Well I've now finished the 5 day diving course and am a PADI certified Open Water diver, which means I can go anywhere diving to a maximum depth of 18 metres.
The course itself was great fun, the first day started off with watching some videos in the classroom to teach us about the equipment, how water density (and air for that matter) varies with depth - go down ten metres air is half the density, water has doubled, at twenty air is a third, water has tripled and so on and other useful things such as how light is absorbed differently the deeper you go and how everything appears much bigger than it is (hence you come up saying did you see that shark, it was gianormous!). There's also the fact that sound travels four times as fast which is a very strange sensation. Then there's the little technique called equalisation, which is why you should never dive with a cold, as you go down your ears block (like they do on a plane) and you need to equalise by either swallowing (which gets very difficult in salt water on hot days as your mouth tends to dry up) or by pinching your nose and breathing out through it, but more on that later. There were various other things we learned about nitrogen narcosis (which is quite an amusing symptom of deep diving ~30 metres), decompression sickness (or the bends), which is mostly caused by making an ascent greater than 18 metres a minute, but I won't go into boring detail. Before the afternoon pool session, if we hadn't already we had to take a medical, which I almost failed (on the lung capacity test). The medical did also consist of the evil balance test: one foot in front of the other arms crossed, hands on shoulders and eyes closed for about 2 minutes, try it it's not that easy to not sway.
The afternoon pool session consisted of various skills underwater such as mask removals and replacement/clearing which are always fun. We also had a pool session in the morning on the second day, and that was when we had the most evil skill, we were all sat in a circle and passed our mask to the left, then put on the mask from the right and cleared it, this was repeated until everyone got their original mask back, which took a while considering that there were eight in our training group and the instructor. The other most evil mask replacement exercise had to be when Diana our instructor took all our masks dropped them the other side of the pool and made us all swim underwater to retrieve them, that was real carnage. I could go on about the other skills we learnt but I won't bore you all to death. Although of course as you may already know, when you go recreational scuba diving you need a buddy so you can check each others equipment before you enter the water (as if your air runs out you need to use their alternate air source - there's none of that sharing of second stage regulators these days like you see in the movies). My buddy was Emre, who was turkish, but has worked in America for the last 4 years. After the pool training we headed out for lunch before going to the Pro-Dive shop (Pro-dive was the place I was learning) to sort out wet suits, BCDs, fins, masks, snorkels for the boat trip. I ended up buying my own mask, which is the absolute mutts nuts, the TUSA Visualator, it's single lens, and has a massive viewing area compared to other masks as well as having straps that are also adjustable up and down to customise the fit even better. I also got a pretty sweet TUSA snorkel which has the Hyper Dry system to prevent water entering the top when snorkelling on the surface and a system so that water can be blown out the bottom of the snorkel. We then headed back to the training centre for the final instructional video on how to use a dive planner and diving computer and the exam, which if not easy enough on it's own, was made easier by the main instructor Phil (who took the other group in the pool) telling us all the answers to questions he didn't teach us or which were wrong because the book and videos were more up to date than the exam. I got 48 out of 50 although I should have got 49, but for some reason when I knew the answer was C I checked A. Still it really was so easy. As part of the course we also got entry to the nightly reef teach talk given by some mad irish man, who was somewhat reminiscent of Olly Plimsolls from the League of Gentlemen, which was quite interesting to learn about various species of fish and coral.
The next morning involved getting up at 5:30 to walk round the block to the Pro Dive shop for 6:15 to catch buses to the docks. In addition to the 18 off our course there were another load of more experienced divers on the boat so it was pretty full, but still very comfortable. We only had two dives on the first day and these weren't to the full depth of 18m, I think it was either 14 then 12, or 12 then 10 (if you do repetetive dives you have to go shallower on each dive). There was no real problem with the extra depth apart from my first descent was a bit botched after I let go of the guide rope and continued straight up. An extra weight on the weight belt sorted me out though (although I later went back down to 6 as opposed to 7, as apparently 7 was too much - each weight is 1.5kg!) The second dive was probably the worst for skills as we started off with a CESA, basically an emergency ascent from about 6 metres, but being careful not to ascend above 18 metres/minute and also remembering to say ahhh (this is important as you only do a CESA when you have no air left and your buddy is nowhere to be found, but you musn't hold your breath underwater as if you do and ascend the air in your lungs expands as it becomes less dense and you end up with lung overexpansion problems. Then we actually went down to the max depth and did lovely lovely mask removals and replacements (much worse in salt water) and a few other skills before doing an alternate air source ascent (i.e. breathing off your buddys alternate regulator). After this we got to do some snorkelling, which is great fun as well, especially when you have a good snorkel that you can easily clear after diving down, we managed to see quite a lot including following a turtle and having a fish swim right up to us and then follow one of us.
The next day started off with a dive before breakfast to 18 metres which wasn't that bad at all, another mask removal and then just a little swim around. After breakfast we had another dive down to 16 metres and much more of a swim around through the reefs. After that dive we were all qualified, which meant we were free to go off on other dives without an instructor and also that we didn't have to dismantle all our kit after each dive. Also before each dive we now have to attend a briefing which gives an overview of the area and how to get where. We went out in the afternoon to 14 metres max, but the dive got a bit messy when it got shallow as loads of people ended up in the same spot (and quite a few surfaced which is not a good thing to do before going back down), so me and Emre headed off elsewhere to explore, saw quite a lot including a Manta and some Giant clams. The next dive (and my last) was the night dive, which whilst only supposed to be a 12m, ended up being a 13.5 for about everyone, but that didn't matter as we had at least 6 hours until the next dive. Night dives are quite simply amazing, although it's very difficult to maintain control and see others. We did also get to see the giant turtle Brian, who lives in a cave at night and a shark and lots of other things. However when I surfaced my right ear was giving me a bit of gyp, basically my sinuses were blocked on my right side, which did mean I shouldn't go diving. So I missed out on the last three dives the next day as I didn't want to damage my ears or have to abort the dive at a metre or two. I did get to do a bit of snorkelling though which as always was good fun.
Finally after we got back we all went out for a meal, quite handily at the place next to my hostel, and then ended up at the Woolshed which is quite frankly a dive (and if you're ever in Cairns no matter how many discount vouchers you get, the food really is quite bad), but Phil got us in free. It wasn't all that bad though as there was a stage for dancing on, by stage I refer to the tables. But they did play some great tunes and the beer was quite cheap.
I would say to everyone who's ever thought about it to give Scuba diving a try, it's great fun and probably the best way to see the barrier reef.
Well I decided to take it easy on Saturday and just had a little wonder round the city in order to find an alarm clock seeing as I actually had a somewhat early flight (which was 30 minutes earlier leaving than the ticket said). Then in the evening I ended up going out with a couple of people. The Australian lad from Sydney (Terry) lead the way and we soon discovered that Melbourne city centre is pretty devoid of pubs and clubs. We eventually found one that was pretty dead and after a few drinks decided to go to the club just down the block. However the girls weren't happy with the $10 entry fee, so we decided to find some other bars/clubs.
The barmaid in the first pub had mentioned another street, so again Terry lead the way but we soon realised that the clubs in question were in completely the other corner of the city. After about 30 minutes we came upon one which looking at the punters we decided was not quite for us (if we'd had some gothic makeup on then we'd have been alright). The next club along the street had a massive queue so we carried on and got given some fliers for free entry to what I think was called showgirls. I was initially concerned that there seemed to be lots of adverts for Chippendale type shows plastered to the building next door, but after a closer look it appeared that in fact there was such and establishment next door (or so it seemed).
So we went in and the upstairs was gated off so we went into the downstairs bar which despite having Karaoke (a redeeming feature, although not for the version of Welcome to the Jungle) did seem to be somewhat after sitting there for a while rather full of men. What particularly concerned myself and Terry was the fact that the men playing pool all seemed to be wearing very tight tops, had dodgy haircuts and kept putting their arms around each other. There was actually one woman there but she did have quite a manly face and an obvious wig. The two girls did find this all very amusing, so after a couple of drinks we decided to try and go upstairs (as I'd noticed that the gate was briefly open when I'd gone to the toilet). The gate however was still closed, then some chap standing by the side said to a bloke who came down the stairs let this four up, but I don't want any of those other lads going up (referring to some fellas behind us). The upstairs greeted us with the sight of two topless male strippers, although they were leaving, fortunately we had missed the male strip show. It did appear that all the women were in fact upstairs for this reason. Still the club was dire and despite the promise on the flyer of a cheesey 70/80/90s night there was no such music played.
I managed to get up early enough to catch my flight though, so I'm now in Cairns and start learning to dive tomorrow. I don't know how long each days lesson lasts, so I may not check my emails until the end of the week (I definitely won't be able to check them for the two nights I'm out on the boat). Cairns is lovely though, some sunshine at last as well.
Despite a rather heavy thursday night at the pub that doesn't close around the corner, I managed to somehow get ready for 8 to meet the bus. We first of all headed down to Bells Beach, which is the last beach in the movie Point Break, although it's not as they actually filmed on some beach in Portland. Still Bells Beach is pretty much where it all started and the nearby town is home to the likes of Quiksilver and Ripcurl. We then carried on along the Great Ocean Road (which unsurprisingly is a road along the ocean and about 300km long). We stopped somewhere I can't remember to go Koala stopping (unsurprisingly they were all asleep). Then stopped in Apollo Bay for lunch at a rather nice place that did lots of fried seafood very cheap. In the afternoon we visited a rainforest and the Twelve Apostles. The 12 Apostles are giant rock stacks in the sea, although there's now only 8 as the other four over time disappeared/eroded away. We also took in Loch Ard Gorge and the collapsed London Bridge, which when it did collapse and strand some people on the rocks wasn't believed by the locals until about the tenth person reporting it.
Well the wine tasting trip (around the Yarra valley) yesterday was very pleasant, amazing how easy it is to get drunk on very little wine. Started the day at a winery I can't remember the name of, where the driver taught us how to test wines, in total there were 5 wines sampled here but I didn't particularly like any of them. Next up was Rochford which had better wines, as lunch was late we ended up trying six here, then had lunch (which was a passable steak, the restaurant was very nice though and a load of travellers didn't look too out of place!) which came with a whole glass of wine. Lunchtime discussions of whether downing a pint of Baileys was a feasible challenge (if your names not Tommy Walsh) soon raised an interesting conundrum arrived at after discussing various methods to drink lots in a short time. Someone mentioned a pub that has a speed pourer that is like a cows udder (i.e. fills six pints at once), so naturally the question arose of what would come out of a real cow if you fed if solely Water, Hops, Malt and Sugar. A cow does have multiple stomachs so fermentation may occur during digestion, but what would come out the udders?
Then we tried another couple before heading onto St Austins (by which point everyone was pretty much wrecked and the third person this trip told me I sounded just like Ricky Gervais) to try another 6 wines, these again I wasn't exactly enamoured with. Finally we went to Domaine Chandon (associated with Moet and Chandon) where we got to see the whole works of the place (a novelty in Oz apparently) and a whole glass of bubbly (although we also wangled a taster of some of their red bubbly which wasn't worth it) and some cheese (and beetroot!).
Today I went to the Melbourne museum which is quite an interesting place even if the exhibits aren't that big. However they did have a section devoted to Neighbours and the Scullys old kitchen (i.e. before the fire) as well as a time line up until 1999 detailing who lived in which house and moved to which house etc. I was particularly impressed (being such a big child in museums) with the quality interactive displays provided by some Australian record company I'd never heard of (they claim to be Kylies record label but seeing as the other musicians they were proud of were called Motor Cycle Fellatio or something like that I don't think they're that big overseas!).
Tomorrow I'm off on a day trip down Ocean Road as I decided the Neighbours tour was a right rip off, they take you to ramsay street, drive you past the studio and thats about it.
Well I haven't done too much in Melbourne (I have only been here a couple of days though). The hostel is very nice although the rooms seem to have been designed by a prison cell designer. However apart from that it's pretty much like a nice hotel and is only the second hostel I've stayed in that has a restaurant.
I spent most of my first day wandering around the city, which is quite varied in its design, there's a lot of old victorian buildings and some very old run down looking houses, equally lots of skyscrapers and very odd looking new buildings.
Today I visited the Victoria Market which is one of the oldest (110 years) markets in the world (and biggest), but I'm not a market person, so there wasn't really anything of interest there (unless you're into fresh veg and some dubious clothing). I also visited the Old Melbourne Gaol, which, as a claim to fame, is where Ned Kelly was hanged. It's a pretty interesting place (and quite cheap) with lots of tales about who was imprisoned there, how it was based on Pentonville in London as well as displaying one of the Kelly gangs armour suits and Neds gun. There's also an interesting tale of how when the prison closed the gallows (or scaffold) was moved to another prison, but the trapdoor didn't fit so an inmate who was a carpenter was tasked with fixing it to work. Then ironically the same prisoner was the first person to be hanged after it was working.
Tomorrow I'm off on a tour round 4 of the local winerys, and I'll probably go out on some other tours in the next few days (still not sure whether the Neighbours tour is worth the money though!)
I didn't really do too much in Dunedin this time (much like last). As there was a pretty big rugby match on I only managed to get one night in the hostel (same room with the balcony which was nice), so I spent the other night staying with some people we know, so I ended up going out drinking with them both nights. When I originally posted this I completely forgot that on my second day in Dunedin, Neal who I was staying with took me up to the highest point in Dunedin and then we headed to the steepest street in the world (Baldwin street). Whilst Neal was dropping some things off at his mother in laws (who lives at the bottom), he let me drive his 4x4 up the street. I almost managed it all the way in second but had to change down near the top. The streets 38 degrees which doesn't sound much (and I've probably skied down steeper ski slopes) but I wouldn't like to walk it. That said they do have a yearly race that serious athletes compete in (in addition to a downhill skateboard event). The amazing thing is there's houses all the way up the street, can't imagine that's an easy walk to the shops!
The drive back up to Christchurch was fun mainly due to the large amounts of fog that descended out of nowhere between each town. I stayed in a different hostel in Christchurch this time and it had a lot more character and was in a very nice bit of town (so there is despite what I said previously something to see in Christchurch). I was going to argue some money out of the hire car company regarding the windscreen when I took the car back, but seeing as I noticed the day before that one of the air scoops (not sure what they're technically called) was missing from below the front bumper, I thought I'd keep quiet on that (and they didn't notice it either). The flight over to Melbourne was good and I've now found the way to get through Australian immigration/customs very quickly. When you fill in the landing card there's two sections of items that you have to declare: firstly medicines, money etc, which if you're OK with they just cross off (at customs) and let you go through the green; secondly there's foods, wood items, etc which they can't cross off and you still have to go through the red. But if you go through the red there's barely anyone else there and they don't x-ray all your bags. So I'm quite glad I bought a small wooden item in NZ now!
Well it's now my last day in Wanaka and I've had quite a relaxed week here, certainly is the place to do just that. Never managed to make it up to either of the nearby mountains, partly due to illness (my sinuses decided to play up), partly due to lack of snow (although there's some forecast for tonight, just about typical). Finally partly due to getting my windscreen replaced (due to a lovely big crack that appeared one morning in Queenstown whilst driving, pictures to follow) which somehow managed to take up three of my days (although that's exaggerating, it wasn't 3 whole days, just three lazy days). I've also been out for a couple of drives round and about the area, and was tempted to try out the local shooting range, still might tomorrow morning, depends on the cost (I do believe there is some form of YHA discount for extra rounds or something like that!)
Oh and I also added a load more photos to this site, click on any of the entries under the Photos!!! option on the left of the main page. Tomorrow I'm off to Dunedin for 2 nights, then up to Christchurch for a night and over to Melbourne (Oz) for a week. Then I should hopefully be doing a 5 day scuba course in Cairns as well, which'll be nice.
My last day in Queenstown was quite a lazy one, I thought about doing a bungy jump, but after the Skydive I really can't bring myself to spending $125 minimum for something that'll last a couple of seconds. So I took a drive out to Glenorchy which was really not worth it as the road was along Lake Wakatipu (i.e. the Lake in Queenstown) and it was a very foggy day, still the road presented some driving challenges: in some places, sheer cliff face one side, drop to the Lake the other and down to a single lane with some sharp bends, bet there's been a few accidents along there. Glenorchy itself could best be described as a one horse town (except I saw two in a field as I entered the town) and there really was nothing there, so I took a couple of pictures of the foggy lake and headed back to Queenstown. I then went to the Chard Farm winery and tried a few of their wines, which were quite tasty it has to be said. I then spent most of the afternoon doing the thing you always seem to do when travelling, repacking your bag, amazing how much more space it creates every time! Went to watch Bulletproof Monk in the evening which wasn't bad.
The drive to Wanaka was pretty uneventful, decided to head to Cromwell first, but there was not much there so I headed straight back to take the Alpine Scenic Road route to Wanaka (i.e. very steep and windy). Got to the hostel about 1, but the office is only open between 5 and 8 in the evening, so I went into town for a couple of hours before checking in. The hostel is pretty nice as is the town, much how I expected most hostels in NZ to be, which is nice.
Today I got my (third) memory card from my camera transferred to CD so I could post some recent pictures (I may also post some older ones now I've found an internet cafe with CD-ROM drives!). I then headed up to Puzzling World which was quite cheap and worth a couple of hours. I decided to do the difficult course around the maze, which is supposed to take 1-1.5 hours, but without haring about the place I managed it in what I feel is a respectable 42 minutes. The rooms of illusion are pretty cool if a little shortlived, in particular the room of following faces is quite eerie, I doubt the pictures will do that justice (basically lots of faces of Einstein, Mother Teresa and four other famous people that follow you around as you walk). And amazingly there was some snow last night at Cardrona so I'll probably head up there tomorrow for some skiing.