Diving the Great Barrier Reef

The Qantas flight up from Sydney to Cairns was over in just over 3 hrs & within an hour of landing I was aboard ship having scooted down to the docks on a shuttle bus.

The Take live-a-board dive boat had waiting for me & pushed off as soon as I stepped aboard. With my kit quickly stowed in the bilges I joined the melee of activity on deck, as the crew set about kitting everyone up with masks, fins, tanks & wetsuits.

A short meet & greet briefing later & 14 of us were tucking into a fine dinner spread with almost as many crew. The boat was half full which made it comfortable & spacious. I rented camera
equipment after dinner & was trying to work out how to use them, but couldn't keep my eyes open for long. So whilst most people started to relax in front of the TV, I slipped off to bed & was snoring in my bunk before 9.

Day 2 – Discovering the Great Barrier Reef

During the night Taka positioned itself some 200miles north of Cairns near Lizard Island. I was up early (due to Jetlag) & raring to go, as none of the crew had yet risen I watch the sunrise. The rising sun’s rays spiked the few fluffy clouds gathered on the horizon with rich golden colours & I pondered on what the day was to have in store.

The diving day kicked off with at Cod hole. I was buddied up with an Ozzie guy, Daniel (28), who works for a white water tour company based out of Cairns town centre. He was typically loud & talked constantly, I thought, to conceal his nervousness. I hadn’t figured at this stage that the only peace & quiet I was going to get on the trip, was the odd 45min session that we both spent under water…… !

The Diving at Cod hole was truly amazing, the sea life was literally everywhere. Huge schools of fish swan through the hard & soft corals, whilst an array of Anemones, Fans & Sea Cucumbers littered the reef. Little clown fish hid from preying larger fish & others small fish set about cleaning Sea Bass. We circled through it all, taking pictures & trying not to disturb the 3 dimensional film show that surrounded us.

We made 2 dives before lunch, then moved elsewhere for an afternoon & later night dives. During the day dives we saw these huge Potato Cod. The 2^nd Dive had us all sat in a circle while the dive director feed 2 huge Cod & numerous Red Sea Bass.

I was all but exhausted by the time we night dived. Stepping out into the black water was a nerve racking experience in itself so I stuck close to the dive master in fear that I’d wander too far from the boat & end up in an Open Water situation. The tiredness of the 3 previous dives really lessened my enjoyment of the night dive. The sea had become rougher & I have to say I felt a little queezy. I tried to relax with a beer but it served simply to knock me out until morning.

Day 3 – Steve’s Brommie

Overnight we’d positioned south to Steve’s Brommie, an Oasis of rich sea life crapped onto an up crop of reef/rock, in a desert of ocean sand. I’d hired a camera & strobe flash the first evening & spent much of my dive time snapping away like a Japanese tourist.

Dan’s diving mirrored his land based lifestyle & quickly hovered through his O₂ in less than 30mins. Fortunately for me the visibility was so clear that he could surface & snorkel, leaving me to carry on below for a further 15mins. There was so much to see without even having to move that I finally suggested that he slow down & on trying it his dive time increased 2 fold!!

I choose not to night dive again. The fatigue of 7 dives in 36hrs was taking it’s toll, so along with almost half the group opted for a few drinks on deck as we watched the others head out & back. Like moths to a summer camping lamp, plankton & shrimp surrounded the stage lights at the back of the boat. As the numbers grew, so did the ensuing food chain. Firstly little tiddlers fed on the shrimp, then larger predators in turn fed on them. By the end of the dive there as a frenzy of feeding activity going on.

Day4 – The Return Journey

Having not dived the night before I felt much freshed for our final day. En route to Cairns we had 2 final dives in Challenger bay. The reef has been significantly damaged by a combination of pollution & tourism. I now know why Polly had urged me to head as far north as possible & am thankful for her advice. That said there was some fantastic animal life for our final dives. The highlight of which was to capture this single turtle swim right over me.

Australia: My stepping stone to South American

It’s perhaps a little unfair to think of Oz as a place I’m skipping through, especially in light of all it has to offer, but having travelled here when I was 19 & hung out with numerous in various parts of the world I reckon I’ve a fairly accurate idea how this deeply cultural nation tick.

I arrived into Sydney international airport after a crippling 2.5 day dog leg journey back through Jo’burg (where I picked up my Round the world route). Mel, a friend from London now living back in Sydney picked me up & kindly showed me the sights & sounds of the city by night. The weekend passed as one long party, consisting of a couple of laps around the Kings Cross & Wooloomooloo areas. Despite being completely spaced out for the first few days of my stay I managed to hook up with Marty & between us we managed to assist Australia towards its annual beer & wine quota.

I was thankfully able to run off the beer Monday morning with a run from Cooggee Beach to Bondi. The gentle terrain turned into a hilly nightmare, as I quickly discovered that I’d been sat on my bum for far too long crossing Africa & my legs turned to jelly. To recover I treated myself to a drive into Sydney city centre to catch up with Marty for lunch & some slightly more sober conversation.

We jumped !!!!

Telephone Conversation from Africa
" I'm back for 6 days first week in May darling, what would you most like to do?"
" Oh I don't know lover - Parachute jump?!!!"

...................... & so we did.

farewell lovely boy!

Well, it's time to say goodbye to Ches as we make our own ways from here. I'm now in Sydney, soon to head to the Blue Mountains. Hopefully Chester and I will meet up again when he stops by on his way to S.America.

I've had a fantastic trip through Africa, although the long days driving were a little tedious. However, we always found a way to amuse ourselves - an evil laugh challenge to name but one.

There has been many a highlight for me. The list would run and run, ranging from the proximity of amazing creatures to sunsets and sunrise to sampling a springbok beverage or two. So, instead i've sent photos of just a few of my fab memories.

*Ngorongoro Crater and Serengetti

*Zanzibar - Stone Town's history and atmosphere, the laid back North

*Scenery and sunshine

*Good friends

*Livingstone lunacy!

So, cheerio lovely boy. Have much fun and frolics on your way. And as for me, I'll dop my best to keep in touchvia email.

Love and sunshine,

Ems xx

Krugar to Jo'burg - the final leg

& so it was homeward bound. The last day of driving crossed back west towards Jo;burg. We started to list the last activities (some more gleefully than others) such as taking down our tents or packing up the truck.

We departed Bushman's camp at 7am & hit the remaining 300kms back to civilisation. The landscape changed dramatically as we rouse up through the Burg range of mountains, cutting up deep canyons & passes, up on to the high agricultural plains & then on into the mining landscape nearer the city.

The Ritz back packers greeted us at 4pm, & it's name is more akin to the old night club chain than the glitzy namesake hotel. BUT we were treated to a night in a real (&comfortable) bed - LUXURY

Long roads are us - Botswana to Krugar

2 days of driving moved us 1200kms from the Zambian border, across the entire county of Botswana & into South Africa - our destination - Kruger national park & the Bushman's adventure campsite.

We arrived with sore bums & little sense of humour. The fact that I now felt like I was on a school outing compounded my increasing frustrations. I can understand an 18 year old forgetting sun cream, sun glasses or packed lunch & perhaps needing a gentle reminder to go to the bathroom; but at 34, if I get sun burnt - it's my own fault - right?

Anyway - pigeon holing the sideline annoyances we had the most fantastic night drive, spotting Leopard, Lion & Elephant... oh yes & the savage beast that is - Rabbit too!! The spot light blazed out into the night as we searched for pairs of eyes to reflect back at us. The XYZ private game park, (the name of which escapes me) was not only fun but pretty exhilarating too. The open top land rover had us within touching distance of both Lion & Elephant, & 15 ft of a Leopard mother with 2 newly discovered cubs. (pictures to follow)


The altitude has risen & the temperature had fallen. We can see our breath after sun down & for at least an hour or two after sun rise. Driving in own top vehicles takes on a different level of enjoyment when you're wrapped up in blankets like Lawrence of Arabia from the biting cold. Day 2 had us out in Kruger. The 5am start meant we arrived at the park gates just after first light. I believe my eye balls thawed out just after midday & was finally able to see the limited wildlife from the tarmacked roads that cris-cross the park. Kruger has a very different feel to the Serengeti & the Masai Mara. South African families cruise through the park in their 4x4's & SUV's, enjoying a bank holiday day out together, on set tracks.

Everyone struggled to enthuse about solitary elephants dotted far away on the
horizon or the occasional group of wildebeest clustered in limited shade. Call me blasse or flippant but I think a combination of trek fever, extreme cold & general fatigue played down what Kruger actually offered us. We did see lots of animals including this huemugus terrapin but we were all to tired/bored to get excited.

All change to Botswana - Chobe Nationoal Park

After 24 days for traveling down from Nairobi, 7 of us bid farewell to those continuing to Cape Town. Their route cuts west towards Namibia whilst ours south & then east through Botswana to Jo'burg. The risk of no fuel in Zimbarbwe means we have a longer drive but save ourselves a $55 visa to enter the country.

We headed off in a new truck with 2 new travellers - Simon & Caroline & 6 others from the Cape Town to Jo'burg truck. Our new south African guides were a stark change from the laid back hosting of our Dutch guides. A strict cleaning, cooking & washing up rotor was posted & we were talked to like school kids that had no sense or cognitive ability of our own. This went down particularly well with yours truly but I choose to bite my tongue (well to start with anyway).

We left Livingstone & headed for the Zambian/Botswanan border. The border crossing is a 4 country meeting point; where the edges of Zimbabwe & Namibia join at the junction of the Chobe & the Zambezi rivers. The short ferry crossing & quick border process saw us at a small camp site on the banks of the Chobe river from where we started an evening river cruise up the river as the sun began to sink into the marshlands on the horizon.