lake Narracan aka Lake WhatthehellwasIthinking

Ok. Let me start by saying that this post is going to make me sound like a right bitch and somewhat elitist. I say somewhat coz, well, I AM camping after all.

This leg of the journey was the one I was dreading the most: Driving through Melbourne. It was Saturday of a long weekend and it had the potential to be a nightmare. But let's start from the beginning.

As you may have guessed from my last post, the road was long and winding. Yes, the scenery was lovely but I could hardly enjoy it due to all the bloody turns. I know I should have slowed down and enjoyed it all, but honestly I hate having that guy in front of me so I wasn't ready to be that guy.

(there see I did stop once to enjoy the scenery)

We did stop for a walk and a wee to see the Split Point Lighthouse...because you know that was my career of choice (after astronaut); to be a lighthouse keeper. What a fabulous job that would have been...sigh. If anyone hears of any openings...just sayin'...

(built in 1891, automated in 1919)

As I said, it's now Saturday: long weekend; end school holidays. There were people everywhere. Felix was doing remarkably well for a dog who is uncomfortable around people. I was not. Luckly, most people were headed in the other direction - towards the Great Ocean Road. There's an arch that indicates it's official beginning and there were at least 10 busses and all the people therein. Thank god I missed all that!

I shan't rant again about the winding roads and I shall spare you the rant on driving through Melbourne (it was almost as bad as I thought it would be, but I only got turned around once...not too bad). Once back onto the wide open road I began to relax. We were stopping just outside of Moe (pronounced Mo-ee...don't ask me why) at Lake Narracan. Lake Narracan Campgrounds. Sounds placid, no?

(Lake Narracan)

The Lake Narracan campground is a trailer park. There were two spots available for camping: One right next to the other, right next to the toilet block...and in front of a caravan with 8 children. No, I'm not exaggerating. There were 8. And their (here's where I become the elitist bitch) bogan parents who let them run rampant.

Kill me now.

Oh yeah, did I mention that Google maps gave me the wrong directions and it took some doing to find the place?

I thought I'd walk Felix and calm down first, and then I'd ask if there was another place available. There wasn't.

I stoically began setting up my tent - children screaming and running about...have I mentioned that Felix is freaked out by people and their sudden movements?

They thankfully went swimming after a while and only the dad was left with his glass of wine. I walked over to the toilet block to plug in my phone and he smiled and said "Ahh peace and quiet!" 

I had heard him speaking to the kids before and thought he was Eastern European, but he was Japanese. He was speaking in hushed tones - cut me some slack ok? We started chatting and well, he was a nice guy. Turns out only 4 of the kids were his, he was watching the other 4 as a favour. He asked about Felix and wanted to know if he could pet him. I told him (honestly) that Felix would probably bite him if he tried.

"In Japan everyone knows that dogs bite. He's a dog. It's ok" 

...and he proceeded to sit in front of Felix and PLAY with him. No growling, no hackles raised. Nothing. WTF? I'd met the Japanese dog whisperer. No only that, when all 8 children came back, with his direction, they sat down quietly around Felix and he let them toss the stick with him. Un-freaking-believable.

All this to say that, well, don't judge. People are sometimes not what you think they are. Yeah, the were still noisy that night, but seriously it was only 1 night. And I met someone with an interesting story.

Johanna Beach

It's Friday night of a long weekend and the end of school holidays. I was lucky there weren't more people than there were at Johanna Beach. It's a beautiful spot in the middle of a beautiful stretch of coast. Night fell quickly and since there's not much to do in the dark when you're not allowed to have a fire, so we retired to our tent. I could hear the sounds of the other folks around me, but there was enough space that it wasn't annoying. 

Being so close to the beach made our night a little damper than other nights and a little colder, but thanks to lessons learned in the past, I had brought extra blankets.

An a side on sleeping bags' comfort ratings: My sleeping bag has a rating of 7 degrees. I foolishly       thought that this meant that you would be comfortable in that sleeping bag down to 7 degrees. Oh no, that isn't the case at all (yes, yes I do realise that I am cold blooded and that I'm always cold anyway...that is beside the point). The "comfort" level indicates the temperature that the sleeping bag will keep your body ALIVE so that you don't freeze to death. Hardly what one needs for a good night's sleep. 

 

We woke up as the sky was turning pink with the dawn and we went for a stroll and a play on the beach. There was a group of young folks there who had spent the night on the beach with a fire and lots of beer (judging by the cans strewn about). They were awake and quietly contemplating the strong surf...or something

Felix and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll - well I was trying to, he kept wanting me to throw the damn stick. 

After we got all that out of his system, it was breakfast time and camp breaking time...there was a hellish road ahead of us

The Long and Winding #@!&ing Road

<rant>

In this post I shall reveal a little something. I HATE driving winding roads. 

There. I said it. Yes, yes, I know its supposed to be thrilling and fun but I can't stand it. They shit me to no end. Give me a straight road any day of the week - where I can go fast...um, I mean do exactly the speed allowed by law.

I mean, yeah the speed limit sign says 100, but every 5 metres is a bloody turn with warning arrows and signs that recommend 50kph. Where's the fun in that?? AND every frikken turn there's some moron towing a boat or motorhome coming in the opposite direction who thinks it's OK to drive on your side.  Had I been behind said moron I would have cursed his slowness...ya can't win. Stay off the roads during school holidays and long weekends Nora.

The winding began on the Great Ocean  Road, but I didn't notice it too much since I was stopping here and there. Getting to Johannna Beach involved a lot of to-ing and fro-ing...that started some twitching, but I got to my destination rather quickly so it wasn't too bad.  But an entire day??? Ugh! Ohh and throw in a trip through Melbourne while we're at it - in the middle of a hot day. Nora's frustration level was going into the red zone. (you can tell coz she's referring to herself in the third person)

</end rant>

The Great Ocean Road

Driving along the Great Ocean Road can be quite dangerous - you're driving along and then suddenly, wham! a beautiful vista to your right (or left depending which direction you're going). You can't help but look. Unfortunately the road is not straight...bad design, clearly.

 (Bay of Martyrs)

We were enjoying some of the many little pit stops that offer spectacular photo ops but when we stopped at the Bay of Martyrs I realised that it was quickly approaching 4:00. I needed to get a move on to get to the campsite and I wasn't sure how much farther it was. But not before we went for a stroll down a secert path that no one else seemed interested in. 

It brought us to a beautiful cove called the Bay of Worms, and it had a staircase down to the beach. Bonus! Felix and I had a little play and just enjoyed this beautiful, peaceful spot. After a little while though, I reminded myself of the time and reluctantly we headed back to the car.

(Bay of Worms)

"I'll stop at the 12 Apostles, no other stops" ...well, I said this to myself after stopping a couple of times after the Bay of Martyrs. When I finally got to the 12 Apostles, it was a complete circus! There were bus loads of people (literally) and you had to get a ticket and wait for a mini bus which brought you to the site. I despaired, and then got back on the road. I didn't have the time for that, nor was I going to leave Felix in the car alone for that long. So, I missed out. I'm sure Google has heaps of photos.

We finally got to Johanna Beach at around 5. What a fantastic spot! There were already quite a few people there, but no where near the throngs I can imagine here during the warmer months. After dinner we strolled to the beach and caught the last vestiges of the sunset. Magnificent. 

Robe and Mt Gambier

I left fairly late on Thursday morning and the drive to Robe was pretty non-eventful. It was beautiful when I left but the closer I got to the coast, the more overcast it became. I was kinda glad for the cloud cover coz it acts like a blanket and keeps us mortals warmer, but camping in the rain is no fun. The gods smiled and by the time I got to the camp site there was sunshine. 

The campground where we were staying was undergoing some renovations, so while I was setting up the tent all I could hear was the roar of the bobcat. Not relaxing at all. 

Once I had the tent set up we went for a nice hike and we found a beautiful trail along a small river.  Just what we needed after a day in the car. 

We weren't staying long in Robe, but it looked like the kind of place that was hopping during the warmer/holiday times. There were lots of holiday rentals and "fun activities" advertised. October holidays didn't seem to be one of the busy times though so our early the morning stroll the next day was very quiet. We took the coast trail which brought us to a beach (surprise, surprise). It was shaping up to be another beautiful, sunny day, with another 4.5 hour drive.

Just before lunch we arrived at Mt Gambier and here I had to stop to see the Blue Lake. This is a lake that is located in a crater that is one of Australia's youngest volcanoes. It is one of four crater lakes in the area, although there are only two actual lakes left that have water in them. I wish I could tell you more detail about its age and the last time it erupted, but alas that info was not available on the information signs at the site. Shocking, I know. (Turns out there's some contention on the date and that probably why it's not posted. The contested time periods are: 43000, 28000, or as little as 6000 years ago.)

Right next to Blue Lake is Leg of Mutton "lake" - it's dried up so its really just a valley. In 1876 they decided to start a timber planation in the area and the Leg of Mutton crater was used as a nusery. The very lucky nuseryman had a stone cottage in the crater and I think he was very lucky indeed. What an idyllic place this is!

(I can picture my own little cottage right there through the trees...)

I could have stayed a long time in this peaceful place in the middle of tourist mayhem, but it was barely lunch time and we had many kilometres to go that day...and many more interesting things to see!

Angaston

The drive to Agnaston was uneventful, if windy. We passed through some beautiful rolling hills and had the opportunity to drive through some small towns. What a lovely part of Australia this is!

We deviated from the road to Adelaide and very soon the vinyards began appearing. It's just spring so there isn't a lot of green yet but to see the straight rows of vines is really quite a sight. 

When we got to Sab and Scott's place we promptly went for a walk and that evening we just hung out and caught up. 

The next afternoon (after a leisurely morning) Sab was kind enough to play tour guide. First on the list was Angaston's best bakery for lunch! I had a veggie pastie and a chocolate doughnut for dessert. Now, I can hear you asking, "A doughnut? You're in a bakery and you choose a lowly doughnut for dessert??" Well, usually I would agree, and indeed the eclairs and the tarts looked enticing...but the doughnuts. My god! I've never seen such glorious loft and lightness in a doughnut! And I was right. It was magnificent. I've never tasted it's like before. 

After the bliss of lunch, we had a wee stroll in Angaston. Like Wallaroo, this area is has a rich history. Angaston is one of South Australia's oldest towns, established in 1842, but it really started to thrive when the railway came in 1911. It maintains many of it's old buildings and has a nice laid back feel to it. 

(the old train station - the train doesn't run anymore...dunno why not)

We then went to visit Tanunda. Although this town looks similar, old heritage buildings, and vinyards all round, it has a distinctly different feel. It's more, how to put it...nouveau riche. Hmmm not sure how I can describe it...more shi-shi shops, more exclusive this and that, just an air of more better here . My suspicions were confirmed when Sab told me that although the towns are less than 20km a part, Tanunda was vastly more expensive than Angaston.

Last was Nurioopta. We didn't stay too long here, but it had a no-nonsense sense to the place. very business like. Because this was our last stop we really just went to the supermarket so that I could grab some things for the next few days on the road. I thought it was funny that there was a vinyard just past the parking lot AND that there were vines growing out front of the supermarket!

Staying in Wallaroo

Sunday was windy as.

I'm talking hold on to your hat, sunnies and anything else that isn't nailed down.

Felix and I went for our morning constitutional and discovered the Main Street of Wallaroo, the Jetty (Felix did not like that one bit too high above the water and way too windy) and some quaint neighbourhoods.

You can still get ye olde towne feel here; the shops have awnings that cover the sidewalk and recessed  doors that are often quite narrow. Many of the original houses are still standing and in various conditions from dilapidated to completely restored. The massive silos and industrial jetty do give this town a certain hard edge, but it does have a certain charm.

(ye olde train station)

The north beach is another story. Here there are new housing developments with fancy new houses, many of which are holiday rentals. It kinda reminds me a little of Bugendore, with it's new houses set aside from the old town proper. I have a feeling that in no time this place will be a triving, trendy coastal town.

Sab and Scott had to get back home on Sunday, but I decided to stay a little longer here. Monday was nice and calm and I enjoyed a really great seaweed foot massage and exfoliation treatment (I walked on the beach). When I found a ball, well, everything was right in the world.

In the afternoon we went for a quick drive to Moonta Bay which is another coastal town just 15km away. We enjoyed further exfoliation and ball throwing/catching, but I think it was a bit too much seawater for poor Felix who ended up being sick in the car....nice.

Today we leave as the winds pick up again - off to the Barossa Valley and to see my friends again!

Wallaroo

It was really good to see my friends Sab and Scott, and I gave them the quick user manual on Felix (he's suspicious of people)

Soon hot dogs were flowing freely and Felix became a little more relaxed, so we went for a walk to the beach. 

(The jetty from afar)

I'm sorry to report that none of us brought a camera, or a phone or any other device that could have captured this event. Felix's first time at the ocean ( I do realise that it wasn't the ocean proper...but you get what I mean). He was like a kid in a candy shop. The wind was pretty strong and the sun was setting so we sadly didn't stay too long, but tomorrow is another day!

A little bit about Wallaroo. 

This is a huge wheat export town. The jetty here is connected to an array of giant silos which are full of grain. Sab tells me that when the ships come in they take days to load. 

Grain was not always Wallaroo's claim to fame however. When the white folks settled here in 1857 they soon discovered there was copper in them dar hills.  Together with the neighbouring towns of Kadina and Moonta, this area became known as the Copper triangle and soon became the biggest copper smelting area outside Wales until the operation shut down in 1923.

The original inhabitants of course were the indigenous tribe of Narungga who named this place "Waldu Waru" which allegedly means wallaby urine. Apparently the white folks found that too long to stamp on wool bales, and so the great Australian tradition of shortening every word and name began. 

Driving Outback and Arriving in Wallaroo

There was a lot of cloud cover during the day so the night was relatively warm - except just before dawn. That's when its darkest and coldest. So it's no surprise that I stopped pretending that I could sleep at around 5 and just got up. Felix, of course was happy to be out discoving a new array of smells left from the wanderings of various night creatures.

When we got back to the campsite the sun was warming everything up and it was time for breakfast. Ahhh nothin' like a shot of oatmeal and a cup of tea to get ya goin' for another long haul on the road.

We were looking at another 600 + kms today and a lot of that was through flat outback country. We left the campground by 8am, but even so it got real hot, real fast. My plan was to push though until about 11:30 - 12:00 but by 10:30 Felix was getting quite restless and I was getting dozy - not a good thing. 

It was about that time when we went through a place called Gol Gol. I didn't know it at the time, but it's right outside Mildura. I saw a park right by the river (the mighty Murray River) and thought that's just what we need. 

Felix had a dip and a romp in the grass with an empty toilet roll that he found and all was well in the world...until I suggested he get back in the car. So, we played in the grass a little bit longer.

Driving in the outback is great coz it all pretty straight. You can see a long way in front of you - good for overtaking, but it can get tedious. BUT there's no slowing for sharp turns or small towns every 10 km. You can go fast. Once into South Australia I could soon see the difference in terrain - it was greener for one and there were hills...and I could hear they were alive with...something... 

 

All to say I finally, gruellingly got to Wallaroo. By the end though I was looking at the markers and would wail in frustration when what seemed like 20km had actually only been 5km. Thankfully, from here on in  the drives will be more manageable (5hrs max)

First night - Yanga National Park; The Willows Campground

It was a lovely day for a car ride, but I gotta say that 7 hours is rather long and boring. 

We covered over 600km today and tomorrow is more of the same, but I hear that Wallaroo is having fantastic weather so it will be worth it.

Felix is an exemplary navigator although he doesn't say much. He was glad to get out of the car for a spot of lunch, which is where I discovered the first 2 things that I forgot to bring.

 1. Toilet paper. DOH! How could I forget to bring toilet paper??!! S' ok I have a box of tissues in the car that will suffice until I can get toilet papered up.

2. Felix's bowls. Yes, that's bowlS, in the plural. I forgot both of them. S'ok I happen to have his portabowl in the car. It's a little small, but it'll do in a pinch. As for his food bowl, well I finished the carrots I brought in a tupperware container...that'll do.

With the first crisis averted we loaded back into the car and were off again. I gotta say that I was dreading crossing the Hay plains, because everyone says how tedious it is, but honestly I  quite liked it. There's nothing like having a huge sky above you stretching out as far as the eye can see.

That said it's a good thing that I had my eyes peeled for a camping sign coz the one they put up was about 50cm wide and low to the ground.

We stayed at the Willows campground about 30km outside of Balrand. When we arrived we were the only ones there...well, us and the three emus that were grazing close by.

I quickly set up camp so that I could take Felix for a walk around, but when I finally did take him we just wanted to take a meandering stroll with much sniffing.

Interesting aside, did you know that emu poo looks a lot like cow patties?? Anyway, back to the story

It was when I was getting ready to prepare dinner that I discovered Important Forgotten Item #3:

 - My billy. Seriously?? It sits in my kitchen. I didn't bother putting it in the pile of stuff by the door coz seriously how could I forget THAT.  I gotta say there was a string of expletives when I noticed that major oversight. S'OK though I did remember to bring the frying pan.

<mutters...who makes bloody tea in a frying pan???>

Two more people came about an hour later - one, a couple from Canberra of all places. We stayed well out of each others' way and the night was peaceful and placidly uneventful.

On the road again

It's been a while...ok, maybe it hasn't been that long if you count Ireland last year, but it's Road Trip time   again!! Contrary to the Ireland trip however, this road trip will include camping as a proper road trip warrants. I'm off to South Australia to visit some friends in the Barossa Valley.

I'll be taking a direct road there (two, seven hour days in the car) and then on the way home I'll head down the coast at a leisurely pace down the Great Ocean Road and then stopping in Mallacoota for a short rest before heading home. And I'm taking my deaf dog...who is wary of strangers. It's my first time going camping with a dog. Should be interesting!

Gotta get back to packing, hitting the road bright and early  - stay tuned!!

Saying Goodbye

This is my last morning in Fiji.

It's almost time for breakfast and soon I'll be on a mini bus to the airport; then on a plane; then on another bus. I think I'll be home by 11pm. I have to work tomorrow.

Can't I just stay here???

Bye Fiji.

 

Travelling with a Group

This is only the second time that I've done any type of group travel (apart from the odd day excursion). Admittedly, the first time was awesome, but then I was lucky enough to have landed in a group of really easy-going people...and we were in Tibet...so...

Let's just say the bar is set pretty high where group travel is concerned.

There are some major differences between the two though. This was a very short trip; 6 days as opposed to 28. This gave us little time to get to know one another, but then most of the group already knew each other. We also stayed in the same place for the whole time. Lastly, We all had at one interest in common - this made breaking the ice a little easier - but I quickly learned that just because you have a common interest with some one, doesn't mean you will get along.

In our group there are 6 girls and 10 guys; a pair of those is a couple and another pair is a father/daughter combo (she's in year 11...my dad never took me diving in Fiji....). Everyone is quite nice, I don't think I would become lifelong friends with some, we just don't have that much in common, but it's not difficult to be friendly and get along with nice people for 6 days.

BUT.  There's one type of person that I really can't stand...The Drunk. I hate drunk people. They all suck. Even the friendly drunks. I can tolerate my friends when they're drunk - except when they try to throw me in a lake, and instead almost put me in a fire...Karen W.  But drunk strangers. UGH. Neanderthals unite. I don't know why I assumed that divers would be conservative in their alcoholic intake, but I was wrong let me tell you!

The ladies were ok and the older gents were, well, gentlemanly in their consumption. The younger fellas (and when I say young, they were all over 35), however, geez it was like being out with a bunch of teenagers. I have seldom heard so much tripe and smack talk. The worst thing was, during our dinners, they were spewing all this garbage in front of the young girl. Dad just sat there and laughed as all this went on. I really wonder what she thought of it all.

Admittedly, after the dives I needed my alone time so I didn't socialise after the dives, but I don't think it would have made much of a difference as they all hung out at the pool bar. As sober people they were quite lovely. Maybe I'm being judgmental. Maybe they just wanted to cut loose while they were on holiday. That's cool, I guess. But I really don't want to hang out with inebriated  people on my holiday. 

Usually I hung out with the more sensible of the group, but one night, through happenstance and bad luck, I was stuck at the "loud" table. I didn't have a good night that night. I'll know better for next time.

Ok enough about drunk people. How about I tell you about the Fijian people?

"Gravity affected coconuts above" - hilarous

I have never encountered a more friendly people. Geez they're lovely. Yeah, yeah I'm an ol' cynic and at first I thought, "They just want the tourist dollar", but no, I don't think that's it at all. Everywhere I went, people would smile, some would say hello, they're just, well, happy.  I'll grant you that they live in a beautiful place - it's hard to be surly when the sun is shining over the palm trees, on the beach. And yes, this was a rather sheltered trip, but still, until I see different my opinion stands - I like these Fijian folks. I would come here again.

You should all come to Fiji. It's a great place and there's something for every one (ok skiers, probably not you). I'll have to come back to do the whitewater rafting!

Coral Diving

Sunday and it's another beautiful day in Fiji. There are no shark dives on Sundays (the sharks are in church), so today we go on a coral dive.


Our boat

 The dive shop had trouble with one of the compressors the day before (they fill the tanks), and their second compressor has burned out because it was running for over 9 hours. They only have enough full tanks for one dive. While we are gone they take the empty tanks and drive to Suva (40 km away) to fill them. So, instead of swapping the tanks over on the boat we returned back to shore to pick up the second lots of tanks. It was actually a nice break to sit and chat to the Fijian boat crew.  

Shark diving is like going to the movies - you watch. Coral diving is like going to the art gallery - its all about the exploration. There was some really spectacular coral at these sites, with the most spectacular colours.

The two locations we went to were quite different, each with it's own little secrets and surprises. The first had two big coral heads and a ship wreck. Ship wrecks are a little spooky in their silent graves, covered by sea silt, slowly being taken over by another world. The ship is at 30 metres, but most of the interesting fish are higher up - hiding in the coral. We see the usual suspects there: Dory (Blue Tang), Scar (Moorish Idol - I love these), and even some Nemos! Hey, did you know that Clown Fish are actually quite aggressive? One of the dive folks was attacked by one. Ok, they're really small and they can't hurt you, but still...agro!

During our second dive, there were some really cool swim throughs (like coral tunnels). Inside fish of all kinds hang out (why can't humans get along like that?). I looked up during one of them and saw fish just sitting belly first, against the "ceiling". So, we would consider that upside down. Do they? Although they mostly swim "upright", I have seen fish swim any which way - do they have an up?

By the time our dives are done we are FAMISHED - it's about 1:00. Some of us decide to go into the village for some lunch. We were going to wait for the rest of the group (they were on another boat and went to different dive sites than us), but they were taking too long so off we went. Can I just say, it's really difficult to find anything vegetarian. I had mac n' cheese. Everyone else had ribs or buffalo wings. We spent the time coming up with likely scenarios for the missing boat - all from Surviour to Lord of the Flies.

When we got back to the resort it was 4 - I had an appointment at the spa at 5:30 for a massage...I know it's been very difficult to be here. My room mate was finally back - they had had quite the adventure it turned out. During the tank swap out they asked to be left on a small island. They waited there for over 2 hours - no shade and the "beach" was coral, that stuff will cut your feet to ribbons. Then after their second dive their boat broke down. They all came back with some nasty sunburns.

That night at dinner (after my glorious massage), we were given 2 tables  - Sadly, I had the misfortune of sitting at the extrovert table - next to this loud....oh, but that's a different story...

Oh yeah - I did catch the sunrise :)

Shark Diving - Day 2

I was up early yet again - and this time I had my internet card in hand. I spent an hour typing before having breakfast. It wasn't until I was walking back to my room that I realised that I could have been watching the sunrise instead. DOH! Tomorrow for sure!

After the magic of yesterday we were all stoked to go on another dive with the sharks. They brought us to the same place, and again we were wonder struck.

At one point one of the Tawny Nurse sharks went up to one of the feeders and leaned on his leg, looking up at him like a dog asking for a treat. He scratched her under her chin and she swam away.

Not my photo - another person from my group took it

The sheer number of fish teeming in this area is staggering. There were tuna that were bigger than my head and even a giant grouper that challenged some of the sharks in size. He was always surrounded by an entourage of bright yellow fish with fine black stripes.

The other type of fish we saw a lot of were the Remora or shark suckers. These are the fish you see stuck to the bottom of sharks. They're the ultimate moocher. They have sucker-y type things on the top of their flat heads and they suction themselves on to the sharks and eat their dribblings basically.

Again, after seeing all the sharks and other fish I feel privileged to be able to see and do something so magical.

At the end of any dive, you have to do what is called a safety stop. You need to stop at 5 m and wait for 5 minutes to give your body a chance to decompress a little. So, I'm doing my safety stop and I happen to be near one of the bins where the fish heads were stored for the feeders. It still smells good to sharks.

Two very curious Nurse sharks are sniffing around and they stay quite close to me. Being so close to the surface I can now see why they're called Tawny Nurse sharks. They have a beautiful speckled beige skin - it reminds be of a fancy stone benchtop (that's kitchen counter to my Canadian friends). So lovely! One came so close I could have touched it. He swam right under me and flicked my fin with his tail.

For our second dive we didn't go as deep (second dives are always shallower than the first). There weren't as many sharks this time - only about 5 nurse sharks and 4 Bull sharks, but the other fishes were just going to town! They were everywhere!

Again, my ignorance of fish names is frustrating me! I think that my next big piece of equipment will be an underwater camera or a housing for my current camera. At least that way I can document what I've seen!

Again, not my photo

During this second dive we are kneeling in front of a low coral wall watching the feeding that is going on in front of us. All of a sudden one of the Nurse sharks comes straight for my dive buddy's head - she's right next to me. She has to duck to avoid it. I watch it soar over our heads and watch as it floats off into the distance. That's when I see the 3 Black Tipped Reef sharks right behind us.  They swim back and forwards along the line of tourists. They never enter the feeding area, as they are low on the shark hierarchy.

They are relatively small compared to the others, only 2-3 metres...but they are still a little bit menacing when you know there are a few of them checking you out! 
After the feeding we go check out a wreck nearby. It's mostly covered in underwater goo, but you can still see bits of blue paint peeking through. Those in the group who have their wreck diving certificate go inside to check it out. Bubbles emerge from port holes and flues. Remora who haven't found a suitable mooching partners are suck to the side of the ship with the backs of their heads, their silvery bellies facing out ward. What a weird and wonderful place.

I spent the afternoon going for another long walk and capping it off with a swim in the ocean. It's like stepping into a bath. This is living.

Easy Livin' in Fiji

After rinsing the gear and a proper shower - I went in search of a nice spot on the covered terrace where I could write and get a bite to eat.



Prince Charming??

The storm clouds were rolling in again and the rain quickly followed. People scurried for cover, but there were a few characters that were happy for the rain. All over the garden frogs appeared basking in the fresh water, hopping and skipping for joy. Ok I may be anthropomorphising there, but that's what it looked like to me!

After a delicious dahl soup for lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering on the beach watching little clams hide in the sand.

At one point I was contemplating the wonders that I had seen that morning when something bumped my hand.

I yelped.

Yes, I admit it, it scared the living bejeezus out of me. (those of you who know me well know that that isn't hard to do anyway)

She was more frightened than me after my yelp and the arm flailing - she almost ran away, but then when I held my hand out to her to show her no harm done she came back.

Dogs are always up for a chin rub or an ear scratching.

We had a nice chat she and I.

I meandered back to the resort and decided to finally use the computer so that you could all join me in this beautiful place.

That night I slept like a log.

Shark Diving - Day 1

I woke up early as usual and quietly got my gear together - my room mate, whom I had met on the bus on the way to Sydney, had been sick on the bus to the resort and had not slept much.

When I was done, I figured I still had some time on my hands before breakfast, so I went in search of the elusive internet. I'd been told that I needed to purchase a card to use the computers here. I asked at the front desk thinking that I would have ample time to at least send word of my safe arrival, before breakfast.

I learned that we don't do things quickly in Fiji. Buying a $12/h internet card took 15 min. Alas that meant no internet time for me, no news for you. Time for breakfast...and then to the boats!

I shan't give you the play-by-play of breakfast (buffet, pretty good), or of the bus ride across the street (literally) to the dive shop (in fairness we all did have a lot of stuff to carry), or of the administration of getting ready to board the boats....except maybe to say that getting into a neoprene wetsuit, when it's hot and humid and your skin is clammy...well, it's not pleasant. Let's get to the good stuff.

The boat took us out about 30 min from shore, to a place they call "the Bistro". We drop in, the water is a comfortable 26 degrees. "Why do you need a wetsuit then?" I hear you ask. Well, underwater your skin, anything pale in colour, looks remarkably like the white belly of a fish. Would you want to look like anything resembling a fish near a shark? No exposed skin is the rule.

We drop to 28m. On the way down we see thousands of hand sized fish flitting about, mostly Sergent - Majors - black and white striped fish, but there are also Moorish Idols and ....geez I really gotta learn the names of more fish!

Then we start to see what we came for, the smooth graceful moves of sharks. At first we see smaller Black Tip Reef sharks, they're about 2 meters long, thin and sleek. Then we see the slightly larger Tawny Nurse sharks with their small mouths and Fu-Manchu mustaches, they are bottom feeders and use their mouths to suck their food out of hiding places instead of chasing it like their other brothers. Lastly, we see the Bull sharks. They are bigger again about 3-5 meters. They're not lean and sleek like the others, they look like the have a hump on their backs and are more barrel chested. And their teeth...jaggedly sticking out in at odd angles. They have a reputation of being mindlessly aggressive. But we don't see that. They check you out as they pass with their strangely cold white eyes.

They are magnificent. We are all mesmerized.

Soon I begin to notice something. One of the Bull sharks has this weird growth on the side of his mouth: its an old hook. His body has tried to incorporate it into its body somehow. There's also a Nurse shark with a big hook through it's nostril - a gross parody of our piercing culture. Yet another trails a long line behind it, the hook still embedded in it's body somewhere. Many have damage to their fins - from fighting with fishing lines, reckons our guide.

Not my photo - someone else from the group took this one

Finally the piece de resistance. We were told not to expect her. She stole 40 kg of fish heads on Monday from the feeders (yeah, there's a reason they don't even try to go for the divers). But remarkably, there she is. A Tiger shark. She's about 5-6 meters long and is darker than the others, you can see the stripes clearly as she glides past. The others back away from her. She is the dominant one here.

  The dive leader tells us later that when she first arrived at the Bistro she had a hook in her mouth. It was fairly new so they decided to take it out...VERY carefully (don't try this at home, kids). Her dorsal fin is missing a fair chunk and looks quite ratty. She may have won the fight with the fisherman, but she now has a permanent reminders of the altercation - just like the others. They have named her Survior.

Too soon the fish heads that the guides have been handing out to attract the sharks are done. The sharks disperse, and it's time for us to leave. None of us wants to, but we will soon be back. Just an hour at the surface.

The hour passes quickly. We are told about the various sharks we saw. We are told some stories about the characters that some of them have - There's even a "special needs" shark who is a bit of spaz. They tell us of the hierarchy in the species that we saw in action moments before. They also tell us that the marine fee we pay goes directly to the village that tends this section of the reef. If there are poachers - the villagers take care of it. The tuna industry that once was a big money maker here nearly wiped out life on the reef here.  When the dive operator first approached the village elders with his idea to re-generate the reef by protecting this area and bringing tourist dollars to help, the elders thought he was mad. "You think people will pay you to swim with sharks? We won't have to pay them??"
The plan seems to be working.

We don't do as deep this second time, only 18m. Again we're mesmerized by these amazing creatures. They've seen their fair share of humans and they like to swim right up to you to size you up....actually they just want to know if you have any fish heads. Not a good idea to reach out and touch one even if they are so close...the shark feeders also hold out their hands, but they have fish heads - you don't. You really don't want to be mistaken for one of those guys.

Once in a while I'd look up and behind me and once in a while I'd see one swimming just above me or behind me. What a privilege I have to be able to do this.

Again the fish heads are gone too quickly, and the sharks disperse. There's a shipwreck nearby and we go for a closer look since we still have air left (air = time) to explore.
I discover this relatively flat bit where the coral has started to grow. This area is teaming with baby coral fish - it's like Finding Nemo...without the clown fish (didn't see any of those).  They were so cute!!

I also saw my first moray eel - his head was the size of both my hands together. They aren't very attractive. Those things freak me out more than the sharks.

Too soon it's time to come up again...to a torrential down pour - at least we won't need a shower!!

 

By the time we reach shore its beautiful and sunny once again. Gotta love the tropics for that!

Fiji Time

I got to bed early so that I could get a good night's sleep.
But there's a big difference between going to bed early and going to sleep early.
That last one was going to be difficult...kinda like Christmas eve when you're 6.

I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep in before my alarm went off at 2:45am. The taxi I had ordered on-line the night before was arriving at 3:30. Time to get a move on.
Hop in the shower; get dressed; organise snacks; double check I have all my gear; make a smoothie for breakfast. Done. Just in time.

At 3:30 I'm at the bottom of my driveway. I'm alone.
At 3:35 I'm still alone. I call. The woman who answers asks me where I want to go. I tell her that I've already booked a taxi for 3:30 and he's not here.
"Oh. Yes, well you know that's not a guaranteed service."
No shit.
"I can re-fresh the request, but if you know the number to another service you can call them"
Thanks for nothing. I call the competitor. It's now 3:45. My bus leaves in 15 min. I tell the guy my story - panic has set in. He sends the call out and in 2 min my cab is there. We make it with 3 min to spare.

And thus begins my journey.

3 1/2 hours on a bus to Sydney. We arrive at the airport at 7:30. Plane leaves at 10:30. Go through the bag check-in process...and now we wait, wandering around the plethora of duty free shopping opportunities. We board the plane. 4 hours of flying until finally we are in Fiji!!!

As I exit the plane I am hit by a wall of humidity, it takes my breath away. When I left Canberra it was 14 degrees - I'm wearing track pants and a long sleeved shirt (I've already taken off my hoodie). All of this immediately sticks to my skin. I need to find a place to drop my pants - stat. I've already taken off my shirt (I had a tank on underneath). But the toilets are after the customs desk. I have to stand in line and wait. And wait.

As soon as I make it past I b-line it to the toilet and remove the offending pants..and socks. I have to wait to get my suitcase before I can take off my running shoes though.

Our dive crew is meeting in the main hall of the small airport (there's a money exchange place and 4 stores). I'm approached by a woman who places a necklace made from small shells around my neck. "Bula!" she says to me, all smiles. It's official now. I'm in Fiji.

However, we still have not reached our final destination. We all pile into a small bus and we are soon on our way again - direction Suva.
The scenery is lush and green, a big differnce from the browns in Australia! After a couple of hours we see the coast. We pass many small villages, kids big and small are playing soccer/football. There are little wooden stands along the road where people sell mangoes, coconuts, eggplant, you name it. Many smile and wave to us as we pass. Night falls quickly and we are still winding our way up and down the hills following the coast.

We arrive around 8, and we are all exhausted. We check in quickly and then meet up again in the dinning room for some dinner.
As I glance at the menu, I can tell that the next 6 days will be interesting: no vegetarian options in the mains. I ask the waitress and she looks over my shoulder to the menu.
"Do you eat fish?"
"No, nothing with a face" I say.
I finally settle for some bruschetta, a salad and a bowl of cassava chips (french fries basically). Well, it's only 6 days...and I'm in Fiji!!!

This night I had no trouble falling asleep. Tomorrow: Shark diving

P.S. I've had to write this in HTML because for some reason the text side of the site won't work on this comuputer! So if it's a bit choppy you know why...I also can't up-load photos. I've also only got an hour so I haven't been able to "refine" as much as I would have liked - sorry. Lastly, I'm sitting on a leather cube, in 32 degree weather with 80+ humidity - I'm sweating buckets.

...and now for something a little bit different

The Out of Office Assistant is on again. 
Tomorrow I'm off to Fiji!

So what's different about me taking off again you ask? 
Well,  first I'm only going for 6 days. 
Secondly, this will be my first dive trip.

Yep, I'm going away for 6 days with a bunch of strangers so that we can hang out underwater with...sharks! COOL! 
...ok, just the shark part is cool.

I got the flyer from my dive club while I was in Paris, and I told myself that I had to go - I mean who DOESN'T want to go diving with sharks? 
Am I right??
Sharks...and FIJI! 
Ken A*

I'm told that the place we're staying has computers and internet access, so I shall endeavour to bring you all with me to paradise. I don't have an underwater camera, but most of the people I'll be going with do, so hopefully I can get some of their great shots.

I started thinking about packing about a week ago, trying to jam a bunch of dive gear into a carry-on; my usual M.O. 

I quickly learned that that was not going to fly (heh heh see what I did there?)

The 3 small piles at the upper left are the only clothes I'm bringing

...there's A LOT of stuff involved in diving. And it ain't small stuff. And it weighs a hell of a lot more than the 7kgs allowed for carry-on.

Okay, so I would have to check my bag. Problem is this stuff wouldn't fit in my backpack, and I don't own a suitcase. 

We have a little wheeled,  hard-sided, carry-on at work that was donated a few years back...perhaps I could borrow that. 

Nope. Still too small.

Dang it.

I ended up borrowing Steve's suitcase. It turns out to be the perfect size for all my stuff. But I gotta say that I'm a little bit mortified that I'm bringing this relative monster for a 6 day trip!

On the left, suitcase for 6 day dive trip.
On the right, pack for 2 months in South America

The alarm is set for 3am. It's 9:30pm. I'm going to bed now. 
Tomorrow I'll be in Fiji.
:D
 ...if it makes you feel any better, there's rain in the forecast 

*hybrid Canuck/Aussie slang combining Fuckin' A (Canada) and Fuckin' Oath aka 'ken oath (Australia).