Down Under (the Sea)

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Trip Start Nov 22, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Dec 16, 2006 Next
Entry

  Sydney, Australia
Tuesday, December 5, 2006

General Facts:
Miles Walked: 6.8
Weather: Beautiful, Warm, and not snowing!
Eastern Blue Gropers fed: 3

Aaron Says:

Howdy all,

We've had a pretty outstanding day here in Sydney. The day we got into town we found a very reasonably priced scuba diving outfit that would take us under the sea in Sydney Harbour. I called them up to see if they had a spot for us. I talked to some crazy guy on the phone you kept calling me "My Friend"

Denise on the Pylon

. I wasn't so sure we were making the right move, but we booked it anyway. We were supposed to be picked up at 9:30 this morning. Just before 10, we were about to call it quits and move on to something else when the owner of Happy Dolphin Diving pulled up to greet us. The crazy guy I talked to was a Spaniard named Nick. One other guy going diving with us was a German named Franz.

Franz was down in the Australia area because his company was making him take the final 2.5 weeks of vacation that he had left for the year. Such a shame that he had to take that time instead of rolling it into next year like he normally would have done. Trying to fit in six weeks of vacation a year must be tough! Pete and Paul, if you are reading this, I just set my Monster.com account to search for jobs in Germany. Just kidding....maybe.

Anywho, we made our way over to Bondi Beach. It's gorgeous. Nick decided on a whim that it was as good a place as any to dive today. We were originally going to head to some other bay, but getting to dive at Bondi seemed cool to me. We soon saw why he was so less expensive than anyone else. The "lesson" consisted of drawings on a cardboard flip pad. We practiced breathing through the regulator once or twice before suiting up. "Ok, my friends

Harbour Bridge (again!)

. We go diving now, ya?" Umm. If you say so Nick.

We got down to the water and were just going to snorkel for a bit before going down. It was a good time to test the regulator. The first time I put my face under breathing with it I freaked out and started hyperventilating. I couldn't get myself to just breathe deep and easy. Alright, it was the first three or four times. It took a bit of mental effort, but I convinced myself I was alright and was able to get under. Nick then took us down to about 8 meters or so to just sit on the sea floor. While descending, every meter or so you have to plug your nose and try to force air out through your nose in order to equalize the pressure in your ears. It's a bit strange at first, but keeps the pain away. Everyone made it down fine. Right near by was an Eastern Blue Groper. If I had an internet connection, I'd find you a link. Suffice it to say, it's a big blue fish, with big blue lips. It was very cool to be right next to it. It swam up to me at one point and was definitely within touching distance. He was just looking me over. I hope he wasn't thinking that I was dinner, as that's exactly what I was thinking of him! Nick made sure we were ready to go, and then we started to swim out a bit. We had just walked in from the shore, so we had to swim out with the current, which was fairly strong, especially on our way back in.

At that point, the expedition hit a little snag

Heading to Manly 1

. Denise started taking on water in her mask, and some got in her mouth. She signaled to go up and was there for a while with Nick. I started to ascend because my vest had too much air in it. I arrived at the service a few minutes after Denise to find her having trouble getting her breathing under control. Unfortunately, I think it kind of got in her head so Nick took her back to shore. I can't blame her on that, it was pretty scary. It took a few minutes to really get comfortable with it, and Nick was pretty light on the instruction.

Once Nick got back to us, me and the German set off with him. The German guy was a certified diver, but had only been down maybe 10 times, so was far from a pro. Being under water was outstanding, and when I wasn't panicking and wanting to take out my regulator, it was peaceful and relaxing. At times I had to hold the regulator in just to make sure I didn't spit it out, but I grew more comfortable with time.

We saw three of the blue gropers along our way. Each time, Nick called them over by tapping his knife on the rocks. He'd then reach under a rock and pry out a sea urchin. He'd cut it open a bit, and the groper would bite it and start eating it. Each time he bit it, he'd kind of attack it with an audible "thwack"-ing sound

Heading to Manly 2

. It was sweet to watch. A bunch of medium and small fish would swarm around us then, and eat the stuff that would get away from the groper. It was a very cool experience. We saw a bunch of fish and even a spiny lobster before we got back. I think we were under for about 30-45 minutes. Nick said I did great, and didn't use nearly as much air as a beginning diver normally would.

The day was hardly over at that point. We got back to the hotel and changed to go out by 1 pm. We headed down to Circular Quay, grabbed some food, and walked over to the Harbour Bridge in order to climb up the one of the pylons and get a great view of the city. The day was gorgeous and the sites were amazing. Consult the pictures, and then see if you can call me a liar. I'm guessing you can't. We ran back down to Circular Quay, and hopped a ferry to Manly.

The ride over was cool with nice views of the city, and a little bit of open ocean travel. We got off the ferry all ready to take a six mile walk to Spit bridge. Those of you really paying attention can surmise that we didn't quite make it. The 12 miles yesterday took more of a toll on us that we thought. I've also been suffering from what had been a tight muscle by my right shoulder blade which has recently turned into a pinched nerve

Heading to Manly 3

. I've had trouble looking any direction since we got to Sydney. I think it's the bed.

So we got off the ferry, and what do we see? A massage stand. We did not think hard before making the decision to give it a try. Neither of us have had a "professional" massage before, it was very nice. They worked on us for about an hour, and it ended up costing about $30 US per person. It was the best sixty dollars we've spent so far. Unfortunately, my shoulder blade still hurts, although everywhere else feels nice.

We walked a bit around Manly, all thoughts of walking six miles dashed by the hour massage, and the smell of mint wafting off of us from the massage oil. We completed a small walk out to one of the points, grabbed some food, and headed back.

We're looking forward to a good bit of sleep. Tomorrow's our last full day in Sydney, so I'm sure we'll make the most of it. On Thursday, we fly to Tasmania. I think we leave a bit after noon. We'll be back in a rental car, and back to the rugged countryside. Should be a great time.

Later,
Aaron

Denise says:

Hello again,

What a beautiful day

Manly Beach 1

! We awoke to clear skies and warm temperatures. Finally, the curse has been broken.

We started the day SCUBA diving. Aaron found a brochure earlier this week for a local company and we decided to give it a go. Our instructor was Nick from Spain and we were joined on the dive by some crazy German guy. Very international. Curb side service was at 9:45 (15 minutes later than we'd expected). We stopped at Bondi Beach and got all of our gear together. After a very quick review of SCUBA protocol we were in the water. We swam out a bit from shore and tried to get used to breathing underwater.

Now, the first time I went diving we spent at least five minutes in three to four feet of water, acclimatizing ourselves to life below the surface. The visibility then was phenomenal and the seas were incredibly calm. This time we went completely under for the first time in 15 feet of water, visibility was alright, and (most disconcerting to me) you could feel the surf pushing and pulling as you floated above and below the surface.

I did pretty well going down. I was able to pop my ears and I felt fairly comfortable. I waited on the bottom of the ocean while Nick brought Aaron down

Manly Beach 2

. When we were all assembled (the German guy was certified so Nick didn't need to help him) we began swimming along. That's when I started having issues. My face mask was not situated very well and water started sneaking in. Then water rushed into my mouth. It happens from time to time while diving, but combined with my mask and the odd pushing and pulling of the surf, I was no longer comfortable. I signaled to Nick that I wanted to surface as my breath was coming in shallow gasps. He tried to help me calm down, but to no avail. We surfaced and even above water I couldn't get my breathing back to normal. Aaron popped to the surface too and assured me that it was ok to head back to shore. Nick took me in and returned to dive with Aaron again.

I sat on the shore watching swimmers and dogs playing in the ocean wishing I could have gotten myself under control. I had such a blast the first time I dove, it was so peaceful and beautiful, but it just didn't work out for me this time. Aaron stayed under about 40 minutes and did great. He loved it. At least I was able to go under for a little bit and see a few fish and some reef - not a total loss.

We were dropped off at our hotel a little before 1:00. I grabbed a sandwich and the camera, and we were out the door again

Manly Beach 3

. We took the bus to Circular Quay and walked to the Pylon Lookout on the Harbour Bridge. The views were fantastic as you can see from the pictures (another great idea by John). Along the way to the lookout I heard a chant: "Let's go Tigers!" I looked up to see a guy walking towards us wearing a Tigers hat and a huge smile. He had noticed my Tigers shirt. How crazy to run into a fellow Michigander walking through the Rocks in Sydney!

Next, we took the ferry to Manly Beach. We had ambitious plans to walk 6 miles to the Spit Bridge, but that changed when we got off the ferry. Right at the wharf a family was offering traditional Chinese massages. Neither of us had ever had a massage, and we were still feeling the effects of our 12 mile walk yesterday in the mountains. We expected 15 minutes, but got a full hour massage. It was wonderful. So instead of the big walk we'd planned we just wandered around the beach. It was beautiful.

Now we're back at the hotel getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is our last full day in Sydney. Sigh! I already miss it. Hope everyone in Michigan is enjoying the snow :) Talk to you all soon.

Denise

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Manly Beach 4	Manly Beach 5	Manly Beach 6	Manly Beach 7
Opera House from Manly Ferry	Sunset over Sydney 1	Sunset over Sydney 2	Sunset over Sydney 3
Sunset over Sydney 4	Sunset over Sydney 5	The Vast Ocean	View from Harbour Bridge Pylon 1
View from Harbour Bridge Pylon 2	View from Harbour Bridge Pylon 3	View from Harbour Bridge Pylon 4

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