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.