Down Under Journey

Journey's End

leslieb — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 05:14:00 GMT

I am knackered, sitting in LAX waiting for my flight home. last day in Oz was great, beginning with a sunrise walk on the beach, a long black at the cafe, scratching Tex's belly (I still love you best, Jasper), enjoying the quiet. spent the morning at the Wildlife Habitat and saw some amazing creatures, including Samson, the koala, kangaroos, and plenty of tropical birds. Travelled back to Cairns, with a roadside beach stop for brews and prawns. Was able to hook up with my two favorite ladies from the dive boat, Kiana and Larissa, and had a nice dinner - aka Chipotle, althouh state side Chipotles don't offer lamb buttitos. I am so thankful for the opportunity to make this trip, the support I received from my very understanding husband, and outreach from friends. Oz is something else. No worries, Mates.

Photos: Last looks

leslieb — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 04:04:00 GMT

Any country where you can get mango cheesecake for breakfast can't be all bad!

leslieb — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 16:17:00 GMT

You heard me right. That coupled with a mug of flat black can get you going in the morning. It is quite hot and humid here right now - even the Port DouglasIan's have commented how muggy it is. I strolled down to the Marina this morning and contributed positively to the Port Douglas economy. Even took a swim, but water is right around bath water temperature, so not very refreshing. Nothing is really very cold here and they dispense ice seldom, if ever! I understand that is common in the UK where a good many of these citizens hail from. Chillin the rest of the afternoon, too hot to go back into town and I picked up some gigantic shrimp, excuse me, Prawns, that I will soon be enjoying with a medium cold beer for dinner. I am going to have Breakfast with the Birds tomorrow at the wild life park, and I aim to nab a photo with a koala, if it is the last thingI do. Then on to Ciarns for the evening and then a 5:30 am flight to Brisbine and then home. I understand the Bucks made the final 4, so lots to celebrate. Cheers.

Photos: Port Douglas

leslieb — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 16:01:00 GMT

Time for Chillaxin'

leslieb — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:35:00 GMT

Well, things are definitely winding down. I drove from Ingham to Port Douglas today, with a quick stop in Cairns. Also stopped at a roadside market and bought fresh cherries, apricots, nectarines, lychees and mango. The lychees are really good. They grow mangos and pineapples down here, and I went through sugar cane country,whichI guess is a big crop. The drive has given me a chance to listen to Austalian radio. They don't seem to have a lot of commercial stations, and most of the time, they are broadcasting cricket matches and world news. I did catch these two blokes this afternoon going on about the animals they have hit, primarily Kangaroos. It was pretty hysterical, or maybe its just hit me funny. I am now in Port Douglas, a coastal town about 45 miles north of Cairns. The drive up was beautiful, fairly reminiscent of A1a in southern California. Very windy and very close to the water. High season hasn't really started yet - guess that happens next week, so it is relativley quiet. Actually set my hair, am enjoying a cold Great Northen beer (or three!) and am going to enjoy a good seafood meal In a bit. Just two days left - I'll see what trouble I can get in! Good on ya.

Photos: On the Road from Cardwell to Port Douglas

leslieb — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:28:00 GMT

Ahhhhh!

leslieb — Tue, 9 Dec 2014 21:41:00 GMT

That is the operative word right now. this morning I set out to dive the Yongala, a steamer that sank in a cyclone off Townsville in 1911, I think. What was so incredible was the size of the sea creatures out there. On the second of two dives, as I was exploring the ship, I came upon a giant green sea turtle, just kind of hanging around. I was so close I could have touched him, but us Eco divers don't do things like that, so I just waved as I wnet by. after the dive, I made my way up to Ingham, where I am ensconced in a room that has a shower and toilet in the room! What a concept. Got some laundry done, since just about everything I had was wet, had a great meal of pasta with prawns. What is strange is that the hotels/motels offer room service at no extra charge since they don't really have sit down restaurants. Also, there aren't really waitresses. you walk up to the counter, give them your order and then they bring it to you. Tipping is not common, and I can see why, since they don't really wait on you, I guess. I am going to head up to Port Douglas for my final few days to relax, shop, and recover. I have cuts all over my hands from coral and ship wrecks, some pretty crazy bruises and am just kind of best. Know I know what they mean by adventure diving - this is way different from the BVI and other Carribean locales. I want to stop at Edmund Kennedy Natinal park for a walk, since I am finally able to stand without swaying. Anyway, beddie-bye time.

Photos: Alva Beach - Yongala

leslieb — Tue, 9 Dec 2014 21:37:00 GMT

From Cairns to Tully to Townsville, oh my!

leslieb — Mon, 8 Dec 2014 20:35:00 GMT

I am sitting in my room at Yingala Dive. This place is about 250 miles from Cairns. Backing up, the dive boat docked in Cairns this morning, Monday, Dec. 8 after covering something like 1700 nautical miles over the course of the week. The final night was a wonderful barbecue (I even ate kangaroo), as well as some fresh sushimi from a mackerel and tuna that was caught on our way back. Can't get much fresher than that - and did I mention the fresh new Zealand oysters? I have added some pictures from the last day and night, and yes, that is me in the dive gear, ready to dive. I got my car this morning and made the trip down To Alva Beach, where I will do my final two dives of the trip, Thank God! I stopped about half way in a small town named Tully, which is home to the large boot. Not sure what that was about, but the town itself resembled a Western town circa 1920, much like some of the small, old townsite West. The dive is a wreck dive named the Yongala, which was a passenger steamer that sunk back in the early 1920's. The sea creatures are said to be huge in that this wreck is a good 45 minutes off shore, so there are no reefs and the huge Pelagius are attracted to the ready source of food. Hope to get some good photos from someone diving. I am knackered as they say down here so I am going to make my way to the community bath for a much needed shower. Cheers.

Photos: Potpourri

leslieb — Mon, 8 Dec 2014 20:23:00 GMT

varius

Photos: Hangin'

leslieb — Sun, 7 Dec 2014 14:03:00 GMT

The final Journey

leslieb — Sun, 7 Dec 2014 08:37:00 GMT

This is the last day of diving and I am sore, bruised but still breathing! I opted out of the first dive today- a live drop 10 feet from a moving boat into a current - thanks but no thanks. Our second dive is Steve's Bommie, which I Will dive since it is one of the best on this trip. I am including some pictures of what happens getting ready to dive and the live drop. Also including pictures of our heroic chec, Tim, in his galley. He is a rock star in putting out great meals from a very small place. I will be adding some underwater photos soon. Stay tuned

Photos: Diving

leslieb — Sun, 7 Dec 2014 08:32:00 GMT

Photos: Spirit of Freedom

leslieb — Fri, 5 Dec 2014 17:37:00 GMT

Dive trip shots

I am alive

leslieb — Fri, 5 Dec 2014 17:20:00 GMT

Catching up. It is Friday, and I am into the 5th day of diving. It has been in a word, spectacular! I have seen things I have only read about - sharks, Manta Ray, giant sea turtles, nudi branchs, giant sea clams, fish of every shape, size and color. Day one for me was stressful, in that I was using the rental gear, which was completely unfamiliar to me and had trouble with weight, buoyancy air consumption, you name it. Things calms down on Wednesday because I changed gear, weights and wet suit. Much more comfortable, so was able to finally begin to enjoy the dives. I will admit that this is fairly arduous. Even though I have hundreds of dives and various circumstances, nothing could have prepared me for this. Entry's can be jumping off the side of the boat - while it's moving ("live drop"), getting into a tender for transfer, or, by simply jumping off the back of the boat, by far my favorite, although the live drop is pretty fun. I haven't taken many pictures, since all you can see, in all four directions, is water! No boats, no land, the occasional sand island, and of course, the Aqua blue water,indicating a reef. We start at seven a.m. for the first dive, then breakfast, another dive, then lunch, another dive, then snacks, another dive,then dinner and finally the night dive, followed by dessert. The food has been wonderful, home style, but European - Curry, lamb, chicken, steak, always some sort of potato and veggie. And some fabulous dessert. They have a shirt that reads "dive, eat, dive,eat, dive,ear, sleep and that about sums it up. we made every type of dive imaginable - drift dIves, deep dives, wall dives, and one in whichthe ending resembled a washing machine as divers were caught in a bottleneck of two converging currents. Thanks to my best dive buddy ever, Kiana, I missed the wash cycle and went straight to rinse! here at some pics from the flight unto the boat, and a couple of the view outside my window. Cheers for now.

A morning walk about

leslieb — Mon, 1 Dec 2014 12:00:00 GMT

First off, man is it hot! There was a little rain early this morning, and I was actually chilly, but no mas- probably around 88 right now (11:00 am). I had a chance to walk around Downtown Cairns and it is quite charming. There is a large esplanade that runs from my hotel to downtown, and it includes walking trails, a par course with various exercises and a rally large pool/beach area. There were several folks already swimming at 6:00 in the morning. I had a few last minute supplies to pick up, and there is a ginourmas Woolworth's right downtown. While waiting for it to open, a couple of young skateboarders and I got. Into a conversation - they were from Wales and were spending 3-1/2 weeks in Australia, hitting all the sites and traveling down to Sydney for Christmas Eve and then back to London. I am waiting to be picked up for the flight to Lockart River Airport (1-1/2 hours North, and then a two hour bus ride to meet the boat. There likely will not be wi-fi where I am going, so this might be my last post for a bit. If we aren't off the vid, I will keep posting. Can't wait, nowitreallyis an excellent adventure!

Upside Down Down Under

leslieb — Mon, 1 Dec 2014 02:32:00 GMT

I am upside dowN. It is 1:30 am and I am wide awake! I am sure this will get better. Had my first tast of barramundi last night - delish. Haven't seen too much of Cairns yet, but once it is light, I intend to walk about before I picked up for my trip later this morning. Did I mention I was just across from the hospital? Good thing, as my right foot swelled up like a huge sausage, but a little time spent in the prone position has helped. It's about 75 right now, a little on the humid side, but right on the bay, so a nice breeze. Later mi Amigos.

Photos: Brisbane

leslieb — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 16:21:00 GMT

We're not in Kansas anymore

leslieb — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 14:56:00 GMT

As you can see from the pictures, I have arrived. the Quantas flight was awesome, and the majority of the flght attendants are male, cast in the ruggedrole of Crockodile Dundee, which ain't all bad. I was greeted on board with a glass of bubbly, which set the tone for a very relaxing trip. Our row lucked out in that there were only three of us (a dad and his son, who presently live in San Fran, but are from Australia and were returning to Oz for this holidays. A good dinner, a movie, pop the Ambian, and lo and behold it is 7 hours later. Woke up about 4 hours out, did a sitz bath in the lav, changeedclothes and had a bit of fresh fruit before landing. A quick trip through customs, a stess free transfer to the domestic terminal (Hell, LAX, are you listening?), then a puddle jumper to Cairns (pronounced "cans" as I have been told over and over and am now chillaxin'in my room after a vey quick dip in th pool. Going to head out for an esrly dinner, and early to bed. This old bod doesn't quite move the way it did Before. Will updat once picked up for the flight up North? Cheer, Mats.

Nightmare

leslieb — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 17:51:00 GMT

Note to self - never, ever connect in LA! Our otherwise pleasant flight got us in early to LAX, and our gat was not ready. Due to sure fog, which required several planes to divert to LA, we sat on the runway a good 30 minutes, but I wasn't worried since I had a two hour layover. Good thing - getting from the domestic terminal to the international terminal is no easy fat, particularly for someone who is vision impaired, with a gimp foot. But, intrepid traveler that I am, I am now sitting at the gate, waiting another hour or so, to board. Not sure what the internet connections will be once we take off, so I will check in again, when I have transversed the Equator. Cheers, mates.