Dag 106: Jaws of Death!

"Give me a reefshark" i say to Rebecca my dive instructor when i board the Ocean Freedom. I've heard the stories of the other divers at the live aboard, but i didn't see any. She doesn't promise anything, but she says that will see what she can do.

We're just 5 minutes down during the second dive of the day, when Rebecca hits my head. I was looking in the wrong direction again. 3 meters behind my back a beautiful Reefshark slides through the water. I am amazed. But the dives becomes even better when we swim around the corner and see two whitetip reefsharks chased by an agressive Giant Trivalli. The reefsharks are swimming quickly around this small piece of coralrock, trying to find a hiding place. All this is happening 3, 4 meter in front of us. Rebecca claps enthousiastic in her hands, she gave me a double portion of reefsharks. Her mission is accomplished!

But the story doesn't end here. In the afternoon we are snorkeling at Upolu cay, 3m shallow and sandy place. And i see a giant Sting Ray, the kind that killed Steve Irwin. It is huge, its an alien flagship. A little blue spotted sting ray besides it. When i am starting to get tired i swim back to the boat and spot three beatufil unicorn fish. I am just hanging in the water and what you think that slides just below me: another reefshark. What a day!

When we are back in Cairns, i asked Rebecca how they called the second diving place. "Jaws of Death" she replies. She must have made that up.

The white tip reefshark

DAG 104: X-mas at Cape Tribulation.

I celibrated x-mas in the most beautifull spot in Australia: Cape Tribulation. Gorgeous thick rainforest ends up at the white beach. I am fascinated by the capricious mangrove forest and the dark rocks surrounding the beaches. Hundred of funny crabs are running around on their backlegs. They are pretty fast too. On Boxing day i wake up at the beach under the full moon. I only hear the rushing of the sea. It feels like Paradise

But when Captain Cook discovered this part, he didn't think it was paradise. Stuck for months at the Barrier Reef (it is shallow there) he finally made it to the shore, to be welcomed by deadly spiders, crocodiles, jellyfish, snakes, agressive ants, sandfleas, leeches and mosquitos. At these are just the animals! We also got plants like the 'wait a while' with strings of thorns where you can get stuck in. There is the 'Gympe Gympe' a very obnoxius plant that has tons of tiny needles that sticks into your skin and give you tremendous pain. There is even a killer tree that strangles his host tree and eats it alive until nothing there is nothing left of the host. the indegouis people used to bury their deads inside these strangler figs, so when Cook came onshore he thought the trees ate the humans. When he couldn't find freash water and food he was so fedded up with this place Cook that he named this place Tribulation. I am surrounded by mount Pity and Mount Sorrow.It suits me to celibrate x-mas here.

But Cook didnt had warm showers, internet, insectrepellent, a cool swimmingpool, a bar (that luckily didnt play WHAM or MARAIH CAREY xmas songs) with free beer and great dishes like the wild Burumundi. So i Cook would discover this place again, he propably will gave it a more positive name. On our way to Tribulation our Guide shows us a nest of green ants, according to him the most aggresive ant on earth. When they are attacked, they all come out together show their enimt their ass and squirts out a nasty smelling kind of acid. It seems that you can made tea out of it and they also use i for a substitue for lemon. Licking the ass (like i did, yes it was always a dream of me to lick the ass of an ant) is like licking a 9 volt battery.

the beach at cape tribulation.

You cant swim at the beach because of the killer jellyfish.

mangrove forest. I am fascinated by the shapes of the roots.

Mangrove forest

The sandcastles built by thousands of crabs

The green ant and its pushy ass

rainforest

The strangler fig, without host

My cabin in the rainforest

Dag 102: I am an advance diver!

the Great Barrier Reef
Everything in Australia is huge, to make it easy for you they added 'great' to every name. Like the 'Great Barrier Reef'. 2000 km of beautiful Coral formation stretches out on the north east coast of Australia. A three hour boatride took me there and i was surprised to find very shallow water. The best parts of the coral are to be found at 5 till 18 meters.
The most famous inhabitant of the Reef is ofcourse the clownfish Nemo. I allready saw a lot of these funny clownfishes in Japan and Thailand but they all were the nephews and nieces of Nemo. The real Nemo lives here in Australia. Has everybody seen that movie? Well uncle Walt left out one important fact. If mother clownfish dies, dad has a sexchange and becomes female (including reproductive system!). Nice detail they forgot to tell you, ain't it.

Advance diving
We leave Cairns harbour for a three day divingtrip at the reef. 11 dives in 2.5 days, pretty severe. You start diving at sunrize and you end around 8 o'clock in the evening. I am trying to get my advanced certificate this way. A day before i picked up my instructionbook and start studying. I know i make a lot of strange jokes, but i can be pretty serious too. So if people ask me to study, i study (except for French that is). So i study the chapters i suppose to do and stresses the important things, with my new yellow marker. I also do all the reviews at the end of the chapter (sound familiar?) I place questionmarks at the things i do not understand. I even do an extra chapter about peak bouancy. Like i said i am pretty serious about it and i want to improve my skills.
I feel like a fool when my advance instructor just gives the answers of the reviews, which the other pupils write down, because they hadn;'t any time to read. When i ask her one of my questions, she sights out loud, she doen't seem to be interested in teaching me.(actually she don't know the answer) . It felt like a cold shower after the excellent experiences i had in Thailand when i got my Open Water. But then again i am here to enjoy my dives.

Fist fundive
Ever played football as a young kid. The trainer explains the tactics, tells you that there are defences and an offenders in this game. But as soon as the ball is in the game everyone, including the keeper, jumps on the ball. Well the first fundive is like this. Our instructor Steve debriefs the 18 divers about the route to take and he ends by saying that this is the only dive he will guide and asks us who will join him. All 18 fingers go in the air. So steve explains the rules, how to follow him in pairs of two and buddy us up. But as soon we hit the water, evrybody jumps on Steve. I lost track of my buddy. I never saw this guy before and in the water everybody looks the same in their blue stingersuit.

First Nightdive
Everybody is a little bit scared, because nobody knows what is going happen. You jump in dark water and you know there are sharks, no better yet there are so many triggerfish out there, waiting for you. There is even a triggerfish that is dressed up like a clown. That is one fish you don't want to meet in the dark. At one of my dives a triggerfish yawns at me and show me his big teeth. I think prefer the beautifull and friendly reefsharks!
So its you, you're buddy, a torch and the big dark ocean. But as soon as i get into the water i am surprised how much you can see. All those torches of your fellow divers, make the dive a bizar play. The second nightdive is really fun, now i am used to it, i try to spot the nocturnal animals. Most of the time i annoy the sleeping fish, but i do see some shrimps. I really loved the nightdives.

First Deepdive
Don't ask me to stand on a 3m ladder. do not ask me to go up a tower. Although you see me doing some stupid things, like the staircase to heaven in Korea and looking down intoKkings Canyon, i still freak out on heights.
But going down 28m in the water, no problem. This was one of the best dives this trip. Floating in front of this huge wall of coral. It was really beautifull. I didn't experience any nitogen narcose (although i think so, or did i try to kiss that clown triggerfish)

Almost the final dive
I got a new buddy. Steve briefs us the route and guidelines. Before we get in i ask my buddy what he wants to do. He replies: "like Steve said" After 3 minutes my buddy turns left in stead of right and we got stuck in a current, that drifts us away from the boat..As we ascend we are still in the current and can't get back, so we for a pick up. On board Steve asks us if we were planning to go to Fiji. Would be cheaper than flying i reply. I ask my buddy why he didn;t stick to Steve guidelines. My buddy answers that he was still sleeping during the briefing.

I am an advanced diver now
At the end of the trip i become an advanced diver. Well on paper that is, i don't feel like it.I still ran out of air pretty fast (my dives didn't last longer then 35 minutes) and most of the time i didn't had a clue where i was swimming to. I look at the compass, i read the compass, but what is it saying to me (its a Homer situation) Don't ask me to indentify a fish (the triggerfish i know by now)
Anyway it feels really good saying it slowly: a-d-v-a-n-c-e-d d-i-v-e-r. Pretty proud of it too.
And diving at the great barrier reef? It was amazing. I still can't get enough of the turttles. They are my favorite creatures. The way they swim makes my heart jump.
I learned a lot about diving with unknown buddys. When we are heading back to Cairns, i concluded that these trips are better if you got a familiar buddy. Someone who shares the same interests and goals (uh maybe the same airconsumption would be nice). So all you pretty ladies, if you like water (and if you can yell at me if i lost direction AGAIN) you know where to find me. Next divetrip i am planning is to Hawai (how convenient).


The best picture i took. This green sea turtle. There were lots of them.
They are so cute, when they swim.

Look at the dives times! 19:30 its dark! and 6:30 is early



The sun is getting up at the great barrier reef


Giant Clam




diagobal-banded sweetlips




Got lost, stuck in a current and we couldnt get back to the boat.
We needed some help

DAG 97: Kakadu

"ok people, mumble, mumble, noise, noise, mummble, KAKADU, mumble, more noise, mumble 4 meters high, more aussie mumble". So sounds the explanation of our tourguide through the soundsystem of the car, all his words get blown away by the airco. Everybody in the group is complaining that we can't here him at all, but when he turns the volume up we hear a snearing beep. The solution is to turn the aico off, but its hot outside so we will be frying. Its almost 40 degrees with a humidity of 90%. Even thinking makes us sweat, so we choose for the mumbling instead. Our guide doesn't mind that he is the only one that can hear him.

At one point our guide drops us of at the Mary river site. Leaving us flabbergasted when he drives off. Nobody did hear him say when he will return, leaving us here behind with the possibility of crocodiles. Because the last thing we did hear, was don't get in to the water!

But we don't see any crocodiles (there must be thousands of them in this area) but there are hundreds of annoying flies. These flies are smart, they go directly for your eyes, nose and ears. and did i tell you about the mosquitos? The pharmacist gave me a 80%deet stick! She said that the mosquitos seems to prefer white european. There is even one mosquito that can give you a kind of sleepdisease. There is no cure for it, she says, selling me the 80% deet instantly. Welcome to my second campingtrip in Kakadu Park: the scenery of Crocodile Dundee.

Kakadu is Australia's largest national park (East of Darwin) and shelters a variaty of habitats and wildlife, including thousands of snakes and offcourse the fresh and saltwalter crocodiles. The park is joint managed by Parks australia and the traditional owners, the Bininj and Mungguy, who lived in Kakadu for at least 50.000 years. Most of the land is returned to the Aboriginals, who leases it now to the goverment. Kakadu was one of the first parts that has been returned.

The whole area knows two cilmates, the dry season and the wet season. At this moment the wet season has started. Soon this part will be hit by thunderstorms, monsoons, thyphoons and heaps of rain. The rivers will be flooded and most of the land will filled with water. Spreading the wildlife acros the area.
The best part of the tour is when i get up the second day at 5:30. Wllaroos (a little bit smaller than Kangaroos and bigger than Walabies) are a few meter behind my tent. some are fighting giving me a first seat of a good boxingshow.

And did we see crocs? Well the best one i saw was the 7meter saltwater crocodile, with the well chosen name 'sweetheart', but it was in the art museum. they killed him, because he was attacking boats in the river. We got a glimpse of three crocodiles during the rivercruise on the Saint Mary River. Kindly sleeping like we did one hour later.

and the mosquitos? Well they didn't sting me, but i am Whasian (or the 80% deet worked)

and this is what camping in Kakadu looks like:

First you lok at some 10.000year old Aboriginal art


then you enjoy the views of the wetland

and enjoy more views of the wetlands

Dont forget to read the signs before you enter the area

Then you spot the wildlife, they blend in easily. But they are cute as your handbag

and you look out for more wildlife

You go for a swim because it is sooooo hot.


Sucker, You forgot the read the signs!!!!!!!!!!!


And you go out camping, hope the wetseason storm will pass you.


and next day you start enjoying the wetlands again.

DAG 92: Camping Trip

We all get waken up by Dom our tourguide at 4 o'clock in the morning to catch the sunrize at Uluru. I hop on the bus with sleepy eyes like everybody else. Like allways Dom puts on his big smile and good spirits, starts the bus and the first song that he plays on the carstereo is a very depressive song by BRIGHT EYES. Is this his kind of humor i ask myself, do i have to take the bandname literally? Everybody look like zombies after 3 or 4 sleep on a rocky ground.

I am on a three day camping trip in the outback around Uluru (maybe best know as Ayers Rock). And what am i doing here? Everbody who knows me well, knows that i hate outdoor camping. I really hate it! Why sleep on a louzy campingbed, packed in a tiny sleepingbag in a small hot tent, when you can sleep in a big aircondiotened room on a soft bed. And this trip is almost worse, there is no tent! You just sleep on the ground in your swag (a one person bodybag) praying that there will be no spiders, snakes or red ants crawls into it. Although Dom put up its two thumbs and says "no worries mate, you will be fine". You see that all 20 people of the partygroup are thinking the same as me. And the best of all, it took you the whole day in a desert trip to get here. We made 1500 kms in three days running on a straight road through the hot and red desert. No bending machines, 7 elevens or K marts on the corners here, we are in the outback desert. So what i am doing here...............

Well this trips turns out to be amazing. You not only get stunning views from Uluru (ayers rock) the even more amazing 36 peaks of Kata Tjuta and you get a peer in the depths of Kings Canyon. But Dom our guide also explanes a lot about the bizarre geologie that formed these places billions of years ago. And you learn about the history and habits of the aboriginals that tried to survive here for thousand of years. It makes you feel a tiny part of history of this world.

These places we visit are sacred places for the aboriginals. There are special storylines how these places were created by their ancient fathers. We get to hear the 'children' stories. You have to be proven worthy to hear the 'real' stories. How to get a real man? Well, at the age of 8 you get sent into the desert with only your spear for a survival trip of three years. Look again about how i am thinking about camping, i am really satisfied with the children stories.

In two days i will make a campingtrip again, this time up north. when i come back, i will be a good boyscout with survival techniques. (although i cant do anything with how to catch a kangaroo at a campingflight to Lowlands)

I ended op taking hundreds of pictures of beautiful red rock formations. here are a few.

Sunset at Uluru. It is amazing how this rock is created.

Actualy it is a broken rock that is turned 90 degrees!

it sticks out for 350m above ground, there is still 700m below.

Uluru

sunset in the outback

36 peaks or 'heads' of Kata Tjuta. 500m high.

It looks the same as Uluru, but this is made of

compressed pieces of rocks

Kata Tjuta

Sleeping in my comfortable swag. Under the sky.
It was cloudy (even some raindrops) so no sky of stars for me


Making dinner the bushman way. It was a very good chili!

the pots are heatened by the hot coals beneath and on top of the pan.

looking in the depths of kings canyon

swimming in the garden of eden (kings Canyon)

when i got out, Dom told me he spotted the biggest python he ever had seen last time.

this is my impression of slints ablum spiderland or Apocalipse now!

Dom tells us how this tropical plant came into the desert.

DAG 89: Alice Springs

30 km after leaving Adelaide we make a right turn and JP our busdrives/ tourguide jokes: "look to the rightside and you see nothing, look to the leftside and there is more of nothingness" Funny joke but how true. It take 1500km, 2 days and over 20 hours to get to Alice Spring, the heart of Australia. On the way we see a lot of interesting variations of nothing: bushes, more bushes, less bushes, red sand and the hightlight of the trip some wedgetail eagles and a big saltlake. Just before we end up in Alice Springs the bus turns left for the first time during this 1500 km trip.

the left side

the rightside

the salt lake (the salt layer could be 75cm thick)

Dag 86: Doing nothing

Again there is not much to tell. Taking some relaxed days here in Adelaide before i am sent off in the hot desert. The last days i have been finishing the biography of Nick Cave and started in a novel of Jeff Chang called ' a history of the hiphop generation'. I can't stop reading. I made a dolphincruise recently, finally the captain spotted two little dolphins somewhere at the horizon, but at that moment a drunken Nick Cave was kicking someone in the face again.

Last Sunday i went with Emily and her good friend Cassie to the beach. Cassie wouldn't get into the water because the news the other day mentioned that a shark was spotted in the area. I didn't dare to cross the dunes because there ware snakesigns everywere. Nice couple we were.

Sitting on the beach looking out over the sea, i was thinking that i will never be this far south in my life ever again. Or my dreams about diving at the poles must come true. On the other hand when i dived in Korea the last time i thought the water with its 22 degrees was very cold ( i am such a wussy) We had some fun at the beach. Emily started dancing i joined her, but after my pirouette i landed with my face in the sand. Cassie made a funny video, but i still cant upload it to my blog.

Yesterday i went with Emily to Normanville, where her friend Ruth lives. This is a beautiful little place at the coast, 70km from Adelaide. Ruth lives in a small cottage with an great outdoor shower (ofcourse i tested it). She seems to do a lot for the local artists, painters and potters. Sometimes they stay in her place and make paintings, thats why her place was stashed full with amazing paintings. Ruth showed us around and prepared an amzing lunch for us. She said she kept it simple but she keep on bringing things like salads, fruits and different kinds of cheesse to the table untill it was full. I was like a happy child when she came with a big box of chocolate-icecream (the two magic words captured in once). We ate it with a small local citrus fruit called cumquat. Yummie!! Ruth saw i was enjoying it, so she gave me a second portion. Yummie again.

I was really hungry because we allready did some sea-kayaking and a walk on the beach. Did i see 3 dolphins or 3 sharks? There where at least a lot of sharkeggshells on the shore. It was an amazing trip thanks to the hospitality of Ruth.

Looks like we were in a time warp at adelaide beach

Sorry pretty ladies: Its all about me, me, me, me!!

I am the star of this blog.

Cassie on the left, Emily on the right

Foot artwork

Emily's little dance performance.



the drylands on the road to Normanville.

In a lot of Australian paintings you can see these settings

Normanville is famous for it seadragons (they are amazing whem the live in the water)

These are their skeletons. They really look like dragons!

Did i see sharks or dolphins (i will photoshop them in later)

the beach at Normanville

DAG 80: Hugging Walabies and Koalas.

I paid a visit to the symbols of australia: the walabies, kangaroos and Koalas.They are so cute and furry! and sweeter then korean styled coffee. I have been hugging and kissing them the whole day.No story just anjoy the pictures. WARNING People with a soft spotted heart should skip the last picture!














The ultimate fusion between Australia and Asia: this yummie kangaroo green curry dish. The meat tasted better then any beef i had in my live so far. People who think that this is cruel....please refrain from eating chicken, pork and beef (the kangaroos have a lot of space to ) and also refrain from eating tuna (kangaroos plenty here and the tuna is an endangered specie)