On the Bottom Half

Reefereeing.

Well 19 dives later and $33 richer, I'm back on solid earth. Which, by the way, is rocking as we speak. No earthquakes, but you know boats. Yeah the Reef is absolutely the most incredible, eye popping, heart stopping conglomeration of life anywhere on Earth... I bought the hour-long DVD video made especially during our dive trip to show everyone when I get back because frankly words can't do it justice. All I could think the entire time is how much I have to get R-man out on the Reef - it's like the screensaver, but there's more fish and they're much bigger. How about a potato cod that's 2 metres long and weighs more than 100 kg? To top it off, it likes being touched and it comes up to you to get its teeth tickled! Who knew? I'll never watch Finding Nemo in quite the same way again - you know how blue the water is in the film? Well, it really is that blue... Oh, here's some trivia for you (answer to follow at the bottom): What kind of fish is Nemo and his dad? I can see why sea turtles were picked for the surfer dude role now, too.

The volunteering was awesome as well - I got 3 dives each of the days and the work was pretty minimal. In fact, I found I preferred the volunteering to the paid trip because I had a function and wasn't left after every dive to sit on my hands. Work for a few hours a day, lots of dishes, dive the rest of the time. I would highly suggest this mode of travelling on the Reef.

Big seas though, and apparently there's Cyclone Larry, that's Hurricane Larry to we North Americans, spinning away a couple hundred miles directly offshore from Cairns. That should be fun for the next trip I'm volunteering for on Monday... I've discovered that big rolly seas, and I mean big seas (2 to 3 metre swell), are difficult on my stomach. Didn't wretch, but had to go outside to watch the sea rocking to shake the feeling. Yeah, totally cool... Oh yeah, they share tips with the crew volunteer, so I'm $33 richer than when I started the tour! If you go, tip big! Trip Director Andy showed me how to make Australian Beers (well VB, anyway) palletable: ask for 'VB with a dash of lime'. They put lime cordial in it and it tastes great - a la the Red Cap Ale episode at Ed & Naomi's place.

Man, am I looking forward to wearing cosy clothing again... It seems, though, that it won't take much now either. It was basically 28 to 30 degrees on the sea the whole time we were out, with the water temperature a steady 28 degrees... Wow warm to these Canadian bones. Anyway, step inside to the aircon and almost get goosebumps. NOW HEAR THIS!! I actually went outside in the heat, more than once, to warm up... Ughh....

Anyway, that's life. I'm out Monday morning for the next trip then back to Melbourne on the 27th, sort through the student visa stuff, find a place to live, finish enrolling, then fly to Sydney probably on the 1st to rendevous with my parents on the 2nd.

Assigned reading:

'How William Shatner Changed the World' - Man I love this guy. He's got to be one of my favourite celebrities. And, I am a nerd, so there.

'Power Bacteria'

Update Complete!

Nemo and his dad are False Clown Anemonefish, not Clown Anemonefish. True Clowns have more black between their white stripes.

posted by Kyle @ 19:26