This is what greeted me upon my return to work.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Cultural Differences
Back in my second post, I said that I was curious about the cultural differences between Australia and the US. While I couldn't in a million years compare and contrast two such vastly different cultures in the space of a few paragraphs (assuming I could at all), I did come up with a few things to think about. These are just my perceptions and I invite comment if I mis-perceive.
First, Australia is in ASIA. As difficult as this might be for Americans who are geographically-challenged to realize, there is a substantially stronger influence in Oz from Asian economic markets and political activities than in the west. This point was brought home to my when my friend Lesley said that her kids were learning Indonesian as a second language. That floored me. Why not French, Spanish, German, or the other languages that were offered to me as a child? Well, clearly, the best language for a kid to learn is one that they'll actually get a chance to use. I would have gotten much more mileage out of my language abilities if I had studied Spanish or French instead of German, but there's little reasoning with a fourth-grader. But I digress. . . .
The second point I'll raise is Australian conservatism. I was told before I went over there that Oz was a politically conservative country. And it's true -- John Howard is a big cheerleader for the Shrub. Similarly, Oz is largely a socially conservative country. There is a strong commitment to the family, preservation of moral principles, and a little unease with alternate lifestyles among the natives, especially outside of the cities. Quite similar to what you see in rural America. What's profoundly different, though, is that religion just isn't all that important there. I mean, don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of churches, synagogues, temples, and Sydney even has one of only seven Baha'i centers in the world. Regardless, the natives I spoke with were pretty consistent in saying that religion just doesn't play that big a role in the average Australian's life.
Another apparent departure from American conservatism is that there is a far greater commitment to the common good in Australia. Health coverage is universal, retirees are cared for, there is a minimum (living) wage, and public services are quite impressive. Schools operate year-round, and Australians typically get far more vacation time than Americans -- that's one reason they travel so much more than we do. There is an across-the-board 10% Goods & Services Tax that funds much of this, but again, there is much more of a commitment to the common good than to the chasing of money for money's sake. I, for one, appreciate the balance.
First, Australia is in ASIA. As difficult as this might be for Americans who are geographically-challenged to realize, there is a substantially stronger influence in Oz from Asian economic markets and political activities than in the west. This point was brought home to my when my friend Lesley said that her kids were learning Indonesian as a second language. That floored me. Why not French, Spanish, German, or the other languages that were offered to me as a child? Well, clearly, the best language for a kid to learn is one that they'll actually get a chance to use. I would have gotten much more mileage out of my language abilities if I had studied Spanish or French instead of German, but there's little reasoning with a fourth-grader. But I digress. . . .
The second point I'll raise is Australian conservatism. I was told before I went over there that Oz was a politically conservative country. And it's true -- John Howard is a big cheerleader for the Shrub. Similarly, Oz is largely a socially conservative country. There is a strong commitment to the family, preservation of moral principles, and a little unease with alternate lifestyles among the natives, especially outside of the cities. Quite similar to what you see in rural America. What's profoundly different, though, is that religion just isn't all that important there. I mean, don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of churches, synagogues, temples, and Sydney even has one of only seven Baha'i centers in the world. Regardless, the natives I spoke with were pretty consistent in saying that religion just doesn't play that big a role in the average Australian's life.
Another apparent departure from American conservatism is that there is a far greater commitment to the common good in Australia. Health coverage is universal, retirees are cared for, there is a minimum (living) wage, and public services are quite impressive. Schools operate year-round, and Australians typically get far more vacation time than Americans -- that's one reason they travel so much more than we do. There is an across-the-board 10% Goods & Services Tax that funds much of this, but again, there is much more of a commitment to the common good than to the chasing of money for money's sake. I, for one, appreciate the balance.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
We're Home. Sun 28 May (US Time)
This is just a post to my friends that we've arrived safe in Houston, and will be driving back tomorrow morning to see the cats. We didn't sleep at all on the flight from Sydney to LA, nor from LA to Houston, so we're not in top mental form. I'll post something more coherent tomorrow, but for now you just need to know that we learned so very much exploring Australia, as little as we were able to see in the short time we had. The people were beyond description, the wildlife and landscapes were beautiful beyond description, and our experience has improved our lives immensely.
Context
It's probably no big deal, but I thought I'd provide a little context for that remark about dreaming about death.
When we were on the Daintree river cruise, the tour guide pointed out a green tree snake that was crawling on a limb. Later the same day, while we were walking on one of the boardwalks through the rain forest, I saw another one slithering away from the path up into the trees.
That night, April wakes up around 11:00pm, screaming that there were snakes in the room, leaping out of bed and bruising herself up pretty good.
So the context for the death dream wasn't that mine was impending or that I was somehow fixated on death. On the contrary, it was just an example of how we use dreams to process information we receive while we're awake. Nothing more.
When we were on the Daintree river cruise, the tour guide pointed out a green tree snake that was crawling on a limb. Later the same day, while we were walking on one of the boardwalks through the rain forest, I saw another one slithering away from the path up into the trees.
That night, April wakes up around 11:00pm, screaming that there were snakes in the room, leaping out of bed and bruising herself up pretty good.
So the context for the death dream wasn't that mine was impending or that I was somehow fixated on death. On the contrary, it was just an example of how we use dreams to process information we receive while we're awake. Nothing more.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Sydney - Last day :( - Sat, 27 May
Kind of a bittersweet day -- this is our last day, but what a great one it was.
Last night's play was a thought-provoking, black comedy about death. Of course, last night I dreamed about death. I don't recall what the dream was, but it was one of those that make you remember that you've dreamed.
Our legs are REAL sore. The area of Sydney we're occupying, The Rocks, is built somewhat on the side of a hill. Everything we needed to get to was via Circular Quay, which is at the harbor at the bottom of the hill. So whenever we were through with our day's activity, we faced a long up-hill climb up angled streets, stairs cut into the rock, and around blocks of randomly-placed buildings. We managed well, but we're sore.
Before we left for the play, we booked a day-long bus trip out to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney for Saturday. The mountains are called "blue" because sunlight refracts off volatilizing eucalyptus oils from the gum trees, giving the whole area a strong blue cast. Geologically, they are very old -- about twice as old as Arizona's Grand Canyon. We took a 20-passenger coach, which was maneuverable enough to get us into some pretty tight places, which gave us some fantastic views. We took the world's steepest railway down from the top of one of the mountains and rode a gondola (cable car?) back up to the top when we were through exploring the boardwalk through the temperate rain forest.
I've mentioned that Friday we walked our asses off. Our hope was that today we'd rest by planting those self-same asses in bus seats and have them driven around the countryside oohing and aahing at beautiful scenery, yadda yadda whatever. Uhh -- didn't happen that way. Homey walked his ass off even more today than he did yesterday. Up stairs, down stairs, down trails, up trails, etc. If I didn't know that it was going to make it hurt worse, I'd say I'm looking forward to the 17 hours of immobility I face on the flights tomorrow.
Anyway, back to our day. We were booked to return to Sydney from the Blue Mountains via "River Cat" -- one of the Sydney Ferry Authority's fast ferries that serve locations up the river from Circular Quay, the city's transit hub. It gave us a great look at one of the worlds' finest harbors and a chance to bid farewell to Australia's adopted constellation, the Southern Cross (it's the one on their flag).
When we arrived back at Circular Quay, we walked around to Doyle's restaurant. Circular Quay is something of a large "U" in configuration. On the upper-right tip of the "U" lies the Sydney Opera House. Doyle's is on the other, opposite, tip. The wharves are at the bottom. We had Doyle's "famous" fish and chips, but paid for lobster & prime rib. The food was OK, the price was ridiculous, but the view was absolutely stunning.
Let me put in another recommendation for the Sydney Harbour Bed & Breakfast -- if you're coming to Sydney, you should stay here. It's deep in The Rocks, which is a great location, and the service is impeccable. We have been well cared-for while in Sydney.
I've tried to remember to include links to our favorite accomodations, suppliers, and sights on the right as well as in the text. As time goes on, after I return home, I'll complete the list. If you have a question about something we did or someplace we went, please ask. Oh yeah -- photos. I've got five CD-ROMs, one DVD-ROM, and a couple of SD cards with photos on them. I'm NOT going to post them all. Hell, I hope I can remember what they all are! I've also got four Digital Video Cassettes with video I'm going to transfer to the computer, plus two DVDs with dive videos. Needless to say, one of my projects will be to come up with some sort of multimedia presentation incorporating these elements. God help me. Several people have said that they want to see my pictures -- I'll be happy to accommodate you, but you'd better plan on spending a weekend with me if you want to see them all. I know most everyone will be interested in seeing the video of the croc eating the chickens, though.
Homey
Last night's play was a thought-provoking, black comedy about death. Of course, last night I dreamed about death. I don't recall what the dream was, but it was one of those that make you remember that you've dreamed.
Our legs are REAL sore. The area of Sydney we're occupying, The Rocks, is built somewhat on the side of a hill. Everything we needed to get to was via Circular Quay, which is at the harbor at the bottom of the hill. So whenever we were through with our day's activity, we faced a long up-hill climb up angled streets, stairs cut into the rock, and around blocks of randomly-placed buildings. We managed well, but we're sore.
Before we left for the play, we booked a day-long bus trip out to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney for Saturday. The mountains are called "blue" because sunlight refracts off volatilizing eucalyptus oils from the gum trees, giving the whole area a strong blue cast. Geologically, they are very old -- about twice as old as Arizona's Grand Canyon. We took a 20-passenger coach, which was maneuverable enough to get us into some pretty tight places, which gave us some fantastic views. We took the world's steepest railway down from the top of one of the mountains and rode a gondola (cable car?) back up to the top when we were through exploring the boardwalk through the temperate rain forest.
I've mentioned that Friday we walked our asses off. Our hope was that today we'd rest by planting those self-same asses in bus seats and have them driven around the countryside oohing and aahing at beautiful scenery, yadda yadda whatever. Uhh -- didn't happen that way. Homey walked his ass off even more today than he did yesterday. Up stairs, down stairs, down trails, up trails, etc. If I didn't know that it was going to make it hurt worse, I'd say I'm looking forward to the 17 hours of immobility I face on the flights tomorrow.
Anyway, back to our day. We were booked to return to Sydney from the Blue Mountains via "River Cat" -- one of the Sydney Ferry Authority's fast ferries that serve locations up the river from Circular Quay, the city's transit hub. It gave us a great look at one of the worlds' finest harbors and a chance to bid farewell to Australia's adopted constellation, the Southern Cross (it's the one on their flag).
When we arrived back at Circular Quay, we walked around to Doyle's restaurant. Circular Quay is something of a large "U" in configuration. On the upper-right tip of the "U" lies the Sydney Opera House. Doyle's is on the other, opposite, tip. The wharves are at the bottom. We had Doyle's "famous" fish and chips, but paid for lobster & prime rib. The food was OK, the price was ridiculous, but the view was absolutely stunning.
Let me put in another recommendation for the Sydney Harbour Bed & Breakfast -- if you're coming to Sydney, you should stay here. It's deep in The Rocks, which is a great location, and the service is impeccable. We have been well cared-for while in Sydney.
I've tried to remember to include links to our favorite accomodations, suppliers, and sights on the right as well as in the text. As time goes on, after I return home, I'll complete the list. If you have a question about something we did or someplace we went, please ask. Oh yeah -- photos. I've got five CD-ROMs, one DVD-ROM, and a couple of SD cards with photos on them. I'm NOT going to post them all. Hell, I hope I can remember what they all are! I've also got four Digital Video Cassettes with video I'm going to transfer to the computer, plus two DVDs with dive videos. Needless to say, one of my projects will be to come up with some sort of multimedia presentation incorporating these elements. God help me. Several people have said that they want to see my pictures -- I'll be happy to accommodate you, but you'd better plan on spending a weekend with me if you want to see them all. I know most everyone will be interested in seeing the video of the croc eating the chickens, though.
Homey
Friday, May 26, 2006
Sydney Day 2 - Fri 26 May
We have spent another busy day in the Capitol of New South Wales. We got out early this morning and had a guided tour of the Sydney Opera House. We also took advantage of a special offer to get tickets to see a play there tonight: "The Hanging Man."
After our tour, we took one of the ferries around Sydney Harbour to a place called Darling Harbour. There's a lot more to see & do there, but our objective was the Australian National Maritime Museum. We only had time to tour the destroyer Vampire, a submarine, and a replica of the Endeavour, the ship that Capt. Cook was sailing when he "discovered" Australia. It had been a collier, or coal carrier, that he converted into a scientific research and exploration vessel. A collier has a blunt bow and stern and a fairly flat keel, which makes it easy to run up on shore if repairs are needed and keeps it from tipping over when grounded. Since he did, in fact, run aground on the Great Barrier Reef, the fact that he was in a collier probably saved his expedition.
Right after that, we took the ferry to Luna Park. Now by today's standards, Luna park would be a fairly lame amusement park. As a historical artifact, however, it's phenomenal. There is a building there that houses some rides and amusements that haven't changed since the early 1900s. There are large slides that you ride a woven mat down, the "Turkey Trot" that is a series of lurching walkways that you have to negotiate, and a large, shallow cone that you sit in the middle of and that spins around until centrifugal force finally drives you off the center. There were also several "robot musicians" -- steam-powered automated musical attractions that, although beautifully restored and lit, were out of order.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Australia, and we're getting a little worried that we will miss something critical. We have to comfort ourselves in the fact that that we know we can't see everything and we've just got to make the best of what we can do. I am certainly sad that our time here is coming to an end, but I know that I've seen a part of the world that few of my countrymen will ever see. I'm not happy that I've seen it and they haven't, you understand, but it's just that I'm happy that I've seen it. Period.
Even though that means that you probably won't see it, truth be told. Except for sitting through a slide show of thousands of photographs (most of them really crappy or downright unrecognizable) and home videos. Of course, if Blair Witch Project gave you motion sickness, you'll be watching my video out on the deck with a water hose, 'cause it looks like I had the palsies when I shot the video.
Oh, well, I've had enough of taunting my "friends." If anything interesting happens tonight I'll post again in about 12 hours, or at the very least I'll get a final post or two in over the next couple of days. Take it easy!
Actually, if you really want to travel and see things like Emus, kangaroos, and drunken one-armed property managers, you can. You just have to be prepared to make sacrifices, just like anything else of value.
After our tour, we took one of the ferries around Sydney Harbour to a place called Darling Harbour. There's a lot more to see & do there, but our objective was the Australian National Maritime Museum. We only had time to tour the destroyer Vampire, a submarine, and a replica of the Endeavour, the ship that Capt. Cook was sailing when he "discovered" Australia. It had been a collier, or coal carrier, that he converted into a scientific research and exploration vessel. A collier has a blunt bow and stern and a fairly flat keel, which makes it easy to run up on shore if repairs are needed and keeps it from tipping over when grounded. Since he did, in fact, run aground on the Great Barrier Reef, the fact that he was in a collier probably saved his expedition.
Right after that, we took the ferry to Luna Park. Now by today's standards, Luna park would be a fairly lame amusement park. As a historical artifact, however, it's phenomenal. There is a building there that houses some rides and amusements that haven't changed since the early 1900s. There are large slides that you ride a woven mat down, the "Turkey Trot" that is a series of lurching walkways that you have to negotiate, and a large, shallow cone that you sit in the middle of and that spins around until centrifugal force finally drives you off the center. There were also several "robot musicians" -- steam-powered automated musical attractions that, although beautifully restored and lit, were out of order.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Australia, and we're getting a little worried that we will miss something critical. We have to comfort ourselves in the fact that that we know we can't see everything and we've just got to make the best of what we can do. I am certainly sad that our time here is coming to an end, but I know that I've seen a part of the world that few of my countrymen will ever see. I'm not happy that I've seen it and they haven't, you understand, but it's just that I'm happy that I've seen it. Period.
Even though that means that you probably won't see it, truth be told. Except for sitting through a slide show of thousands of photographs (most of them really crappy or downright unrecognizable) and home videos. Of course, if Blair Witch Project gave you motion sickness, you'll be watching my video out on the deck with a water hose, 'cause it looks like I had the palsies when I shot the video.
Oh, well, I've had enough of taunting my "friends." If anything interesting happens tonight I'll post again in about 12 hours, or at the very least I'll get a final post or two in over the next couple of days. Take it easy!
Actually, if you really want to travel and see things like Emus, kangaroos, and drunken one-armed property managers, you can. You just have to be prepared to make sacrifices, just like anything else of value.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Sydney Overview - Thu 25 May
Sydney is unlike any part of Australia I've seen so far. It's crowded, busy, bustling, and wildly multicultural. In fact, I've met far fewer Australians here than anywhere else I've been. Most of the shopkeepers, tourists, etc., are from Asia or Europe or America.
This morning we tried to follow what worked well for us in Melbourne: We got a big-picture overview of the city by taking a harbor cruise then a bus tour. In the evening, we went on a ghost-themed walking tour of The Rocks, the oldest European settlement in Australia. Coincidentally, that's where we're staying. When I went to bed last night, the only light I saw was the reflection from the Sydney Opera House through our bedroom window. The long and the short of it is that we spent about 12 hours exploring Sydney and are going to have trouble figuring out the next step. I want to see Luna Park, tour the opera house, see the botanical gardens, and a couple of other things I've forgotten already.
We went to Bondi (pron. bond-eye) beach today on the bus, but it was pretty cold and only the hard-core surfers were out. The waves were pretty small, so it wasn't very busy.
Well, more tomorrow, I'm sure!
K
This morning we tried to follow what worked well for us in Melbourne: We got a big-picture overview of the city by taking a harbor cruise then a bus tour. In the evening, we went on a ghost-themed walking tour of The Rocks, the oldest European settlement in Australia. Coincidentally, that's where we're staying. When I went to bed last night, the only light I saw was the reflection from the Sydney Opera House through our bedroom window. The long and the short of it is that we spent about 12 hours exploring Sydney and are going to have trouble figuring out the next step. I want to see Luna Park, tour the opera house, see the botanical gardens, and a couple of other things I've forgotten already.
We went to Bondi (pron. bond-eye) beach today on the bus, but it was pretty cold and only the hard-core surfers were out. The waves were pretty small, so it wasn't very busy.
Well, more tomorrow, I'm sure!
K
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Sydney Harbour - Wed 24 May
Well, we made it. The "shuttle" from the airport was an experience. An experience right out of Bangladesh. Not that there were any Bangladeshis aboard the bus (our driver was a Filipino), but he would not leave until the 10 passenger bus held exactly 11 passengers, plus enough luggage to make us pop wheelies every time a stoplight was about to turn green. I wanted to call him a "retarded syphilitic pederaste" knowing he wouldn't understand what it meant (his English was -er- rudimentary), but my mouth was busy kissing the ground when he dropped us off and I forgot.
One big regret -- when we drove from the Brisbane airport to Mooloolaba, it was night time. When we drove from Mooloolaba to Beerwah to see the Australia Zoo, it was raining and cloudy. Today, driving from Mooloolaba back to Brisbane, the weather was clear and sunny, and I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the Glasshouse Mountains west of the M1 highway. If you make it to this area, please take the opportunity to drive through the tourist roads (23 & 24) and take in the vistas from the lookout points they've created. It'll augment your karma -- I assure you.
What a shock. We went from off-season on the Sunshine Coast to the middle of a busy, bustling metropolis. I thought we'd get a gentle transition, but that's not what we got. Melbourne was quite genteel and manageable for us. Sydney is going to take a little orientation. That'll begin in a few minutes and get intense tomorrow. I'll post more then.
The B&B Sydney Harbour is a beautiful building. We're on the third floor and our room overlooks the circular quays and the opera house. It's a very old building, and has more character than any place I've stayed in a very long time.
Tonight I think we'll watch the Rugby match between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blue. From my experiences so far, I'll be rooting for the Maroons.
Mas Manana
One big regret -- when we drove from the Brisbane airport to Mooloolaba, it was night time. When we drove from Mooloolaba to Beerwah to see the Australia Zoo, it was raining and cloudy. Today, driving from Mooloolaba back to Brisbane, the weather was clear and sunny, and I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the Glasshouse Mountains west of the M1 highway. If you make it to this area, please take the opportunity to drive through the tourist roads (23 & 24) and take in the vistas from the lookout points they've created. It'll augment your karma -- I assure you.
What a shock. We went from off-season on the Sunshine Coast to the middle of a busy, bustling metropolis. I thought we'd get a gentle transition, but that's not what we got. Melbourne was quite genteel and manageable for us. Sydney is going to take a little orientation. That'll begin in a few minutes and get intense tomorrow. I'll post more then.
The B&B Sydney Harbour is a beautiful building. We're on the third floor and our room overlooks the circular quays and the opera house. It's a very old building, and has more character than any place I've stayed in a very long time.
Tonight I think we'll watch the Rugby match between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blue. From my experiences so far, I'll be rooting for the Maroons.
Mas Manana
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Australia Zoo - Tues 23 May
Guys: I had no idea it would be this difficult to access the Internet. I've been able to check email, but there's just been junk in my inbox. I feel sure we'll have better luck in Sydney, so I'll try to keep up.
We made it out to Australia Zoo today and spent the entire day there. It's expensive, but you do get the opportunity to get quite close to the animals (especially koalas). The only extra event we paid for was a tour of the animal hospital that receives injured or sick local wildlife. There were a lot of koalas there -- hit by cars, attacked by dogs, or sick. One little guy had been blinded in a dog attack, and another patient had the cutest little joey climbing all over her.
We got to feed and pet several kangaroos, too, but it wasn't the same as when we got to hold Mouse in Daintree. All in all, it was a good experience. We have yet to see Tasmanian devils, echidnas, or platypus, but maybe in Sydney. The real blessing was that there weren't very many visitors at the zoo, owing to the time of year and the cool, damp weather, so we didn't have to fight crowds. Ditto for Mooloolaba, generally.
We made it out to Australia Zoo today and spent the entire day there. It's expensive, but you do get the opportunity to get quite close to the animals (especially koalas). The only extra event we paid for was a tour of the animal hospital that receives injured or sick local wildlife. There were a lot of koalas there -- hit by cars, attacked by dogs, or sick. One little guy had been blinded in a dog attack, and another patient had the cutest little joey climbing all over her.
We got to feed and pet several kangaroos, too, but it wasn't the same as when we got to hold Mouse in Daintree. All in all, it was a good experience. We have yet to see Tasmanian devils, echidnas, or platypus, but maybe in Sydney. The real blessing was that there weren't very many visitors at the zoo, owing to the time of year and the cool, damp weather, so we didn't have to fight crowds. Ditto for Mooloolaba, generally.
Mooloolaba by Daylight; Sharks -- Mon 22 May
Damn. In a week I'll be home.
Today we poked around this place by daylight. Kind of a disappointment. How did I pick Moo-town again? Oh yeah -- on the coast, near Australia Zoo. I remember. I've been wondering if I really want to see another zoo, but April does so that's scheduled for tomorrow.
The big accomplishment for the day was me joining a group of divers going into the shark tank at Underwater World, an aquarium attraction owned and operated by the same people who run the Melbourne Aquarium. I think Underwater World is much better -- it seemed bigger, more creative, and more informative.
The dive was a typical aquarium dive -- double weighting, no fins, and no touching allowed. There were a couple of large leopard rays, several black rays, a wobbegong shark, a shark ray, a tawny nurse shark, and a couple of really big (about 8 ft) grey reef sharks (if I remember correctly). The only sharks I saw while diving the actual reef itself were a few small white tipped reef sharks, and I wanted to experience something bigger. You definitely see sharks differently when there's nothing between you and them but water. I wasn't scared, but I could feel my pulse quicken when one locked its eyes on me and came right at my head. I'm glad I got the experience. Not a formal "dive" under PADI rules, but it's going in my logbook anyway.
Now that I've used my scuba gear for the last time this trip, it all gets a thorough cleaning and airing out. We'll soon be ready for Sydney.
Today we poked around this place by daylight. Kind of a disappointment. How did I pick Moo-town again? Oh yeah -- on the coast, near Australia Zoo. I remember. I've been wondering if I really want to see another zoo, but April does so that's scheduled for tomorrow.
The big accomplishment for the day was me joining a group of divers going into the shark tank at Underwater World, an aquarium attraction owned and operated by the same people who run the Melbourne Aquarium. I think Underwater World is much better -- it seemed bigger, more creative, and more informative.
The dive was a typical aquarium dive -- double weighting, no fins, and no touching allowed. There were a couple of large leopard rays, several black rays, a wobbegong shark, a shark ray, a tawny nurse shark, and a couple of really big (about 8 ft) grey reef sharks (if I remember correctly). The only sharks I saw while diving the actual reef itself were a few small white tipped reef sharks, and I wanted to experience something bigger. You definitely see sharks differently when there's nothing between you and them but water. I wasn't scared, but I could feel my pulse quicken when one locked its eyes on me and came right at my head. I'm glad I got the experience. Not a formal "dive" under PADI rules, but it's going in my logbook anyway.
Now that I've used my scuba gear for the last time this trip, it all gets a thorough cleaning and airing out. We'll soon be ready for Sydney.
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