Diving The Yongala
Trip Start
Nov 04, 2005
1
35
79
Trip End
May 23, 2006
Ayr,
Australia
Friday, February 3, 2006
We packed and caught the greyhound to Ayr with the sole intention of diving the SS Yongala as it is only 40min speedboat from here as opposed to three hours journey from Townsville. Unfortunately, Ayr is a dump, which doesn't even get a mention in the Lonely Planet and the Delta Backpackers is the worse in Australia so far. There is nothing to do in town and the bar didn't open all the time we were at the hostel. Sara reckoned that even the rats wouldn't sleep in the rooms at Delta. That evening we eat McDonalds, and watched Sahara.
Sar 4th Feb
That morning we dived the SS Yongala which is a natural reef around a shipwreck which sunk in 1911. It is stunning and spooky and is teeming with marine life and probably one of the best dives we have ever done. We were overwhelmed by the number of fish as well as there size and to be able to touch and stroke turtles whilst they were feeding was an added bonus. Penetration of the wreck is not allowed as it is a preserved burial site but their are opportunities to look into the ship if you can see through the dense marine life. We booked out trip with Yongala dive which included pick-up and drop-off, two dives and a extensive BBQ and salad. the other benefit of this company is that they are close to the wreck, with a fast and exciting speedboat transfer which Sara enjoyed immensely whilst others looked green. After our experience at the Great Barrier Reef this dive managed to make us salivate again.
As the diving was finished by 2pm and we were back at the Delta by 3pm we were able to get the hell out of Ayr on the next available bus, as we had achieved what we had set out to do.
Arrived at Airlie Beach where we checked into the Bush Village and we managed to catch up with Toby. For $68 we got a double en suite with kitchen, diner, tv and air-con. spent the evening watching Pearl Harbour enjoying the luxury compared to the previous evenings.
