Great Barrier Reef

On Wednesday, both Brendon and I went out to the Great Barrier Reef ( 2 outer reefs). There are many reef systems surrounding islands but our trip was right out to two of the many outer reef systems. Brendon spent 2 days in class and in the pool and 2 days on the reef to complete his PADI scuba certification which certifies him for life to dive to 18m. I only went for the day trip on Wed. to do some snorkelling and a couple of dives.

The weather has not been that great since we got to Cairns. It's been really cloudy and lots of rain off and on. So we were hoping for a nice day on the boat but got lots of cloud and wind instead. The boat ride out to the reef was quite rough...not good for the sea sick feeling. We got to our first destination about an hour and a half after we left the pier. It was a little scary to look out and see nothing, only water. It felt like we were in the middle of the deep, deep ocean. You couldn't see any land, islands, other boats or anything...but as soon as you jumped in and looked down, it was awesome! The water didn't look that appealing from the boat (not the beautiful turquoise clear water) but the visibility was awesome once you got under....I did a short snorkel around, saw some cool fish and then came back to the boat to get ready for my intro dive. During this time Brendon was getting ready for his first dive. He completed 2 dives each day and they were mostly testing his SCUBA skills. So we were both in and out of the water at different times.

I was really nervous about diving. I knew that I wanted to try it but I really didn't know what to expect. I was put into a group with 3 other intro divers and I think we were all a little bit nervous. We all got suited up and sat on the back of the boat and waited for the instructor. They then helped us into the water and told us to go under the water down the ladder. So down I went and there were huge beautiful fish under the boat but I started to feel really nervous. I had never breathed through a regulator and it felt so weird to be breathing under the water. So I had a slight panic and told the instructor I wanted to go up to the surface (we were only about a meter or 2 under the water). One of the boat crew members wanted to know what was wrong and he told me that it was normal to feel nervous and that everything was fine. So back down I went and showed my 2 skills to the instructor (clear your mask and take your regulator out and put it back in). And then off we went! The 5 of us....arms linked, with the instructor in the middle. We swam for about 5 minutes like this and then he let us go and we followed him around. It was the coolest feeling EVER! It was like we were just floating along....I LOVED IT! So much I paid an extra $30 to do a second dive in the afternoon! There is so much more to look at under the surface and I loved how you could swim right up to the fish and coral. Very cool!

Airlie Beach - Whitsunday Islands -

After a week long visit in Emerald we were off again to the Whitsunday Islands. Finally, we are back into tropical Australia so even though it is the winter over here the temperatures are quite nice (low-mid 20's). Airlie Beach is the gateway to the islands and is a strip of tourist booking shops, souvenir shops, hostels, cafes, restaurants and bars. It was a pretty happening place...lots of people everywhere. Especially also because it is just the end of the school holidays. There is a lagoon area overlooking the ocean (a great place to swim b/c of all the jelly fish in the ocean), although we didn't swim there.

The "typical" thing to do here is take a 3 day sailing trip around the islands. However, Bren and I opted for a day tour instead (just to save some $$$...). We had three stops during the day. The first was to the Hill Inlet Lookout where we got an amazing view of the white, white sands and turquoise waters.

Then we stopped at the famous Whitehaven Beach. We were watching a travel show one night about Australia's top beaches and Whitehaven was Number 1...how could we miss Australia's best beach!! It was amazing....9km long, finest sand and clearest water. We spent just over an hour lazing on the beach. And then lunch and off to snorkel at Border Island....fringing reef area.

The morning we left Airlie we went to the Saturday markets on the Esplanade. Neat stalls with crafts, fresh produce, touristy things (pictures, postcards...all that stuff) and live music. So it was a nice way to start off the day. We drove pretty well all day (10am-4pm) to Mission Beach which was much smaller with only a few cafes and bars...but nice beach area. Bren took this picture of the palm tree last night with our new tripod!

We are now in Cairns for the next week and 2 days. Bren is looking to do a Dive certification course and I will maybe pick up some temporary work, or volunteer in a school or just relax....haven't decided yet!

Warrumbungle National Park

by Brendon:

After the Grampians we drove along way north to Warrumbungles N.P. On the way there we stayed in Albury and then in Dubbo (both for one night and nothing happened so I'll spare you those boring details). After the night in Dubbo it was only a few hours to the N.P. We were thinking about camping for the 2 nights we wanted to stay but after talking to the girl at the info centre we decided to find a cheap place to stay since the night before was -6°C. So we found a small place to stay on the way into the park.
On the full day we had in the park we went on a hike that was approx. 20kms long. The hike was really good and the scenery was amazing. There was a lot of uphill and by the end both Kristin and I were drained. The temperature during the day was around 15°C which was perfect for hiking.
While in the Park we also went to an Observatory to view the stars. The guide was very informative and showed us where Saturn, Mars and Jupiter were (we got to look at Jupiter through one of the telescopes and saw the 2 stripes around the planet and also 6 of Jupiters moons. The guide also showed us some interesting star clusters.

Kristin having a tea break a couple hours into our hike. We make tea almost everyday and carry the thermos everywhere for our morning smoko (aussie for a coffee break)

The view from Macha Tor towards the Breadknife
(the thin spire around the middle of the screen)

A closer view of the above with the Breadknife on the right of the pic.

Kris and I at the top of the Grand High Tops (the Breadknife is behind the camera).

Rhonda frosted up each morning. Even inside with a small heater Kristin and I were both cold.