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To Brisbane over night from Singapore. Fairly quiet day getting ourselves right, haircut, etc.
Had breakfast in the apartment the next day. Weird thing about Australian cities; you can't get bacon and eggs for under about $13-15.00. Dinner entrees are often about the same, say for pasta and often less for a burger. It must be that waiters are paid a living wage, but you add 2 $4.00 coffees to that (not bottomless) and breakfast is not a cheap deal. Hotels are always equipped w tea and coffee (fresh milk supplied), and often a toaster. We were in a one bedroom in Brisbane, w a full kitchen, and just picked up a loaf of raisin bread and a jar of peanut butter. The whole eating in restaurants thing is beginning to wear thin, anyway. Looking forward to getting places w kitchens in NZ.
You would not know that a great big bunch of this city was underwater just 2 weeks ago. Our own hotel is on the river, but also on a rise. They had no flooding at all, but were without power for 12 days. The city has bounced back w a vengeance!
Had a really great walk around the river. Sure, there are pathways closed, but overall, it's in great shape. The South Bank, as it is called, is a wonderful public space, w paths and art, fountains, the cultural centre, greenspace and playgrounds. Like Calgary, the river has a comprehensive path system. Unlike home, it is not covered in snow for months of the year. It is a very young city. (Maybe most of the people over 40 washed out to sea recently?) We have now been in all of Australia's bigger cities, and we agree this is the one we would choose to live in. It's not a tourist's city, but the quality of life factor is palpable.
While out on our walk, I became hungry. (Surprise!) Looked at a couple of places to grab a snack, and there are few healthy options for a quick bite. Went into a deli/convenience store and bought 2 bananas and a pint of skim milk to share. Here's the thing: that cost double, yes, double, the price of a cold beer and a meat pie. Tough for old Wanda-Wisebuy here to make the healthy choice when I would have preferred to scarf down the latter anyway.
Finished our walk, shopped for sundry items (expensive here), popped up to the pool for a short time and then off to find a cafe w Wi-Fi. Not well wired here at all! I wanted to post the KL blog, and it took for bloody ever! The idea of free Wi-Fi is rare, and when you find it it's painful to connect, and really slow. The fact that even larger centres often don't have broadband, and that that is actually an issue during state and national elections makes you wonder.
Dinner in a seriously happening German Beirhouse. Packed! We were definitely the oldest of the 200- odd people there. Food was great, service, from the front door to cheque was friendly and efficient. This is much changed from the last time we were in Australia, just 5 years ago. To a pub to enjoy the lovely night, and fortunately a light misty rain chased us off the patio and home, as an early flight in the morning.
29th
Repacked so as to leave Gus' suitcase in the Brisbane airport, but as they had no facility for that, we ended up checking it and taking the other bag as carry-on. Big hassle.
The flight was a very long 2 hours. Plenty of leg room and all, but surrounded by a group of vociferous, slurping, seat grabbing, non-seatbelt-sign observing Chinese, that brought along a hyper 5 year old boy for good measure. The poor cabin attendants! They kept sitting him down, but he'd just pop right back up and run up and down the aisle, swinging these little yoyo like things and beaning the all the passengers. In a final effort to exasperate a plane-load of people, they charged to the exit before the seatbelt sign was off, and then shuffled slowly, four abreast, down the gangway.
Cairns:
Arrived at noon and had a great old cabbie take us in. A bite of lunch, then I arranged for my diving.
That took a little while, then we had a walk around and stopped for coffee and a slice of banana loaf. $20. Over coffee we discussed the fact that now that the Aus$ is at par, it is as expensive as Europe. Accommodation, food and wine really aren't cheap.
Had French food for dinner, which was quite good, but the server was pretty surly. Maybe she was just going w the French theme?
30 Jan
07:45 p/u from Deep Sea Diver's Den. Left Gus to his own (de)vices, as he was planning to go to the casino once or twice. On to the day boat and off about 9.
Very choppy, and lots of pukers. Cyclone Anthony tracked south a ways out from here, and will make landfall tonight, about 300-400 hundred kms south of here. Glad we decided to come up. The media was making such a big deal, it sounded like coming to Cairns was dangerous. As it turns out, it'll be a category 1 by the time it hits land. True, they really don't need the rain, but the storm itself is not such big deal.
I could copy my journal on to here, but it's a bit long- winded, so I'll just tell you it was a heck of a lot of diving. Ten dives in 2 days and a bit. Lots of really nice people on board, and the food was much better than I expected. Did my first night dive in 20 years. The highlight of that being the sharks that hang at the back of the boat to hunt in the lights. Also the large Treleaven (sp?) fish that have learned to hunt in diver's flashlights. You don't want to shine a spotlight on a pretty wee fish for more than a second, 'cause they swoop down from behind you and swallow them up! Saw a small feeding frenzy at the end of our short dive. I'll tell you, dragging that tank up those eight stairs at the end of a long day like that is pretty darn tough. Some how that tank gets heavier w every dive.
As for the reef, the phenomenal variety of form, colour and texture is awe-inspiring! Getting right up close and personal you see that it is a truly living, breathing entity. So many of the corals sway with the water. Tiny damsel fish and little Nemo (clown) fish peek out from the undulating anemones. Brain coral couldn't be more aptly named and the stag horn coral looks just like the ferns on land. Swam thru a cool sort of cave thing on the third dive of the second morning, and cozied up to a truly giant clam, almost a metre in length. So cool to look right at it, it's valve and mouth parts inches from my nose and such a pretty colour!
Most dives were great, a couple not so good (d/t clumsy fellow divers and a leaky mask on one night dive).
My last dive is also worth mentioning. My guide was Ben, a nice kid that I've been out with a couple of times. (accidentally grabbed his backside on one dive, and the crew have been giving me a hard time since). Sharing him w 2 Japanese girls (1 unsafe spaz). It was shaping up to be another crummy dive, as they couldn't even descend in an orderly fashion. A trigger fish came after Ben, and he beat it off w his fins. The girls were finally sorted, (almost half a tank used up by this time) and we were ready to explore when the same fish came and took a chunk out of my calf. Scared the crap out of me! Wheeled around to fight him off and diced up my middle finger on his sharp gills. (later this may evolve into "I turned around to give the beggar the finger, and he bit that, too!) I was a little shaken, but calmed down just fine (remember, were 18m underwater). I was OK to carry on, but it was Ben's assessment that I should go back to the boat, as I was bleeding like a stuck pig, and so I did. Blood looks dark green at that depth (here, sharky-sharky!). Minor first aid, good as new, bled for a few hours tho.
The crew has been great. Neil, the dive supervisor, was really kind to let me use his phone to call Gus. A new larger cyclone was powering over the Coral sea twds us, predicting a Category 4 by landfall at or about Cairns, (that's the news we had from the boat). The harbor master had called all boats back from sea so we took the big boat back in to Cairns.
OK, now hunkered down to ride out Category 5 cyclone "Yasi". I'll post this now if able, as communication systems are sure to be mucked up within hours. Wish us luck!!!
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