191 Saturdays

2010-04-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

Check out the photobook I made to showcase the images we collected while traveling around the world!

191 Saturdays by Pamela Goats and Ken Bayntun BOOK INFO

Thinking about traveling? Maybe we can help...

2009-05-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Our recommendations for planning a trip around the world:

- Everywhere you go, there will be many more things to do and places to see than you have time or budget for.
- Staying in one place for at least several days both helps the budget and your sense of getting to know a place.
- Booking individual one-way flights well ahead of time may be cheaper than a round the world (RTW) ticket. Give travel agents a wide window for checking flight prices (i.e. any time within a week) because prices fluctuate wildly!
- Basic things like soap, shampoo, bottled water, sunscreen, and batteries (and even stuff like Oreos and Coke!) are available everywhere - even in tiny towns in the middle of Africa.
- All inclusive packages (i.e. safaris, liveaboard dive trips, island resorts) usually don't include water or snacks, which can add up.
- Endeavour off the beaten path to visit places that are non-touristy to give yourself a more authentic experience in a place: attend cultural events, eat at night markets, ride the local bus, strike up a conversation with shop keepers, etc.
- Check baggage weight limits ahead of time when flying to avoid tearing your bag apart in the airport or paying big extra fees.
- Don't necessarily go by other travellers' opinions of a place - we heard that Bangkok was awful and loved it, and vice versa for Phnom Penh.

Things you can't leave home without:

- headlamp
- universal sink plug
- power plug adapters
- bed liner (silk sleeping bag)
- Lonely Planet guidebooks
- duffel bag to put big packs in for planes and buses
- money belt
- hand sanitizer
- Visa card
- passport (duh)
- clothesline & pegs
- tons of memory cards for camera
- sunglasses & sunscreen
- toilet paper for developing countries

Things we should have left at home:

- mosquito nets (some places had them, other places just didn't have mosquitos!)
- extra toiletries (you can buy them absolutely everywhere)
- most of the first aid kit stuff we brought (though if we needed it we might think otherwise)
- cell phone
- half the cards in our wallets
- heavy cable lock (but used our small/light cable locks often to lock bags closed)
- reusable water bottles (most places you had to buy 1 or 2L bottles rather than refilling from bigger ones)
- jewellry (who was I kidding - you don't need pretty earrings to go with trekking pants and grubby shirts!)
- travel sized chopsticks and cutlery
- any notion that we could stick to our budget!

Observations we've made while traveling around the world:

- Beer is cheaper than water in Cambodia.
- Wild elephants are really scary when encountered on foot.
- Nothing ever dries in the jungle.
- Chickens and stray dogs are friggin' everywhere!
- Most countries leave dirty sheets on hotel beds for multiple guests (so nasty!).
- Canada seems to have a good reputation everywhere we went.
- Vietnamese women are obsessed with lightening their skin.
- "Moderately spicy" means very different things to different countries.
- Nobody recycles anything.
- Plastic bags are given away for every item you purchase, even when it's completely unnecessary. Some places had never seen reusable bags before.
- Men everywhere smoke - almost all men in Indonesia do, yet almost no women smoke anywhere we went!
- People in small towns, from Zambia to Thailand, were friendly, welcoming, and happy to see visitors.
- Fresh mangoes and pineapples make ours at home taste like cardboard.
- Religion is the focus of so many cultures that it dictates not only how people live their lives, but why.
- Sand dunes are a bitch to climb.
- Southeast Asian people love their babies and their motorbikes equally, but the babies get washed once a week and the bikes get washed every day.
- Things cost about 5 to 10 times less in southeast Asia than in Europe and North America.
- Thai ladyboys aren't as convincing as we thought they would be.
- There are dozens of types of bananas.
- Australia's roads have more animal warning signs than anywhere else - kangaroos, koalas, bats, emus, cassowaries (huge birds), crocodiles, womats, and even hedgehogs!
- National Geographic moments really do happen on safari in Africa.
- There's no point in trying to order western food in eastern countries, as the dish is almost always a lousy attempt at a western replica, never satisfying the original craving.
- Australia's roads have stupidly high speed limits - often 100km/hr on narrow bumpy country roads where 60km/hr barely feels safe!
- Some of nature's most memorable sounds include kookaburras laughing, waves crashing, elephants trumpeting, hippos chuckling, and the chorus of thousands of frogs at night.
- Unthinkable amounts of rainforest have been destroyed for the crops of palm oil, rice, and sugar cane all over the world's tropical regions.
- Gecko-like lizards live on walls in warm countries all over the world!
- Coral reefs are being harmed on a daily, routine basis by divemasters around the world who have bad habits (not to mention careless visiting divers). We were led by supposed professionals in every country we dove in (Tanzania, Malawi, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and Fiji) who repeatedly touched coral, kicked or stood on coral, and intentionally handled marine life (like agitating a puffer fish to make it puff up for the tourists, petting eels and turtles, poking frogfish, etc.). Collectively, their careless behaviour will not only slowly destroy the reefs, but it will encourage the hundreds of divers they are in contact with each year to do the same. Rant over.
- Thais, Fijians, and Indonesians consider it masculine for men to wear sarongs (wrap skirts) and a flower behind their ears.
- People are always happy when a visitor tries to use a few words of their local language.
- Politics and government were corrupt and ineffective in many of the countries we visited.
- Most countries in the world have a reckless regard for garbage, and few have the infrastructure to deal with it.
- Celine Dion and Shania Twain songs followed us everywhere we went - from Malaysian jungles and Vietnamese cities to Fijian cafes!

Average travel costs in the places we went (Canadian $):

- Average cost per person per day (staying in cheap double rooms and eating basic food, including buses and some activities but excluding things like flights and scuba diving):

London $80, Africa in general $70 (on organized safari), Singapore $45, Malaysia $25, Cambodia $30, Vietnam $35, Thailand $30, Indonesia $30, Australia $50 (camping in campervan), Fiji $70

- Average cost of 1.5L bottle of water:

London $3, Africa in general $0.50, Singapore $2, Malaysia $1, Cambodia $1, Vietnam $1, Thailand $0.50, Indonesia $0.50, Australia $3, Fiji $3

- Average cost of a beer:

London $5, Africa in general $2.50, Singapore $5, Malaysia $3, Cambodia $1, Vietnam $1.50, Thailand $2 (huge bottles!), Indonesia $2, Australia $4.50, Fiji $2.50

- Average cost of a cheap double hotel room:

London $100, Singapore $65, Malaysia $25, Cambodia $10, Vietnam $19, Thailand $10, Indonesia $15, Australia $55, Fiji $30

- Average cost of a guy's haircut:

Africa $6, Malaysia $5, Vietnam $4, Thailand $8, Australia $13

- Average cost of 1 hour of internet time:

Africa (in general) $0.50, Singapore $2, Malaysia $1, Cambodia $0.50, Vietnam $0.50, Thailand $2, Indonesia $2, Australia $4.50, Fiji $5

- Average cost of cheap dinner (per person):

London $15, Singapore $5 (street markets), Malaysia $4, Cambodia $6, Vietnam $9, Thailand $7, Indonesia $8, Australia $12, Fiji $10

Resources we used:

- Flight Centre (http://www.flightcentre.com/) Cheap flights and great agents
- GAP Adventures (http://www.gapadventures.com/) Awesome package trips all over the globe
- Air Asia (http://www.airasia.com/) The cheapest way to hop around Asia
- Hippie Camper (http://www.hippiecamper.com/) The best budget way to get around Australia
- Taka Dive (http://www.takadive.com/) Awesome liveaboard dive trips on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
- Similan Dive Safaris (http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com/) Good, cheap liveaboard dive trips to the Similan Islands, western Thailand
- Lonely Planet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/) You'd be crazy to leave home without a LP guidebook. Good online forum too.
- Wayalailai Eco Haven Resort (http://www.wayalailairesort.com/) Perfect budget spot in Fiji's Yasawa Islands

191 Saturdays (May 17/09 - Vancouver, BC, Canada)

2009-05-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

May 17th. It's the day we've been giving for the last six months when a fellow traveler asks when you have to go home. And when you give that day, the response is almost always "awww, so soon." Yup, the day is here already. Today we woke up in New Zealand and will be sleeping in our own bed at home tonight. It will be wonderful to see family waiting at the Vancouver airport and to walk in the door of our cozy little apartment, but we can't help but wonder how long it will be before we start to miss the freedom of traveling, the excitement of seeing new places and meeting new people, and the adventure that comes along with wandering around exotic places with everything you need on your back.

The nonstop party going on outside our hostel in Auckland all night had barely quit at 8am, when we packed up for the last time and hailed a bus to the airport. The flight back to Fiji was short, and we scanned the waves far below for any chance of spotting a speck of a sailboat. The warm, humid air greeted us on the tarmac in Nadi, but without enough time to leave the airport, it would be our last taste of the tropics for a long time. The Air Pacific flight heading for Los Angeles was the biggest plane we had ever seen - a 747 with 70 rows, 10 people per row, and an upper level. It still amazes me that they can even get off the ground! Ten hours later, we were landing at LAX, oddly enough at almost exactly the same time that we left Auckland (1pm on May 17th - thanks to the time change and crossing the International Date Line). Suddenly surrounded by english speaking people, we boarded the last flight of our trip, bound for Vancouver. We expected to have mixed feelings upon seeing the familiar city lights coming into view, but the waterworks that started when we touched the runway were unexpected - our trip was officially over. My whole family was waiting for us at the arrivals area, and it was of course wonderful to finally see them again. As true Canadians, they welcomed us home not with a bunch of flowers, but with a box of Timbits! And just like that, we were home. Familiar streets, familiar buildings, and the not-so-familiar rule of driving on the right hand side of the road! Let's hope that doesn't take much getting used to!

It was strange but comforting to get home, and it took a while to marvel at all the great things about such an easy life here. Clean, drinkable water right out of the tap that you don't have to pay or waste plastic bottles for, clean showers, a comfy bed, and the convenience of a whole kitchen to cook up whatever you want to eat, any time, with no menus or translating or sketchy results. These are certainly a few of the things we've taken for granted on a day to day basis, and that (among other things) is one of our greatest lessons from experiencing life in so many other parts of the world. We are truly lucky to live in such a privileged society where we have more than enough to nourish us, adequate shelter, employment to provide income for our families, and the freedom to go for a hike, vote for your government, drive a car, or even to dye your hair blue if you want to. We saw so many people in so many countries who have nothing more than the clothes they're wearing, a tiny dump of a house, barely enough food, polluted water, and very little hope for a brighter future despite having little mouths to feed. And yet somehow these people seemed content. Little kids played with a stick in the dirt all day long, and they always seemed to enjoy it. People work so hard to bring in enough food for their families, even if it means slaving in the hot fields every single day. Although the only way we could relate to many of these people was with a smile and a wave, sometimes that seemed to be enough for each to gain a little bit of understanding and respect for the other.

We have now traveled all the way around the world, and the incredible diversity of cultures, landscapes, people, and wildlife we've experienced is almost hard to comprehend. If we thought doing a trip like this would "scratch our travel itch" (and we did), well, we were definitely wrong. The travel bug has wiggled its way under our skin, and I don't think there's any chance of getting rid of it. Now that we have experienced the freedom of backpacking to amazing places with everything you need on your back, we are hooked. If you haven't ventured far from home before, GO! Make it happen, There is an incredible world out there to explore, where every day is Saturday.

A bittersweet farewell (May 16/09 - Auckland, New Zealand)

2009-05-19T08:15:00.001-07:00

There were a lot of mixed feelings on the boat this morning, as it was departure day and almost time to say goodbye, yet excited to get Slapdash out on the water again. As expected, last minute jobs kept everyone running around all morning, filling water tanks, securing the dinghy, checking the engine, double checking weather forecasts, and trying to make an appointment with customs to check out of the country. Finally, shortly after noon, they were ready to go. After some emotional goodbyes on the dock, they untied and pushed off, setting Slapdash free for the first time since December. We ran as far as the end of the dock, waving and shouting goodbyes. A moment later, they were out of sight, bound for Fiji as the first destination in what will be an incredible season that should take them through Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Their adventures are chronicled at http://www.theslapdash.com/ if you'd like to follow along. We wish them a safe, fantastic journey and can't wait until we see them again.

It was tough to see them go, especially since our trip is rapidly coming to an end. Jaime and Seth's four year plan to sail around the world is what inspired us to do this trip of ours, and for that we're grateful. As much as we love home and are looking forward to returning, we have certainly discovered the freedom and excitement of traveling that will be hard to leave behind. With the rest of the day to ourselves before going back to the airport tomorrow morning, we walked downtown and found a hostel on the main street, then spent the afternoon walking around the Auckland Museum. The museum was packed with exhibits on Maori history, wildlife, volcanoes, and tons of other displays that a person could spend days reading. It reinforced the need for us to return one day with enough time to explore what seems to be a unique and beautiful country. When we emerged at sunset, there was a beautiful view down over the bay, which was a patchwork of sails with all the boats cruising around. Slapdash was likely among them, raising their sails and venturing out into the Pacific.

Last day ashore (May 15/09 - Auckland, New Zealand)

2009-05-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

When Jaime checked the weather forecast this morning, it looked as though the winds would cooperate for a northbound departure tomorrow. With that to aim for, there were still a few last minute jobs to do before pushing off tomorrow, as today would realistically be their last day in a civilized country for the rest of the year. It was nearly noon before everyone was functional (thanks to a late night last night), but once everyone was with it, we walked over to a nearby pub on the water for a huge spread of fish, prawns, mussels, and oysters done up just greasy enough to cure any remaining hangovers. Afterward, the boys tended to boat tasks outside while Jaime started cooking meals for the passage so it will be easy to grab and reheat food when the boat is pitching back and forth and everybody feels like crap. I took on the fun task of painting a Fijian flag, which boaters raise while in a foreign country's waters as a courtesy. They're very pricey to purchase, so Jaime has been very resourceful and clever to use fabric paints on chunks of old bed sheets so that a permissible replica can be made for almost free. Unfortunately for me, Fiji's flag has both a British Union Jack and a detailed coat of arms on it, making for quite the artistic challenge. When it was finally done, Jaime and I spent a couple more hours chopping, cooking, mixing, and bagging piles of food to keep the crew fed for the trip. It was actually a fun way to spend the afternoon, catching up and having a hand in helping Slapdash on its way to its next port.

When we eventually decided to order pizza for dinner since some people were bagged and not keen to walk anywhere, we heard screeching tires and a big crash, then looked out to see a car that had crashed into the slope leading up to the highway overpass. It just seemed to be the one car, but it appeared to be smoking and we could hear a lady screaming, so we called an ambulance and then ran over to try and help. It turned out that two girls had missed the corner and jumped the curb, both confessing that they were drunk, and one girl might have had a broken ankle. Help came pretty soon and so we left them alone, looking out later to see four ambulances and a couple police cars and tow trucks to clean up the mess. We polished off a few pizzas and chatted until the yawning started. It was a bittersweet evening, as the boat is nearly ready to go, yet we all know that we have to go our separate ways tomorrow. Ironically, we're actually going the same way by different means, but it could be well over a year before we see them again.

Almost-going-away party (May 14/09 - Auckland, New Zealand)

2009-05-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

The morning seemed to be almost half over by the time everybody was up today, but with sunshine streaming in, it was a good opportunity for the boys to finish off their boat chores outside. Jaime and I did another round of boat hardware supply and grocery shopping - enough to keep the crew going for the ten days it will probably take to get to Fiji. Since departure is just a couple days away, Jaime had organized a going away party at a local bar that was tended by a buddy of theirs. We did our best to scrounge decent clothes out of our backpacks, and hung out with a bunch of their friends that all seemed to have boating in common one way or another. It's bittersweet for them, leaving friends they've made over the six months they've been in New Zealand, but the frigid temperatures are motivation enough to beckon them to Fiji, 2000km north. We sure wish we were going with them!

Boat chores (May 13/09 - Auckland, New Zealand)

2009-05-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

Living on a boat brings with it an endless list of maintenance projects that keep the mechanical systems, plumbing, sails and rigging, interior, etc etc etc in working order. The to do list seems to be permanently ongoing, so there is rarely a day when there isn't a project of some kind on the go. With a 2000km crossing ahead of them, the Slapdash crew still had a few more projects to polish off before setting off on the next leg of their voyage around the world. Luckily, every boating supply store imaginable seems to be located near the marina, so picking up supplies and getting work done is logistically easy. Micah took off with his caulking gun for some quality time in the sail locker, Seth and Ken got down and dirty with fuel filters and engine parts, and Jaime and I took off in a borrowed car with a long list of errands to run. Sail parts, primer, light bulbs, and wire rope were purchased, visits to the bank and post office were made, jerry cans were filled with diesel, and a couple months worth of canned and dried food were purchased at the grocery store. The balance of the day involved organizing cupboards, downing tuna melts, and playing dominoes once it got dark. The weather still looks like it will be Friday at the earliest that they could pull out of here, so we have another day or so at least to visit before they make a run for Fiji.

Auckland city tour (May 12/09 - Auckland, New Zealand)

2009-05-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

This morning we lazed around the boat in the sunshine over breakfast, tending to a few boat jobs like some soldering and donating a bunch of our travel stuff to the Slapdash inventory. Eventually we got organized and headed downtown on foot, bound first for a legendary lunch spot called Food Alley, where cheap meals from a variety of Asian joints are all clustered in one spot (but classier than your average food court). Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Japanese... the options were crazy! It was fun to see some semi-authentic versions of our favourite dishes from some of those places we went, and the ones we did try were damn fine. Stuffed, we left Seth to run around doing boat chores while Jaime took Ken and I on a walking tour of Auckland. It's an odd city with mostly modern buildings and some older brick structures, not-so-scenic harbour front, random parks all over the place, and occasional little alleyways packed with pricey boutiques. We took a bus up to the top of Queens Road, where a greenbelt dotted with palm trees and statues parallels the noisy main drag just a block away. We passed a couple museums and busy shopping streets, cutting through a couple landscaped parks and a small university campus before winding down the twisty boutique streets to the waterfront, where the marina is. Jaime and I took a little detour into a mall for girly manicures, and then we headed for the grocery store to restock the fridge and pick up a few more bottles of local wine that work out to only about $6 a bottle! Back on the boat, we were introduced to Jaime and Seth's friend Micah, who quit his job and is joining their crew for a few months. Seth whipped up a fabulous quiche for dinner, and after some more chatting, we unanimously voted to call it a day.

Reunited (May 11/09 - Auckland, New Zealand)

2009-05-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

By the time noon rolled around, we were touching down at Auckland International and being frisked by a beagle too cute for words. A familiar smiley face was jumping up and down at the arrivals area, as Jaime met us there just as we were coming out. It was so great to see her - way too much time had passed since our last visit. It was basically non-stop catching up back and forth as we drove toward downtown Auckland, taking a couple wrong turns that were disguised as a 'city tour'. Jaime and Seth have their boat, a 34 foot catamaran called 'Slapdash', moored at a marina in downtown Auckland that was so massive that it resembled a two city block square area jam packed with almost 2000 boats and a tangle of masts. Slapdash was moored right on the end of one of the 26 docks, looking just as pretty as the day we last saw her in Florida. Other than some renovations and adjustments inside, there was little physical evidence that she has sailed over 18,000km half way across the globe since we last saw her.

With some errands to run, we dumped our bags and spent the afternoon picking up things the crew needed for their upcoming passage north to Fiji (the one they intended to do early in May!). When we returned to the marina, Jaime introduced us to some friends of theirs moored in the same marina that they have been island hopping with since Bora Bora. We quickly realized how much sailors and backpackers have in common, as travel stories with common themes abounded. With eight new jerry cans under our arms, we hopped back onto Slapdash to find Seth home from a day of running other errands, another familiar face that was wonderful to see again. We spent the whole evening telling travel stories, sharing photos, and polishing off a few bottles of New Zealand red before crashing. All of us have been so many places and had so many adventures that there was no shortage of stories to share! We're so thankful that we were able to swing this side trip to New Zealand, even at the expense of Fiji, as even the few hours we've already spent together have been worth the price. We could do without the 15°C temperatures and cold drizzle, but visiting family is priceless!

The waiting game (May 9/09 - Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji)

2009-05-09T14:11:00.001-07:00

Ah, how plans change at the last minute. Our bags were all packed and we were waiting for a bus this morning to take us to Beqa Lagoon further east, when a nagging voice in my head said that I should at least check the cost of a flight to New Zealand to satisfy my brain that it would be way too expensive to even consider (which is what we had assumed, and why we hadn't bothered to check before). But a return flight was a lot more affordable than expected, so we did some quick scheming and decided that if we can confirm that they haven't left New Zealand yet, we would get on the first plane headed that way to join them. Talk about a potential change of plans! But the only way to contact them is by email even though we did some sleuthing and figured out which marina they're at - but its office is closed for the weekend, so we can't pass a message on that way. So we decided to stay put for as much as two days awaiting a reply, and either we will be southbound again immediately after receiving it, or we'll give up and continue to Pacific Harbour as planned. It's handy to wait here because we're literally a kilometer from the airport! So today we would play the waiting game, catching up on the blog and walking on the beach.

We finally caught a beautiful sunset from a hammock while the sun dyed the sky red and purple - just too bad I didn't have my long lens with me to get a better photo. Then before heading for bed, we decided to take a chance and try phoning the marina in Auckland by the off chance that someone would be there to answer it. Sure enough, someone picked up, and he said he had just walked past their boat ten minutes ago! So he went to get them and we were able to confirm everything, booking a flight a minute later. And there you have it, a last minute detour to polish off our trip. New Zealand, here we come!

Back to civilization (May 8/09 - Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji)

2009-05-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Since the southbound catamaran doesn't arrive until 4pm, we had all day to do whatever we wanted until having to leave. Strong winds had blown the clouds away to leave us with the first sunny day in a while, but they also resulted in rough seas. Whitecaps were everywhere and big waves were pounding the sand, keeping us on land instead of diving as we had planned. So we opted to hammock surf and lounge in the sand for the majority of the day (decadent, I know!) before the telltale pile of backpacks made its way to the beach mid afternoon. There were a whopping 24 people checking out today, so it took three boatloads to move everyone and their gear to the approaching catamaran. With the rough seas, it made for a wet ride, but most people made it across without getting drenched. It was a little sad to leave Waya Lailai behind, but we had so much fun this last week that we will remember it fondly. With so much time to do as much or as little as we pleased, plus such wonderful people and fabulous views, it would be pretty hard to leave dissatisfied!

We sat up on the top deck for the cruise back toward Nadi, and were treated to great views of all the little islands as the sun started to set. The bus dropped us back at our same hotel from a week ago, where we claimed our same room and relished the hot water showers! When doing a quick check of email, though, we received some very disappointing news. Ken's daughter and her boyfriend, who are currently sailing around the world (and who actually inspired our trip!) had been planning for the last whole year to meet us in Fiji since it has been well over a year since we've seen them. But for various reasons, they were unable to leave New Zealand in time to meet us before we leave for home, and so we're going to miss them altogether, despite being so close. So our final trip highlight has gone down the toilet, and we're quite upset to be missing out on the long-awaited visit. So now we have eight days in Fiji with no plans. Ah, the dilemmas...

Six month anniversary (May 7/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sunshine tried to burn the clouds off this morning, our six month anniversary of traveling, as we motored out to Coral Garden, a reef just off Kuata's northwest corner. We had recalled spotting it from our hike the other day, so now we get to dive it! The reef top is only 10 to 15 feet deep at low tide, but it drops down on all sides to 80 or 90 feet. The wall looked much like Kuata Wall did yesterday, with lots of healthy hard corals, the occasional small branch of soft coral, sponges, anemones, and an abundance of fish. A couple nudibranchs, giant clams, and a huge lobster kept us entertained, but the reef itself was pretty enough on its own. As we shallowed up onto the upper parts of the wall, we came to a spot that was carpeted with anemones and the resident mob of anemonefish - I counted over 20 of them in one place! Up on the reef top, the shallow water surged back and forth while we puttered around under the waiting boat, just in time to see a big whitetip reef shark cruise by. Nice way to end the dive!

After lunch and a couple hours of lazing on the beach, we geared up for another dive that we would do from shore this time. It took several minutes of swimming to get below 5 feet since the reef is so flat near shore, but then it dropped off a bit to a flat sandy bottom with a small wall and bommies dotted in the sand. Leopard blennies, puffer fish, giant clams, pretty purple nudibranchs, a lobster, beautiful coral, and lots of seastars made for a fun and interesting dive. When we returned to the shallows near the beach, we were faced with what looked like a shimmering silver wall, which was actually an enormous school of sardines! They were packed so dense that you couldn't see through them, and they filled the water column (3 or 4 feet deep), so there was nowhere to go but through them! Something must have been chasing them, as they were darting back and forth, whizzing by our faces and completely enveloping us in their swirling school. It was crazy! It also explains why we had noticed large numbers of sea birds circling over and diving into the water at this end of the beach. It's a pretty weird feeling to be surrounded on all sides by tiny, fast moving fish!

A wet day from start to finish (May 6/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-09T13:45:00.001-07:00

The rain was pounding down when we woke up this morning, soaking our laundry that was drying on the patio as well as any chance of spending time lazing on the beach. So the morning was a lazy one, reading and lounging around until the rain eased up after lunch. The dive guys weren't keen on heading out on the rough water during the storm (neither were we!), so we waited until early afternoon when the weather had passed and the sea was back to calm.

We dove Kuata Wall, at the northwest tip of Kuata Island (opposite our beach), where the rugged rocks at the shore drop almost straight down to about 80 feet. The visibility was great, and the wall was loaded with stuff to look at. On the fishy side of things, we saw schools of rainbow runners, two banded pipefish, three types of anemonefish, giant sweetlips, and several unique nudibranchs that included big fat yellow ones with spiky black polka dots on their backs (we saw three of these!). Some of the steeper wall sections had lots of sea whips and gorgonians, while nearer to the tip of the island, the hard corals grew to impressive sizes and with beautiful colours that were definite indicators of a healthy reef. Some of the table, staghorn, and mountain corals were more than 10 feet across! It was a fantastic dive, in a spot that we would gladly go back to again and again.

Our daily afternoon ritual has been to sit out on the patio with tea and a book around the time that the southbound catamaran (the one we came here on) makes its stop just off the beach and we hear the staff break into their melodic farewell song for the departing guests. A few minutes later, they break into the welcome song as a boatload of new arrivals approaches the beach, the song ending with a loud "BULA!" But we still have two more days until that will be us!

It was Fijian Night tonight, so the staff performed a kava ceremony to welcome everyone to their island. Kava is one of the things that the country is known for. The large root plant is dried and powdered, placed in a cloth and then mixed with water in a large bowl called a tanoa to produce a thin murky brown liquid that resembles dirty water. All of the male staff members were seated on the floor in front of the tanoa, and we all sat opposite them. We had been told how it would work, but somehow people still screwed up the custom. One at a time, each person was presented with a 'bilo' (half coconut shell) containing some kava. You clap once, accept the bilo with both hands, say "bula!" (cheers), down it in one go, give the bilo back, and clap three times. It tasted pretty much as good as it looked, though not horrible, and even one drink made your tongue go numb. No wonder the locals drink it in mass quantities! They say you're not in Fiji until you've tried kava, so I guess we're finally here!

In keeping with the Fijian Night theme, dinner was cooked in a 'lovo' (underground oven) and we were to eat it as the locals do - with their hands. There was chicken, baked eggplant, salad, potatoes, steamed bamboo shoots, and chunks of baked taro. We thought it was fun to do as the locals do, but we were embarrassed to see how disrespectful some of the other guests reacted. This place caters to 95% young backpackers, mostly European, and mostly between highschool and university. They show up at the dinner table in bikinis three sizes too small, make no effort to talk to the local staff, and blatantly complain when thinigs aren't perfect. We were asked to take off our shoes and not talk or take photos during the kava ceremony (it is normally reserved for special guests, which they extended to us), and lots of people just ignored those requests. When it was announced that there were no utensils for dinner because we would be eating as the Fijians do, one Swedish girl cursed out loud and made it known what a 'rip off' this place was. Unbelievable! Thankfully, we have managed to steer clear of that crowd for most of our trip. Anyway, dinner was lovely, we got buzzed off kava, and the singing that wrapped up the evening was as lovely to listen to as ever.

Over the top (May 5/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today we wanted to hike across to the other side of the island, so we took a local guy named Barry with us as a guide and hit the trail. Apparently nobody else wanted to go, so we ended up getting a private trip! The first part of the trail was the same steep uphill part from last night's hike, but we turned off below the Three Sisters to perch out on a rock for a view down to the resort and the surrounding islands. We could even see the tiny speck of white out on the reef way offshore that was the morning snorkeling trip out swimming with the reef sharks. Barry sliced up a papaya he had picked on the way up, so we had a snack and rested for a minute before continuing along the trail. It led up through sloping meadows of deep grass, past the "giant wobbling rock" (huge boulder balanced on an outcrop), and up to the ridge crest for a view down to the west side of the island. Since apparently nobody had hiked this path in 8 months until now, we lost the trail a couple times and had to bushwack a bit to find it again without walking through one of the many massive spider webs housing gigantic, nasty spiders. As we walked, Barry told us about his family and how his grandfather is the chief of the village here, about customs and school and a few more Fijian words to expand our vocabulary. He was even kind enough to invite us to his village in the highlands of Viti Levu when we leave later in the week. We might take him up on that offer!

After traversing the ridge crest, we began the descent down the north side of the island, with gorgeous views of Waya Island and the other Yasawas stretching out to the north. The golden green fields and stark black rocks perched on the hillsides made for a landscape that was postcard perfect for the South Pacific, with the jagged volcanic peaks, green ridges, and translucent blue sea around Waya Island. Eventually, we were close to the village, when we passed the water holding tank filling from springs uphill, as well as crops of cassava and banana growing on the slopes. Finally, we emerged in the little village, the one and only village, where we came for church on Sunday. Ladies were washing clothes and dishes in the shade, and we met a few people as we passed through the otherwise quiet row of houses. Barry introduced us to the sister of the resort's manager, who was eager to know how we were enjoying our stay on their island. Four adorable little boys were playing in a tarp beside the trail, all of which had sand absolutely covering their faces. Those big brown eyes and sandy cheeks were priceless! A forested trail passed a steep section of the shore before rejoining the village, where we passed pig pens with absolute beachfront property. Lucky pigs! After passing the church and the school we saw the other day, we plunked down on the beach and buried our hot toes in the sand - such a relief! Part of the deal was that a boat would bring lunch and snorkeling gear, so sure enough, the boat pulled up just minutes after we sat down. We had a picnic lunch on the sand and then walked over to the sand bridge connecting Waya and Waya Lailai islands, where we snorkeled and swam for a while before the boat took us back to the resort. It was a fun place to play in the water because waves were coming from both the east and west at the same time, making for lots of colliding waves and crazy currents! The water sure felt good (despite being very warm!) after sweating it out on the trail all morning. Between the gorgeous views and a glimpse into local life from Barry and seeing the village, it was a rewarding day that won't soon be forgotten.

Fijian triathalon (May 4/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-08T20:06:00.001-07:00

A weather system was blowing in from the south this morning, bringing with it some waves and rain. But that wasn't enough to keep us from diving, so we climbed in the boat and went a few minutes south to a pinnacle off the east side of Kuata Island. The pinnacle was about a hundred feet across, with its base at about 120 feet and its top at about 40 feet. Finger coral decorated the entire top of the reef, with anemones and other critters like anemone shrimp and cucumbers living in between the fingers. Whitetip reef sharks patrolled the reef, slowly circling the pinnacle and coming quite close to us several times. There were at least four of them, and they were in sight for the entire dive. We spiraled our way up, checking out thorny oysters, feather stars, scorpionfish, and a giant moral eel that the guide was crazy enough to pet. (Don't get me started on how careless he was, touching coral left and right and basically destroying the reef...) The water was exceptionally clear and floating beside the reef watching anemonefish dart in and out of their blue-tipped anemones and brilliantly coloured wrasses swim within inches of my face reminded me of watching the tropical fish in the aquarium at my bank at home (only they don't have sharks in the background!). You know a dive is great when watching all the sharks becomes benign!

After lunch, a bunch of us sat down with the local ladies to learn how to weave with pandanus leaves. I made a couple bracelets, while others made rings and bookmarks that all turned out surprisingly well! Late afternoon, we joined a few other people for a hike to the highest point on the island to watch the sunset. The highest point happens to be the towering volcanic rock known as Vatuvalu that sits directly above our resort, 350m above sea level. It was obviously going to be a steep hike, so we had to try hard not to laugh at the Swedish girl who showed up with no shoes and a miniskirt, and the two Asian girls who looked like they were headed for the mall, in dresses and flipflops and carrying purses. The old local guy who was guiding us wasn't much better, wearing old flipflops that fell off every few minutes. We were joined by three of the village dogs, and stopped along the way to see cassava, dava, taro, yam, banana, and orange trees that had been randomly planted on the slopes of the mountain. The trail pushed its way up through steep forests and between giant boulders, eventually opening up into sloping fields blanketed in 8 foot tall grasses, with views up to the Three Sisters rock formation that was surprisingly similar tot he one we saw in the Blue Mountains. We looped around the back of Vatuvalu and then made one last push up a steep trail over big rocks in a dark forest before emerging at the top. The final step was to literally climb up a big boulder and then walk carefully across the ridge of the rock whose two sides slanted down on either side to sheer cliffs on both sides. With the wind blowing, it was a bit nerve wracking, but we all managed and emerged out on the summit, where the view in all directions was sensational. Our resort was directly below us, where tiny figures could be seen playing volleyball on the beach and swimming in the water. The reef fringing the beach was clearly obvious, as were several visible out in the ocean farther out. Kuata Island stole the foreground to the south, with all of the Mamanuca Islands visible popping out of the sea. Behind them, Viti Levu and Nadi were clear, and you could faintly make out Vanua Levu behind it (Fiji's second largest island). The rest of Waya Lailai sprawled out to the north, merging into the neighbouring island of Waya, both with green peaks, palm trees, golden fields, and bare pinnacles of rock. Beyond Waya, the entire Yasawa chain was visible as the string of islands curved around to the northeast. It was a stunning view that made us feel really lucky to be in such a beautiful place.

The hike down was considerably more challenging than the way up only because it sort of got dark half way down. We figured we would be back well before dark, so we didn't think to take a light. Thankfully, the guide had 4 flashlights in his bag to share amongst the nine of us, which made for a slow and sketchy trip down. It didn't help that the path was slippery in places from last night's rain, but eventually we made it without any major casualties - even the flip flop and barefoot girls! We heard the dinner drums about two thirds of the way down, so we wasted no time in getting down there before all the food was gone.

After dinner, we moved to the grass and watched the staff perform a bunch of traditional dances. Two ladies did a hula dance that involved some serious booty shaking, followed by what one girl accurately described as the dance of the Fijian Chippendales. The seven of eight young [buff and sweaty] guys pranced around in short sarongs and war paint, attempting choreographed dances that looked like they needed a little more practice. Since we know most of these guys now, it was funny to see our guide from the church trip yesterday and the boatmen in there too. The grand finale was a traditional fire dance, where they twirled and threw flaming torches all over the place, only igniting small patches of grass, clothing, and hair. It was very impressive though, with awesome rhythmic music and a light rain falling to set the mood. One guy performed a knife dance with a crazy sharp machete before the performance turned into the participation "Bula dance" they did a few nights ago, followed by some silly conga line type thing that might have involved some grinding and other non-traditional moves. Good times were had by all, but we were desperate for a shower by the time it was all over!

Going to church... in a boat (May 3/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday is traditionally a day of rest in Fiji, where the only thing on most people's agendas is going to church. Seeing as the villagers on the island here fully own, operate, and staff our resort (unlike any other resort in Fiji!), they make every effort to let visitors see Fijian life first hand, inviting them to meet families in the village, tour the school, learn how to weave from the local ladies, and even attend church services with them. Even though neither of us are religious, it sounded like a peek into their culture too good to pass up, so a bunch of us did our best to 'dress up' (i.e. not bikinis and boardshorts!) and we piled into the boat. Since the original village was moved from the south end of the island (beside our resort) to the north end due to landslides in 1985, lots of the island's 150 residents who still live in the south have to take a boat to get there. So as we cruised along the pretty shoreline toward the village, boatloads of locals were doing the same, dressed in their Sunday best. We pulled up to the beach at the north end of Waya Lailai Island, where a narrow arc of sand actually connects it to the adjacent Waya Island at low tide. Within steps of the sand is the primary school, with a big soccer field and even dormitories to house kids that come from surrounding islands to attend school here. Highschool kids go to the mainland and were noticeably absent from the village. The rest of the village comprised maybe a dozen buildings, all of which were houses except for a big empty structure they called Community Hall and a similar one for the church that didn't look anything like a church except for a fabric cross draped over a table inside. Houses were small and simple, but a generator provides power each evening and pipes deliver water from the island's plentiful springs. Unlike most of the low-lying outer islands, locals say they virtually never run out of water. And with waterfront property and spectacular views that people would pay big money for, these people seem to live a pretty sweet life!

Church was about to start, so we filed in and were shown to sit on the floor (guys on the left, ladies on the right) while kids belted out songs in that fabulous harmony that it seems can only come from groups of kids in developing countries. We took our seats and observed people filing in, noticing that men and little boys generally wore sarongs and a button-up shirt that ranged from plain with a tie to brightly coloured and covered with big tropical flowers. Some of the big important looking men wore blazers and ties with their sarong (and must've been sweating to death inside them!). Women seemed to wear long dresses with short sleeves, a longer skirt underneath, and a big round afro hair style. Little girls were all in dresses too, and most had really short hair. Interestingly, it's a society without pants!

The church service began when the entire room broke into song, each person slipping right into their predetermined part of the harmony. The words were all in Fijian, but their passion and musical talent was obvious. They sang song after song, all without instruments and all sounding flawless. Some of the older kids knew the words, but it was cute to watch the ones that were obviously just learning them! After a few songs, one of the big blazer-clad guys stood up and welcomed us (in english) to their village and to their church, thanking us for visiting their island and apologizing that the service would be in Fijian! Over the next hour and a half, various men stood at the front and preached messages we didn't understand, more songs were sung, and several special smaller groups performed songs for everyone else. By the time it was over, we were certainly impressed by their talent and passion, humbled by their kindness, and very sore from sitting on the floor for so long! The big guys in blazers (one of whom we think was the chief) all shook our hands and thanked us for coming before we climbed back in our boat and headed back to our beach.

With no other activities organized for the day, we snorkeled off the western half of our beach (saw a sea snake!) and spent the entire afternoon swimming and reading. My new favourite thing is lying on the sand right at the edge of the waves, reading while the sun and warm water pours over you. Paradise! After dinner, the staff did a little fashion show to model the traditional Fijian dress for warriors, the Chief, and a wedding ceremony. That was followed by a hilarious skit depicting the infamous encounter by an English Reverend who came to Fiji in the 1860s to convert everyone to Christianity, but was unaware of cultural taboos and ended up being eaten. They finished it off with another song, and then headed home to their families for the night. It was really great to see their culture at work today, and we're glad to have chosen a resort that directly benefits from its visitors. They are genuinely interested in learning about foreign cultures, and equally happy to show us theirs without the need to ask for a handout or to wear a fake smile. Plus, it was awesome to see the guys we've known as cooks, boat captains, and dive guides all dressed up and belting out songs with their families at church. It was a great day!

Meeting the Fijian fishies (May 2/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Fiji and diving go hand in hand, so we were understandably excited to get underwater. Jone, our Fijian divemaster, grabbed some gear for us and we headed out in their little open boat toward Kuata Island. We backrolled in at Check Point on the south side of the island, and looking over the side of the boat, you could easily see the bottom 50 feet below. The sandy bottom was dotted with corals and busy with reef fish, but once we rounded the corner onto the island's east side, the rugged volcanic rocks plunging into the ocean made for beautiful walls full of hard corals and sponges. We spotted some tiny nudibranchs, some new fish we'd never seen before like yellow lyre-tail blennies and a reticulated eyelash blenny. Several whitetip reef sharks made close passes to see what we were up to, one of which was about 6 feet long and mesmerizing to watch. We swam through some arches and tunnels carved out of the rock by the sea, ending our dive in the sparkling shallows right below the waiting boat. We might have to go elsewhere to see the soft coral Fiji is famous for, but this dive was certainly great and we wasted no time arranging an afternoon dive even before we reached the beach!

Between dives, Ken repaired the divemaster's computer for him so he wouldn't have to send it to Finland, we enjoyed some fresh trevally fillets for lunch, and we took the requisite swim, hammock, and nap before heading back to the dive boat. This time, we went around the corner east of our resort to Naquali Caves, where a twisting series of cracks and tunnels took us into the rock, with bright blue skylights and tunnels letting in plenty of daylight. After emerging back out into the open water, we made our way south, along a lava ridge that was covered in all sorts of corals and sponges. We found pipefish, pink anemonefish, hermit crabs, moray eels, and lots of the usual critters. Rumour has it that manta rays are back in the area early this season, so we're keeping our eyes peeled for a potential fly-by out in the blue.

After dinner, we were treated to some traditional Fijian dances performed by the staff, including war dances, spear dances, and lively harmonious songs done by the whole group of men and women. They're wonderful singers, and the energetic dances were fun to watch. The guys wore the traditional long grass skirts, patterned sashes, and vines wrapped around their ankles and wrists. Another beach bonfire followed the dancing, but we were tired and called it an early night.

Slowing down to island time (May 1/09 - Waya Lailai Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji)

2009-05-08T17:17:00.001-07:00

A big catamaran acts like an island shuttle bus, taking people to, from, and between the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands. Today, that would include us and a hundred or so backpackers bound for various islands offshore. From the marina near Nadi, you could see most of the Mamanucas popping out of the flat blue sea, and as we approached each one, it was like cruising straight into a postcard. These islands were tiny low coral cays covered with palm trees, dotted with thatched bures (Fijian bungalows), and ringed by white sand beaches and clear water. Most of them had just one resort each, giving the private island treatment. One of them, Bounty Island, is where they filmed "Survivor Fiji", an another was Tom Hanks' island in "Castaway". A few people got off and on at each stop. Toward the northern end of the Mamanucas, the approaching islands became volcanic in nature, some with spiky black pinnacle mountains, others with sheer cliffs dropping into the sea, and one with a perfectly shaped volcano rising up from the beach. Pretty soon, we were pulling up between two islands - our stop! Kuata is the southern island, rocky, with a resort at the north end. The other, a few hundred meters away and our destination, was Waya Lailai Island, mountainous and dominated by a towering volcanic rock that loomed directly over our resort. A smaller boat met the catamaran and took us over to the island, where we were greeted by a serenading group of the staff on a beautiful beach. The resort is small and basic, but situated in such a dramatic spot that it just doesn't matter. Our room turned out to be a cute little cottage on the grass with an awesome view out over the water. (Turned out that we were upgraded since we're staying so long - most people only stay a night or two!) It's just perfect, and with a whole week to soak it in, it will pretty much be the perfect end to our trip.

First up was to get into that gorgeous water, which was warm and easy to spend a lot of time swimming around in. Some big black rocks poke out of the beach part way down, and shallow reefs are visible just out from the beach all the way along. Kuata Island looks close enough that you could probably swim there! After some lunch, we grabbed snorkels and checked out our neighbours that included lots of little reef fish, hard corals, and sea stars. Quality hammock time followed, where we alternated between reading, dozing, and swimming for the rest of the afternoon. We couldn't quite see the sunset to the west since we face south, but it looked pretty reflecting off the other island, so we'll have to try to walk around the corner one day to see it properly.

Dinner was served cafeteria style in the restaurant, followed by some lively 'participation dancing' (like a Fijian macarena... no thanks!) and a big bonfire on the beach. Day one of the real Fiji was fantastic, and it's just the first of many!

Making plans (Apr. 30/09 - Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji)

2009-05-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Our main objective for today was to make plans as to how we would spend our first week in Fiji. There are a bunch of islands off the west coast of Viti Levu (the "mainland"), which sound perfect with budget resorts, gorgeous beaches, and great diving. Conveniently, the town we landed in is on the west coast, so it makes sense to go out there first. The Mamanuca Islands are closest to Viti Levu, then the Yasawa Islands take off in a string north from there. We had already flagged a few of them in the guidebook, so it was a matter of comparing brochures the hotel happened to have and figure out which one was most appealing. We settled on Wayalailai Eco Haven Resort, located on Waya Lailai Island at the southern end of the Yasawa chain. It looks beautiful and loaded with things to do, including snorkeling right off the beach, hiking to viewpoints inland, and of course diving. We hear that an island nearby is home to a bunch of manta rays. Bring it on! They had space, so we claimed a room and made arrangements for a boat transfer tomorrow morning. It's going to be amazing, and the thought of staying in one place for a whole week without packing is also very enticing!

One minor detail is that you have to pay the resort in cash, so we needed to make a trip into town to pay the bank machine a visit. We were going to go anyway, since the area we were staying at is completely removed from "downtown" Nadi. So we hopped on a local bus headed that way, paid our 70 cent fare and grabbed a seat on the rickety open air bus. Along the 10km of road to town, there were quick glimpses across the sugar cane fields to the jagged green mountains toward the interior. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go up there before we leave. Random shops sprung up along the road - auto repair places, butchers, and even a McDonalds with the standard little golden arches sign at the entrance that read 'bula'! Town was basically a main road extending for a dozen blocks or so, but the bus stopped at the busy bus station a few blocks away. Getting our first glimpses of the Fijian people, it was interesting to people watch and observe their demeanor, their appearance, and their language. Indigenous Fijians seemed to have medium brown skin with large rounded features (especially the large 'features' of many of the women) with crazy black afro hair that often approached Ronald McDonald-like in roundness! The other half of the local population is Indo-Fijian, tracing back to the farmers brought from India decades ago. They look very much like native Indians, with medium dark skin, straight black hair, and thin, defined features. Most of the Indo-Fijian women wore saris, and the shops on the main street were dominated by sari shops and curry joints.

With almost three hours before the bus would make a return trip, we ran a few errands and then spent the rest of the time wandering, browsing, and lunching in some much-needed air conditioning. We're back to southeast Asia type weather, with hot sun and high humidity. Other than a colourful Indian temple, a lively produce market, and a few cheesy souvenir shops, downtown Nadi wasn't overly impressive, though it was interesting to see people buying bundles of kava root (made into Fiji's famous narcotic drink) and going about their daily business. Many people on the streets were friendly, calling "bula!" to us as we walked by, but there were a few scammers too. One guy approached us, claiming to be a pastor who was collecting donations for flood victims. He had a good story and a really crappy photocopied "certificate" that he said the government issued to allow him to approach potential donors. When asked for the church's address so we could give a direct donation, he scrambled and said he didn't know it. Thanks but no thanks, buddy! He looked pretty mad when we walked away, probably because his plan usually works.

When the bus started filling up at 3pm, we realized that it doubles as the local school bus since tons of kids in school uniforms were getting on to head home. They were dropped off one by one at the driveways to their modest little houses as we left town, some with small farms of sugar cane or goats. As we neared the end of one street that ended at the beach, the bus stopped and simply shifted into low gear before driving straight onto the sand! It was like Fraser Island all over again! A minute later, he simply drove up onto the adjacent street that also ends at the beach, and carried on. Why turn around when you could drive on the beach I guess?!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent lounging by the beach and watching the local outrigger canoe club head out into the bay for a sunset paddle. We enjoyed some dinner while watching CNN playing on a tv in the restaurant, giving us a chance to catch up with the rest of the world. Pig flu, depressed economies, corporations going bankrupt... all great news as usual. It was interesting, though, to notice how many of the places around the world we have now been to that were mentioned: a special report on Khmer Rouge leader trials from Cambodia, tourism ads for southern Africa, news from Bangkok, and daily weather reports for cities like Cape Town, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Canberra, Sydney, and Jakarta. It really made us feel like we can relate to the rest of the world a little more easily now.

Fiji, here we come! (Apr. 29/09 - Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji)

2009-05-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, today was one of our big travel days where we transitioned from one country to a completely different one. Fiji is the last stop on our trip around the world, our last time zone change, and our last currently change before we return home in two and a half weeks. Just saying the name "Fiji" brings the image of an idyllic white sand beach with turquoise water, swaying palms, and rugged green hills to mind - needless to say, we were pretty excited to wake up this morning knowing we were going there today! It was bittersweet to leave Australia though, as we had such a wonderful time exploring the beaches, rainforests, reefs, towns, highlands, parks, and cities that we definitely didn't want to leave! Many spots along the way stand out as highlights, but having the luxury to follow every mile of the coast from nearly one end to the other gave us an interesting perspective on the diversity and underlying commonality of such an enormous country. We barely scratched the surface and will add Australia to the "Must return to" list for a future trip.

Since we're such seasoned travelers now, the whole travel day was a breeze and we were touching down in Fiji before we knew it. A lively group of musicians welcomed us in the airport, and we quickly learned that "bula" is the greeting here. It didn't take long to go from scarf and fleece weather in Sydney to overheating in shorts and flipflops here! Without a solid plan for our time here, we took a short cab ride to a hotel in the nearby town of Nadi for the night so we can use tomorrow to figure out where we're going. From what we've read in the guidebook so far, it sounds like postcard perfect spots abound, so pretty much wherever we choose to go, we're almost guaranteed to have an awesome time!

Manly, yes, but we liked it too (Apr. 28/09 - Sydney, Australia)

2009-05-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of walking around Sydney, we headed up George Street and went all the way up to Circular Quay, where we headed for Manly, a pretty area of greater Sydney on the north shore of the harbour. They ferry pulled out and cruised right past the Opera House, giving us yet another angle on it with the big city behind it. Moving east, we went past Fort Denison on a tiny island out in the harbour, past Navy ships moored alongside the wharf, past bays full of yachts, more tiny islands, and point after hill after beach loaded with houses and apartments. After turning north with the harbour, the mouth of the inlet was before us, where big open ocean waves crashed against the cliffs on both headlands bordering the entrance. Manly is a cute little area on the north peninsula that includes pedestrian mall areas full of shops, big pretty beaches, and National Park land extending out to the inlet mouth. We took a walk east along the shore, past beaches where penguins supposedly nest, and up over headlands that once housed the Little Manly Gasworks plant and have since been converted into parks.

We met up with one of my sister's friends for a visit, and she took us over to the beach and then out for a drink to catch up since I last saw her three years ago. Before we knew it, it was getting dark, so we hopped back on the ferry and cruised back to the inner harbour and enjoyed night time views of the Opera House (despite the cold wind) since it's all lit up at night. It was a long walk back to the hostel, and after dinner we spent the rest of the evening doing a major blog update and some packing in preparation for our flight to Fiji tomorrow.

Seeing Sydney's postcard sights (Apr. 27/09 - Sydney, Australia)

2009-04-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Street runs straight north from our hostel to central Sydney Harbour, with park land on the east side for most of the way. Hyde Park is a block-wide green space that includes the Anzac War Memorial and a couple big fountains. The north end merges into a string of old government buildings that now house a hospital, a courthouse, and the mint. Next in line was the state library, which advertised an exhibit on Charles Darwin's work in Australia, so we went in to check it out. They had some pretty impressive displays, including some of Darwin's original journals and his first sketches of platypuses, wallabies, and endemic orchids. From there, we crossed into the Sydney Botanic Garden, which is a huge series of gardens that occupies a bunch of prime real estate right in downtown Sydney. Cockatoos, ibises, and big bats flew around in the trees as we wandered over to the waterfront. Much like the Stanley Park seawall at home, a paved walkway winds around just above the water, busy with walkers, bikers, and runners. We rounded MacQuarie Point and were faced with a perfect view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, just like you see on postcards.

After a picnic lunch in the gardens, we followed the seawall along and walked around the base of the Opera House, checking out the impressive architecture and gorgeous views back to the city and out to the harbour. The transit hub of Circular Quay was busy with commuters and filled with the oddly intriguing sounds of Aboriginal didgeridoo music mixed with techno beats. We wandered into the area called The Rocks, where there were views back to the Opera House and up to the bridge above, as well as glimpses into a waterfront building bustling with skinny women wearing tons of makeup that were working the catwalk for Australian Fashion Week. We checked out the giant nuts and steelwork of the bridge abutments and then meandered our way back to Circular Quay.

We had made plans to meet up with a long lost friend of mine from my UBC days, so we had some drinks at a bar overlooking the harbour in the sunshine before driving across the city to her neighbourhood at the one and only Bondi Beach. With only a little daylight left, we walked along the trail that connects the beaches, giving gorgeous views back down to the fluffy sands of Bondi and guys surfing the swells even as it was almost getting dark. (No wonder people get attacked by sharks here - dusk is prime feeding time for them!) The trail continues for a couple miles, but we wouldn't see much in the dark, so we turned around and went out for some fabulous Thai food instead. A quick bus ride later and we were back on familiar ground near the hostel, ready to call it a day after putting so many miles on our shoes today.

Back to hoofin' it (Apr. 26/09 - Sydney, Australia, mileage 120km)

2009-04-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

This morning we had to dig out our packs and cram all our stuff back into them after almost five weeks of road tripping. It was only a couple hours' drive to Sydney, so we took the scenic coastal route instead of the freeway. The Illawara Escarpment is a massive sandstone plateau that backs much of the coast south of here, and nearer to the Royal National Park that separates the developed coast from greater Sydney, the escarpment plunges straight into the ocean. For years, the road that traversed the base of the cliffs was subject to rockfalls and resulting closures and accidents. So in 2002, they started construction of the Sea Cliff Bridge, which now wraps around the cliffs, built out from the rock faces and way up above the ocean so the bridge will no longer be affected by rockfalls or wave erosion. It actually acts like a tourist attraction now, as the impressive arcs of bridge draw people to drive, walk, and bike across it. We did too, walking its length and watching people fishing and swimming off the rocky shelf below. At the right time of the year, the bridge is apparently a great spot for whale watching.

The road then winds its way through Royal National Park before rejoining the freeway and pretty soon easing into suburban Sydney. We successfully followed the signs to the airport and pulled back into the campervan rental place that we left just ten (long!) days ago. And that marked the end of our drive across Australia. The odometer told us that we covered an insane 7,041 kilometers in the last 33 days, and Ken will tell you that virtually every one of them was trying, with poorly maintained roads, excessively high speed limits, and drivers who are obsessed with tailgating and aggressive driving. It was quite a trip, and we definitely thought camping our way across the country was the best way to experience it. But for now, we're back to hoofin' it, with our giant packs and that fun feeling of not knowing where you're sleeping tonight!

So we left the rental place on foot with rough directions to get ourselves downtown to the hostel we had picked out. Three blocks away, we found a bus stop and barely stopped walking before a bus came. We were entertained by a drunk guy who sat down across from us and slurred on and on (at 4pm on a Sunday) about who knows what before he dropped his giant bottle of beer he was working on and spilled it all over the floor and the lady beside him before being kicked off the bus. We found our hostel easily and were relieved to drop our bags in our room - we'd forgotten how heavy those things are! Walking up Elizabeth Street, downtown Sydney looked almost identical to downtown Vancouver, but with no homeless people and an abundance of British pubs. We hid from the frigid winds in a pub for some dinner and then called it a night. Tomorrow: exploring Sydney!

Monster waves (Apr. 25/09 - Windang, Australia, mileage 208km)

2009-04-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

A beautiful sunrise was underway when we got up this morning, as the bright orange sun lit up the waves and the sea spray crashing on the rocks out on the point. It didn't take long for our neighbours to start rummaging around, as they all had Hobie Cats on the beach that appeared to be getting last minute tune-ups before heading out to some sort of race or regatta. This kept Ken entertained for a long time (he used to have one) while I made pancakes for breakfast. Soon we were on our way again, detouring first through the bush to get to a spot called Pebbly Beach where we had read that kangaroos like to hang out on the beach. We did see nine of them in a field on the drive in, but none were at the beach since we were probably too late in the morning. It was a pretty beach though (as usual!), so we watched a few big blue rollers come in before moving on.

A while later, we pulled over onto a headland at the town of Gerroa, with the intention of getting a view down onto the long stretch of sand that is Seven Mile Beach. Instead, the view was north toward a sandstone shelf that met the Pacific about 20ft above the water. A similar dropoff must happen just offshore, because the waves that were rolling in were some of the biggest we had ever seen, and the massive crash and spray that happened when they hit the rock shelf was insane. Some body boarders were playing out on the rollers against the adjacent headland, but eventually two crazy surfer guys showed up and walked out onto the shelf below us, contemplating the waves. Waves typically have a pattern, coming in groups of large and small amplitudes, so it was funny to watch these guys wait for the monster waves to pass (they would be pummelled against the rocks if they were in there with them), then start picking their way down the ledge (barefoot!) so they could be in the water before the next big one comes, but chicken out half way down and come scrambling back up with a huge wave right behind them. They did this a few times before eventually getting in and paddling out into the ocean, looking for their sweet spot to catch a wave. As they paddled out, a pod of dolphins came leaping out of the water not far away from them, then turning to swim parallel to shore, apparently playing in the surf. After watching for a while, we went back to the van and made some lunch. Not long after, one of the surfers came grumbling back to his car with half his surfboard under one arm and half under his buddy's. Ooops. Those big waves do mean business!

A ways up the road is Kiama, a town where rugged headlands and crescent beaches alternate along the coast as far as you can see in both directions. The town's claim to fame is Blowhole Point, where a tunnel and skylight eroded in the rocks of the headland cause huge plumes of water to be launched in the air when big waves roll in. We saw a few good spews despite the calm seas (the biggest one went up about 50 feet) but the photos on display showed storm surges blowing columns of water up that were higher than the adjacent lighthouse built up on top of the point! Very impressive. We didn't last long watching though, as the never fail screams and oooohs and aaaahhhhs that the watching crowd would say for every single wave (even the small ones without a spray of water) was almost unbearable!

With the afternoon running out and only an hour or so of driving between us and Sydney, we picked a seaside campsite and set up for the final time. One last walk on the beach, one last dinner by headlamp, and one last sleep in our home on wheels before we give it back tomorrow and find ourselves on our own with our packs once again.

Australia in a nutshell (Apr. 24/09 - Bateman's Bay, Australia, mileage 170km)

2009-04-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

As in most any national capital city, Canberra has a big museum that houses exhibits pertaining to virtually every aspect of the country's history, geography, and industry. We wanted to wander around for a few hours to learn more about the country we've been exploring for the last month, especially since we'll be leaving in a few days. The museum is located out on a peninsula on the lake, overlooking Capital Hill and the golden trees bordering the water. The main area we were interested in was about the Aboriginal peoples' history and how the human rights issues of the recent decades evolved and played out. The museum did a good job at portraying their race as they have lived for thousands of years before the arrival of the European settlers, right up to video footage of the government's apology to them several years ago (for separating families and causing widespread grief). Other interesting displays included colonization, early transportation, the mining industry, endemic wildlife, famous Australians' stories, native artwork, ceremonial costumes... the list goes on. It filled in a lot of the blanks we had been curious about and painted a well rounded picture of what Australia is all about.

Before making a run for the coast, we wanted to get ourselves to a high spot for a view down over Capital Hill and the geometrically laid out lines of Canberra. We ended up at Australia's War Memorial, and had a long view down Anzac Promenade to Parliament House and the hills beyond. It just so happens that tomorrow is Anzac Day, which is celebrated much like how Remembrance Day is at home. Seeing as this is the central war memorial in the nation's capital, it will obviously be the focus of big ceremonies taking place tomorrow morning. As a result, rows of bleachers and fencing were in place, security people were keeping a lookout, floral wreaths were being delivered in the back door, and tv cameras were already in place. There weren't too many people around, so it was actually a great time to visit. The grounds displayed a collection of tanks, guns, plaques, and commemorative statues relevant to many aspects of war, and inside the imposing granite building was a reflecting pool and walls covered with the names of those Australians who have died while serving their country. Much like the day we visited Westminster Abbey in London on Remembrance Day, it was moving to see all the poppies in place and to watch the people paying respects to their family members whose names were on the wall.

With only two days left with our van, we wanted to spend them at the coast, partially to get away from the frigid temperatures of the high country! So we ended up taking the same highway to Bateman's Bay that we came down a week ago, which puts us at a good spot to start back up the coast tomorrow. I don't think either of us could ever get tired of hearing the waves crashing ashore as you fall asleep...

The not-yet-snowy Snowy Mountains (Apr. 23/09 - Canberra, Australia, mileage 460km)

2009-04-28T05:49:00.000-07:00

A red smoky haze hung in the air as we packed up this morning, driving west along the eastern end of Ninety Mile Beach and then north along the lowest reaches of the Snowy River (yes, as in "The Man From Snowy River"). At the town of Orbost, we returned to the highway and looped back towards Cann River, which we passed through yesterday. There, we turned north onto a road that passes through the Snowy Mountains en route to Canberra. The country scenery made for a lovely drive, with little old single room schoolhouses still in use just off the road and groups of emus and kangaroos grazing in the fields. After a while, we crossed out of Victoria and back into New South Wales, where the country soon opened up into wide rolling hills dotted with little more than grazing sheep and golden poplar trees.

Near the town of Bombala, we followed the signs to a platypus reserve, which turned out to be a stretch of the Bombala River with a purpose-built viewing platform surrounded by grazing sheep. If it weren't for the sign on the road, nobody would ever find it since it was on a rough gravel road down the hill behind a dirt bike track and the local jockey club's horse racing track. It was a pretty little spot, with sunshine, colourful fall trees, and ducks splashing around in the river. We watched for quite a while to spot a platypus, but it was midday and they just didn't seem to be too active. So we had lunch and carried on, stopping again in the town of Bombala, where the same river meanders along the main drag. Apparently, platypus are seen there regularly, but again we weren't so lucky. We were lucky enough to get some great shots of a couple cockatoos that were playing around in the trees above us though!

We drove for an hour or so across the hills with views of the not-yet-snowy Snowy Mountains, enjoying the warm sun and the beautiful fall colours. It was starting to get dark as we neared Canberra, but we still had to get ourselves to the other side of the city to where the campgrounds are. Luckily, Canberra isn't a very big city (about 300,000 people), so there was no major rush hour to battle, but with lots of roundabouts and a crappy map, it made getting anywhere tough. It took a couple wrong turns and a couple episodes of bad instruction-giving to even get onto the right side of the lake, which separates the city in two. By the time we got to where our map said there was a campground (and then ten minutes past it...), it was dark and we were starving. Better directions from a gas station got us back to where we should have turned off, and eventually we found the campground. But as our luck would have it, they were full. Ten minutes down the highway though, we found another one and were quite happy to park it for the night knowing that a warm shower and hot supper were in our very near future!

More Victoria forest fires (Apr. 22/09 - Cape Conran National Park, Australia, mileage 170km)

2009-04-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

Part way back to the highway this morning, we took a little side trip to see the tiny settlement of Gipsy Point, a quiet spot on the water of Mallacoota Inlet. It was definitely peaceful, with just a few birds flying around the jetty, fish jumping in the water, and twelve lazy kangaroos grazing and lounging around on someone's front lawn.

We drove west through ongoing stands of forest, and passing in and out of several National Parka, State Forests, and Nature Reserves. Australia certainly has done a good job of setting aside lots of protected natural land! Following a tip from the guidebook, we turned onto a gravel road a Lind National Park for a scenic drive through the forest. Huge tree ferns and towering eucalypt trees dominated the forest, and we drove slowly to watch the kookaburras flying around and listen to the tree frogs making their distinctive "ping" sounds in the trees. Part way along there was a little picnic area, so we stopped and made some tea and read for a while in the sunshine - totally blissful in such a gorgeous spot (if you ignore the mosquitoes!).

From the highway, it wasn't very far to our turnoff for Cape Conran, where we thought we would spend the night. This is just about the southernmost point in Australia (Wilson's Promontory, a few hundred kilometers west, actually is), where a rugged rocky headland juts out into the wild sea. We found a campsite just steps from the beach and then headed out to explore. A group of school kids were getting a surfing lesson on the beach (the water is frigid here!), and big waves were ploughing into the beach from the Tasman Sea. A boardwalk had been built across the rough parts of the headland, which also served to protect a midden left by local Aboriginal people over 3000 years ago. When we looked back onto the coast behind us, we noticed a huge plume of red smoke rising from the forest about 20km to the east - a forest fire! The wind was carrying the smoke out to sea, and in less than 20 minutes it had stretched all the way across the sky. What was even more worrisome was the thick red smoke billowing in front of the sun directly inland from us. We couldn't see how far it was coming from, but it was 15km to the highway and we hadn't seen any sign of a fire between here and there half an hour previous. We were somewhat concerned, as it was quite windy and we were pretty vulnerable in a forested area trapped by the ocean. We couldn't help but think of the devastating forest fires that ripped through parts of Victoria not far from here just a couple months ago. But our suspicions were laid to rest when we asked a local guy hiking past, who confirmed that both were prescribed burns as part of the forest management program. Phew!

The rugged headland was impressive, with jagged metamorphic rocks spiked and folded away from the beach, bathed in an eerie orange light from the smoke, and with blue waves crashing over them. We took a bunch of photos, trying not to get soaked by the giant plumes of spray coming off the waves as they crashed onto the rocks.

Back at camp, we schemed with the map for a while to figure out how to spend our last few days of camping (a possum paid us a visit in the meantime!), deciding to head north tomorrow on a road that will take us inland a bit (via Canberra after all!) before rejoining the coast where we left off at Narooma. So that makes tonight our southernmost stop in Australia, at somewhere around 38° South - a looooong way from the 16° South we started at in Cairns!

Crossing into Victoria (Apr. 21/09 - Mallacoota, Australia, mileage 192km)

2009-04-28T05:20:00.000-07:00

The sun was out this morning as we continued south down the scenic coastal road. The headland behind our campground was impressive, with wildly folded metamorphic rocks, crashing blue waves, and deep enclosed tide pools refreshed by big waves that you could swim in on a hot day. At the town of Merimbula, we pulled in to find a bookstore since we needed to pick up a guidebook for Fiji - must start reading up since we'll be there in a week! We also stopped at the town of Eden for a beachside lunch stop and to see the place we had read stories about crazy encounters with whales. Apparently, the local Aboriginal people considered orcas to be ancestral beings, so when orcas would use the town's bay to herd and trap migrating humpback whales in the shallows, the people would beg the orcas to share their bounty by performing rites on the beach. Amazingly, the orcas would oblige, eating only the lips and tongue of the victim and leaving the rest behind. In the 1800s after the local whaling station was developed, orcas would approach the wharf to alert the whalers of nearby humpbacks, who would follow the orcas out and harpoon the humpback. As the deal went, they would anchor the carcass for the orcas overnight, returning the next morning to find only the lips and tongue missing, as the rest was for them. It seems like an unbelievable story, but it just might be true! Regardless, this is supposedly one of the best places to spot whales during their annual migration to and from Antarctica, as they round the southeastern tip of Australia here as they come from or head up the east coast. Too bad we're here at the wrong time of the year for that!

After an hour or so south on the highway, we passed a big sign welcoming us to Victoria - our third Australian state! With the day running out, we turned off toward the inlet town of Mallacoota, at the southeastern corner of Australia, where pelicans roamed and ours was pretty much the only campsite without a boat. This area is packed with National Parks, so tomorrow we'll make time to check a few of them out en route to points west. For now, we'll huddle around our camp stove like we do every night, cook some chicken and asparagus, and sprint back to the van after a hot shower to keep the cold fall night air outside. Brrrrrr - bring on Fiji!

Pretty bays and massive waves (Apr. 20/09 - Bermagui, Australia, mileage 50km)

2009-04-28T05:09:00.001-07:00

Stormy clouds just wouldn't give us a break this morning, so we turned our noses at them and went out to walk along the waterfront anyway. Good thing we were ready with rain gear, as we got soaked just a few minutes after leaving the van. The town is spread along a shallow inlet that twists its way to the ocean, taking beautifully crystal clear water with it. A few sailboats and pelicans hung out quietly on the water, but otherwise the place was deserted. We walked up to a headland near the inlet's entrance to the ocean to get a view out along the coast, and with dark storm clouds overhead and bright turquoise waves coming in, it made for a dramatic seascape. The massive waves were impressive - at least 10 or 15 feet high, and pounding the rocks so hard that there was a constant low rumble as if they were vibrating. There weren't any boats going out this morning, as the inlet entrance was met by these huge waves head on- that would not be fun in a little boat! Stairs led down to water level, where centuries of wave action had pounded a hole right through the headland, in a shape that looked very much like Australia. We watched the waves for a while and then bee-lined it for the van when the downpour increased. Maybe snubbing the storm clouds was a bad idea afterall!

The highway cut across some picturesque farmland perched on hillsides with the ocean far below. We took a detour through the tiny town of Central Tilba, which was a touristy collection of heritage buildings transformed into antique shops, gift emporiums, etc. We didn't need to cover a lot of ground today, so we claimed an ocean view spot in the town of Bermagui, just a few more minutes down the road. Much like Narooma, this place is on a shallow inlet too, with equally blue water and equally big pelicans. We treated ourselves to lunch at a favourite local fish and chips place on the water, then walked it off for a couple hours during a pleasant stretch of sunshine to check out the town, the beach, and the big frothy waves rolling in from the east.

Roadkill safari (Apr. 19/09 - Narooma, Australia, mileage 405km)

2009-04-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

The kangaroos were out in droves when we hit the road first thing this morning, as we counted at least 25 of them before reaching the paved road we turned off of yesterday. We followed the Abercrombie Highway south for a couple hundred kilometers, which traversed the hummocky highlands, giving us the feeling that we were driving across the top of the world. You could see hills and stormy weather way off in the distance, and most of the land bordering the road was forested or cleared for herds of sheep and cattle. Much more sheep than cattle in fact - thousands of them!

Our roadkill safari started with a large brown furry blob on the side of the road that we eventually figured was a wombat - the first one we had seen. A while later there was another one (also dead), then another (dead)... and no less than eleven dead wombats by the end of the day. They must be nocturnal and abundant to have odds that bad of making it across the road. Too bad we haven't seen a live one yet!

At one spot on the road, there was a field with a patch so full of white cockatoos that it looked like an isolated patch of squawking snow. We tried to get closer for a better look, but they few at the first sense of us, making a white noisy cloud that simply transferred to the nearby trees. After a few minutes, they returned to eat grass in the next field, and repeated this pattern with our next (apparently less stealthy) attempt. We guessed that there were at least 300 of them - surprising, considering how cold the weather was up there. Who knew cockatoos hung out in areas that could have snow in a month or two!

Part four of our wildlife-spotting day came when an odd looking creature amidst a field of grazing sheep turned out to be an emu! Another score on the Aussie critters list. It looked a lot like an ostrich, but with a small head and shaggy feathers. But when it saw us and took off running, it totally looked like an ostrich. Later, two massive hawks flew out of the grass by the road, bringing our wildlife total for the day to about 313!

Without many wide spots to pull over on the road, we eventually borrowed a wide driveway entrance to whip up some sandwiches. No sooner had we pulled out our chairs, an old guy in a pick-up pulled in and parked beside us. We thought he was going to give us hell for parking there, but instead he wanted to know how we liked our van since he has a similar one (pointing down the driveway). He told us all the good camping spots down the road, which scenic routes to take, and even invited us in for tea and to camp in his driveway! Talk about friendly! And we thought we were in trouble.

Wanting to get to the coast and away from the cold autumn weather, we drove through a few quiet little country towns lined with coloured oak trees and full of old stone buildings, each with the requisite pub, hardware store, and horse racing track. At the highway junction, we were only about an hour's drive from Canberra (Australia's capital), but opted to see the beach over the chilly capital. The rain persisted all the way to the coast, where we turned south and bee-lined it for the town of Narooma, hoping to make it before dark. Pastures dotted with cows, horses, and llamas were glowing in the pretty late afternoon sun, and after passing lakes full of prawn farms and show grounds full of jump courses, we made it to our campground of choice just in time for sunset. It's definitely much warmer down here than it was up at 1200m, and here's hoping that the rain showers lift in the morning since we have a beach to explore!

Vistas galore (Apr. 18/09 - Kangagra-Boyd National Park, Australia, mileage 140km)

2009-04-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

We made our way west this morning along the Great Western Highway along the plateau, taking a couple side roads for a few more vistas of the Blue Mountains. Evan's Lookout gave us a huge perspective north toward the massive cliffs and valleys soaking up the morning sun. A bit farther along, Govett's Leap Lookout gave a nice view of Bridal Veil Falls, which cascaded off the top of the plateau and dropped so far down that much of the water was blown sideways by the wind before it hit the plunge pool way below.

The highway switched back down a draw into the Hartley Valley off the west side of the plateau. Farm land occupied the rolling hills in the valley bottom, and there were some nice views back to the cliffs below the plateau we had just come down from. We turned off the highway and followed a winding, narrow road up, up, up to the top of a mountain and then all the way down again. At the bottom was the Jenolan Caves, which we had seen signs to and heard of tours going there. Our first surprise was the massive black cave right in front of us that the road led right into, and the second was the masses of people and buses and stores that were everywhere, in the middle of nowhere! We had no idea how a huge bus could manage that road we just drove, but they obviously do! If the parking lots all hadn't been full, we probably would have stopped to check out the caves and the natural bridge formations. So up we went again, looking down on the random Disneyland in the boonies below. On top of the plateau, the road straightened just before we took a turnoff into Kanangra-Boyd National Park. The gravel road varied from smooth and fast to pot-holed and washboard, making the 30km drive seem pretty long. Hiking trails took off on both sides of the road into the open eucalypt forest, some intended to provide access into the bush for fire control. In the 40 minutes it took to drive to the end of the road, we saw at least eleven kangaroos hopping across the road or grazing in the trees. A few even posed long enough to get a decent photo!

There's a photo in the Lonely Planet guidebook that was obviously taken somewhere near the Blue Mountains that shows a guy standing out on a precarious cliff that is undercut below him, with blue hills disappearing into the distance behind. Just out of curiosity, I had asked a lady at a parks office where it was taken, and she pointed us to a hike in this park. We were planning to go by anyway, so we figured a night in the bush might be fun. A trail left the parking lot at the end of the road and wandered over to the top of a wide plateau whose surface was covered with patchy low shrubs and eroded sandstone paths. A few minutes along, there it was - the point from the photo! Ken edged his way out onto it while I took some photos of him, capturing how tiny we really are in the big scheme of things. The sun came out for a minute to illuminate the cliff face below him, and making for an incredible view in all directions. Standing within a few feet of a cliff edge that drops over fifteen hundred feet straight down really gets your adrenaline pumping!

There was a Parks campground a few miles back up the road, so we made our way back there and counted another 13 kangaroos along the way. The kookaburras sand (laughed?) while we cooked dinner and then we hibernated when the frigid night air made sitting outside almost unbearable!

Blue Mountains splendour (Apr. 17/09 - Katoomba, Australia)

2009-04-28T04:06:00.000-07:00

Did we mention how friggin' cold it is up here? As soon as the sun got low in the sky last night, the temperature dropped and we were left scrambling to put on all our warm-ish clothes. The sunshine first thing this morning helped, but a drink from a water bottle left outside overnight suggests that it was only a few degrees from freezing. Brrrrrr! But the sun warmed things up quickly, and by the time we had picked a hiking trail and filled a backpack, we were down to only two layers of clothes. The trail we would do today is a loop that skirts the cliff edge, descends into the valley, and comes back up where we started. We had our first vista within a few minutes' walk from the campground, and the view was spectacular. Orange sandstone cliffs dropped away on either side of us, opening up into the wide Jamieson Valley below. Thick rainforests blanketed the entire valley, and distant cliffs fringed similar plateaus way off on the horizon. It really was stunning. Every few minutes along the trail, there would be another lookout, giving a slightly different view from the last. Soon we had views of Katoomba Falls cascading down over the sandstone ledges, and dozens of noisy cockatoos flew from tree to tree on the canopy far below. After about an hour, the trail became wide, paved, and busy with tourists who clearly had no intention of venturing anywhere with mud or stairs (the high heels were our first clue). Then we knew where we were - Echo Point. This spot happens to have an amazing view out over the entire valley, and it has been spiffed up with pavement, benches, interpretive signs, wheelchair ramps, etc. Oh, and a busy tourist information centre (aka souvenir shop) and tour bus parking lot. We did our best to ignore the crowds long enough to take in the view, but after getting run down by rude people and accidentally spat on by a loud woman trying to organize a group photo.

Most people go as far as a walkway over to the Three Sisters (three pillars of rock that have been eroded out of a ridge), but we carried on along the trail with just the occasional hiker and a multitude of lookouts. When we reached the correct gully, we turned downhill and descended the endless steps that would take us down below the cliff face. The walk was spectacular, as the creek running through the gorge tumbled over a series of small waterfalls, surrounded by huge leafy ferns and boulders covered in moss. The tall trees shaded the gorge completely, making it unnervingly dark despite it being only noon. We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the steep descent, where the Leura Forest opened up amidst house-size chunks of rocks that were once attached to the cliffs far above.

The trail traversed the slope beneath the cliffs but above the valley bottom, giving us occasional views of people at the lookouts way above us and the sprawling plateaus beyond the valley. We spotted a few cockatoos in the big eucalyptus trees around us, and at one point I was lucky enough to have a lyrebird walk out onto the trail right in front of me. I had read about these birds and really wanted to see one - they're rare, endemic, and beautiful. This one was about the size of a turkey, with huge long tail feathers that curve out behind him and each had a different colour and pattern. I wasn't quick enough with the camera, but it was still pretty cool to have seen one!

(from Wikipedia)

When we heard distant shouting from above, it was obvious that we were underneath Echo Point, as people were shouting to see if they could hear an echo. Sun started to filter down onto the trail just as we reached the gully beneath our starting point, where the daunting Furber Steps began. It was over 1000 steps to the top, but the climb was easy and so scenic. Side trails led to lush little grottoes, ledges of sandstone hung over the trail like a ceiling, and sketchy stairs were chipped out of the cliff faces for a look-down-and-you-might-puke view of the whole valley. It was just awesome. Katoomba Falls rumbled just off the trail, and a few minutes later we could hear street traffic on the road above. Just like that, we emerged just in time to soak up the last of the afternoon sun. It was a great day of hiking, with views you just can't get anywhere else!

ps: A month from today, we will be home!

Made it to Sydney! (Apr. 16/09 - Katoomba, Australia, mileage 280km)

2009-04-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

Since our original contract had today as our return date to drop off our campervan in Sydney, we basically had to show up so we could swap with our new reservation and keep going. The highway south of Belmont was pretty dull, until it merged with the Pacific Highway and ploughed across several national park areas that are supposedly full of Aboriginal rock art and engravings. The Sydney city traffic began over 30km from the inner harbour area, which had us thinking that it would take hours to get across town. Luckily, the van rental place was right beside the airport, which made navigation easy. The shortest route was actually to go straight through the heart of the city, through the Harbour Tunnel that passes under the central waterway, directly under the Harbour Bridge. A slick system of signs, tolls, and lane control had us zooming toward the tunnel with glimpses of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House just beyond. We will definitely be exploring the city with the couple days we have between returning the van and flying to Fiji!

We managed to find the rental place without any trouble, and we lucked out by being able to simply pay the daily rental costs and carry on in our good old van! We feared we might have to stay overnight in a hotel just to claim a different (but identical) van tomorrow, plus go through all the insurance stuff again. Phew! So we were off, even with a car wash and fresh sheets and towels to boot.

One of the areas we had been looking forward all along to visiting was the Blue Mountains. Located just over an hour west of Sydney, the national park is a series of sandstone plateaus that have been eroded into steep gullies and sheer cliffs, with rainforests, waterfalls, and epic lookouts all over the place. The hiking looks to be fantastic, and the scenery gorgeous with the fresh mountain air and hazy blue horizon (thanks to particles of tea tree oil emitted by the gum trees). So we made our way west along with a zillion other vehicles, stopping to stock up on groceries along the way. The town of Katoomba is perched on the edge of the plateau in the middle of the park, and it has definitely capitalized on day trippers coming from Sydney, with a main street packed with all the antique shops, gourmet restaurants, souvenir stores, and bakeries that tourists love. In just a few minutes, we saw signs for two separate scenic cable car routes, an inclined railway, interpretive walks, bus tours, and botanical gardens. Point us to a hiking trail and we'll be happy! Free of admission charges and mobs of people - perfect!

Hunter Valley vineyards drive-by (Apr. 15/09 - Belmont, Australia, mileage 238km)

2009-04-28T03:37:00.000-07:00

There was about an hour worth of pretty country roads between us and the Hunter Valley this morning, so we savoured the peace of the backroads before suddenly being faced with civilization again at the big town of Maitland. Without much of a game plan for the day, we decided to drive around the vineyards for a while and decide later if we wanted to visit any one inparticular. The countryside, as expected, was beautiful. Gently rolling fields were striped with grape vines, with ponds, homesteads, and distilleries sprinkled across the landscape. Much like the Stellenbosch wine valley we toured way back in South Africa, some of the wineries had massive, sprawling display buildings, all boasting unique architecture and obviously expensive products, including boutique hotel accommodation and exclusive restaurants in addition to the wine itself! It was fun to drive around and actually recognize some of the names we've enjoyed on our dinner table at home.

For a better vantage point, we followed a narrow little road up past some beautiful homes to a ridge that overlooked the entire valley and the countryside all the way to the coast. It was a quiet and breezy spot for a picnic lunch, and we even dug out our chairs and read for an hour or so - because we can! We weren't feeling the desire to see inside any of the wineries, so we drove back down and followed the road back to the coast. Hoping for a campsite on the beach, we had to try three different places before finding one that didn't charge a ridiculous price. The third one was doable, so we set up and went for a walk down to Nine Mile Beach to watch the surfers do their thing until the sun went down.

A hidden gem (Apr. 14/09 - Dungog, Australia, mileage 300km)

2009-04-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Driving down the highway this morning, we saw a field with a few horses grazing in the morning sunshine, accompanied by about a dozen kangaroos! Wild and free to roam about as they wish, we figured that they are probably common and somewhat benign, just like deer are for us at home. It was a very Australian sight! We didn't go far down the highway before turning off toward the coast again, on a supposedly scenic drive that would follow the coast instead of the monotonous inland route. After passing through a couple touristy holiday towns and some low forest on an isthmus dividing a big lake from the ocean, we entered Myall Lakes National Park. Much of the park comprises lakes and sand dunes accessible by 4WD only, but a spot called Seal Rocks sounded like a worthwhile detour. We were definitely not disappointed - the first beach was a long arc of golden sand with crystal clear waves rolling in. The sun was finally out and so were the beach lovers - body boarding, building sand castles, and cliff jumping off the rugged rocks on the edge of the southern headland. The water was calm enough that lots of little kids were out splashing around, and some of the big kids were surfing the breaks off the headland. It really was a gorgeous spot.

We had read of a lighthouse somewhere around there, so we carried on, past a huge stretch of perfect beach, then parked on the shady headland at the start of the trail up to the lighthouse. Before heading up, we made some lunch and were surprised to see two dingoes march out of the bushes into the parking lot, clearly interested in what we were doing. They're such handsome dogs, but they can be dangerous and we had no idea how unpredictable they might be, so we quickly put all the food away when they started to approach. With some yelling and arm waving, they retreated to the bushes but never did go very far from the cars.

A trail led up to the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, which was built in 1875 to help reduce the number of ships that were crashing into Seal Rocks below. The grounds were beautiful, with a bunch of lighthouse keepers' cottages painted white that glowed against the bright blue sky. You can even rent them out like hotel rooms - for over $300 per night! A steep path led up to the lighthouse itself, which offered spectacular views out to the waves crashing over the rocks and the wide open ocean beyond. Hidden on the south side of Sugarloaf Point below the lighthouse was a stunning strip of perfect sand and rolling surf known as Lighthouse Beach. Being protected in the park and a fair walk from the parking lot, it is rarely visited and perfectly pristine. The teal green of the water as seen from above was too tempting, so we followed the path down over the sand dunes to the water. The emerald green colour of the incoming swells was spectacular, and the water was so clear that you could see right through a wave before it broke. We splashed, wandered, and took pictures for the afternoon on what we might call the best beach we've seen on our whole trip!

Back on the road, we took another scenic drive west toward Hunter Valley, which is famous for being Australia's premier wine region. The road curved over and around hills and rolling farmland, past kangaroos hopping through the fields and an odd 8-storey house built on a hill that is apparently Australia's highest residence. Farms had horses, cattle, and sheep, some with lily ponds full of ducks and others with wide stands of eucalyptus forest. We came around a sharp corner to see a large bull standing on the wrong side of his fence, with a crumbled section of fence behind him where he had clearly tried his luck. After we zoomed by him, our consciences kicked in and we turned around to tell the owners that their best was out and looking for trouble. There was nobody home, but we did see two kangaroos by the house that each had an adorable little joey sticking out of their pouches! Too bad we didn't get a picture. Anyway, we couldn't try to herd him since there was a cattle guard over the driveway, so we just had to leave him there and hope he stays off the road. Hitting that guy at 80km/hr would be bad news.. . (for him and the car!). It was getting dark, so we lucked out and found a mini campground beside the road in a little country town of Dunog, where you had to register at the local gas station before picking a spot. It actually didn't surprise me that the lady at the gas station knew the people who own the escaped bull, so he will be rescued tonight after all. A pretty pink and gold sunset was accompanied by the nightly kookaburra chorus, marking the end of another wonderful day on the road.

Surfer dudes in training (Apr. 13/09 - Port MacQuarie, Australia)

2009-04-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Since surfing is one of the highlights of Australia's east coast, we wanted to give it a try while we're here. Neither of us had ever tried it before, though Ken has done lots of snowboarding and windsurfing - me, not so much... so we signed up with a local surf school and met down at the beach near our campground first thing this morning. I was admittedly nervous, with the big waves reminding me of some nasty spills as a kid in Hawaii and a subconscious fear of landing on what used to be an easily injured shoulder. It was time to suck it up and just DO IT! It was just us and two teenaged sisters in the class, taught by a young guy who once coached the Aussie national surfing team (who knew they had one?!). We put on wetsuits and hauled boards down to the beach (light, soft foam learners' boards) and then got straight into the lesson. We were told about currents, safety stuff, anatomy of the board, and then the simple steps in catching a wave. With that, he sent us out into the water to give it a try, hopping up onto the board on your stomach just before the wave reaches you, then paddling until it picks yo up and speeds you effortlessly right to the beach. It was so easy and extremely fun - we could understand why there were so many kids out there on body boards doing just that all day long. But we wanted to surf, so that requires learning to stand up. On the sand, it all seemed so easy - but we soon found out how hard it is in the water! Catching a wave is easy, but then it takes a second to find your balance, get your hands in the right spot so you don't push the nose down, get your toes planted to push up, then heave up with your arms and feet all at once to lift your butt in the air and bring your legs up underneath you all in one smooth motion (yeah, right!), all the while staying straight and not letting the wave pass you. All of that on a floating chunk of styrofoam flying across the ocean with water spraying all over the place makes for quite the ordeal! But somehow I managed to get up (kind of) on my second try, albeit only for a second or two, before crashing. Ken had a bit more trouble. Ok, he had a lot more trouble. For being such a great snowboarder, he was surprisingly clumsy! He did get up a few times for a few seconds each, so that counts as success I think! We had almost two hours to practice, and I was able to get the hang of it well enough to ride the waves all the way to the beach until the board was flat on the sand. There might have been a happy dance or two! In between the successes, there were many, many failures - losing your balance and flying off the board backwards, overshooting the initial hop onto the board and sliding off the other side, colliding with other surfers, getting ploughed over by giant waves that pummel you into the sand, slamming knees and elbows into the bottom in deceptively shallow water, and even getting your ankles so tangled in the cord (that attaches one foot to the board) that it trips you and you fall flat on your face. You get the idea! There were definitely times when I would look over and see Ken completely underwater with an upside down board, and I had a couple spills that I really hoped nobody saw. We were exhausted by the time it was over, as walking back out after each attempt against powerful waves and a strong undertow is a lot of work! No wonder all these surfer guys are in such good shape! We had an incoming tide and an incoming storm to make things tricky, which meant that waves started coming from two directions at once and a strong longshore drift carried us along the beach without us noticing. We all had sand burns on our shins and bruises on our knees and elbows, plus a couple cuts and scrapes as a souvenir. It really was a lot of fun, and we agreed to consider renting boards at a beginner-friendly beach down the road to practice some more one day. The rain was pounding down as we walked back to the campground, where we warmed up and relaxed for a while and did our best to celebrate Easter with hot crossed buns and a mini Easter egg hunt around the camp site.

Just down the street is a koala rehabilitation centre, where we had heard that tours are run each afternoon. We braved the rain, which came down harder and harder, to see what the facility is all about. Basically, it's a hospital where sick, injured, and orphaned koalas are nursed back to health before being released back into the wild. The grounds are covered with a variety of big trees that the koalas love to climb and feed from, many of which have been planted to increase their habitat. Inside, the center has an intensive care unit and an operating room where procedures are performed to treat things like broken bones, dog attack wounds, tick infestation, and eye surgeries. Outside are a bunch of fenced habitats where animals on the mend can be 'dehumanized' with trees to climb, leaves to eat, and minimal human contact. The center currently has only eight patients (the fewer the better, really!), but they typically get 200 to 300 admissions each year. It was interesting to walk around with a staff member and learn the history of each bear, their current stage of treatment, and release plans. Some of them are in the final stages of pre-release, while others are old in age or battling terminal diseases (like Chlamydia) that forces them to be cared for permanently at the center (or the Port MacQuarie Hilton, as they call it!). It was feeding time when we were there, so we got to watch these adorable little guys come out of their nearly eternal sleep to receive special formulas fed by eye droppers. It was touching to watch them and hear their stories, like the older female that was admitted first for tick infestation, then a year later for severe dog attack wounds, and again just a few months ago for debilitating arthritis. She's well past the average life expectancy now, and they don't expect her to survive much longer. It's sad to hear the stories, yet good to see how much the hospital has done to help these little guys. And considering that the place is run almost entirely on volunteer help and with donated money and supplies, I think they have done an incredible job and will hopefully help to keep koala bears off the endangered species list.

Searching for a surf beach (Apr. 12/09 - Port MacQuarie, Australia, mileage 250km)

2009-04-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

Since we have four days left on our van rental before having to return it in Sydney (though we're having so much fun we've re-rented another one for ten more days after that), and there's not much distance between here and there, we wanted to find a beachy spot to stay for a couple of days and try our hand at learning to surf. There were a few beautiful sounding spots in the next stretch of coast that sounded lovely, so we picked one and headed that way.

The rain hadn't even threatened us all morning, and as we pulled into the town of Kempsey, it was bordering on hot. There's a little roadside place called Fredo's Pies, which is known for its homemade meat pies - even the Lonely Planet recommends stopping there. It just happened to be lunch time when we drove by, so we had to check it out. The outside is randomly decorated with statues of Marilyn Monroe, and inside is a massive selection of freshly made meat pies. There are over 50 flavours - from normal ones like steak & kidney or chicken & gravy to odd ones like chicken satay, crocodile, or emu. We stuck with a couple tried and true flavours and were definitely not disappointed.

Just past Kempsey, we turned toward the beachy town of Crescent Head, where longboard surfing is still all the rage and some of the best breaks in all of Australia are found. Apparently, everyone else in the state had the same idea as us, as the campgrounds were packed full. We got directions to the next nearest campgrounds, which took us down a horrible potholed gravel road (yeah, yeah, we broke the no gravel roads rule) before emerging at a lookout over a gorgeous beach. A minute later, we came across a mob of people camping at a dumpy little free spot where we would've had to run around naked with a joint in our hand to fit in if we wanted to stay there. No thanks. A real campground was just down the road, but they wanted $50 to camp there - I don't think so! So we retraced our steps all the way back to the highway and went to Plan C. The next spot was Port MacQuarie, which sounded like a bigger town worthy of a couple days' stay. The first campground we checked wanted $60 for a site (unbelievable!) and we started to lose hope with that ongoing trend. But stop number two was a success, charging normal prices for decent spots just a short walk from the beach. Just as the pouring rain was starting up again, we were pleased to find we had company - a koala sleeping in a tree right above our van.

Rain, rain, go away (Apr. 11/09 - Coffs Harbour, Australia, mileage 320km)

2009-04-13T01:37:00.000-07:00

We were eager to get going this morning, as our hippy neighbours and their perma-junk yard of a trailer and their car with an axel ripped out, dumpy toys and random crap strewn all over the place, nasty dreadlocks and two screaming toddlers (who can blame them?), it was more than we could take. Is smoking pot at 7am in front of a baby illegal? Anyway, the road beckoned. We opted for the scenic route to the coast, through a couple towns so small that we couldn't decide if we had driven through them or not. The narrow road snaked its way along ridges and past macadamia plantations before emerging at the one and only Byron Bay. Unfortunately, coastal rain clouds had opened up, dumping heavy rain on the hordes of tourists that wandered the streets and were headed to and from the beach. On a normal day, this looked like a lovely, albeit touristy, spot, with its wide beaches and rocky headland topped with an old lighthouse. It also didn't help that it was not only a long weekend, but a long weekend with the Byron Bay International Blues Music Festival, attracting tons more people and international musicians. We blame them for the rain - depressing weather for bluesy music. So we skipped the hike around the cape we had planned and instead did a drive-by to see the lighthouse and the easternmost point in continental Australia, then bee-lined it for points south.

The rain was incessant, pounding the highway so hard that it was hard to see out the windshield and hydroplaning was an issue. We cruised straight through a couple of towns we might otherwise have stopped at, but eventually it let up just in time for a lunch stop at a rest area. It just wasn't our day, apparently, as half way through preparing lunch we were swarmed by more mosquitos than I had ever seen in one place in my life, and the rain started up suddenly, soaking us and our sandwiches. We took a detour to see a little fishing town and eventually stopped at Coffs Harbour for the day. This place is busy with tourists, surfers, and people who have come to see the supposedly famous giant banana statue. Between the giant shopping mall and the beach, we found a campground that charged ridiculous prices but was almost full - likely the same scenario would be found at the other places in town. So we coughed up the $30 for a patch of grass and navigated our way through the campground that looked like it needed its own postal code. Surrounding the water slides, trampolines, tennis courts, and playgrounds, were permanent residents' cabins and network of trailers, tents, campers, motorhomes, and tent trailers so massive that we wondered why people would come here for their vacation. Why leave your house to camp within three feet of your closest 1000 neighbours? Luckily, our patch of grass was in the far corner of the grounds between the last two vacant sites. Phew! Just as it was getting dark, a bus pulled up and unloaded a bunch of 20-somethings racing around setting up brown canvas tents while the staff set up tables for dinner. It reminded us a lot of Africa and how much we don't miss those smelly tents!

The view from inside a waterfall is rather... wet! (Apr. 10/09 - Nimbin, Australia, mileage 137km)

2009-04-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

The sun was shining this morning as we cooked pancakes in the park, much to the interest of the local birds. Magpies were bold enough to come right up to us looking for food, while the pretty songbirds and rainbow lorikeets flew over but kept their distance. Even a couple red parrots and noisy cockatoos paid us a visit. Full of maple syrupy goodness, we walked over to the nearby lookout at the top of Purling Brook Falls, where a stream plummets over 600 feet off a sheet cliff into the rainforest below. The whole area is a series of high plateaus created by volcanic lava flows and slowly eroded over time by the massive amounts of rain that the plateau generates thanks to its height and proximity to the ocean. We intended on hiking the loop trail that skirts the top of the gorge, descends down into it, crosses below the falls, and then climbs back up the other side. But the recent heavy rains have washed out part of the trail on the east side, so we were limited to a down-and-back route on the west side. From the top, the views out over the rainforested valleys were impressive. After the trail hugged the edge of the cliff, it zigzagged down into the forest, where strangler figs, epiphytes, tree ferns, and palms thrived, even at almost 30° south latitude. When the roaring became louder and mist started to rain down, we knew we were close to the base of the falls. The trail emerged at the plunge pool and even continued right behind the falls, so we bundled up in rain gear and learned what it was like to be inside a massive wall of water pounding from almost 700 feet up. It was a pretty awesome (and wet!) experience. We followed the trail down to some scenic pools that would have made a lovely swimming hole on a hot day, then got in a workout hiking all the way back up to the top.

(can you see Ken to the left of the waterfall?)

We pulled into a couple more lookouts on our way out of the park, one of which gave an amazing view all the way out to Surfer's Paradise. A couple little pademelons (marsupials, like wallabies) bounded across the road in front of us as we drove north, down the ridge we came up, and then south down the pretty Numinbah Valley. We passed through a few small towns with names like Uki and Dum Dum before finding a campground at the base of Mount Warning, which is the huge volcanic plug that fed the massive shield volcano that dominated this landscape 23 million years ago. It was clearly a popular long weekend spot, as the sole campground was overflowing with campers and tents and kids and people in a way that reminded us of Pemberton Festival! The hippy town of Nimbin was much less busy, so we found a spot easily and relaxed for the rest of the day while flocks of rainbow lorikeets sang from the trees and kookaburras hung out on a fire hydrant, ready to sing their nightly laughing cackle.

Since when is the rainforest so cold? (Apr. 9/09 - Springbrook National Park, Australia, mileage 205km)

2009-04-13T01:07:00.001-07:00

To continue the trend of having major national holidays following us wherever we go, it just so happens that today marks the start of the Easter holidays in Australia, where employees get a four day weekend and school kids get a whopping ten days off. Great for them, not so great for us! Campgrounds fill up, traffic increases, gas prices go up... c'est la vie. We were on the fence as to whether we would go into central Brisbane to check out the city, but between the expensive parking, the size of the city (needing several days to do it justice), and the hoards of people that will be trying to leave this afternoon, we opted to just wave at it as we continued south, ahead of the rush.

The famous Gold Coast begins just south of Brisbane, where a 40km stretch of prime surf beach is virtually lined with towering skyscrapers, busy bars/clubs/restaurants, and is busy year round. Surfer's Paradise is basically the worst part of it (or best, depending on your perspective!), but we wanted to see what it was like so we veered off the freeway to check it out. It was an overcast and sporadically rainy day, so only the hardcore surfers and swimmers were playing in the waves, and not a single string bikini or dark brown tan was in sight. We soon realized where everyone was when we detoured into a shopping mall to pick up a new memory card... The town wasn't deserted after all! The major landmark for this stretch of coast is the "Q1" tower, a 77 storey skyscraper where you can pay $20 for a view from the top. Real estate listings in the lobby showed newish 900sqft apartments with stunning coastal views for about $400,000 Canadian... not bad actually, compared to prices at home!

The beachy towns sprawled continuously down the coast until we decided to turn inland and head back to the interior. Springbrook National Park is up on a plateau about 30km from the coast, comprising rainforests, waterfalls, hiking trails... our kind of stuff. We were over half way there when we found out the road was closed (not sure how we missed all the signs!) and the detour ended up getting us thoroughly lost in a town we weren't even supposed to be in, where a gas station clerk told us to "wing it" since the directions to get where we were going were too complicated! So we did, and we winged it right. The road skirted a big reservoir and then climbed steeply up onto a razorback ridge that was barely wide enough for the two lane road, dropping off steeply on both sides. At one point, we drove into a literal wall of rain, and the temperature dropped ten degrees. We claimed a spot at the park's campground, whipped up some dinner, and then pulled out all our warm clothes to try and stay warm. We're probably so accustomed to smoking hot weather by now that "cool" feels freezing, but when you wished you had a touque and gloves, that's a bit much! Let's hope the rainforest walks tomorrow are worth it!

Two for two (Apr. 7/09 - Brisbane, Australia, mileage 104km)

2009-04-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

As our luck would have it, the skies were clear and sunny this morning, so we drove over to a lookout point where we had a huge vista out over the spectacular Glass House Mountains. The dozen or so spires/mountains/humps that jut up out of the coastal plains are the remnants of 25 million year old volcanoes. Some remain as narrow vertical towers of rock, while others are modest lumps blanketed with forest. We picked a trail that sounded appropriate and headed for the trailhead, passing fields of pineapples and macadamia trees along the way. The trail meandered for two hours through a variety of forests - pine, scrubby oak, and bare eucalyptus trees amidst stumps and grasses that suggested the passing of a recent forest fire. We kept an eye out for black cockatoos and grey kangaroos, but no luck. The trail climbed up to a lookout point where rangers scan the landscape for forest fires, giving us a fantastic view of the land below. It was a beautiful, peaceful walk that was rounded off nicely with a picnic in the parking lot.

Continuing south, we passed Steve Irwin's famous Australia Zoo, which he and his foundation have developed into a major conservation and education center for Australian wildlife. We ended up being already surprisingly close to Brisbane, where we navigated our way to a family relative's house for yet another visit. We had to double check that we had the address right when we stopped, as the matching house was gorgeous and massive - not at all what we expected! Our little camper van looked pretty ridiculous parked in front of their multimillion dollar house, but they were so welcoming that it didn't matter. We were spoiled with a spectacular home cooked dinner (we're two for two now!), wine, an amazing shower, a monster load of clean laundry, and lots of play time with their awesome Dalmation, Connor. So once again, we get to sink into a cozy bed that's not full of mosquitos or small enough to smash your head into the ceiling when you sit up. Gotta love this "camping" stuff!

Digging out the rain gear (Apr. 7/09 - Maleny, Australia, mileage 110km)

2009-04-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

There's a small volcanic dome that forms a small mountain half an hour south of Noosa, which we decided to climb for a view out over the coast. The sign at the bottom said it would take two hours return, but after only 25 minutes of hiking, we were out on the exposed top of the dome and within minutes of the summit. The views from the windswept peak were impressive - south to the next town, southwest to the highlands we were bound for next, and north up the coast to Noosa. You could even hear the waves crashing way down below. Peregrin falcons floated and dived off the sides of the dome, and strange vegetation like rare she-oak trees and what we affectionately call "toilet brush flowers" or "corn on the cob flowers" grew all over the hill. On the top, we met a local guy whose brother is one of the many Aussie lifties working at Whistler/Blackcomb - small world! After soaking in all the views, we picked our way back down and continued south on the highway.

After a while, we turned west and climbed steeply up to the town of Mapleton, perched on the edge of the plateau that juts up over 500m above sea level, with fantastic views down to the green hills below. We followed the crest south, through the cute little town of Montville, which was once named Razorback for the startlingly narrow ridge the town is perched on, dropping off steeply on both sides. Heritage buildings, antique shops, and fudge emporiums had the streets busy with tourists getting a head start on their Easter vacations. As we passed through, the rain clouds began to dump on us, and the air became cold enough to need our fleeces and pants from the bottom of our bags! A few minutes later was the town of Maleny, where we dropped in to visit a long time friend of my Mom's. They treated us to an amazing home cooked dinner (our first one in six months!) and even let us crash inside to avoid the mosquitos and the incessant rain that has been coming down all day. Our fingers are crossed that the clouds will lift tomorrow, as the scenery just south of here is supposed to be stunningly beautiful - especially the area within Glass House Mountains National Park - where we hope to do some hiking tomorrow.

The story behind ginger beer (Apr. 4/09 - Hervey Bay, Australia, mileage 164km)

2009-04-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

*** Note: This day's entry is out of order- should go two days earlier! Oops! ***

Back when we first arrived in Cairns and Ken was suffering from stomach troubles, he ordered a bottle of ginger beer, hoping the ginger and the fizz would be soothing. Having never even heard of the stuff before, I had a taste and was very impressed, which says a lot coming from a soft drink non-drinker. It's sort of like the gingerale you can get at home but with the potency of root beer and a strong, zingy flavour of fresh ginger. Ken had tasted it years ago in the states and was now instantly hooked again. It's called Bundaberg Ginger Beer, and our fridge has had a stash of it ever since we left Cairns. Well today we were in Bundabery, and it just so happens that the brewery is here and offers tours. (Apparently, their more popular product is Bundaberg Rum, made with local sugar cane, but we were more into the non-boozy side of things.) Their display office is shaped like half a giant keg, and inside they had some great interactive displays on the whole brewing process right from the trial recipes that were developed in the 1800s in people's back yards right up to the mass production and international export to 27 countries (but not Canada!) that happens today. It's a family owned company that started almost 200 years ago and has gone through the growing pains every company does, even coming close to bankruptcy three years in. It was interesting to learn that they still use a completely natural brewing process without any added preservatives, colours, or artificial stuff. The only four ingredients are water, sugar from the local cane fields, ginger from the local ginger fields, and their own yeasts. At the end, we got to sample all eleven varieties of non-boozy drinks that they make, including lemon ale, apple ale, sasparilla (aka rootbeer), lemon lime & bitters, peach ale, creaming soda, their version of cola, and of course the ginger beer. Most of them had low sugar versions too, and all of them were great. The ginger beer is still the hands down favourite though!

After some quality time at an internet place updating the good old blog, we hit the road bound for Hervey Bay. This town is the gateway to Fraser Island, a unique sand island that is almost 150km long and boasts clear freshwater lakes and streams, rainforests, sand dunes, wild dingoes, and a huge flat 75 mile long stretch of beach that 4x4s zoom down as a beach highway. Since 2WD vehicles aren't allowed (no roads!), you either have to rent your own 4x4 (expensive!) or join a tour. So tomorrow we'll join a truckload of tourists to go see what all the fuss over Fraser Island is about.

Koalas and the city (Apr. 6/09 - Noosa, Australia, mileage 216km)

2009-04-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

It was another short driving day, as we wanted to spend a bit of time at Noosa and the mainland half of Great Sandy National Park, 200km south of Hervey Bay. Noosa is a chic little resort town on the coast, renowned as being Australia's most popular holiday town. With the hundreds of surfers playing in the ocean, couples sipping $10 martinis on the esplanade, and girls walking around in teeny bikinis, it may as well have been Malibu! What we were interested in was Noosa Heads National Park, which protects the hilly headlands that shelter Noosa's main beach. The park is full of walking trails, and being so close to town makes it accessible for everyone. A boardwalk links the town's main drag with the park headquarters, where you can watch people surfing the point break and crane your neck up to look for koalas - actually a common sight, even this close to town! The coastal path skirts beaches and climbs over headlands, where we counted almost 100 surfers doing their thing. Patches of eucalyptus and "paper bark tree" forests had us walking like idiots with our heads tilted up in search of a fuzzy grey blob in a tree, but no luck. We walked almost all the way to the farthest headland before turning back to avoid walking in the dark. Disappointed that we hadn't seen a koala, we noticed a girl pointing her camera up into a tree beside the road a few steps from town. There he was, a grey fuzzy blog way up high in the tree, passed right out. All you could see was his back, but we waited long enough to see him wake up, yawn, scratch himself, and go back to sleep. (I have just assumed it was a male based on his behaviour!) So we left happy that our luck came through again, and knowing that we can tick off another animal on the list of Australian mascots seen on our trip!

World's biggest pile of sand (Apr. 5/09 - Hervey Bay, Australia)

2009-04-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

It's only a few kilometers across the strait from Hervey Bay to Moon Point on Fraser Island, but it was an hour-long ferry ride since the captain had to zigzag around the maze of sand bars. One of them, which we had no choice but to cross over, was in only 10 feet of water - and the ferry needed 6 feet of water to avoid running aground! The light turquoise colour of the water certainly had everyone peering over the rain nervously. In the months between August and November, this is supposed to be an awesome spot to see humpback whales, as they have to file through the narrow channels between sand bars on their way to Antarctica.

When we got to Fraser Island, the captain turned the barge and pointed straight at the beach. No loading dock, no terminal - just a natural, sandy beach. When we hit the shore, down went the ramp and the vehicles simply drove off the ferry, onto the beach, and disappeared down the sandy track into the forest. Everyone on our tour walked off and met our big 4WD bus that was already there. It's a good thing we did, too, because another group in a similar bus who were driving off the ferry got completely stuck in the sand trying to get up off the beach. They gave it a bunch of tries but eventually had to have our bus pull them out. Then we were off, bouncing down the narrow track with branches scraping by the windows, wondering how a bus this big (40 passengers) can navigate these roads without getting stuck.

One of the interesting things about Fraser Island is how quickly the vegetation changes from one of the six ecosystems to the next. The western part of the island where we started was wetlands, which morphed into scrubby brush, then transitional forest, and then rainforest. Huge, straight tree trunks reached for the sun far above, which created a canopy thick enough to prevent almost any sunshine from reaching the ground. A second type of transitional forest took over as we reached the eastern side of the island and the settlement called Happy Valley, where a few facilities provide food, fuel, supplies, and accommodation. We had some lunch there and carried on, bouncing down to the beach and then turning north to drive up the sand highway that is 75 Mile Beach. At low tide, it's up to 16 lanes wide, with no road lines (obviously), no stop signs, and no speed limit. The beach took a major beating when Cyclone Hamish ripped through here (400km offshore!) last month, as the massive waves that came ashore took tons of sand when they left. As a result, some of the patchy volcanic rock (isolated in areas on the island from an extinct submarine volcanic pipe) that is normally buried under several feet of sand is now exposed. Navigating over and around it is tricky, and some beach stretches are now impassible because of it. For the most part, the beach is wide and flat, with heavy surf pounding in on the east (no swimming thanks to large shark populations and a strong undertow) and sandy dunes and ledges forming a buffer between the beach and the low sand hills beyond. Camping is allowed in some sections of the dunes, but for the most part the beach is deserted as far as you can see. One thing you do have to watch out for it airplanes, as little Cessnas use the beach as their runway too!

We drove by a spot they call the "Pinnacles", where the sand hills have been eroded into tower-like shapes out of sand painted shades of yellow thanks to the minerals in the sand. Also on the beach is the disintegrating wreck of the Maheno, a 120m long steel passenger liner that ran aground in the 1930s when it was being towed to a scrapyard. The waves have been pummelling it for 70 years, and the rusted hull and portholes are still obvious, as are pieces of the anchor chain, railings, and smokestack. Apparently, the Australian military once used it for target practice, dropping 250 bombs on it but only hitting it twice. (Let's hope they kept practicing!) Our next stop was at a busy little place called Eli Creek, where a crystal clear freshwater stream winds through the forest and spills onto the beach. It's popular for a reason - not only is it pretty, but the water is surprisingly cold, making for a very refreshing swim on an otherwise scorching day. We walked upstream a bit and then walked down in the waist deep water, enjoying every chilly minute.

When we got back on the bus, our driver informed us that the bus we had pulled out of the sand this morning had become stuck again shortly after, and they were still stuck even hours later. This meant that the only road back to the ferry was blocked, so we would have to go back using the ferry that leaves from a spot farther south. It was a good thing for us, though, as it meant we got to drive all the way down 75 Mile Beach and visit a different (better!) lake than the one we were supposed to see. So we took off down the beach, laughing at the rookies driving their rented 4x4s through the wave wash, knowing that all the rental companies charge you big time if the car even touches salt water. I managed to spot a dingo standing at the edge of the beach, which was lucky since they're rarely seen on day trips. We stopped and watched him for a while, chomping on something in a pile of grass and then trotting over to a stream, where he laid down to cool off and drink. The dingoes on Fraser Island are said to be the purest bred in all of Australia, as they have had no cross-contamination from domestic dogs. One more pit stop on the beach a while later, and we spotted a big sting ray flapping around in the waves in just a few inches of water.

Our last stop of the day was at Lake Birrabeen, a freshwater lake that is basically a large collection of rainwater on top of a sand dune, sealed by a layer of decomposing organics on the bottom. White sand was everywhere, of course - the parking area, the trail, the beach, and on the bottom of the lake. Fraser Island is just such a unique place, and even though we only had a day to see it, it was a fun and informative day.

Some more facts we learned about the island:
- It is 120km long, plus 30km underwater, but continually growing as sand accumulates from ocean currents bringing it from farther south.
- Aboriginal people (the Buchella tribe) have inhabited the island for thousands of years.
- It is the world's largest sand island - comprised of 99% sand, up to 600m deep, and containing more sand than the Sahara Desert.
- There is eight times more water stored in the sands of Fraser Island than in Sydney Harbour
- It is the only island in the world where rainforest grows on sand.

So there - Fraser Island in a one day nutshell!

One beach to another (Apr. 3/09 - Mon Repos, Australia, mileage 450km)

2009-04-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

We were up with the sunrise this morning and on our way by 8am. The road took us through the holiday town of Emu Park (complete with road signs warning of emus crossing... didn't see any) and some gorgeous vistas out over the beaches and headlands below. The next big town was Rockhampton, which is the beef capital of Australia and lies smack on the Tropic of Capricorn. It seems like years ago that we drove across it heading north that day in Namibia... with our friends from Africa, having just spotted our first zebras, and waiting in the sun after the truck caught on fire. That was on the opposite side of the world, but at the exact same latitude. Crazy.

Forests and farmland extended south past Gladstone, where we saw a hilarious road sign that was trying to tell people of a series of kilometer markers ahead that you can use to check your spedometer against. But their shorthand gave us an entirely different image: "CAUTION - SPEEDO CHECK AHEAD". I thought for a minute that someone had finally started to crack down on the use of banana hammocks. Gotta love Australian slang!

We took a side trip out to check out what the seaside town of Agnes Water was like. This area basically marks the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, so as a result the coast from here south gets the full force of the Pacific's waves, undampened by the reef. So Agnes Water has eastern Australia's northernmost surf beach, and we had our first dose of watching the beach bums trying to ride the point break surf in to shore. The beach was even complete with a ponytail-sporting lifeguard dude with his jetski and rescue board who took a break from his job now and then to do push-ups on the sand. A few miles down the road is the strangely named town of "1770", which marks the first spot that Captain James Cook came to shore in Queensland in May of that year.

A rain storm took us by surprise as we continued south to Bundaberg, as we hadn't seen rain since Lombok. We had read of a little spot just outside Bundaberg called Mon Repos where large numbers of loggerhead turtles come ashore to nest each year. It's actually possible to go down to the beach at night to watch the females lay their eggs in the sand or watch the little babies emerge from their nest and make a run for the sea. But we soon found out that the hatching season had just ended when the big cyclone last month wiped out most of the nests. There's a nice campground park next door to the research center on the beach, so we picked a shady spot beside the sand and set up camp. It was still somewhat early but we had gone far enough for one day, and this was a pretty sweet spot. Ocean spray wafted over the campsites on warm sea breezes, and big pounding waves rolled in onto the wide, clean beach. A strip of sand dunes and patchy grass separated the beach from the foreshore, and numbered stakes in the sand all the way down the beach suggested that nests and turtle activity are monitored for research. We took a walk down the beach and noted lots of empty turtle egg shells, some in clusters where the pitted sand of the nest was clearly visible. In a couple spots, the numerous parallel tracks of newborn turtles could be seen emerging from a spot in the sand and then heading straight for the water. We figured that the tracks must be no more than a day or two old, as such delicate tracks would be erased by the wind quite quickly. So maybe some of them are still hatching afterall. Whatever the case, I hope the little guys made it out to sea safely. Their endangered species counts on it.

Breakfast with wallabies (Apr. 2/09 - Yeppoon, Australia, mileage 425km)

2009-04-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Add today to our long list of especially memorable days. We woke up early just as it was getting light so we could see the kangaroo action on the beach around dawn. It was still pretty dark when we climbed out of the van, and we almost tripped over a kangaroo munching on grass right beside the van. She didn't seem to care about us at all, as she just kept on grazing as we watched. The sunrise could be seen through the trees, so we left her behind to head for the sand. Sure enough, about a dozen little kangaroos were down on the beach scavenging for seed pods and checking us out as we watched. They were cautious but obviously not threatened by us, and soon we realized why when one of the campground staff ladies came down to the beach carrying a bucket of 'roo food'. The kangaroos bounded along behind her as she set out piles of mixed grains and seeds, occasionally squabbling with eachother over who gets to eat from which pile. She explained that park staff have been feeding them for four or five years ever since the increasing dingo (wild dog) population killed all but three of them in the whole park, and the kangaroo populations have successfully been increasing ever since. Encouraging them to come to the beach also keeps them away from the hills where little ones are endangered by snakes and away from the campsites where they could be a nuisance or harmed by eating human food. She also explained that most of the 14 or so animals there were actually "Agile Wallabies", which look very much like a small kangaroo, but with smaller ears, a convex nose, a coarser coat, and growing only 2-3 feet tall. One of the bunch was an Eastern Grey Kangaroo, noticeably larger (4-5 feet tall as a two year old, will likely grow to 6 feet), with big ears and a cashmere-soft coat. Her name was Brigitte, and she had become quite comfortable around people since they looked out for her as a baby after her mother was killed by a car a couple years ago. It turned out that she was the one at our van this morning, and she totally didn't mind being petted. We watched them devour the piles of food, standing up on their hind legs to "box" when they argued (in exactly the same way and in the same spot as the Lonely Planet cover!), silhouetted by the orange glow of the rising sun. We even caught a glimpse of a joey (baby) peeking out from one of the wallabies' pouches. One by one, they finished up and hopped back down the beach to resume searching for seed pods. It was such a cool, authentic experience to get so close to these special animals. And in such a beautiful setting on the beach at sunrise, it really epitomises the unique beauty that we have come to love about Australia.

check out the joey sticking out of her pouch:

Onwards! We had been forewarned that the 300km stretch of highway between Mackay and Rockhampton is rather boring, so we had toyed with the idea of heading inland again into the outback. But this would mean taking an extra day to go the extra distance, so we stopped at a tourist info office to get some help deciding. Once we learned that the only real sights on the long inland route were old mining towns and a whole lot of not much else, we decided to bee-line it for Rockhampton via the "boring" coastal route. They really weren't kidding - it was a boring drive! Long stretches of straight road bordered by sparse forests. Signs warning of koala bears on the road kept us on our toes, as did the harsh government billboards that say things like "SURVIVE THIS DRIVE!" and "TIRED DRIVERS DIE". Late afternoon, we turned off toward the little town of Yeppoon, on what is called the Capricorn Coast, where people from Rockhampton come to chill by the sea. We tracked down a beachfront campsite (love falling asleep to the sound of rolling waves...) and went for a swim since we're finally out of the marine stinger zone. Unfortunately, we weren't quick enough at sundown to get the van closed up, so we got to play the fun game of "kill the 47 mosquitoes inside the van" game. Good times.

Platypus for lunch, kangaroo for dinner (Apr. 1/09 - Cape Hilsborough National Park, Australia, mileage 298km)

2009-04-03T21:31:00.001-07:00

A couple hours south of Airlie Beach is Eungella National Park, where we read that there is a good chance of spotting wild platypus swimming in the river. In case you're unfamiliar, platypus are strange little mammals that are endemic to eastern Australia, and they are so odd looking that supposedly the early researchers checked the animal's body for stitches, convinced it was a prank with several animals' parts stitched together. They're quite small (40-50cm in length) with a plump furry body and broad tail like a beaver, clawed webbed feet like a turtle, and a rubbery bill like a duck.

The drive west of the highway was beautiful, passing through the cane fields and tiny cane towns of the Pioneer Valley, then up and over the steep mountain at the head of the valley. Subtropical rainforests blanket the top of the range, most of which is protected in the park. We followed the signs to the Broken River and the designated viewing area where you have the best chance of spotting a platypus. It was a very peaceful spot on the calm, clear river, and with cockatoos and azure kingfishers flying around in the trees, it was far from boring. Dozens of freshwater snapping turtles paddled around in the water, some looking to be up to almost a foot long. Also swimming around on the bottom was a wierd fish, maybe 18" long, with the back half resembling an eel. We stood quietly and scanned the water for the telltale bubbles and ripples that give away a platypus's location when they are down diving for food. We searched for a long time and then figured that we were trying at the wrong time of day, as they are apparently most active around dawn and dusk. Ken gave up after half an hour, but I was determined to find one since we drove way out of our way to see them! Sure enough, persistence paid off as an un-turtle-like shape floating on the surface caught my eye, which I quickly recognized as a little platypus. Score! She would float on the surface for 20 seconds or so, then dive down to look for food before reappearing a few metres away a minute later, over and over again. She was much smaller than I had pictured, but just as strange and cute. So there we go - wild platypus in Australia.

After a picnic in the parking lot, we drove back down to the highway and went a little farther before turning east toward our next destination: Cape Hilsborough National Park. Although we've already seen lots of beaches, this one is special because wild kangaroos come down onto the sand to forage for washed up seed pods in the morning and evening. As we pulled into the park and caught a glimpse of the beach through the trees, we recognized it instantly from the cover of our "East Coast Australia" Lonely Planet guidebook, which shows two kangaroos playing on a big flat beach with a very recognizable island in the background. We snagged a spot within feet of the sand and then went down to check it out. The huge crescent of fine sand was bound on each end by forest and rocky volcanic headlands, making for a beautiful and dramatic landscape. We wandered for a while before claiming a patch of sand to read and keep an eye out for long-tailed visitors. A while later, something caught my eye and upon closer inspection, we saw that it was definitely a kangaroo, hopping around the high tide mark looking for dinner. He didn't hang around for long, but we hear that there can be dozens of them around in the morning, so we'll be down to check that out for sure. Kookaburras (Australian kingfishers with a laugh-like call) entertained us from the trees above our campervan as we cooked dinner, and we had a close encounter with a small wallaby that was munching on grass on the lawn by the pool when we went to do our laundry. It was quite the day for wildlife spotting!

Sailing the Whitsundays on a purple catamaran (Mar. 31/09 - Airlie Beach, Australia)

2009-04-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

The ocean was beautifully calm as we boarded "Camira" this morning, our sailboat for the day. It's a gorgeous boat - 85 feet long, 30 feet wide, built with sleek curving lines, and painted a strange but oddly fitting shade of vibrant purple! She definitely stands out in a crowd. There were about 40 people on board, which didn't seem at all crowded with so many places to sit at the stern, on both pontoons, and on the huge trampolines at the bow. There wasn't much wind so early in the morning, so we motored out around the headland at Airlie Beach and past Daydream and Long Islands. Most of the islands relatively close to Airlie Beach like these have resorts and all kinds of tourist facilities on them, while the larger islands like Whitsunday and Hook Island are mostly national parks with nothing more than campgrounds. The rest of the 74 islands in the archipelago are uninhabited and completely natural. Hamilton Island is the polar opposite of this, as we first recognized it by the highrises and clearcuts visible from a distance. Parts of the island are packed with luxury resorts and private expensive houses, complete with its own airport. Thankfully, there aren't too many islands with that much development. Dolphins leaped off to our port side as we rounded the south point of Whitsunday Island and we were soon getting our first glimpses of Whitehaven Beach. It really is stunning - flat turquoise water merging with blindingly white sand, backed by green forest and extending for miles. The sand is 98% pure silica, which is more than pure enough to make optical glass and fine stemware out of it! It's so powdery soft between your toes that you have to scrub it off since it's too fine to rinse! The boat anchored offshore while we went ashore in the dinghy, everyone matching in thin black wetsuits to protect from marine stingers. We walked and swam our way down the beach and even saw a couple we had just taken a picture of get engaged, as he got down on one knee in the sand. It was so sweet, and she was clearly surprised! After a while, we made our way back to where everyone else was swimming and playing football, just in time to see a little black tip shark swim slowly through the group in three feet of water. It was hilarious to watch people freak out at a tiny shark that's a lot less dangerous than the sun tan they're working so hard to get.

After a couple hours on the beach, we went back to the boat and had some lunch, then enjoyed the quiet and the breeze as they raised the sails and killed the engine. Island after island passed by, and eventually we stopped at a spot off Hook Island to do some snorkelling on the fringing reef. Unfortunately, the visibility was so poor that you could barely make out the coral and fish six feet below you, so it turned into a nice swim but not much else. The cruise back to Airlie Beach was lovely and relaxing, as we enjoyed the scenery and a pretty sunset to finish off the day. It was a short but sweet visit to the Whitsundays, and it has definitely been flagged as a spot to return to with lots of time to sail or paddle our way through the islands.

Gateway to paradise (Mar. 30/09 - Airlie Beach, Australia, mileage 230km)

2009-04-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

A couple hundred kilometers south of Ayr lie the Whitsunday Islands, an archipelago of 74 pretty, forested islands fringed with blindingly white sand beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and the most brilliant turquoise water you've ever seen. The Great Barrier Reef protects them from the open Pacific, so the waters are calm and perfect for sailing and kayaking. It's one of the places we've always wanted to go, so today all we had to do was drive for a couple hours to get there. Sugarcane fields occupied most of the land south of Ayr and around the town of Bowen, which has been made famous recently as the set for the big blockbuster movie called "Australia" that came out last year. When we hit the coast at Airlie Beach, we were greeted by a vista out over the marina, where the bright blue water was dotted with white boats of all sizes. The town itself is small and wholly geared to tourists. A main street is jammed with the usual amenities, and a freeform lagoon pool is open to anyone needing to cool off overlooking the harbour and the islands beyond.

We weren't sure how we wanted to go about exploring the islands, but we did know that kayaking and sailing were our favourite options. After a stop at the tourism office, we realized that the distances between islands were too great to see very much of it in a kayaking day trip, and without camping gear we couldn't go out for any longer. Also, we definitely wanted to get to Whitehaven Beach, which is the one you see on all the brochures and postcards - 6km long, wide, pristine white sand and flawless azure water. It's simply a must-see and considered one of the world's best beaches. Whitehaven is located on the far side of Whitsunday Island, far from the mainland, which means you have to access it on a tour if you aren't on a multi-day kayaking expedition (which sound amazing!). So we decided to compromise and booked ourselves on an all day sailing trip aboard a big catamaran that island hops around the archipelago with stops for snorkelling and later for exploring Whitehaven Beach. Oh, and did I mention the open bar? It's going to be a very fun day :)

ps - We have to mention that the trees around our campsite and even on the main street in Airlie Beach are full of loud, squawking cockatoos, and while we were eating our dinner, a little possum walked right through our camp like he owned the place!

Diving the Yongala (Mar. 29/09 - Alva Beach, Australia)

2009-04-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

The SS Yongala was a steam ship that served as a luxury cruise ship between Melbourne and Cairns in the early 1900s. In March of 1911, she was sailing her regular route with 122 people onboard, plus a prize-winning bull and a racehorse named Moonshine, when she headed north through Whitsunday Passage. Without a marine radio onboard (which, ironically, she was to be fitted with when she reached Townsville a few days later), the captain was unaware that they were sailing straight into the path of a category 5 cyclone. She must have sank quickly, as lifeboats were never deployed and everyone onboard perished. Debris was soon scattered over 100km of Queensland's coast, and the body of the racehorse washed up on Alva Beach several weeks later. It wasn't until 47 years later, in 1958, that the wreck was discovered and identified. Now, the site is protected as a World Heritage Site since it is considered a mass grave site, and penetration of the wreck is not permitted for that reason. It is home to an incredible variety of marine life, and some people say it's among the top ten wreck dives in the world. We definitely had to see for ourselves!

Yongala Dive has a spiffy little boat that they take people out to the wreck on, which is only a 30 minute ride from Alva Beach compared to three hours each way from Townsville. Getting to the dive site proved to be half the fun, as we were driven to the beach in a 4x4 and then skidded and roared our way down the beach in the sand. The boat was hauled to the beach by a big John Deere tractor, which we piled into before it was backed into the surf. A couple waves crashed over the stern, where we were sitting, soaking us before we were even afloat! Once we got past the surf zone, it was a pretty smooth ride since the boat was able to plough right through most of the swells. We actually lucked out with the weather, as it has been pretty nasty lately as cyclone season winds down. The swells were about 6ft high, which was relatively easy to stomach. We zoomed straight east from the beach, and came to a stop 25km out to sea, well out of sight of land. Two little mooring buoys were all that hinted at the wreck's location, marking the bow and the stern. We were given little nylon hoods to wear that would protect our faces from marine stingers, which are tiny little jellyfish that tend to hang out in shallow water and leave a nasty sting if you come into contact with one. Most of the beaches up north here are closed between November and May because of the hazard posed by these guys and the box jellyfish. The box jellies are much more dangerous though, as they usually induce cardiac arrest almost instantly. When we backrolled off the boat, some of us instantly noticed minor but painful stinging on our upper lips, which was pretty much the only skin exposed - likely the result of the little jellies.

Down we went, catching our first glimpse of the ship at about 30 feet. The visibility was somewhat poor (about 25 feet), but that was actually pretty good for this site, considering its proximity to shore. We know people who did this dive a year ago and could barely see the hand at the end of their arm, so we should consider ourselves lucky! We descended on to the bow and started down the hull, which faces up since the ship is lying on her side. The brochures weren't kidding about the abundance of life on the wreck - the whole thing was a swarm of fish: schools of little fusiliers darting away from hunting trevally, rainbow runners doing laps across the deck, graceful batfish slowly swimming by, big groupers hanging out on the deck (Aussies call them "gropers"!), and many of the typical reef fish poking into every nook and cranny. Olive sea snakes slithered through the water, big Napoleon wrasses wandered around, and a giant moray eel peered out from its hole just above the ship's rudder, which was still intact and easily recognizable. A large blotched ray swam along the sandy bottom below us, and out of nowhere, a bull shark came toward us, coming close enough to swim right through the middle of our group! Despite having a reputation for being unpredictable and sometimes aggressive towards humans, this one was clearly not interested in us.

We rounded the stern and swam along the deck, noting the broken masts, exposed toilets, engine room, and cargo holds. Everything was encrusted with corals, and there were so many fish that it was almost hard to see the ship behind them! Just as we were making our way back to the mooring line to ascend, a beautiful spotted eagle ray came gliding toward us - my first one ever! Smaller than a manta, these guys have a large head and a very long tail that streams out behind them as they flap their wings to fly through the water. On our second dive, we actually saw two of them at once going in opposite directions on the wreck, and one of them swam a couple circles around me before disappearing out of sight. Also on the second dive, we saw more sea snakes, anemonefish, and the most enormous, monstrously huge grouper you could imagine, hovering near the stern. There were two of them actually, and based on the size of the trevally that hung out beside him, this fish must have been six or seven feet long - unbelievably huge! They made the potato cod at Cod Hole look tiny! We both thought our eyes were playing tricks on us, but other people saw them too and confirmed that we weren't going crazy. Finally, as one last treat, a green turtle paid us a visit as we headed back to the mooring line. Talk about two action packed dives! For being a relatively small area, the Yongala was mindblowing in terms of how much marine life can be seen in such a short period of time! On a day with good visibility, I would agree that this ship should be on a top 10 list somewhere!

500km to the coast (Mar. 28/09 - Alva Beach, Australia, mileage 484km)

2009-04-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of ground to cover today to reach the coast, and the scenery was very monotonous, much like yesterday. So little traffic uses this road that the cows actually look up when a car goes by, wondering what all the noise is about. The daily roadkill tally was two snakes, a cow, a dingo, and nine kangaroos (side note: rotting kangaroo flesh on a 40°C day does not smell good!) We took a break at a little park in the middle of nowhere that marked one of the places that the earliest explorers through this area passed. The crazy German guy walked 5000km from Brisbane to Darwin in a year and a half!

The biggest town in this part of the outback is Charters Towers, where we found ourselves early afternoon. This is an Australian "wild west" kind of town, like something you might find in New Mexico or Arizona. It was the biggest city in the southern hemisphere during its peak in the late 1800's, but now it's just your average big town. Gold was discovered here in 1889, so the town's buildings and heritage reflect the busy gold rush days of the late 19th century. We drove down the main drag to see the architecture, but quickly found out that the museum we wanted to see was closed. As a compromise, we learned that the local rodeo was on today, so we drove out to the grounds to see some Aussie horses and cowboys in action. Driving our Hippie van through the mayhem of the rodeo parking lot, we could've been at any equestrian event back home - trucks and trailers parked everywhere, with horses tied up or being fed or groomed or tacked up, bales of hay and water buckets scattered everywhere, and people running around with radios, food, and last minute show supplies. We followed the stream of spectators and mounted competitors to the entrance, but were disappointed to learn that it costs an arm and a leg to get in. So much for that! If it had been a completely unique event (i.e. kangaroo roping or something) then we might have gone for it, but it looked like roping and barrel racing are the same here as back home. Oh well.

Onwards we went, another 200km to Townsville, on the coast. We didn't have a game plan for Townsville, as it sounded like a big touristy town whose main attractions are seafood restaurants and the Great Barrier Reef offshore. We hoped to visit the maritime museum to get some background on the wreck of the SS Yongala that we intend to dive tomorrow, but it too was closed. Weekends are not good times for museums in this country! To get a taste for Townsville, we walked along the seafront promenade, past a busy kids' waterpark, a deserted beach (thanks to deadly box jellyfish in the water), and under palm trees full of screeching black cockatoos. The town was actually pretty quiet, so we drove to the top of castle rock for a great view down over the town and the surrounding country. With plans to go diving tomorrow morning out of the town Alva Beach about 100km south, we returned to the highway and claimed a campsite for the night just down the road from the diveshop. Today really didn't seem like our day in terms of luck and in the ratio of things to see versus time on the road, but it was a great day nonetheless. All Saturdays are great!

Cockatoos and kangaroos (Mar. 27/09 - Greenvale, Australia, mileage 399km)

2009-04-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Sunshine and a cool breeze blew through the van when we got up this morning, and wild cockatoos squawked in the trees overhead while we had breakfast. (They're those big white parrot-like birds with a big tuft of yellow feathers on their heads.) We spent an hour walking around Lake Eacham, listening to the jungle sounds and keeping our eyes out for wildlife. We did spot a tree dragon, which is a leggy iguana-like lizard that runs on its hind legs and spends most of its time in trees. Refreshed and loosened up, we continued our drive south through the rolling green farmland around Malanda. From there, we took a scenic route to Ravenshoe, which turned out to be a narrow, winding road that passed over pretty streams, through forests, and past endless fields of dairy cattle, which still seems strange since this is the tropics and palm trees and banana palms are everywhere. The cows seemed to have the right of way, as twice we had to drive half in the ditch to get around them. Just before we hooked back up with the highway, we passed a ridge that was dotted with about 20 wind turbines - those huge futuristic-looking white windmills that generate power just by spinning in the wind. This was the first place outside the US that either of us had seen them before. It does seem a bit ironic that Australia is making an effort to generate renewable energy when they don't even recycle!

Back on the faster-moving highway, we fuelled up in Ravenshoe, Queensland's highest elevation town at the top of the Great Dividing Range, and then suddenly started to notice a change in the landscape. Green farmland was replaced with dry, sparse forests, and road signs changed from warning of cattle and sharp corners to kangaroos and road trains! Within just a few miles, we were already getting into what they call "Australia's accessible outback". Since we don't have nearly enough time to get into the far interior of the outback (and our van isn't allowed to drive on dirt roads!), we figured that this would be a good diversion from the touristy coastal route to give us a taste of the arid interior. We drove over 300km through this landscape today, and the scenery was very consistent along the way: flat, dry, and inhabited only by charred trees and grazing cows. Gravel roads took off every now and then into the boonies, and signs posted at the start of each one listed the distances to each homestead, ranch, or mining claim. Some of them were over 300km away! For the most part, the road was really good - wide and paved. But some random sections, for unknown reasons, would suddenly become a single lane of pavement with a lane of gravel on either side. Signs hinted right away at their purpose: road trains. These monster beasts are some of the world's longest trucks, comprised of a massive cab with trailer after trailer after trailer behind, some measuring upwards of 180ft long. They haul mineral concentrate from the many mines in Australia's interior to coastal points for processing or transport. They make for hazardous driving in the outback though, as they don't slow down or move out of the way for anything, so you'd better pull onto the gravel shoulder or risk getting flattened. We saw probably a dozen of them roaring towards us throughout the day, but we quickly got the hang of diving for the shoulder as soon as we saw one coming.

A sign a few hours from Ravenshoe pointed to the Undara Lava Tubes, which we thought might be worth a detour. Lava tubes are basically huge underground cave-like tunnels left behind by flowing lava, and this spot happened to be one of the most extensive networks of them ever found. You had to take a tour to see them, though, and the next one doesn't go until tomorrow morning. Despite the nice campground and inviting pool, we thought it was too early in the day to stop and too pricey to see them anyway, so we carried on. Soonafter, we were flying down the road, gazing out the window, when we both jumped up and yelled "kangaroo!!!" at the same time. Out of the corners of our eyes, we had both caught a split-second glimpse of an adorable kangaroo standing in the grass on the shoulder, looking as though he were about to cross the road. Our first kangaroo! We actually ended up seeing five more before the end of the day, but all of them were flattened to various degrees on the pavement. Evidently, they pose quite a hazard on country roads, especially since they often travel in groups. We watched the roadsides carefully for the rest of the day, but only saw the fly-covered remains of various rodents, snakes, and dogs. At a wide spot in the road called Oasis Roadhouse, we got gas at a station where a tame cockatoo perched on the fence at the entrance. Our destination for the day would be the little town of Greenvale, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The town was once a mining hub during the gold rush in the late 1800's, but now it's just a quiet little outback town. The campground was just a patch of grass with a neighbouring ranch, where guys herded cattle into stock trucks and horses cantered around the field. We had been seeing big flocks of lorikeets, which are birds that look and sound like parrots, white with a grey tail and a pink belly - and a huge flock of them was hanging out in the trees by our campsite. We cooked up some burgers and paid the farm dog and horses some attention before calling it a night, hoping to get an early start tomorrow so we can make it to Townsville (on the coast) by the end of the day.

Driving through the fruit basket (Mar. 26/09 - Lake Eacham, Australia, mileage 214km)

2009-04-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

Before hitting the road this morning, we went down to the beach for a look, but were a bit disappointed by the amount of seaweed and old coconut shells, etc. that had washed up in the rough weather. Rough brown waves were coming in, thanks to a lot of wind and the nearby mouth of the muddy Daintree River. We took a quick drive over to Cape Tribulation Beach on the other side of the headland and were happy to see a nice clean beach with calm blue water. No matter how tempting a swim was though, you can't swim at any of the beaches in northern Queensland thanks to the saltwater crocodiles that patrol the shallows. Signs warn you of even going near the water's edge, as they have been known to attack people who aren't even in the water. Needless to say, we took a quick look, snapped some pictures, and carried on.

We drove south the way we came, making a stop at Cow Bay for a peek at the pretty beach there and at an organic ice cream place for a treat. At the town of Mossman, we veered inland, and followed the twisty road up over the Greta Dividing Range that separates the coast from the interior "tablelands". On the other side, natural vegetation was noticeably more sparse, as farmland began to occupy the rolling landscape in all directions. At the town of Mareeba, we stopped at a place that was advertised as Australia's biggest coffee outlet, where you could taste any of Queensland's 43 different types of coffees, a dozen of the Daintree area's different teas, and a bunch fo house made organic chocolates. It's probably a good thing that everything was really expensive!

Beyond Mareeba, green fields of horses, cows, and corn had us thinking that we were in Tennessee or Kentucky. Roadside stands sold bags of fresh peanuts, limes, corn, avocados, mangoes, and bananas - some of the crops that make this the region's "fruit basket". We pulled over at a stand selling avocados, traded a $2 coin in the honour box for a bag that would sell for $8 or $9 at the grocery store. At a pretty park by the road, we took a lunch break and made sandwiches (with fresh avocado of course!) and wandered around once we discovered that this spot was once a huge military hospital, where over 60,000 people were treated during WWII. At the town of Atherton, we turned east and headed for Lake Eacham, where we would call it a night. This and the adjacent Lake Barrine are two little round crater lakes that are both contained within fringing chunks of forests protected as national park. It sounds like the area is home to tree kangaroos and platypus, so we'll take a walk in the morning to see if we can spot them.

Camping our way up the coast (Mar. 25/09 - Cape Tribulation, Australia, mileage 170km)

2009-04-03T18:43:00.001-07:00

Today marked the start of a phase of our trip that we had both been really looking forward to since we initially started planning the whole thing a year ago. We had reserved a campervan from one of the many rental places in town, which we intend to drive all the way down Australia's east coast to Sydney between now and the end of April. We took the city bus out to the rental place, and after spending two hours battling with credit cards to figure out why they figured my card was stolen, it took a 45 minute walk in the hot sun to make an $8 phone call to straighten it all out. We were finally introduced to our van and shown how everything works. It's a pretty sweet setup - double bed that converts into a table and couches, with a mini kitchen under the rear flip-up door that comes complete with a small fridge, sink, cookware, and camp stove. Oh, and it has purple hippy flowers and butterflies painted on the side - very classy! We were pretty happy to go to a real grocery store and stock up on everything we'll need to be self sufficient as we travel.

There was a definite feeling of freedom as we hit the road out of Cairns, with no firm destination and everything we need following along behind us. The east coast is apparently full of campsites, so we intend to stay sometimes at a proper campground and sometimes at a wide spot in the road where we can use public showers and stuff at the many beaches down the coast. Before we take off for Townsville and points south, we decided to go a little ways north for a couple days to check out some of the rainforests and national parks that look to be especially pretty up there. So north we went, past turnoffs to countless beaches before veering off to check out the touristy town of Port Douglas. A bit ritzier and much smaller than Cairns, the town is set on a pretty stretch of beach more than four miles long. From there, the road went inland and passed through long stretches of sugar cane fields, set against rainforested hills and complete with cane trains that still haul it away after harvest. We took a little detour at Mossman, where a trail just within the boundaries of Daintree National Park takes you into the cool forest and along the banks of a pretty river in Mossman Gorge. A car ferry over the mighty Daintree River (pulled back and forth by a giant cable pulley system) marked the start of the more "wild" half of the drive up to Cape Tribulation and the end of the paved road. Big signs at the riverbanks warn of saltwater crocodiles, which are abundant in this neck of the woods. We saw a headline yesterday that said a little boy was eaten by a 5 metre male crocodile here just last week. Note to self: no swimming in rivers!

Beyond the ferry crossing, the road wove in and out of Daintree National Park, enclosed by thick vegetation and wet from many stream crossings. Signs warned to watch out for cassowary birds, which are strange creatures endemic to this part of Australia. They're straight out of Jurassic Park: big body, long neck, blue and purple head with a black horn on top, and nearly six feet tall! We'll definitely keep our eyes open for those guys. Countless beach turnoffs left the main road, which we will check out tomorrow since we have to come back the same way. It was late afternoon, so upon arriving in the tiny town of Cape Tribulation, we found a campsite and were happy just to get our van sorted out and remember how to cook an excuse for dinner with our new get-up. It had been over four and a half months since we had cooked our own food! The whole process of driving on your own itinerary, stopping where and when you want, and cooking and eating real food really feels good after so long in less developed countries. Let's hope we're still this enthusiastic about it three weeks from now!

One last dose of the Great Barrier Reef (Mar. 24/09 - Cairns, Australia)

2009-03-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, a restful night! Although Ken woke up again this morning with a stomach bug, I felt like a million bucks and was eager to get wet. We were moored up at Troppo's Reef, about 30 miles north of Cairns. The morning dive took us along the sand and up the steep sandy "ski slope" north of the boat, then around the shallow sandy bommies around 30 feet. We found a couple little nudibranchs, a pretty anemone blowing in the current, a turtle cruising by, and a little white tip shark lounging in the sand. There was a lot of beautiful, healthy hard coral in the shallows too, making for a loverly dive. After breakfast, we did our final dive of the trip in the same spot. I went back to snap some more photos of a particularly pretty anemone, plus we found some flatworms, a shark, a pipefish, some nudibranchs, a blue-spotted stingray, and a strange frilly "weedfish" flopping around in the sand.

When everyone was back on board, it was full steam ahead back to Cairns, rinsing and sorting gear, packing bags, and filling out logbooks. Mid afternoon, we were back on solid ground, dropped off at our hotels, and saying goodbyes. What a wicked week it has been (well, five days...) out on the Great Barrier Reef! Taka was flawless - first class operations, dive safety, awesome staff, great food - zero complaints from us! We saw such a range of reef life, topography, big pelagics, tiny macro stuff, and everything in between. We met some awesome people too, and will definitely never forget our trip exploring the remote corners of the Great Barrier Reef.

Underwater nirvana (Mar. 23/09 - Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Australia)

2009-03-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

It was another sleepless night, as we rode out the relentless raging sea and nonstop wind all the way back from Osprey to the Great Barrier Reef. We were warned that it could be a rough night, and that was definitely an understatement. There were times when you could feel the boat being launched off a huge wave, then freefall and crash down on the other side so hard that it made the entire hull vibrate. Getting up to use the washroom was extremely hazardous, as one moment you would have a firm grip on something, and the next moment you're being slammed up against the door on the other side of the cabin. I just had to lie there, telling myself that this boat was made for this stuff, and the captain had done it a hundred times before. We were still moving when the morning wake-up call came, but once breakfast and the morning briefing were underway, we had moored up at Clam Gardens, on the inside of Ribbon Reef #5.

The visibility wasn't very good this morning, but there was still lots to look at. Complex gardens of hard corals were dotted with an abundance of giant clams and large quantities of reef fish. The site is apparently home to two resident Australian Great Cuttlefish, but we weren't able to spot them. There's nothing quite like an early morning dive to wake you up in the morning, especially when you know that's all you'll be doing for the rest of the day!

Steve's Bommie is on of the well known dive sites on the Great Barrier Reef, and for good reason - it's beautiful! A pinnacle similar to Pixie's Pinnacle on the first day, we started near its base at 80 feet and spiralled our way up. Big schools of little fusiliers dashed in and out, pursued by hunting trevally. Corals and fish life became more plentiful as we shallowed up, and above 30 feet we saw pretty anemones swaying in the current with their resident anemonefish, a leafy scorpionfish hid on some coral, and a thick cloud of orange and purple anthias dashed about the reef. A grey reef shark and a couple white tipped sand sharks made a close pass to see what we were up to before disappearing into the blue. It was one of those spots where we could've stayed down all day!

Dolphins rode our bow wave for a while en route to our next site, a pretty reef with the odd name of "2 2/3", which is located 2/3 of the way between Ribbon Reefs #2 and 3. It was a gorgeous site, with lots of critters hiding out in the sand and lots of healthy corals in between. A big triggerfish was busy munching on dead coral (though it looked like he was strategically picking the pieces up and arranging them!). Later on, we found a large cuttlefish hovering in the branches of a staghorn coral, and then a second smaller one just before we reached the maximum dive time and had to ascend.

With a few hours after the dive that staff had termed "siesta time", most people did just that to catch up on sleep lost from the last two nights. We zonked out right away and didn't wake up until almost four hours later! Unfortunately, we slept through the dive briefing, which meant having to skip the night dive (at a site called "The Beer Gardens"). Ken wasn't feeling too well anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to miss it. After dinner, we were shown the final chunk of video footage Steff took, which captured both the beautiful scenes of the reef and individual critters, as well as the fun shots of people having a good time on the boat and underwater. Too bad the price tag was so high, because it would have been great to take a copy home!

Onwards, we set sail south for Troppo's Reef, which meant a couple hours of rocky sailing outside the reef before going back in and anchoring for a calm and peaceful night at our destination for tomorrow morning's final dives.

Too many sharks to count (Mar. 22/09 - Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia)

2009-03-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

Before we went to bed last night, the captain estimated that the overnight 70 mile ocean crossing to Osprey Reef would be a 5 out of 10 in terms of difficulty. Taking that to mean average, let's just say that I would hate to know what a 6 or 7 would feel like... The ocean was so rough that we were tossed around in our beds all night, thrown up against the wall, and stuff was being launched off shelves all night. It was impossible to sleep until we got in behind the reef around 6am. Needless to say, it was really hard to get up this morning, though the thought of skipping the dive didn't even cross our minds. We were moored at North Horn at Osprey Reef, which is an extinct volcano that has collapsed into an atoll. 1000 metres of water sat beneath the boat, while just a short swim away, the reef came up to almost the surface. Being such an isolated structure, the walls are a favourite hangout spot for all sorts of sharks, and we spotted the first couple even before reaching the bottom of the mooring line. White tipped and grey sand sharks cruised the blue water and the deeper parts of the reef, each with a few tag along remoras that occasionally got the boot from their host shark and bee-lined it for us, since we must look somewhat sharky to them! They tend to suction-cup themselves to your leg or your belly, hoping to catch any fish scraps we might miss during a mid-dive snack. We followed the steep wall around to the east until the current became too much, but we should've gone further because a few guys saw a hammerhead shark out there! We zigzagged our way up the wall, watching sharks cruise by (sometimes within 20 feet or so), plus a Napoleon wrasse and a lone potato cod. With over 100 feet of visibility and some big toothy guys to keep us company, it was a great dive to start the day and make us forget all about the barfy ride out here.

The next one was said to be one of the best dives of the trip - the shark feed! We jumped back in at North Horn and took a seat to watch the action unfold. The sharks clearly knew what was going on, as dozens of them hung around, at least 40 of them but likely more, circling the bommie that they have been fed at before. Everything from snapper and damselfish up to potato cod and reef sharks milled about, turning the water into a swarm of fish. The guides hooked a line to a permanent pulley fixed to the reef, where they pulled down a garbage can delivered by a zodiak that was full of fresh tuna heads chained to a float. The sharks prodded the can and waited impatiently, until the guide released the lid and the buoyant chain of bait lifted out of the can. The sharks were on it instantly, ripping and tearing at the heads, trying to pull them off the chain. It became a huge mob of shark flesh twirling in a frenzied ball, and when one would successfully rip off a chunk, it would zoom away trying to choke down their catch before someone else stole it out of their mouth. The potato cod were right in there too, grabbing what chunks they could. A minute later, a few massive oceanic silvertip sharks came in, dwarfing the other sharks and taking over. When most of the meat was gone and only the bony head skeletons remained, the guide pulled the heads off the chain and basically started another free-for-all. A potato cod managed to catch one of the heads, which was so big that he barely had room for it in his mouth, though there was no way he was going to chew it! The action slowly dissipated, sharks returned to simply circling the reef, and we were free to swim around for the rest of the dive. It was definitely an adrenaline rush, being within mere feet of 40+ sharks fighting over lunch!

A short hop down the reef is a site called The Entrance, where the steep reef wall plummets into the abyss. Zodiaks dropped us south of the boat, leaving us a long stretch of reef to follow back. The walls were encrusted in hard corals, especially lots of plate corals that overlap like fish scales on the wall. Pretty little square spot anthias (males are bright purple with a pink square spot on their sides) are endemic to Osprey Reef, and they hover around with a harem of females, defending their territory. We made our way north toward the boat, spotting a white tipped sand shark lying in the sand right below the mooring line. We also did our fourth and final dive of the day here too, swimming along the sand alleyways between the massive coral bommies. A little sand shark was sleeping in the sand where we were headed, so he kept relocating a few metres forward, over and over again, to stay out of our way. At one point, we had found a small cave that looked big enough to swim into, but when we got down to shine our lights in, two small sharks stared back. Oops! Good thing we checked first! We did find a big open cave that had a bright skylight to swim through at the other end, so we passed through it and then made our way back toward the boat. The surface was a choppy mess by the time we got up, which was in stark contrast to the calm serenity beneath the waves...

After a much needed shower and an awesome dinner, we watched today's video footage on the big screen tv. It turned out so well - vibrant, action-packed, and set to perfect music. It was an incredible experience to be amongst to many sharks of all different shapes and sizes today, all majestic, and sadly, all threatened by fishing. It's sad to think that being able to swim amongst forty sharks could soon be a thing of the past, so we definitely appreciate the chance to do it now and gain a greater respect for them.

Fish as big as you (Mar. 21/09 - Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Australia)

2009-03-24T03:05:00.000-07:00

There were some big waves last night as we sailed north, but luckily a slightly rocky sea seems to have a soothing effect when you're trying to sleep. Around 6am, the bow thrusters roared to hook us up with the mooring buoy, then silence. We peered out to see a wide reef, turquoise blue with waves breaking on the far side, and the sun just breaching the horizon. We were fed a delicious breakfast and then given briefings on dive procedures and site orientation. Our first dive was at a site called Challenger Bay, on Ribbon Reef #9. We jumped in and made our way along the sloping sandy bottom to a group of bommies at 75 feet, where the divemaster said manta rays sometimes visit to be cleaned. No such luck though, but the bommies themselves were beautiful to swim a few laps around. This boat lets you dive without a guide if you want to, which was kind of nice for a change to just putter at our own speed. The visibility was ok but not great, maybe 40 or 50 feet. But we saw lots of fun stuff: a crown jellyfish, huge sea cucumbers 3 feet long, gobies hovering over the sand, bumpy yellow and blue/black striped nudibranchs, a pipefish, massive staghorn coral mounds, a big flounder, and even a white tipped reef shark cruising by in the shallows. It was a nice easy first dive, and a nice reminder of how awesome life on a liveaboard can be!

Our second dive was at a little spot called Pixie's Pinnacle, at a gap between Ribbon Reefs #9 and 10. A column of coral rises up from the sand at 100ft to just below the surface. The whole thing is covered in life, with lots of healthy hard corals, some sea fans and soft corals, tons of fish, and some little creatures we had never seen before. Large schools of little fusiliers swarmed in the water column beside the pinnacle, and a handful of trevally did their best to catch them, causing the schools to explode like fireworks each time they went for it. We spotted a black lionfish with long delicate fins, some big chunky yellow and black nudibranchs, grouper, pipefish, schools of anthias, and some big anemone patches with resident anemonefish. We spiraled up for an hour until we were low on air, then made our way back to the boat. Aside from some storm damage in the shallows thanks to the recent cyclone that ripped through here, the reefs seem to be nice and healthy, thanks to the fact that not many boats make it out this far!

Cod Hole is a site that is world famous for its resident potato cod, which are grouper that can grow up to over 300lbs. It also happens to be a beautiful site, with massive corals galore. We were running out of daylight, as one of the divers collapsed after the second dive and smashed his head open on a post when he fell, so we had to detour over to nearby Lizard Island to evacuate him out in a plane. He'll be fine, but it was just a precaution since he exhibited symptoms of an embolism, plus he had a concussion and needed stitches. So we got a view of the exclusive $1000/night resort on the beach on Lizard Island, watched the plane come and go, and then we carried on east to Cod Hole. Dive guides have been hand feeding the potato cod for decades, so we were going to see it happen too. All 27 of us jumped in the water at once and descended to a big sandy patch at about 30 feet. Even at the surface, snapper were circling the guide, who had a bucket full of sardines for the feeding. A big potato cod soon joined in the action, following the bucket all the way down to the bottom. We kneeled in the sand and watched the guide make his rounds, sneaking out a sardine now and then, which the big guys snatched up in a hurry. Their mouths must have been 18 inches wide, and when they swam by, I would guess they were about 4 or 5 feet long, with eyeballs the size of oranges! It was funny how in your face they would be, swimming right up to you and looking you in the face, hoping you had food for them, then swinging around when the sardine bucket came by, not caring if they slammed into you in the process. There were three or four of them, plus tons of snapper that swarmed around baring their vicious looking teeth, hoping to score a snack. After the feeding, we spent the other half of the dive exploring the big coral formations, ducking in between to get out of the current and find black and blue flatworms, lionfish, and the biggest friggin giant clam we had ever seen. They're usually a foot or two across, but this one was more like four feet across. Its "out hole" was at least 18 inches across! The craziest part was when you get close and they close their shell, this one reminded me of Indiana Jones since the whole entire rock creaked shut when you got close!

Night dive time! We jumped back into Cod Hole to check out the reef after dark. The reef fish were noticeably jumpy when they found themselves in the spotlight, and little nocturnal critters like tiny red and white squat lobsters and neon orange coral crabs came out to feed. Half way through the dive, I was hovering over a table coral when one of the big potato cod swam out from underneath it, scaring me half to death. He was happy to use our lights for hunting, following the beam and snagging a fish here and there as he followed along with us. After a few minutes, he caught a big snapper and then zoomed off into the dark. We thought he was gone, but a minute later three of them came bolting out of the darkness, heading straight for us. Talk about scary - three monstrous black beasts bee-lining it straight for you in the dark! They stayed with us, weaving in and out to use our lights, not even leaving us until we were all the way back at the boat.

We enjoyed brownies and ice cream while the crew video guy showed us the footage he took today, all set to music like I like to do with my videos at home. It was an awesome day - we're waterlogged already! But now we're being thrown about our cabins as we set said towards Osprey Reef, sailing overnight across the open ocean.

Into the Coral Sea (Mar. 20/09 - Coral Sea, Australia)

2009-03-24T02:58:00.000-07:00

With half the day to kill before being picked up for the dive trip, we slept in to catch up on our sleep, then had a fabulously normal bowl of cereal for breakfast before heading out. It's amazing how you come to miss the day to day things like that when you're away from home for so long! It was the first time we've had milk since November!

We had a couple errands to run, including finding a Lonely Planet for our drive down the coast and buying a new swimsuit for me since I've actually lost enough weight on this trip that mine no longer fits! Love it when that happens. A van picked us up mid afternoon and took us to the dive shop to sign our lives away and then we headed to the dock. I recognized the boat instantly, a beautiful 100ft monohull named "Taka". It's a large, well laid out boat, with an open sundeck up top, a covered main aft deck, indoor lounge/eating area, spacious dive deck, and cabins everywhere in between. We have a nice little room on the upper deck near the bow, with bunk beds and an ensuite bathroom. The whole boat seems to be well built and carefully designed, as the almost full boat of 25 divers and a dozen crew doesn't make it seem the least bit crowded. We got some dive gear and the lowdown on what to expect for the trip, then pushed off from the dock and were on our way out of the harbour, northbound. The sun set behind the eastern hills as we cruised parallel to the coast, bound for the Ribbon Reefs that fringe the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. We'll travel most of the way up overnight, dive at the famous "Cod Hole" site tomorrow, and then cross the open sea to Osprey Reef before diving our way back to Cairns over the next couple days. These are some of the richest dive sites in the world that we have heard so much about in dive publications and nature shows, so it's going to be quite a treat to see it all for ourselves!

The trip down under (Mar. 18-19/09 - Lombok, Indonesia to Cairns, Australia)

2009-03-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

With the Balinese New Year in full swing this morning, we knew we were going to have to be patient with a long day of waiting since the roads and airports would be busy places. People were dressed up all over the place, wearing their nice clean traditional clothes and congregating at temples and with family members. We were happy just to have seats on the plane, given the occasion, and we were amused that the hop from Lombok back to Bali was all of 15 minutes in the air. That's when the real waiting game began, as we landed at 1pm and we wouldn't board our flight to Australia until almost 10:30pm tonight. We just kept telling ourselves that it was infinitely better than being stuck on a ten hour bus ride! So we read, watched tourists fumbling through security with their herds of rolling suitcases, and read some more. It was a relief to finally be able to check in at 7pm, as there was lots to wander around and look at once you pass through immigration. When we lifted off the ground at 11pm, we were slightly sad but more relieved to be leaving Southeast Asia behind us for now. It was a wonderfully exotic couple of months for us, with such a diverse collection of cultures, sights, and memories. But the constant hassle, language barrier, sketchy food, and unfamiliar customs made it a tiring place to handle after so much time immersed in it. So Australia will be a welcome change: civilized, sanitary, English speaking, and easy. Bring it on!!!

It was barely 3am when we touched down in Darwin, a stopover on Australia's north coast. A couple hours later, we were lifting off toward the sunrise, bound for Cairns. With sunshine streaming in, scenery out the window, and breakfast being served, we wouldn't be getting much sleep on this leg either. We crossed the Gulf of Carpenteria and then passed lush ridges of Cape York's rainforests before descending over the white sand beaches of Australia's east coast. Having flown only a few degrees of latitude south from Bali, we weren't overly surprised to feel the same intense heat and humidity we've been used to for so long. Only when we head south will that start to dissipate.

The city of Cairns is only a few kilometers south of the airport, so it was a quick bus ride, where we got off in the central waterfront area to figure out where to stay. The seafront esplanade with adjacent stores and nearby pool and marina reminded us very much of Vancouver's Coal Harbour or Kelowna. The streets were clean, with little traffic, no honking, cars that stayed within the road lines, and traffic lights. The bus driver even yielded to an oncoming car in a roundabout! Finally, civilization!! The street along the water was full of hostels, eateries, and tour companies, yet nobody hollered after us or tried to sell us anything unsolicited. However, we were soon humbled by how little money we were accustomed to spending in Asia, as the prices here seem to be basically the same as at home. The cheapest room we could find was $40, and a simple lunch for two is at least $15! ouch! So much for $5 rooms and $6 dinner. We did find a hostel to stay at right on the main drag, so we dumped our bags and had some lunch, got our bearings, and then headed out.

We walked along the harbour walk, which skirts a huge public pool that blends right in with the surrounding lawns with free barbecues and the adjacent ocean. Families picnicked on the grass, people ran along the boardwalk, and locals cast fishing nets out into the water. The promenade wraps around the large central marina, giving nice views back to the city and its hilly backdrop. Private sailboats, charter fishing boats, dinner cruise catamarans, private megayachts, and countless day and liveaboard dive boats were lined up in the marina. While walking back to the esplanade, we found a group of banyan trees that were full of hundreds of bats - BIG bats, hanging upside down and chirping loudly. It was strange to see bats out in the daylight, especially ones with a two foot wingspan!

Since we're within spitting distance of the famous Great Barrier Reef, we knew we had to get out there to dive it. Several outfits do multiday extended trips out to the far reaches of the Coral Sea, where the reef is most pristine and largely unvisited. We lucked out in finding a company that would be leaving on their 5-day trip tomorrow, and they were offering last minute deals to try and fill the boat. Unfortunately, the less expensive room we were wanting was actually sold by another agent while we were on the phone trying to book it, so we had to settle for the slightly pricier one. Again, this trip is a big splurge, but it would be a sacrilege to not make the trek out onto the Great Barrier Reef since we're here!

Taking the scenic route (Mar. 16/09 - Senggigi, Lombok, Indonesia)

2009-03-17T02:11:00.000-07:00

As usual, a new island means another motorbike trip, so today we ventured north along the coast of Lombok to see the sights and hopefully make it all the way to Senaru, which is a village on the northern slope of Gunung Rinjani. The guidebook was right when it described the coastal drive as "stunningly beautiful" - the road winds its way up and over multiple headlands formed by lava flows to give a panoramic view down onto the black sand below, fringed with coconut palms and turquoise water so clear that reef fish were visible from hundreds of feet away. There were seven or eight of these beaches, side by side but separated by lava flows. As we rounded the northwest corner of Lombok, the three tiny "Gili" islands came into view. These are the popular destination for most of Lombok's visitors, as all three are tiny, surrounded by white sand beaches, and all offer varying combinations of snorkelling, partying, and relaxing. If we had more time, we would definitely be making the hop over to check them out!

The road continued along the north coast, through rice fields and a couple towns, with occasional views of Gunung Rinjani. Generally following the shoreline, we maneuvered around horse-drawn carts (poor lame ponies being forced to canter down the pavement) and trucks loaded with everything from chickens to school kids. Now that Ken is a seasoned Indonesian motorbike driver, it was a pretty stress free drive. After a couple hours, the road curved south and began to climb the volcano's lower slopes, giving beautiful views out over the terraced rice fields and the ocean far below. At the end of the road, a park office stood where people begin the 3-day trek up the volcano in the dry season. It's out of the question at this time of the year, and as a result, the town was deserted. Since it was too far to continue back to Senggigi via the south side of the volcano, we turned around and headed back the way we came. A dark storm cloud ahead made us a little nervous, and before we had time to find shelter, someone turned on the tap and the torrential downpour began. It was raining so hard that we could barely see the road, so we pulled over and huddled under a tree, trying to divert the rain with a sarong I had in the pack, trying to keep our cameras dry. After ten minutes, we were drenched at it seemed to be easing up a bit, so we jumped back on the bike and kept going, hoping to find proper cover to wait it out. It wasn't far to the next town, so we hid under a bus stop for a while until the cloud had pretty much passed. Less than two minutes down the road, the pavement was completely dry! Between the wind and the sun, we were dry again by the time we rounded the corner onto the west coast. Since there were a couple of hours of afternoon sun left, we decided to try and find a way down to one of the beaches we passed on the way up to swim and watch the sun go down. It seemed they were all fenced off or obviously were private property, so we ended up driving into a beachfront hotel and asking if we could access the beach through their property. It turned out that the hotel was still under construction, a retirement project for a nice Australian guy who is fixing it up to sell as timeshare bungalows. It was a very nice place, too, but when we got down to the beach, we found that the surf was too high for swimming and the beach too littered to lie down, so we headed home instead. It made for a fun day of exploring the island, and tomorrow we hope to head south and find some of the rumoured deserted white sand beaches that they put on all the postcards!

The slow boat to Lombok (Mar. 15/09 - Senggigi, Lombok, Indonesia)

2009-03-17T01:59:00.000-07:00

With only a few days left before our flight to Australia on the 18th, we decided to spend the last couple days checking out Lombok, Bali's eastern neighbour. Despite being able to see the island from where we were in Amed, we had to drive back to Padangbai to catch the ferry across. Tour companies offer a fast boat that only takes an hour to cross the straight, but with a price tag of $70 each, we opted to join the rest of the locals and the frugal travelers on the slow public boat. It was an hour late leaving the harbour, so we plunked down in the shade with everyone else and chatted with other backpackers to kill the time. Eventually, the boat showed up and we grabbed an outside bench to take advantage of the sea breezes and avoid the noise, smoke, and cluster of people inside. As we pulled out of the bay, tenders from an Italian cruise ship were ferrying tourists to the dock, and the massive "welcoming party" (touts and taxi drivers) awaited them, ready to pounce when they got off the boat. It's only 25km over to Lombok, but the ancient ferry only cruises at 7 or 8 knots, so it would take over four hours to get there. The scenery was nice though, with Nusa Penida to the south and Lombok's southwestern tip passing by. Various people came and went from the other end of our bench, including a local family that seemed keen to learn some more english. I was dismayed to watch the little four year old boy finish a snack and throw the bag overboard into the sea, then do the same with his water bottle. No wonder the ocean is thick with garbage. I wonder why people aren't more concious about little things like not bothering to walk the five steps to the garbage can? It seems to happen all the time in this part of the world, and it sickens me because every piece of garbage that falls into the water will likely kill a fish, a piece of coral, or a turtle.

We pulled into Lombok's Lembar harbour four and a half hours later, starving from having not eaten yet today and sore from so long on the bench. The town we were aiming for is Senggigi, a beach town with some tourist facilities that sounded just right for our last few days in Indonesia. It was a 90 minute drive, through the main town of Mataram and past rice fields and looming black storm clouds gathering on Lombok's signature Gunung Rinjani volcano. Not knowing where we wanted to stay, we ignored the overpriced offers from the booking office we were dumped at and started walking. Two separate guys on motorbikes pulled over and whipped out cards to try and get us to go to their hotel, but the one we had picked out of the guidebook turned out to be just fine. We paid a few extra dollars to be away from the road, as motorcycles roaring down the street is a recipe for a sleepless night. Instead, we got a big room with views of the ocean and just the sound of waves rolling in. Sure, the walls are crumbling from water damage and you have to turn the shower knobs on with pliers, but we're ok with that!

Finally, we were well enough and had time to get some food in our stressed-out stomachs, then we walked along the beach just in time to catch the sun setting behind Bali, directly west. The dramatic swirling clouds over the silhouette of Gunung Agung and sailboats on the horizon really made for a pretty sight. Postcard perfect!

Two happy fish geeks (Mar. 14/09 - Amed, Bali, Indonesia)

2009-03-17T01:42:00.000-07:00

It seemed as though we would have the divemaster to ourselves today, which suited us just fine! This time we were picked up on motorbikes and driven to the dive shop a few miles down the road, where we grabbed our gear and went down to the beach, where a traditional "jukung" boat was waiting. It was definitely the strangest dive boat we had ever used - about 20 feet long, and only 18 inches wide (like a canoe) but deep, and with bamboo outriggers on each side. It was only a ten minute ride to the site, where we would dive a sloping sand bottom around a point that was dotted with corals and sponges. The shallow sand was covered with garden eels that back themselves down into holes in the sand and then come part way out to sway in the current, looking like a garden of blowing grass. When you approach, they sink slowly back into the hole and reappear when you pass. We swam down the slope into deeper water, where we found black spotted moray eels, zebra lionfish, barrel sponges big enough to hide a refrigerator in, gobies in the sand, and the highlight - ribbon eels! These are another of those critters that we had only seen in magazines - small, elegant eels that are bright blue with a yellow dorsal fin and big flared yellow nostrils. Very exotic looking! We saw two males (blue and yellow) and one juvenile (black with a yellow dorsal fin) and read later that the males all turn into females (solid yellow) when they grow to 85cm long! Bizarre. Other finds included a clown snake-headed eel peering out of the sand, beautiful orange/yellow/pink soft corals, a school of striped catfish, and a few pretty nudibranchs. The light current made for an easy dive, and with so much to see, it was a memorable one!

Local porter ladies were on hand to carry our gear back to the shop when we arrived back at the beach, but they carry it on their heads! A tank/BCD balanced on a rolled up towel on their head, and a second full set perched on their shoulder. We were impressed! Tanks were refilled, fish were identified in field guides, and then we did it all over again! This time, we went east, past expensive homes and hotels on the hillside overlooking the coast, to a quiet little cove where a mooring buoy marks the site of a Japanese shipwreck. Nobody seems to know the story behind it, so we figure it was a gift from the Americans to get the Japanese back for torpedoing the Liberty. The ship was quite small (or what's left of it anyway), and it sits in only 25 feet of water. A thick school of little orange fish swarmed the mangled interior, making a swim through it almost blind! The corals smothering the wreck were pretty, but after admiring them and the fish checking out the submerged toilet, we made our way onto the adjacent reef and drifted west. The sloping reef was packed with coral, ranging from impressive fields of staghorn coral to massive sea fans and soft coral branches. Tiny hairy squat lobsters hung out on the ridges of a barrel sponge, damselfish and anemonefish guarded their territory, and countless orange anthias swarmed above the reef. Our guide spent a long time staring at a pink gorgonian and eventually waved us over, pointing out another pygmy seahorse! This was a bit surprising though, as we were only at 40 feet and they typically like deeper water, 90ft and deeper. And for the grand finale, he found a rare leafy scorpionfish sitting on the wreck out in plain view. We have been spoiled to have had such great dives over the past two days, especially having found so many exotic little critters that makes the fish geeks in us very happy!

Much like the food poisoning that I had a couple days ago, Ken woke up this morning feeling pretty much the same way, but he was a trooper and managed the dives today like a true scubaholic. When we got back to the hotel, though, he crashed and barely woke up until the next morning, having gone over 24 hours without food. So the rest of the day was quiet, relaxing with a beautiful sea view and starting to read up on Australia since it will be our next destination. The power conveniently went out at 8pm, so we both called it a super early night and slept off the last of our sicknesses.

The Liberty (Mar. 13/09 - Amed, Bali, Indonesia)

2009-03-17T01:16:00.000-07:00

In World War II, a Japanese submarine torpedoed a US cargo ship "Liberty" 15km southwest of Lombok, where it was towed to shore on Bali by the US Navy to salvage the cargo of raw rubber and railway supplies. It stayed there, near Tulambed on Bali's northeast coast, until earth tremors during the massive 1963 eruption of Gunung Agung sent it sliding into the sea, fracturing it in several places. Today it sits in shallow water just 40 metres from shore, making for easy access by divers and snorkellers. Friends from home have dived it before and gave rave reviews, so we had high expectations since it was our destination for the day.

While waiting for the dive van to pick us up this morning, we walked along the beach and watched the local fishermen bringing in their morning catch of makerel, coasting their outrigger boats ashore and pulling them up by hand onto the beach. Kids and dogs milled around to see what the men brought in, and a tiny old lady, hunched over with age, helped herself to a dozen fish and then hobbled back up to her house. We drove about 20 minutes west along Bali's north coast to Tulamben, taking in perfect views of Gunung Agung en route, as this was the first time since we arrived on Bali that it wasn't enveloped in cloud. The Liberty sunk so close to shore that it is done as a shore dive, so we geared up on the rocky beach with views out to Lombok and its imposing 3700m Gunung Rinjani volcano. The water was flat and crystal clear, and it was almost too easy just to walk into the water, put on fins, and have the wreck within sight the moment you go under. The ship is about 120m in length and lies on her side, with the deepest sections not even at 100 feet. With decades of time for marine life to inhabit the wreck, it was completely covered in corals and teeming with fish of all varieties and sizes, from hovering barracuda and schooling jacks to tiny cleaner fish and gobies. Soft corals and sea fans waved in the current, virtually hiding the fact that it was a ship at all. Tunicates, feather stars, black and green 'chromodoris' nudibranchs, tiny yellow crabs, giant clams, huge grouper, and even a tiny pygmy seahorse clinging to a sea fan near the base of the wreck. We cruised the length of the deck, trying to decifer the ship's structure, then zigzagged along the hull and through the mangled holds, emerging at the ship's guns and towering superstructure that came to within a few feet of the surface. Off the bow, a huge school of several thousand jacks swirled in a slow motion tornado, sparkling in the sun and causing us to completely forget where we were for a moment - it was so beautiful! Even on the short swim back to shore, we saw a peacock mantis shrimp, a field of the biggest garden eels we had ever seen, a juvenile harlequin sweetlips, and a gobie with its resident shrimp poking out of their hole in the sand. It was a phenomenal dive, definitely worthy of a couple more to take in all the life that call the Liberty home.

Our second dive on the Liberty was much the same as our first - beautiful and relaxing. The school of jacks was swirling in the shallows still, accompanied by a couple gigantic trevally. We swam in and out of the structure, checking out more nudibranchs, a scorpionfish, anemonefish, and dipping down to get another look at the pygmy seahorse. Having never seen one before, I was amazed how tiny they are. I held up my pinky finger to compare, and it was much less than half its width! And so camoflauged - pink with white bumps to perfectly match the pink gorgonian he was clinging to. Some areas on the wreck were so thick with fish that it was borderline claustrophobic! Big barrel sponges sprouted from the towers and soft corals of all different textures masked the metal ship hidden underneath. We found a few more gorgeous nudibranchs near the bow in shallow water, where there were views out into the deep blue through the exposed portholes. On our way back to the beach after an hour underwater, I found a bizarre big crab and a peacock mantis shrimp scurrying over the rocks. This was definitely one of those sites that you never want to surface from - highly recommended to anyone who makes a visit to Bali!

A short distance down the beach east of the Liberty is the Tulamben Drop-off, where the rocky bottom falls away to a beautiful wall on the edge of three lava flows, where we did our third dive. To the untrained eye, a plain rocky/sandy bottom often appears dead and boring, but if you look closely and swim slowly, all kinds of critters become visible. Hundreds of tiny black gobies hovered above their holes in the sand, turning and diving in unison at any sign of danger. A group of a dozen baby triggerfish swam in a cluster near their mother, and several colourful nudibranchs slithered along the bottom. Along the wall, we cruised slowly and found gorgonians crawling with tiny transparent shrimp, more candy-coloured nudibranchs, a big cuttlefish, giant clams, a moray eel, huge feather stars, and a couple blue-spotted stingrays. It's fun to watch symbiosis at work at cleaning stations, where fish of all types, from wrasses and butterflyfish to big guys like grouper and trumpetfish, hover in an area where little cleaner wrasses go to work nibbling parasites off them. Sometimes they sit there with mouths and gills open, and everybody leaves happy - clean or full of dinner. By the time we made it back to the rocky shallows, the afternoon sun was shining through the water onto a passing school of grunts, making for a nice end to another lovely dive and a perfect day beneath the waves.

Amed, not Club Med! (Mar. 12/09 - Amed, Bali, Indonesia)

2009-03-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

It felt like we had been stationary in Ubud for quite a while when we went to pack up our bags this morning, which was nice! A minivan came mid morning to take us over to Amed, where we'll park ourselves for a few days at a quiet little spot overlooking the ocean to do some diving and enjoy the solitude of Bali's less busy eastern side. Other than a couple shortcuts, the driver took basically the same route that we did on the motorbike yesterday. When we pulled into Padangbai, he pulled over and told us we would wait for an hour, as more people were on their way. So we sat down at the restaurant next door to have some lunch and watch the boatloads of tourists coming off tenders from the cruise ship anchored offshore. But ten minutes later, just as our lunch arrived, I saw the driver walking away with our packs and ran after him, only to learn that they were being loaded into another van that was going to Amed, with a bunch of other people inside, leaving right now! Typical. So we had our lunches dumped into plastic bags, which we would have to wait two hours to eat.

In Amed, the driver stopped on the side of the road part way along the spread out strip of hotels, claiming that was as far as he goes. With 3km of road between there and our hotel and no way to get there, we weren't too impressed! Especially since they pick you up at the start of the trip - shouldn't they drop you off too? But we bribed him to keep going, avoiding what would've been an hour long, hot walk. Our room was perfect, with tile floors and a big balcony looking straight out over the bay and the fishing boats hauled up onto the beach. It didn't take us long to dig out our masks and walk down across the black sand beach for a peek at the reef. Even in waist-deep water, small corals and tropical fish covered the bottom, but they grew quickly into large clusters of healthy hard corals that swarmed with a surprising variety and abundance of fish. In less than ten feet of water, we saw tons of batfish, sweetlips, schooling jacks, razorfish, nudibranchs, feather stars, angelfish, triggerfish, and even a tiny bluespotted stingray. We were very impressed to see such a healthy reef within 30 feet from the beach, especially in an area where boats come and go daily and people are in the water constantly. If this was any indication of what the diving will be like, we're going to be in heaven!

We had an early dinner at a beachfront spot, where we enjoyed grilled fish in banana leaves and even met a couple of girls from West Vancouver who just finished driving up the east coast of Australia in a campervan - exactly the same trip we'll be starting next week! Add that to our ever growing list of small world coincidences!