Remembrance Day for 2010 has come and gone and even though we were miles from home, this day did not pass without us taking the time to show our respect and gratitude for those who fought and died for our freedoms. As many of you know, Remembrance Day has always been a particularly special day for me because it was a day that I always got to pick up the phone and call my Pops, my hero and a WWII veteran, and thank him for his bravery. Both he and my Nan were active throughout the war. My Pops was in the Royal Navy, and my Nan was a Red Cross nurse who tended to the sick and injured. Though we lost my Pops two years ago this past August, I feel that November 11th and what it stands for, are of the utmost importance. Those who fought in world wars and who have served to defend our basic freedoms deserve both recognition and our thanks. My Nan and Pops both lost their only brothers in WWII. They lived through a time that thankfully Aus and I cannot comprehend. We took the time to honour those who fought (and still fight) for our freedoms. We attended a small ceremony in Rockhampton at the Frenchville Sports Club. We were very much welcomed by the local RSL contingency and were invited to lay poppies at the foot of the memorial in memory of loved ones. The vice-president of the Capricornia RSL invited us in for tea and lunch afterwards. We popped in and socialized for a short time, but had to move on as we still had a long drive ahead. Here are a couple pictures from our Remembrance Day service in Rockhampton, Australia.
A look at the intimate gathering…
The local cadet/rangers…
The memorial where we laid a poppy in memory of loved ones…
So we’ve covered Remembrance Day… now to other matters. If there was one word that could be used to describe our time on Australia’s east coast, it would be WET. The rain has followed us up the coast from Sydney, and as we reported in our last post, it even had us prematurely depart Byron Bay. It was because of our Byron Bay experience that when we got to our next much anticipated destination on the coast – Airlie Beach, we decided not to give in easily. Airlie Beach is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and we decided it was worth sticking around for as long as possible to wait out the rain and try to get the chance to take a boat tour around what is suppose to be a beautiful area. We pulled into Airlie Beach Thursday evening after a long drive from Rockhampton. Shortly after pulling into a holiday park it started pouring… again! We have gotten use to the rain, but what we hadn’t gotten use to was the rain AND the humidity. The further north we went, the hotter it got. The heat also meant that sleeping in our campervan in the rain (which meant the windows had to be shut) was extremely unpleasant. After our first night at the Airlie Beach holiday park Austin and both agreed that if we were going to spend a few days hanging around with hopes for the weather to clear, we need to find a place to stay with air conditioning. Aus went on line and found a good deal and we checked in at the Whitsunday Terraces, which was an apartment-style accommodation complete with a balcony with a view of the ocean. Though it was dated, it came complete with air conditioning and we couldn’t have been happier! Here is a look at the view from our balcony…
This little guy visited frequently as our neighbours set out bread for him and his friends each day…
We booked in for three nights at the Whitsunday Terraces and crossed our fingers with hope for sunnier days. Our hopes were so high that we even took a stroll down the street and went to a local travel agent and booked in for a Whitsunday Islands sailing tour for Sunday. We figured the more time we gave the weather to clear up, the more chance we’d have of getting some sunshine. The forecast did not look good. We spent Friday and Saturday indoors and the rain didn’t let up. We spent our time wisely though. In the dryness of our little apartment, and in the coolness of our AC, we took the time to book the next few stops on our adventure. Sunday morning came, and when we peeked through the curtains we still saw big black clouds. Boo! We called the sailing tour company by the 8am cancellation time and did just that. Feeling defeated and completely saturated, we enjoyed our last day in Airlie Beach, despite the r-r-r-raaaain. We hit the road first thing Monday morning and were in for a long-haul 7-8 hour drive north to Cairns.
We arrived to Cairns around 7pm on Monday and again hit up a holiday park and parked for another VERY hot night’s sleep. Of course, the rain also visited that evening so again the next day Austin and I opted to find a cheap room with AC. We spent some time by the pool on Tuesday while the rain stayed away. With the temperature around 35 we did just about anything to keep cool. We were also excited that the forecast called for only a 60% chance of rain on Wednesday, and decided we liked those odds and would gamble and book a much anticipated intro scuba dive at at the Great Barrier Reef with a company called Tusa that came highly recommended. When we woke up Wednesday morning we started to feel as though our luck was changing. The sun was shining and we geared up to head out on our first dive. We were picked up at 7am and headed out to catch the boat. It was a 90 minute return trip from Cairns harbour to the reef. For our first dives, we would explore two areas of what is known as the Thetford Reef. I have to admit, leading up to the dive I was quite nervous. There something about being below the water, with only one source of air and not being able to see what looms beyond (think Jaws! Chomp-chomp). Anyways, I’m glad I overcame any anxieties I had because we had a brilliant day out on the water. We started out by going over the skills we needed to know before we began our descent. The skills included were how to clear water from our masks when meters below the surface, how to clear water from our regulator (breathing apparatus), how to find our regulator if knocked our of our mouths, and how to equalize (remove pressure from our ears). Simple, right?! I have to admit, it did seem a little bit overwhelming initially but both Austin and I rocked it and enjoyed our initial 20 minute dive. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that when we finished we signed up for a second dive later on. Our second dive was even better! We were even more relaxed and were able to really look around and take it the stunning features of our surroundings. All the snorkelling we’ve done, while incredible, really can’t compare to what the reef had to show off. Here are some pictures from our fabulous first-ever scuba dive!
As we boarded the ship, theTusa 5…
Dressed and waiting to get geared up…
All geared up…
Thumbs up! The underwater pictures were taken by Tusa 5’s professional photographer. He had an amazing underwater camera!
We saw loads of stuff, including Harlequin Turkish fish, Moon Wrasse, Sweetlip fish, Chromis, Butterfly fish, Batfish, a school of Sergeant Majors, a school of Yellowtail Fusilers, Little Glassfish, and more including……
Fusilers…
A close up of both Aus and I with Nemo…
The two of us in all our glory!
Nimo… more accurately called a Anemonefish. Interesting to see the different striping in the next couple pictures…
The range of fish and colour at the reef was incredible!
A blue starfish…
A massive Sea Cucumber!
A Maori Wrasse… Thems some lips!
Totally awesome!
After our second dive we had a much needed buffet lunch and the boat headed to our second location at Thetford Reef. Afterwards Aus opted for a third dive while I took some time to relax and digest. When he was back we headed out to do some snorkelling. Though the snorkelling was incredibly world-class, it really couldn’t compare to the experience of the scuba dive. There was something tranquil and fabulous about it and both of us will never forget it!
As I write, Austin and I sit on a Jet-Star flight heading west and bound for Perth on Australia’s west coast. We’ve heard the temperatures are even hotter out there… can you believe it? Well, here’s to not melting!
Until next time…
All our love from Down under,
The Knotty Travellers
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