Our RTW ticket included a wonderful flight over the outback from Cairns to Alice Springs. The landscape was how you may, and we certainly, imagined Australia to be, red dusty and dry as a bone. Awesome mountain ranges rose out of the endless flat plains of the outback with the occasional line of trees denoting where an underground river flows.

We arrived in Alice on a downer, discovering my continued affliction of loosing/mislaying/theft of my wallet had followed my to the other side of the world. Sadly it had been nicked at Cairns domestic airport lounge, which included ALL my cards; bank, credit, driving, YHA and even the global gossip card too. You name it and it was gone. To make things worse we did not have the telephone number for Sentinel 24hr international cancellation service and so had to wake Arabella in the middle of the night to cancel them all. Thankfully no one has tried to use any of them and I imagine it was dumped, fleeced of the small amount of cash before we left the lounge!

Having missed our free ride to the hostel quite unexpectedly we secured a lift in a private hire taxi to Annie’s Place. Our driver preached of his friend the talented Aboriginal opera singer which made for an entirely bizarre journey. Annie’s Place is a great hostel inclusive of towels, something that has become a priced luxury since living out of a backpack and keeping a towel dry is a constant challenge these days. Alice, as it is affectionately known, was a strangely deserted place on the afternoon we arrived. We saw few people and even less Aborigines. The sandy river basin, where some of the Aborigines live, was dry, wide and littered with large trees. Wandering down the main street the cinema was screening ‘The Dark Knight’ which made James intensely happy, so we caught an early supper (avoiding the Kangaroo, Camel and Emu on the menu) and watched Keith Ledger enthrall us with his final performance. Despite my dislike of ‘dark’ movies and a childhood fear of clowns/jokers, since watching IT at too young an age, this was a masterpiece of acting prowess and very entertaining. I both stayed awake throughout and didn’t close my eyes more than once!

DAY TWO

Up before dawn along with the entirety of the hostel for our three day outback adventure tour with Wayward Bus (now Adventure Tours). Around town we went collecting our comrades and the shoe left behind on the pavement by our Italian contingent. Blowing up my neck pillow and strapping on my eye mask I drifted quickly back to sleep as we journeyed into the outback and towards Kings Canyon.

Our tour bus comprised of a mixture of German, Polish, Italian, English and Japanese and the two Ozzie guides. By mid-morning we were finally compos mentis and by way of an ice-breaker an introduction of ourselves to the rest of the bus was requested by our hosts. We each in turn took too the mike and wrote our names and nationality on our window for familiarities sake. Swiftly the cultural and language barriers were bridged. Ben proved to be a character with no fear of embarrassment and a love of the lime light and who gave us all an education in popularity… Tongues wagged between us about a German girl who appeared a little familiar with our senior guide. Brett, our guide, was a newbie and so we had Spud to supervise the trip. Brett did a great job despite his nerves.

Stop-offs were regular, but sadly just the same as the road side cafes on the east coast with bad food and worse coffee/tea. Some roadside cafes kept wildlife, but personally this was not much fun for us or the animals involved.

Kings Canyon

With walking boots, a wide brimmed hat, 1.5 litres of water and factor 40 on all our exposed pink parts we ventured up the steep face of the red rock. The view from the top was spectacular. A mountain range that just appears out of the endless flat expanse of the outback, making trees look like bushes by its magnificence. Kings Canyon used to be underwater evidenced by the seashells and ripples made by the ebb and flow of water in sand fossilised in the rock. Amongst the undulations of the mountains and canyons was the Garden of Eden. This is a small water filled valley, reflecting like a mirror the rich angular red rock and the deep blue hue of the cloudless sky, which contrasted beautifully.

As evening fell we drove to our campsite deep in the bush. As time-honoured tradition would have it supper was prepared by the girls and the fire stoked by the boys as even on the other side of the planet some things never change. The stew was cooked in cauldrons around the campfire as we sat around on benches in eager anticipation that it would soon be ready. Another girl and I attempted to make smores with only marshmallows and chocolate, but they were still yummy. Our group was mainly single men and the one next door mainly single women, but the cold night prevented any cross pollination! Weirdly  ‘happy birthday’ was being sung repetitively in the distance as Ben entertained us all.

Sleeping options were minimal, swag or hut, take you pick. Brett persuaded us that swags are indeed warmer in the cold outback nights. James needed more convincing to sleep outside with his fear of spiders and wariness of snakes, but as luck would have it these creatures hibernate in winter: happy days! Swags are army green canvas bags that encases your extremely thick sleeping bag and includes a flap to cover your head too. They aren’t the most inviting of sleeping arrangements but I was happy to be able to sleep under the crystal illumination of the beautiful southern constellations and Milky Way. Quickly the dubious head flap found its way closely covering my head to retain even a modicum more of my heat.

DAY THREE

James woke to find a dingo stealing my remaining marshmallows! Braving the cold of the morning the hot showers were extremely welcome and the breakfast even more so.

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)

Made from the same rock as Kings Canyon and also red through the oxidisation of its iron content Kata Tjuta is a completely different formation. The rocks are much more rounded than at Kings Canyon. This walk was equally beautiful as we learnt more of the history and flora of this place. In dramatic fashion as our walk finish so did my zoom lens. Effectively the automatic zoom stopped working and had to be manipulated manually. This was a moment of intense distress for me as we boarded the bus for sunset at Uluru. Seeing Uluru has been a life ambition for me since my childhood geography classes. Why, why, why had this happen now? Perhaps the Aborigines were protecting the sacred nature of their iconic rock. Whatever the reason it brought tears to my eyes.

Uluru (Ayres Rock)

With Aboriginal music playing we drove towards Uluru as the sun slowly lowered in the desert sky. Impressive is an understatement. Transfixed as we came closer, it is as I had always imagined. I was at once immersed in a deep connection with the cultural significance of this place. Trudging through the deep sand with champagne laden igloo (ice box) we found a spot away from the thronging spectators. Ignoring the plastic vessels which contained our champagne we toasted this personally unique occasion as I tried to remain calm as our tour members jumped the fence to have their precious photo taken. Struggling with my broken lens I found it hard to both capture this wonderful photographic opportunity whilst experiencing this moment romantically with J. It was a little haphazard, but we managed to do both. The changing colour of Uluru is unbelievably rich and mesmerising at dusk. Having done the Aboriginal walk in the Blue Mountains this gave us a greater understanding and respect of this ancient and primitive culture than those in our tour group chose not to respect. Darkness falls quickly here and like a blanket it blinds you. Reflecting on our experience we wish we had driven there independently, but none the less this was amazing. Back at camp we made supper, enjoyed a few beers and some campfire banter before opting for a (hopefully warmer) hut for some privacy. The was indeed the warmer option, Brett!

Before dawn we were up and ready to see the sun rise again on Uluru whilst completing the base walk. You can climb Uluru, but we were urged not to in respect of the Aboriginal culture that surrounds this sacred place. Sadly the German contingent opted for the climb too the distaste of the rest most of the group. We personally hope this will soon be banned.

My experience of capturing Uluru at dawn was not as I had imagined. We arrived only a short time before the sun bathed the rock in light and much of the beginning of the base walk was protected as photography was prohibited. So we ran from vista to vista seeking the optimum spot to record this spectacular moment. Without a tripod and with a zoom lens sounding like an extremely expensive rattle, I was glad of my wide-angled lens and am under the circumstances, pleased with the results. We were of course blessed with a beautiful sunrise and blue sky which set the scene perfectly.

The base walk is amazing giving you a real understanding of the size, shaped, structure and spirituality of this place. Uluru itself is stunning. Made of beautifully shaped molten lava flows and like an iceberg most is hidden underground. In winter Uluru is warm and inviting when bathed in sunlight, but cold in its shadows. Aboriginal stories of the Rainbow serpent, ceremonial traditions, man’s and woman’s business and education are illustrated along the way.

Brett and Spud then enlightened us about some of the history and culture surrounding Uluru. Most Aboriginal stories told to ‘White Folk’ are simplifications of their beliefs and thus come across as childish. In fact many of their stories are like fables invented for children to keep them out of harms way. Aboriginal drawings were used to educate their children. Young men were made to stand alone, without speaking for days as a test of their maturity, before their walkabout begins.

We learnt of man’s business and woman’s business of which I will not write/speak out of respect to the Aborigines.

The Aboriginal culture centre brought all this together in a simple clear exhibition, though the film fell short in its attempt to communicate what an Aboriginal life constitutes.  My understanding is; a woman’s role was to bear and nurture children, protect the men from snakes, collect bush tucker and educate the girls and a man’s role was to protect their skin colour, hunt and make men out of boys. The communities also had various leaders; administrators, medicine men etc. They are a nomadic culture, though this seems to have been all but lost in recent times.

Sadly we had limited time here before our long trip back to Alice in the heat of the winter sun.

Regards,

Cesca

New Zealand is…

Enjoy,

Basho

Say goodbye to paperbags that forever spill sugar everywhere and
‘hello’ to tetrapac cartons.

We experienced a wonderful open-air market where the bohemian essence of Byron came alive. Hippies were everywhere with Ozzies selling clothing, dijeridoos and drums etc, Africans selling jewellery and Indians doing henna tattoos. The weather was not in our favour, but it was good to be there and see local Byron at play.

Sleep was calling loudly so we meandered back via the road (not a patch on the beach walk) and collapsed into our room. Belongil Beachouse was not the romantic beach oasis we imagined and our room was simply a let down. Mainly wooden panelled it was part clad with cork behind the bed, very strange. There was an extra single that served as a place for our belongings which was the best comment I can make really. The showers were passable though waiting outside in the cold was not fun. So anyway, our first afternoon we crashed for a while out of necessity rather than anything else. There was live music playing at the restaurant next door that was fine for a while, but the became extremely annoying when trying to sleep. I escaped and went for a walk to the beach and arranged our WWOOFing on KI while J caught another half an hour. We freshened up, changed for dinner and pac-safed as usual. Dinner at the very same restaurant next door, now without live music, was delicious, not too expensive and was washed down with an excellent bottle of cab-merlot enjoyed by us both. We relaxed and chatted, at ease with one another.

DAY TWO

Having at last discovered a wireless cafe with good food, drinks and an atmosphere we were very loyal to them. So brunch was at Mokha where we sorted our liveaboard, Australia Zoo transfers and accommodation for the trip up the coast in to Queensland. We decided a PADI refresher dive was a good plan having not been dive buddies for seven years and so nipped into Byron Bay Dive Centre and booked ourselves in for the next day which extended our stay in Byron by an extra night. In the afternoon we borrowed the hostels boogie boards and headed out unguided into the pacific ocean and braved the winter seas. It was soon evident that neither of us had miraculously discovered any knack for this since our honeymoon. James had however brought his waterproof camera and so recorded the watery bikini clad proceedings. I proudly managed to catch one wave, but sadly J didn’t manage to catch me on it or a wave himself. We enjoyed being in the ocean though the current was strong, and I was somewhat comforted by the surfers bobbing behind the waves further our to sea. Perhaps a lesson next time?

We chilled out in the evening over a delicious home cooked tikka masala, thank you sweetie, and reviewed the boogie boarding footage which I can only describe as like being in a washing machine when suddenly you glimpse a flash of bikini bottoms between the waves! Consequentially I’ve reserved all my rights over the final cut of our Byron Bay movie! We finessed our Sydney harbour movie and added new music to the opera house section.

DAY THREE

After a good breakfast of slow releasing carbs (yes, porridge again!) we did some more web-surfing, not the type of surfing expected in Byron, but needs must. We were both looking forward to diving again, and J was particularly excited that the 40D would not be strapped to my face. A little nervously to be honest we questioned ourselves on the terminology. BCD or BDC? “Just remember, don’t get the o-ring wet” James perked up before we arrived at the dive centre for our refresher. The obligatory video was played which rather focused on promotion and sales of SSI than imparting the information we required. There was one other diver, an Israeli dive master, that Rupert (our instructor) took under his wing. So with wetsuits on we waddled into the small pool for the practical exercises. All our gear was prepared for us and I was personally I was glad we weren’t required to wrestle with Medusa on this occasion. My memory of diving was rusty, or so I thought, but this was easier than expected to be honest.

So on went the weight belt (with buckle in the left hand), the BCD (with regulator and alternate air source on the right side and inflator and console on the left). We checked everything; our air supply was ON (with the console pointing down) and our regulators and BCD was working. We were ready. Our tests included mask clearing, regulator retrieval, buddy breathing, neutral buoyancy, easy. Rupert was happy with us all and so it was time for our dive at Julian Rocks, a small rocky island seen from Belongil beach. Our briefing mainly covered getting into the boat, use of the safety sausage, man over-board procedure and also the rules to be obeyed when diving with sharks! My attention had now been diverted from the complexities of diving to avoiding the natural path of the Grey Nurse shark! Well life is all about experiences so here goes.

We jumped into the 4×4 and onto a rib with some poke and soon we were there. Quickly gearing up we went off backward into the water, like lemmings. Now refocused my full concentration was on having a successful dive, with or without a shark encounter. So down we went. The visibility was poor so no sharks were seen by us, but our dive was successful despite a strong current at the end. No matter how hard you swam your progress was at the discretion of the water. Safely back on the rib to my surprise the German girls had seen a huge pod of Grey Nurse shark only meters away from us! I was filled with a great sense of relief and also disappointment that I didn’t realise this dream whilst diving under an instructors care. Walking back along the beach we were treated to the most spectacular sunset which signified the end to a very happy day, and we shared our excitement about our coming Great Barrier Reef adventure. Dinner was tikka masala take2 and an early night before our next Greyhound trip of 18 hours to Caloundra via Brisbane.

Byron Bay was great, particular for me. I loved the relaxed hippy vibe, unpretentious air and sense that everyone was very comfortable with themselves and contented to be going about there business. The boutique shops were both interesting and eclectic and the service aptly friendly. The ever changing colours of the expansive sky over Belongil beach was romantic and enticing and I would have liked to have stayed longer. I question how I would like it here in summer with the invasion of tourist in every corner? This aside I could happily revisit Byron in years to come. Being by the beach feels like coming home for me.

Cesca

I am working hard on the next one and have something a little special in mind from then on.  I love creating them and hope to show some vastly improved technique over the coming months!  I have some simply amazing footage of Kangaroo Island coming up and a special film about Uluru!

Anyway, with apologetic smiles for some of the camerawork, here is Blue Mountains / Hunter Valley!

Kangeroos of KI, originally uploaded by James & Cesca.

These cute ladies are all regulars at Paul’s Place on Kangeroo Island.
They are very friendly and fun to cuddle.

The little Arabella b and b, originally uploaded by James & Cesca. ]]> http://www.outsidecontext.com/2008/08/19/the-little-arabella-b-and-b/feed/ http://www.outsidecontext.com/2008/08/19/wine-country/ http://www.outsidecontext.com/2008/08/19/wine-country/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:05:37 +0000 Mobile http://www.outsidecontext.com/2008/08/19/wine-country/

Wine Country, originally uploaded by James & Cesca.

So cool to visit the vineyard of my favourite wines!

The shark circled us slowly.  The dark water of the night dive made the detail of the beast hard to see but there was no doubt of its size.  It was a gray reef shark all right, a big one.  I reached up for the 5 meter bar floating above me and looked down to Cesca.  She had not yet seen the shark. I turned my torch on and its beam highlighted the gloom as well as the millions of floating particles all around us.  It was like seeing through a snow storm.  I swung it towards the sharks shape.

I wanted to know what it was thinking, I knew that it could sense the energy flooding through our bodies and smell the blood in our veins but did wonder about the strange vessel above our heads.  It must have seen those before and they always brought food, in fact I myself had seen the crew chumping fish into the water to attract these sea hunters.  They are one of the main tourist attractions of diving the reef.  An easy fact until one is actually underwater with one.  The light was reflecting back towards me from the sharks eye.  It was therefore looking directly at the torch.  I pulled the torch away and onto my console floating by my left arm.  Cesca joined me at the bar and she checked her console as well.  My dive computer was clear, I had to do a 3 minute stop here, 5 meters bellow the boat, before ascending.  Cesca held up 3 fingers.  She had the same readings on her computer.  That’s 3 minutes with this shark swimming around us.  Its not that Grey sharks as especially dangerous to divers, but they have been known to take a bite out of a limbs waving around.  I couldn’t wait any longer I wanted to get a good look at him.  I panned the torch around until his eyes reflected the light again.  Cesca watched and then looked at me.  I put my right hand against my head like a fin.  The sign for shark.  She looked quickly at he beast and then gabbed my arm and pulled herself protectively closer.

Cesca like myself is new to sharing the water with something that could easily eat us.  We watched it circle and then suddenly with a flick of its tail it changed course.  It was now coming directly towards us, its decision made; that light was worth investigating, there may be food there.  I watched its speed and then turned off the light.  If it was coming for us it would be on top of us in 5 seconds.

1…

2…

3…

4…

Cesca gripped my arm as I waited till that last moment to turn the torch back on…

I had not been big on the idea of night diving.  The previous night we had performed a guided night dive on the reef as part of our Advanced PADI course and that had been fine as all we had to do was follow our guide.  However, when on our own, well I knew how bad Cesca and I were at underwater navigation.  If we could get lost in the day, then a night excursion to 14 meters, too deep to surface to see where the boat was without a stop, could get us into real trouble.  Again, it is all about experience.  In fact that is the way the Advanced PADI course is designed; to give you that experience and enable you to become comfortable with different types of diving.

The course run by Cairns Pro-Dive is one of the most respected on the reef.  11 dives over 3 nights at sea in the specially built SCUBAPRO vessel.  A private birth, all food included and a top instructor.  It sounded too good to be true but the detail was in the price tag, which was high.  There are tons of operators on the reef, but after a couple were left behind by one boat I knew that I wanted one of the best.  I scrounged around the net and found a late booking deal through an agent.  The Pro-Dive team have the quiet relaxed and slightly bored look of men who do this trip with a new group every single week but had bags of professionalism.  They all sported good tans, easy smiles and branded shirts.

The ride out of Cairns had been very rough and had taken few prisoners.  Francesca and I had stocked up on sea sickness pills along with coffee in the morning so while we certainly didn’t enjoy the roughness of the sea, we didn’t feel the need to share our breakfast with it.  Once anchored on the reef the dives started straight away.  Firstly the dive master gave a briefing on the top deck that was designed to orientate us with the reef’s features and point out some things not to miss.  He suggested an easy course around the site that would start at 10 meters and slowly rise, removing the need for a safety stop all together.  He assured us that no one would get lost.

This became a running joke over the next few days.

Excited to be back in the water, Cesca and I made our way back down to the lower deck, the dive deck, to kit up.  Eager and smiling we checked each others dive equipment as buddies are trained to do.

Firstly we check the regulator is working and oxygen is flowing when breathing.  you do this while watching the air gauge on the console as a tank that is not turned can have a few breaths sat in the pipe.  If the O2 needle doesn’t drop as you breath the tank is fine.  We then check the second backup regulator the same way.  This is followed by checking the weight belt, mask and flippers are on and that the BCD inflates and deflates.  Again the BCD is vital to safety and is how you stay afloat.  A broken one will make you sink like a stone until you get your belt off.  Finally we check that the tank is correctly attached and the air is all the way on minus a half a turn.  Only then can one actually get in the water.

If this sounds like hard work, then welcome to diving.  Diving can be one of the most relaxing experiences of your life.  Can be.  For the beginner or occasional diver it can be a adrenalin fuelled, heart pounding, thrill ride that is over far to quickly.  The more experienced you are the more you can relax and therefore the slower you breath.  Slow breathing is calming and relaxing and you go through your O2 much slower.  You will also make less mistakes.  Diving can be a harsh lesson in not screwing up and paying attention.  Any sport where you need to pair up has dangers.

Suffice to say a lot of people got lost on the first dive.

The next dive was the start of the Advanced lessons.  All those on our course sat around the same table and we all started to get to know each other.  With the many nights at the hostel food courts, Cesca and I soon broke the ice and started chatting with the other students.  The Advanced students looked a lot calmer than the table next to us full of first timers, fresh from the swimming pool lessons.  Advanced PADI involves a number of taster dives in various specialisations.  There are 3 core dives of deep dive, night dive and navigation.  Then there are the 2 electives.  They are many electives to choose from but almost everyone picks photography and naturalist.  These two are the easiest and most fun.  No one went for the search and rescue dive as this involved the instructor throwing a spoon off the boat and making you go and find it!

The lessons went quickly and the dives soon started racking up.  The navigation dive was excellent training and taught us how to count our kicks to estimate distance, how to use the compass to ensure direction an baring and how to find our way back using the reefs landmarks as a guide.  The deep dive, down to 25 meters, was very spooky and slightly scary in its depth.  Whilst down there the instructor asked us to count to 20 to demonstrate how nitrogen narcosis takes effect at that depth and it becomes hard to focus the mind.  I counted as carefully as I could and then held up my hand.  Once back on the boat we counted again and compared the time differences.  Cesca’s was 32 underwater and 22 on the boat.  Strangely mine was 24 and 24, which goes to show that I can’t count at any depth!

Plant and animal life on the Milne, Petaj and Flyne reef’s is amazing.  We saw some of the worlds most amazing coral gardens resplendent with all sorts of corals and living organisms.

Cesca was very fond of the Christmas Tree worms that sprout from rocks and corals.  Animal life was similarly amazing.  We swam inches from turtles, around endless multitudes of fish of all types and colours and past many fast moving Barracuda’s.

Not to mention sharks…

5… I turned the torch back on.

The large Gray shark had resumed his orbit back out at 20 meters.  We both breathed a huge sigh of relief.  I glanced at my computer and saw that our 3 minutes was up and we gladly ascended out of the darkness and gloom to the boat.  This night diving wasn’t so hard after all and as for sharks, well leave them alone and they will leave you it seems.  The Advanced PADI Course had succeeded to make us more confident.

However, the most impressive thing I saw during the trip actually was seen outside the water.  While heading to our birth on the top deck of the boat I came across another diver staring out into dark night.  I wondered if he was feeling ok when he turned to me and said, “can you see that rainbow over there?”  I looked in puzzlement and sure enough about a mile off the from the boat sat a rainbow.  At night.  It was very clear and we could make out all the colours even though they were darker than normal.  I stood in wonder for 5 seconds not saying anything.  But what caused it?  I looked behind us and the moon was very bright and full and being winter very low to the horizon.  It was just enough light to cast the rainbow against a light shower.  I must tell Cesca I thought and went to find her.  I told everyone I passed about the moonbow, but most didn’t believe me.  I couldn’t find Cesca anywhere and when she finally emerged we ran back up to the top deck to find it was gone in cloud.

30 years I have inhabited this planet and I have never seen one of those before.  I cant help but wonder if I will ever see one again.

The next day the boat headed back into town and we started the drinking with the friends we had made on the course.  On the way we passed a mother Whale playing with her child and everyone crammed onto the top deck to take photos.

Once back on dry land we visited the Pro-Dive shop and paid the bill (OMG!) and then to our hostel.  After putting the flames out on my wallet we showered and changed.  After all the live-aboard courses there is the obligatory night on the town with the crew and other divers so we headed back out and had a piss up to remember.

Regards,

Basho