queenstown v1.2

late night out for a midnight showing of pirates of the caribbean at world's end. no hidden treasure here. even later night due to our roomates returning to the room at dawn with their party pills wearing off. new hostel needed.

the next day lyds decided to come off the bench and score one versus death. her chip in was to experience the world's largest swing. the canyon swing, as it is called, is located in the shotover canyon and has its participants step off a ledge to free fall 60m and then arc out at over 100km/hr. her first jump was a mental challenge. she passed and took a huge step off. her second jump was called the elvis cutaway. they suspended her over the drop laying on her back (facing the sky) and then cut her away. on the second jump she swung over river rafters. what a scream. all of it is taped.

the next day we took on the shotover river on a whitewater rafting trip. note on the river: the shotover river rises out of the richardson mountains north of queenstown and picks up speed through its deepest and narrowest section - skipper's canyon. anyone want to guess where we rafted? skipper's canyon. with its grade iii-iv rapids. even the trip out to our launching point was an adventure down the winding and narrow skipper's canyon road. it is one of only two roads in new zealand where cars are not covered by their insurance. bumping gravel with a sheer rock face to one side and a sheer drop off to the other. no railing. one of the windows to the truck we took still bears scratches from rocks on the turns.

once on the river we took time to practice new positions and commands. examples are forward paddle, backwards paddle, hold on a.k.a. holy sh*t, oh no!, here it comes, etc., back to business, get to the bottom, lean left, etc. as we passed through the canyon we passed relics of the gold rush the happened here in 1862. abandoned miner's housing and equipment - haunted-looking and rusting now. very cool. the river was once even know as the "richest river in the world." we also saw mountain goats clinging on to what appeared to be nothing on the canyon's sides.

14kms of rafting through rapids such as mother-in-law, oh sh*t, the squeeze, jaws, the toilet, and miner's revenge. as we took on the squeeze we heard the command to get down to the bottom and lean right. our raft almost flipped in the storm and we pushed against the rock and leaned into the wave. we even lost one of the limeys in the front. i had to lift him back in to the raft by his lifejacket like the hoff. a lot of white faces after that. but a great feeling of euphoria. near the end of the trip we passed through the 200m of the oxbridge tunnel (all in the dark). as we exited the darkness we hit the rapids known as the cascade. it was like being in a bathtub.

leaving queenie soon to head north to auckland.

shooting the shoots like the maclean boys.

4 neil - death 0

burning down the highway skyline
on the back of a hurricane
that started turning when [we] were young.
- the killers

queenstown v1.1

finished reading an englishman abroad. interesting to note that becks was voted first in a british poll of the person most admired in history. jc came in at 123. on to reading wellington - the iron duke.

the day after "the" jump, lyds and i decided to take it easy by spending the day horseback riding through the glenorchy region. again we were lucky to be the only two riders for the trip. note on glenorchy: the region is 50km nw of queenstown and is amazingly beautiful and remote. the town itself is at the head of lake wakatipu, and the surrounding countryside is boxed inside mt. forbes and mt. humboldt. the area has become famous for being the location for several key lord of the rings sets, and the horse our guide rode was even featured in the film.

we rode across the river flats on to the rees valley station, and then acended onto the richardson mountain side to take in the views overlooking paradise, diamond lake, and the dart valley. we cantered across fields and up hills, slipped along muddy tracks, and crossed rivers engorged with rain. as we cantered up the richardson mountain side we ran into a flock of sheep and herded them with us. no orcs, hobbits, elves or rings were spotted.

the next day lyds and i ascended bob's peak which overlooks the town on the skyline gondola. at the top we took yet another ride on a chairlift to the very top to try luging. after two runs on the introduction track we switched to the advanced and cranked up the intensity and fun. we both flew down the courses in the light, plastic carts. bunny hops and two wheel turns. bumps and passes. but mostly laughter in the nice weather, the biggest of which was when lyds put her luge into the wall at the bottom of the track.

unfortunately, we have had to cancel our plans to hike the routeburn track solo. we had been looking forward to the experience, and had felt confident with all of the tramping we have done so far. however, the rising cost of the expedition and the weather report killed that adventure.

no death defying stunts. off days i guess.

queenstown v1.0

past the mirrored image of mt. cook and mt. tasman in lake matheson. past gillespies beach with the fur seals playing on the rocks below you. through the haast pass to cross the southern alps to wanaka. more mountains and rainbows than i thought possible in a lifetime.

there at the foot of the remarkables range and on lake wakatipu was our destination - queenstown - the adrenaline capital of the world. picture whistler, bc on andrenichrome. bungy jumping, jetboating, sky diving, paragliding, rafting. it is all here. more waivers than people. the rising commerical developments have yet to ruin the small, ski town feel. the offer of some of the best restaurants in new zealand have been shunned for fergburger - a culinary delight experience best described as being an orgasm combined with a sneeze.

i limped into town after a nasty spill at the fox glacier. unfortunately, the fall was enough to jar my shoulder, and cut my hand, elbow, thigh and leg quite badly. it even managed to put a hole in lyd's camera case and scratch her camera slightly. still recovering. and i still am firm that there was no moss on that rock. the fall came out of nowhere like a guerilla force.

we booked my bungy jump the first day we arrived, and booked it for early the next day so i would have the least amount of time to think about it. lyds had to decline due to her dodgy back, but she was a definate cheerleader and nurse for me. audrey and alex, the bro and sis combo from florida that we have been travelling with, also booked to jump with me. that night lyds konked me out with gravol. my dreams were of the nevis. note on the nevis: the nevis bungy jump, the highest in new zealand and 2nd highest in the world, is located 32km east of queenstown on the nevis river (a trib of the kawarau river). the jump is located in a canyon, and jumpers leap from a glass bottomed gondola strung out in the middle of the gorge. the distance between the gondola and bottom is 440 feet. 134m of bungy. 8-10 secs of freefalling. jumpers reach the speed of 120 km/hr.

none of us really slept well the night before. i was up as soon as light entered our dorm room. but that is why i chose the nevis. it is famous. it scared me. on the 4x4 ride there no one was really talking. everyone was instead listening to their mp3 players. lyds was with me of course. she leant audrey her mp3 player to calm her down. there was a lot of time to think about what was to come. i kept matt good rocking in my ears to raise my confidence. when we reached the site the wind threatened to call off our jumps as the canyon funnels the wind and a jumper could be blown off course. there are also rocks. the gondola was rocking. we stood by while the employees strapped the harnesses around us and tugged at this strap or that cord. then we were ferried across to the jump pod. once we had docked with the pod they started to call names out. in what seemed like ages they called out "neil?" i walked over and got suited up with the ankle clasps. then they had me sit in the chair beside the jump door. i was on deck. waiting for them to pull up the last jumper. it took forever in my mind, and i resisted looking out the door. they started attaching my rig up, and the attendent made a comment that i looked relaxed. my biggest fear was that i wouldn't be able to make myself jump, but i told him i would look worse at the door. he asked me if i had any famous last words. i told him that all the cool things i had come up with the night before were lost to me now. then it was time. bunny hops to the door with my feet attached. then aided baby steps out to the ledge of the plank. the wind on my face. the massive space in front of me ....

i must not fear, fear is the mind killer
i will face my fear
i will permit it to pass over and through me
where the fear has gone there will be nothing
only i will remain.
- frank herbert

fu*king a frankie. my mind had flatlined by the ledge. but it is get busy living or get busy dying. no guts, no glory. choose your own credo to insert.

.... a quick glance at lyds. a countdown in my ears. then i gracefully swan dived off the gondola. voluntarily and without hesitation. what a feeling of freedom! what a rush! straight shot of adrenaline as you fall. euphoria. for that moment you are a higher power. you have done something counter-intuative to everything you know. you have killed yourself and lived. it is a pure mental exercise, in both meanings of the word. but if you choose to jump, if you choose to have that moment, then you feel like you can do anything. mine was a beautiful swan dive. arms outstreched, i jumped hard out of the pod accepting the height. lyds filmed the 134m fall. a twisted bird of prey for an instant. so go to the edge of the world ... and then jump off.

i want it all. and i want to leave it all on the field. one man army.

charge.

3 neil - death 0

franz josef

the drive to the franz josef glacier passes through the area closest to our "home" for the last 3 months. it has been rated as one of the 10 best drives in the world: appearing as if you are passing through a hedge with moutains and the ocean around you. the drive, however, was wasted on me as i was suffering from a massive hangover. the night before lyds and i had attended a "p" costume party - where everyone had to dress up as a something or someone that begins with a p. i have never seen so many prostitutes or pirates, the former being mostly trannies. lyds went as the paper bag princess. i went as pompey the great. hail.

150km s of hokitika is the white river of ice that is known as the franz josef glacier. it is a 3000m drop from the southern alps to the rainforest of the coastal plane. 60 odd glaciers poke off the southern alps like the many legs on a centipede. the franz josef glacier is the tallest and the most impressive. of course we climbed it.

armed with waterproof outerware, ropes, capons and an ice pick we spent 8 hours on the glacier cutting our path in the ice as we went. we chose to go with the advanced group. up ropes, around icefalls and rock debris, through crevasses and caves. it was like spending a day climbing the alliance atlantis logo. one such crevasse, called wonderboy, was so narrow that i had to wiggle through with my little daypack on. ice that is stunningly smooth and blue. everyday the glacier is in a constant state of changing, so every day the route guides take changes as well. saftey concerns are paramount as franz josef is one of the world's fastest moving glaciers. as we decended we heard an avalanche in the distance.

the glacier itself is nestled in between two moutains of the southern alps. it would take two days of hard and dangerous hiking to reach the top. massive waterfalls cascade from the flanking mountains to coat the ice. above you, the white stretches to the skyline.

time to make like tom and cruise.

2 neil - death 0.

westport

this town has been critically acclaimed as the most despiriting town on the west coast. luckily, we didn't cross all those moutains for the town of wesport. we came for the buller gorge, or more specifically, the 16km buller river that snakes its way through it. our first adrenaline fix was an easy one - ripping down the river while avoiding the rocks on a 2 hour jetboat ride. i was charlie alnutt to lydia's rose sayer. she was happy to be kate hepburn. the twin engine craft was amazingly responsive, accelerating into the rocks to swerve at the last minute. you barely shifted in your seat, and instead had a sensation of gliding over the water than powering through it. by the end we were soaked from the spray and waves. the autumn water and wind turning us into a shaking blue mass.

1 neil - death 0

can you build a torpedo? well do so mr. alnutt.

christchurch v1.0

and so begins the new zealand notes. i woke as we began our decent over the misty moutains. the arrival to christchurch was without incident, though worth a footnote as the 3rd airport lyds and i had visited in 24hrs. note on christchurch: christchurch is the largest city on the south island, yet retains the feeling of walking across a uni campus. it has a definate english feel to it, from the avon river to its conservative gothic architecture. lyds and i had arrived in to new zealand in their new jerusalem.

once through customs (once again lyds got tagged for having liquids in her belongings) we were a tired and haggard troop. our reward was to splash some money on a holiday inn room for a clean bed. we took advantage of the clean ensuite bathroom by each taking an extended soak in the tub. i love that fresh linen smell sheets in hotels have. crisp and clean.

the next day we moved out of the holiday inn for our hostel which was built in 1881. we spent the rest of the day going over maps and planning our transportation. with only a month in this country, and so many ways to kill ourselves, we had to be organised. unfortunately, after our first night's stay in the hostel i woke up with the flu. but, drugs, sleep and the power of positive thinking healed me.

travelling is adaptation. it is now autumn in new zealand and the trees have begun to lose their leaves. it gets dark earlier. we are cold after having experience nothing but heat for months. the weather makes me think of nfl sundays and the cottage. it also is making my tan disappear. in order to adapt we went shopping for jackets. unfortunately, lyds and i could not believe how much wampum stores wanted for their jackets. so we hit up the salvo and secondhand shops. i think i "won" by finding used kleenex in my "new" jacket. lyds enjoyed a fellow shopper who marveled at the colours on a garmet he examined. it was black. he was stoned.

next day we left christchurch for westport.

finished reading the second book in the gates of room series. on to an englishman abroad. spiderman 3 lacked venom.

adrenaline shots start tomorrow. we'll ride to the sound of the guns.

melbourne v1.3

lyds and i left alice springs for the 2 day, 1,600km road trip south through the desert to adelaide. the paper just announced that alice springs will become a dry town to combat down the public safety issues. just in time too. a guy tailed me to my hostel after my last post. but back to the journey ...

1,600km. that is a lot of clicks. and one blown tire. all the way from the northern territory to south australia. the first night on the road we spent in coober pedy, the opal capital of the world. the average temperature in town is somewhere in the 50 degree zone. the nights are freezing. the topography has been compared to that of mars. to duel with the temperatures most of the town live underground. in fact, "coober pedy" is aboriginal for "white man's hole in the ground." people burrow into the dry earth with only their front doors poking out like some dirty, brown hobbiton. inside the dugouts the temperature stays around 26 degrees. no need for a/c. no need for heat. you just need an air hole for ventilation. once in town we got to tour a dugout house - let me compare it throughout time. prehistorically it would be like the flintstones, evolving into the count of monte cristo's lair, and finally into some type of "lost" bomb shelter. with the lights turned off it is completely dark, the walls still rough to the touch despite being painted with some type of sealant. we spent the night in an underground hostel. it was a new experience. the bedbugs had to come out of the rock instead.

up before the sun to continue our trip southwards through the great nothing. surrounding the town - the reason everyone is living in the ground - are thousands upon thousands of holes. for every hole there is the cone-like dune of earth beside it. as the sun came up it illuminated the thousands of cones. it resembled a vast army camp of tents. and so the kms were eaten up by our van with the occasional roo or turn sighting. both would receive about the same enthusiasm.

by 6pm we had arrived in adeliade. by 8:00pm lyds and i were in flight to melbourne where we had begun our australia adventure 3 months prior. i had already made reservations for some benches in melbourne airport's terminal 2 for the night. by 9:30am the next morning, after having been awake for the better part of 36 hours, we were on a flight to new zealand on the day our australian visas expired.

i was asleep before the plane had leveled off. note to the opposition: lotta holes in the desert.

final notes on australia:

wildlife - don't touch anything! everything is deadly. no matter where you are in australia, as night comes on bats fill the night sky. what we call a bat in canada, and australian calls a butterfly.
economics - frustratingly, nothing has a price tag on it in convenience stores. it is like playing the price is right until you get to the till.
geography - this is a huge country. larger than europe. as such, every place you want to get to is very far apart. my cottage is in my backyard in comparison.
dining - food is very expensive in australia. as such, if you did not have to order at the bar, we would not be eating at the establishment. i have had french fries as a side for more meals than i could count.
fluid dynamics - water in this country is like a good country song. vary rare. in a few years it will be a black market currency.
linguistics - this country may have been founded by those who invented english, but no one speaks it here. fair dinkum.

what a rippa.

alice springs

alice springs has come a long way in its 125 year history from being a telegraph station to one of central australia's key cities. it is still, however, a jumping off point for touristas going to the macdonnell ranges and uluru-kata tjuta, and is seemingly a town lost in time. there is a flying doctor service, and a school of the air (radio) for kids on the cattle stations in the outback. in keeping with this western tradition this sleepy town of only 24,640 people is australia's murder capital - much like tombstone had higher murder rates than san fran and new york at the same time. it is a rough town. bars ban anyone from entering with any club wear, or team paraphernalia. hostels gave their own bars for their guests. travelling at night is discouraged unless you take a cab. the problem is mostly due to the numbers of homeless aboriginals in the city who are outcasts from the nearby aboriginal cities. they are everywhere - parks, benches, church lawns, hospital parking lots, bushes. a staggering amount of lost souls who use their welfare money to continue their battle with alcohol. there is hatred here amongst the saloons, and real fear and loathing.

this town is full of losers, and lyds and i are pulling out to win.

outback

lyds and i arrived in alice springs to leave the next day early in the morning, heading south down the stuart highway and into the expanse of the outback. in no time the sun was up, red like the sand. i felt like raoul duke traveling though the nevada desert. all i needed was the red shark and dr. gonzo at my side. we stopped a few hours into our journey to go for a ride on a camel called blacky. lyds laughed. i tried not to think of last night's lasagna. we both had a lot of fun and i resisted yelling out "no prisoners!" however, lyds did call me on humming the theme from arabian nights. note: there are over 500,000 wild camels in the outback. they were first intoduced to australia to help with the railway production. when the railway was completed they were ordered to be put down, however, the handlers released them into the wild. now they have thrived in the outback. i even saw one running wild in the distance. as we continued our journey we "forded" the world's 1st and 2nd oldest rivers. both were completely dry and have been for ages. we also passed by a cattle farm the size of belgium.

we eventually left the stuart highway to travel west. the barren, desolate landscape was as endless as the heat. lots of sand. little trees and shade. our first hike was at watarrka (king's canyon) national park with its 100m-high walls. the temperature was 42 degrees at the bottom of the canyon. checking the site literature, that put us in the "danger" zone for hiking. lyds took a picture of the warning. 42 degrees at the bottom meant that by the time we reached the top of the canyon the temperature was 10 degrees hotter. 52. degrees. we brought lots of water so we wouldn't get a free helicopter ride back to alice springs. we completed the 4 hour, 6km walk along the canyon's rim anyways. beautifully cut rocks stained by shadow and rain. natural ampitheaters used by the aboriginals. plants that could be used for super glue, appetite suppressants, and ecstacy. wood used by aboriginals for their spears as it causes the cns to breakdown. lizards. birds. and flies. tons of flies. constantly buzzing around your eyes, ears, nose and mouth. at the half way point we descended down into the "garden of eden" - a rock pool at the end of the gorge. it was very strange to see the pool of water. lyds spent the break feeding a pigeon with a spikey hairdo we named hawk. the last site in the canyon was the row upon row of massive, rock domes called "the lost city." everywhere you looked there was a picture. unfortunately, we missed the last picture of the day as our guide missed getting us to the lookout in time to see the sunset on watarrka. that night we slept out in tents. there were red-back spiders in the guy's washroom (they are the most dangerous spider in australia). that night we were woken up twice by dingos howling in the distance.

the next day we were up at 6am to head south to uluru-kata tjuta national park. this is the location of uluru (ayer's rock), and is a deeply important religious and cultural site for the aboriginal people. i wasn't very excited to see the rock as we travelled there. it was just something i knew you were supposed to see. but when i saw it everything changed. the rock is unbelievable - 3.6km long and 348m high. like an iceberg, a further 6km is under the ground. now on to the controversy: i climbed up the giant monolith (2nd largest in the world). the aboriginal people ask white people not to climb the rock as it is a part of their culture they say they cannot share with us. however, it is not banned. when lyds and i booked the tour with a travel agent in cairns we had asked if there were any reservations about climbing the rock. we were emphatically told that there were no cultural issues with climbing. once we got out there we were met with the guilt trip. however, the guide after trying to convince us not to climb finished by saying that if we would regret it we should climb. that was me. i would have regretted it. for me, it was meant to be climbed so i did, and in a respectful manner. lyds declined in light of the new information and hiked around the base. that being said the climb was a highlight of my time in australia. 1.6 km in length it was a challenging ascent that had already claimed the life of 32 touristas. the view at the top was one i doubt i will ever forget, and i known once i saw the rock that i couldn't have walked away without conquering it. i just have never been good at walking away. after the climb and descent the whole group (most didn't climb) we all drove to a lookout to see the sunset upon the rock. before our eyes it passed from orange to a deep red, and then to black. stunning.

the last morning we were up at 5am this time to see the sunrise on uluru. just as the sun came up lyds spotted a kangaroo bounding in the distance. then it was back on the road to kata-tjuta (the olgas) while i napped. meaning "many heads" the landscape here differed from uluru as instead of a monolith there is a collection of giant boulders made up of different rocks forced together. after a quick hike it was back to the bus for the 5.5hr return journey to alice springs. lyds and i spent the whole trip playing asshole, up the river and cheat with lisa, barnie and danny (our fellow hikers).

as we passed mt. connor i thought of my bro.

cairns v1.1

last night i watched in an irish bar man.u get destoryed by ac milan in the champions league semi-final. i am becoming a soccer fanatic, and reading fever pitch didn't help. i have now moved on to the first book in the emperor series called the gates of rome. go liverpool in the final.

at 32,000 feet now on a quantas flight. rainman better be right. lyds and i were very sad to leave cairns. as we took off we banked west with the ocean and reefs out the window to our right, and the tropical mountains and rainforest to our left. the good news is that lydia was randomly selected by airport security to be tested for detonator residue. she passed.

in cairns we leave the tropics, and i leave my beloved fsu hat.

dinner tonight was camel lasagna. i feel very bedouin.

hugs not drugs.

atherton tableland

from cairns and the gbr at -20m to the tableland at 1300m. lyds and i were pushing our limits. the tableland is the size of the netherlands - a sprawl of rainforest, cleared hills for agriculture, waterfalls, crater lakes and national parks. the road we took from cairns to get there had 237 corners in 17km! note on the tableland: the land was originally owned by the ngadjonji tribe who would climb up to the tableland to escape the heat of the summer months. whites, in their search for gold and later tin, violently ejected them from the land.

lyds and i were pretty narc'd for the first day due to our busy diving schedule. however, we did get enough energy to marvel at the cathedral fig tree with its canopy the size of two olympic swimming pools. we then visited lake eacham, a volcanic crater lake known for its clear waters, violent creation, and resident turtles. we ate lunch and then went for a walk in the surrounding rainforest. one plant, the "wait around vine" has fine fish hook like barbs that ensnare you as you pass by. all you can do is wait around for help. it is also known as the "lawyer" vine, as once it gets its hooks into you it doesn't let go (sorry mark). one of our fellow hikers was a victim. as we passed through the green hills i napped in the sun. the cleared land for agriculture looked fake, almost like a warmer lord of the rings set. clicks of rolling hills and sheep. was i in australia or new zealand? after a bit of a drive we arrived at millaa millaa falls to the theme from 2001: a space odyssey, a perfect sheet of water dropping into a clear pool. lyds and i both swam through the freezing water and climbed behind the falls. from behind the falls, with the sun above us, you could lay back and look up at the falls and see each drop of water clearly defined. mesmerizing. hypnotizing. i jumped through the falls to swim back and dry in the sun. our last stop of the day was mt. hypipamee national park and the 138m crater of the same name. i heisman'd a rock down to the water that fills the crater. it sounded like a shotgun blast hitting the surface. lyds filmed it perfectly so i think i will send it to the ncaa. besides the crater we also got a chance to see dinner falls before going back to the hostel in yungaburra. unfortunately, lyds and i couldn't go night canoeing as the hostel was having vehicle problems so we went platypus spotting along the river instead. it took some patience but we saw the little buggers. when we got back to the hostel their workers brought out their collection of snakes. it was terrifying for me and lyds, but also interesting. we both stroked one as it weaved through a picnic table. ewwww. i am still more indiana jones than steve irwin.

day two started with a trip to another massive fig tree and then we took a 12km bike ride through the rainforest and surrounding countryside. along the way we worked up quite the sweat, and our guide even spotted a brown snake in the long grass (one of australia's deadliest snake). our guide even took us off the beaten track to some hidden waterfalls. we had to abandon the bikes for the hike into the forest and we got some great pictures. we got to see king ferns which are twice my height, and electric ferns which are older than the dinosaurs. we also got to be introduced to the gimpy gimpy - a spade (like the suit) looking plant that has microscopic hollow needles on its leaves. the effects of being stung with the needles last anywhere from 2 months to two years! after we tired of crossing waterfalls and fallen trees we returned to the bikes and made our way back to lake eacham for a needed swim. after lunch lyds and i canoed in lake tinaroo and felt like canadians again. during our canoe we spotted tree kangaroos in the setting sun as we coasted near the shoreline in the breeze. as a final touch on the day we beached our canoes at a rivermouth and found aboriginal ochre stones in the river. we spent the rest of the afternoon painting ourselves with the stones and taking pictures. very tribal experience. for some reason i couldn't stop talking like tarzan.

our trip back to cairns was also eventful. our bus driver, bart, was quite the character. he had the whole trip programmed with music selections such as ymca, the monkees, grease, in the jungle, etc. he got the whole bus singing and dancing, and he would even play with the lights in the bus as the songs progressed. during "in the jungle" he had the rows of the bus swaying in different directions, himself included. remember that this was in the same stretch of road that had the 200+ corners. we might have been goners, but what a party. he even had an elmo doll that he passed around to dance with, when he wasn't miming that elmo was driving. the man has now become a legend.

quick joke an irish chickie told the bus (stop reading now if you get offended): the hospital calls a husband and tells them that they have messed up his wife's test results. when he asks them what happened, he is told that they don't know if she has aids or alzeihmers. when the husband asks what he should do, the doctor replies that if his wife makes her own way home then he shouldn't fu*k her.

fly to alice springs tomorrow.

great barrier reef v1.2

up in time with the sun to do our last three dives on our last day. by now lydia's cold had begun to clear up, our confidence was high, and we were more comfortable in the water than ever before. we pushed our depth the first two dives (gordon's mooring again and ski slope) on flynn reef. it is amazing how you begin to not feel the pressure and the equipment. for our first dive we had a max depth of 18m and i went to 17.6m just by following an interesting fish. there is so much to see that i do not think you would ever tire of it.

for our last dive we decided to take it easy. the site - ski slope - is shallow, with a sandy bottom that cuts through the coral like a narrow highway. lyds and i followed the highway, occasionally picking this off ramp or that. the "off ramps" were passages through the coral we could follow to little pools. in some of these we would just sit and watch the fish swim by, or we would skim the surface and look at the coral horrizon under the sun. i basked upside down on the bottom with my hands under my head, swaying gently in the current as i watched my bubbles mix with the fish and sun. i realized that i was humming the bends by radiohead. both of us didn't want to ascend, knowing it was the end of our scuba diving in australia. there was still a sense of wonder, and there were still things i wanted to see.

going down is a way of life.

great barrier reef v1.1

we did 2 dives the first day at a site known as "petaj" on the milln reef. from our location on the outer region of the gbr you could see the whitecaps crashing on the very edge of the reefs. it is at the whitecaps that the reef ends and the ocean floor drops out. the light blue goes to black. and here the big boys, the tiger, hammerhead and bull sharks can be found. there is no reason they can't cross to our side. it is only rare.

after every dive there is prep for the next dive. equipment, drinking 1 litre of water, updating your dive log and monitoring the level of residual nitrogen still in your body. you become a junkie for the next dive fix. you can't wait for the rush of the bubbles as you break the surface and your first sweet breath under the waves.

4 dives in our second day. the first at a site called the "whale" at milln reef. the second dive at "tracey" on flynn reef. our group was blessed with unheard of calm conditions, and the water was a constant 26 degrees with 20 meters of visibility. by the end of these dives we had pushed our depth limits with oscar, and had passed through all of the dive flexible skill tests. if you think you love your girlfriend/boyfriend, wife/husband, mistress or anyone else wait till you have to share air with them at 15m. i felt so close to lyds as we drilled that i was out of air. it was here that we were booted out of oscar's nest. we were certified now. certs. it was time for lyds and i to dive alone in the greatest scene of biodiversity on earth.

note on my dive partner: lyds was a champ the entire trip as she suffered from a cold and was congested. the cold messed with her ability to equalize when acending or decending. they had already advised our class that you should not dive with a cold but what could we do? wait? once in a lifetime experiences require once in a lifetime efforts. we were not out here to fu*k spiders. lyds knew this better than anyone. so she soldiered up.

our first dive alone was a great feeling of freedom. we were set up to dive a site called "gordon's mooring" on the flynn reef, and it called for some tricky navigating to find the bommie shaped like mickey mouse's head. unwisely, lyds put me in charge of our underwater navigation. this should have been a problem for a guy who gets lost when he is not 18m underwater. i mean, i have the sense of direction of marcus brody. but i hit our dive site right on, and along the way we ran into a massive sea turtle, a few giant clams (over 1m) that would close as we swam near, and a reef shark. as soon as we reached mickey's head i became lost again as i swam right through the middle of his head. lyds then took the lead and successfully navigated us around the site. when it was time to go back i again took the lead, somehow remembering the return courses, and lead us right back to the ship via another route. for 47 minutes we were together underwater. teamwork personified.

that night we did a night dive. the energy in the dive briefing was electric. people were super excited, or super nervous, or both. there was a lot of silent faces or jokesters. i was so excited that i was knocking my knees together under the table with a stupid grin plastered on my face. it was time to see some real sharks! oscar gave us the briefing and joked around with us now that we were certs. he gave us 5 minutes to play with the glow sticks we had been issued before he began. everyone got their rave on, and lydia and i had a mock lightsabre battle. he warned us about keeping our team interval in the water, as everyone seems to get so nervous that they just bunch up on his back. we also went over the procedure for the "ring of steel" - the formation at the bottom of the ocean we would form if we saw a tiger or bull shark. oscar said once we were in position we should all count to 5. by that time he would be back on the boat! good thing we had torches too as sharks are attracted to light. we went over new sign language that only required one hand, as you needed you other hand to illuminate your chest with your torch to sign. the sign for half-tank was changed to us giving oscar the finger. he told me i could only give him the signal for half-tank once! then we suited up and dove into the black water. on most dives sharks are already circling the boat - attracked to the light or oscar throwing a snorkel way out in the water attached to a rope and dragging it along the surface. for our dive there were none. with our torches we all decended and met on the bottom. the water looked so dark, so lifeless and cold. oscar tried calling sharks with his coke bottle but i think his size scared them off. lyds got to see one, however, i was devastated not to see one or have to assume the ring of steel. at another point in the dive we decended to the bottom and turned our torches into our chests to block out their light and sit in darkness. then we waved our hands in the water to ingite the phosphorescent algae like sparks. red eyes shone out of every bommie. green eyes in the distance teased of sharks being close. we visited brian's home - a famous sea turtle the size of a kitchen table, but, unfortunately, he was not home.

a successfull failure perhaps? like apollo 13 we made it back home but the lack of sharks and missing brian got me down.

great barrier reef v1.0

we left for the great barrier reef (gbr) very early the day after we both passed our final exams. on the trip out to the reef lyds and i slept like babies being rocked by the waves in our bunks. note on the gbr: the gbr is larger than the great wall of china and is the only living thing visible from space. it is 2000km long, and made up of 2600 seperate reefs. it is not only one of the 7 wonders of the natural world, but is number 2 on the list of 50 things to see before you die. the reef is also home to 1500 species of fish, 400 types of coral, 4000 breeds of molluscs and clams, 500 varieties of seaweed, 6 types of turtle, etc. sadly, by 2050 scientists predict that rising temperatures and increased pollution will reduce the reef to less than 5%.

after the safety briefing and our first dive plan it was time to hit the open water for our first ocean lesson. luckily, lyds and i both were paired up with oscar again - the no-nonsense, cool, aussie-japanese ex-pro rugby player who was our instructor in the pool. oscar is the man. and he has counted to infinity twice. so at 10:37am we entered one of the greatest wonders of the world. it is hard to explain what it is like down there. it is easiest to pawn it off as being in another world. corals and fish and all the colours imaginable. the constant sound of your breathing in your ears. the slight condensation on your mask. the pressure of almost three atmospheres. the sense of awe and giddiness. barracuda, sting rays, sea turtles, giant clams that close when you pass over them, clownfish (nemo), reef sharks. you feel like an astronaut. oscar brought along a half-empty 600ml plastic coke bottle to attract sharks - baptism by fire for our first lesson.

i saw my first reef shark as soon as i knelt on the bottom of the ocean.

cairns v1.0

happy anzac day!

lyds and i left airlie beach for the 10 hour bus ride to queensland's far north. cairns, with a population just under 100k is ideally located: dense rainforests of the wet tropics world heritage area to the north; great barrier reef marine park to the east; atherton tableland highlands to the south. the weather is tropical, but saltwater crocs and deadly jellies make the water too dangerous to swim. although known for being a tourist town, and being famous for the number of japanese flights that land here weekly, lyds and i took an immediate liking to the city as being lo-key and peaceful. it just doesn't feel international. it isn't busy enough for that.

lyds and i have also begun our certification as open water (scuba) divers. the company we went with also owns a fleet of ships, so as soon as the classroom and pool lessons are over we live aboard the ship on the edges of the reef. it is weird to be back in school again, taking notes and having homework. the hardest part was the medical you had to complete with a doctor. for some reason i had a fear i would fail, and would not be able to go out on the boat. some people did fail, but lyds and i passed just fine. my head is full of diving science, equipment, and sign language. my ears are full of water. so far both of us have 100% on the quizzes. tomorrow night after the exam we are headed to a lecture from a marine biologist on the biology we will encounter on the reef.

the other night we got all dressed up for a "fancy" dinner out. unfortunately, all the restaurants around where we are staying by the harbour were way too expensive. even barnacle bill's. so we ended up at the casino buffett in our sunday best. i am bookless except for my dive manual.

stuck on a steady diet of nitro, o2 and coffee. out to the bommies.