Water

We finally got to a good spot to SCUBA dive the Great Barrier Reef. We found a boat to take us out to the the Whitsunday Islands and headed out to the sea, but after about an hour of traveling, the dive was canceled due to rough water. The boat turned around and and we returned to the Harbor. "That's why they call it the Wet-Sunday's" chuckled the divemaster.

It had been raining for a while, so we decided to head further up the coast. In Townsville, we found a great deal on a three day dive trip wich included 10 dives. Two of them would be night dives, and the final two would be to the S.S. Yangalla, one of the best shipwreck dives in the world. The Yangalla is a 100 meter passenger ship that sunk almost 100 years ago.

The Great Barrier Reef is incredible. There is no way I could explain just how amazing it is by using these squiggly symbols, I'd have to waive my hands all around and show my facial expressions. So until I have the chance to talk in person, I'll just have to leave you with this unsatisfying discription. The coral walls are Gigantic, typically 20 meters tall. They have caves and canyons throughout them where I ran into pufferfish the size of a dog. I also swam with a green turtle, and discovered a stingray with a 6 foot 'wingspan'.


On the final day, the dive to the Yangalla was canceled. There were 2 meter swells at the surface above the Yangalla, so we just did some more reef dives instead. All in all it was a great trip. In fact it was the best dive trip of my life. The ship had character, the crew was great and the water was warm. But it was cloudy every day, and rainy.


So after reaching shore, we were tired of the rain and decided to head to the Outback. To go to the desert and get out of the rain.

I understand that Australia is in the middle of the worst drought ever, and they 'need' the rain. But I'm in the desert and it's been raining for three days in a row. If the sun came out, it would be much easier to enjoy where I'm at. Isn't that the point of a desert? To be unbearable dry and hot.

We found some rocks to play around on for about an hour, but they became slippery when it really started pouring, so we sat in the car until dark. Any day now it will stop, it has to stop right?












Their are giant trucks and car-eating-cows in the Outback