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News
Club Chairman Becomes an Australian
SSAC dive the Great Barrier Reef – October 2006
SSAC dive the SS Coolidge – Vanuatu June 2006
SSAC go to Chuuk Lagoon - April 2006
Nelson Bay, 7 - 9 September 2007
Finally we get to Dive
Well some may have had their doubts as we set off from Sydney and the clouds started to form.
Friday morning and though overcast the weatehr was fine and a dive at low tide was planned. As we kitted up the clouds cleared and the sun came out - perfect. A fun dive was had by all, except Roy who's dry suit flooded.
Friday at dusk we jumped in for our second shore dive, the water was calm and the fish were going to bed, as we surfaced dolphins danced around the divers.
Well earned pizza in front of the massive plasma TV watching the rugby world cup.
Saturday we headed out to the wreck SS Bombo taken out in our dive boat by Pro Dive. A large swell but that did not deter us from getting down to that piece of metal at the bottom. 27m down and still a swell but what a great dive, worth waiting for, lots of fish life shoals of cat fish, sleeping wobbegongs and hiding moray eels. Up on the surface the swell took its toll on the Chunder Wonder Boy...
In shelter of Cabbage Island a dive whihc included various bits of boats and garden statues, lots of baby port jacksons and rays
A well deserved drink and feed down the local bowling club to top the trip off.
Jervis Bay, Ocean Trek, April 2007
Is Nick Bent???
Many of us have thought of his possible leaning ?
Well, that's nothing!
He has bigger love handles than most women so maybe he is! Pity he missed the Garlic Bread. Anyway great diving and great company (once the bent one left) and some great hosts - Thanks.
Bent double if you ask me! Or was it the overproof Bundy that caught up with him? In a manner of speaking if NT is bent then I am not the one to tell him, as he is just too big to take on. Keep the pressure on Tebbsie.
Great set of dives, great company what more can you ask for a dive weekend away. Sharks, Dolphins, a marlin and even a snake eel.s Great to find a really rebreather friendly boat. We'll definitely be back although next time I'll avoid Friday the 13th!
Between my late arrival and Nic's early departure it made for an interesting Friday 13th! Thank you for being so accommodating picking me up late. Great boat, crew, food, company and oh yes……..the diving, that was pretty good too!
Excellent diving made oh so easy by super efficient and friendly crew (as long as you're ok listening to Queen!). Really good, as always with this bunch of poms, company. Highlight for me has to be the free swimming Marlin. Downside, too much moorish food (and drink?). Must learn the art of moderation.
After a shaky start to the weekend, it all turned out good. Plenty of fish underwater and a excellent food and fun above water - the ugly-mug photo competition was excellent fun!
"A floating dive resort", that's what the brochure says and that's what you get when you step aboard Ocean Trek (or Ocean Shreck as I've seen it called). While skipper Mick is in no danger of breaking a water speed record any time soon, I've yet to come across a vessel so perfectly equipped for a liveaboard dive trip. I would say they've thought of everything, right down to the wall mounted lubricant dispenser, but there is always room for improvement and I'm sure that by the time we come back they will have thought of something elese - maybe even an intravenous Bundy drip for you know who…..?
Well thank god someone was looking after my husband while I sunned myself on the top deck blissfully unaware of his 'bentness'. Well I have had my suspicions…. While no dive computer seemed to want to work on me on Friday 13th I luckily hadnt had soo much bundy the night before so escaped unscathed. Great crew really looked after us all and made the weekend fantastic. Finished sports diver qualification and managed to find a buddy who can find the boat again. Had the biggest room all to myself once I had dispatched the hubby! Great weekend.Thanks again to the crew for treating Nick so well and making certain he got the perfect treatment.
In conclusion… of course he's bent… but at least he ain't pig ugly like Hugo
Saturday began with one of those bleary eyed pre-dawn taxi rides to the airport. Once checked in, and surviving the heart attack inducing questions of 'You do have a visa for Papua New Guanine?' (answer no!) And 'Your bag is 10 kg over weigh that gonna cost you….' (luckily Air Nuigini includes SCUBA kit as sports equipment), Rick and I set off in search of a hearty breakfast. Simon rocked up as I am half way though my beacon and eggs, so we are only missing Sloanie, Etsuko and Steve Pearson…the organiser. Time ticks by, still no sign of them so we make our way to the gate, still no sign of them. As we board the plane everything is looking a bit sticky, then finally a rather flushed trio race on to the plane just before departure time - having had a taxi ride from hell. The flight stopped off at Brisbane, which enabled us to stock up on Duty Free and meet up with Greg who had flown in from New Zealand.
We arrived safe and sound in Port Morsby, the queue up to buy the visa (the queue was actually far short than the queue for the organised people who had got their visa in advance!). Once everyone had made their way through baggage reclaim and customs we meet up with Craig, the skipper of the Golden Dawn. The original plan was to have flown to Alotau, but the Golden Dawn had been in Port Morsby for engine maintenance which had over run, so we were able to drive down to port and board the vessel. Once on board we meet up with the rest of the group: Brian, Andy and Sheli who had flow in from Hong Kong the day before
The afternoon was spent setting up dive kit, unpacking & exporting the boat. As the prospect of a quick dive faded as the engine repairs dragged on the attention shifted to the upper lounge deck, the bar, and the local beer, South Pacific! With the engine repairs complete we set off in to the night, tucking into the beers and the duty free.
On Sunday the diving began in earnest with a 45m shake down dive on the Maritine Hibiscous - a freighter which had sunk about 10 years ago after hitting a reef while smuggling timber out of PNG. The warm clear water was everything we'd been lead to believe, and between the first dive and a follow up dive we able to explore much of awesome wreck. Monday's diving focused around some exploratory reef dives that were interesting enough, although the strong currents made for uncomfortable deco stops. The last dive of the day was at a Manta Ray feeding station, - unfortunately the Manta Rays were out to lunch elsewhere, but there was a huge potato cod.
We woke up on Tuesday to find ourselves in Tawali Resort - on the north shore of PNG in Milne Bay Milne Bay We had stopped there due to yet more engine trouble, which was having knock-on problems with the air conditioners and compressor. With fills from the resort we set off in the tender to do two awe inspiring wall dives and the day wrapped up with a dive hunting for octopus in the shallows near the boat. With the repairs complete and all systems functioning we set off for Cape Vogel and the village of Boga Boga, arriving early Wednesday morning. Our reason for stopping here was Blackjack, a B17 Flying Fortress bomber that had ditched here during World War II. All the crew were able to escape and were helped ashore by the local villages just as the place sank. It now sits at a depth of 45 m, intact on a sand bottom, adjacent to the reef.
After two more reef dives on Wednesday, it was back to wreck diving on Thursday. This time a Dutch freighter, commandeered by the US and sent to the bottom by Japanese bombers on 8th March 1943. Intact and upright the S' Jacob is home to a plethora of fish life, although with the deck at around 50m those not on rebreathers have only the briefest of visits. The wreck diving continued the following day with the USS Masaya, launched in 1920 as the USS Dale DD 290 it was a flush deck destroyer, however it was decommissioned in 1930, and converted to a banana carrier and renamed the Masaya. In early 1942 it was pressed back into military action and used as transport vessel with an Australian crew and US Army gunners. On the 28th March 1943 it was attached by Japanese dive bombers. During the attach it suffered extensive damage to the stern and sank, since them much of the wreck has broken up and collapsed, but still makes an interesting dive - even with the 'poor' visibility of about 15m on the second dive. The penultimate day of diving finished up with a shark dive on a reef pinnacle near by the Masaya, during which we saw plenty of white tip and black tip reef sharks as well as the larger silver tip sharks.
The final day was spent on the Yokoham Maru, a Japanese freighter sunk on 10th March 1942. Sitting upright in 70m the wreck is intact, but has been heavily salvaged, despite that still makes an excellent dive due to the enormous size of the vessel (over 6,000 tons displacement), the perfect way to finish off the trip.
The weather looked ok for the weekend so the trip was all ok to go. The Sevan apartments were excellent. Most of us squatted on the second floor whilst the Penthousers had ocean views, although level snobbery was put aside for the diving and Saturdays bbq.
The diving experience was a mixed bag. The dive sites provided the expected sharks, eels, rays and much more wonderful wild life. The Dive staff from the shop was what can be described as critical of the set up and dive styles of the group. The remarks about drysuits started on the jetty before the trip to Seal Rocks for the first dive. It was down to a temperature that caused another dive group to comment that drysuits would be nice! Also the staff had vocally negative views on rebreathers. It appears that any style differing from the usual is considered unnecessary.
The first dive required a swim out to the boat. They were on a tight schedule to get back to pick up another group to take out. We were a little late getting sorted due to not fully understanding the process and were rushed through the whole first dive. The dive was good, not great viz, but many critters. It was unfortunate that being told we were running late did not actually assist us getting back on schedule. More assistance would have been the better option for the boat crew.
Back on time the second dive was more relaxed, we knew the procedure although not fully briefed on the regime for shark diving which was done on Sunday morning after the shark diving! This dive provided the serious sharkie action. Close up with 8’ Grey Nurse, Wobbegongs, and Port Jackson Sharks.
Saturday evening was fun packed with more food than a Roman Army needs. Five guys at one stage were poking the 10 burner bbq. Enough left over for Sunday lunch snacks.
Sunday and the diving was as good if not better than Saturday. The sea was unkind with a large swell and choppy not a good combination. Those that dived saw life galore. The second dive was exceptional from large Grey Nurse, rays, Wobbegongs, Port Jacksons, eels, Nudi’s, Crays and many many more. Great dive to finish on and the weather held off for us.
A very good turn out for the 2006 Club Xmas Party - a Comedy Cruise around Sydney Harbour. A great afternoon spent cruising around the harbour eating and drinking - all you can drink became a bit of a competition, not quite sure who won but as you can tell from the photos everyone had a good go.
The Comedy Act was a very good magician who made wonderful things appear and dissapear, along with Etsuko's Watch and Georgie's Bra!
For the party animals amongst us we all went to the pub and then onto Carols in the Domain. Here we joined in with other Sydneysiders and got into the Christmas Spirit singing carols and of course having a few more drinks.
Go to the Gallery to view the photos.
Club Chairman Becomes an Australian
Steve Taylor - Club Chairman, recently graduated in the school of becoming an Australian and got his Citizenship. A few photos to show him participating in his new role as an Australian.
SSAC dive the Great Barrier Reef – October 2006
SSAC dive the SS Coolidge – Vanuatu June 2006
First shocker of the hols, how much luggage can one girl need – Matina!
The flight from Sydney to Port Vila was like a party bus, Rob tried his luck ordering a beer and a bourbon and coke (well it was free) and was graciously served a very huge glass of bourbon, so it was game on for the rest of the party. Things were in full swing by the time we reached the destination, no one wanted to get off the plane! Air Vanuatu – highly recommended.
As soon as we reached the hotel in Port Vila most of the party dumped bags, donned swimmers and jumped in the pool. The bar staff were again most willing and able with the drinks served in the pool – no health and safety issues here. We went out for a civilised meal, and nearly all made it back to the hotel at a reasonable hour, apart from Nick and Ben who ended up playing pool with the Chief of Police into the small hours. I think they let him win though, as you would in those circumstances. The rest of us saw an amazing halo around the moon whilst on the way back – and no, I don’t think it was purely alcohol related.
So, up at the crack of dawn quite literally on Saturday and off to Santo on one of the smallest planes I have ever been on. It was almost a private jet! Of course, the guy that Nick and Ben had met the night before (not the chief of police though) was on the plane, and turned out to be that ‘recurring person’ you see throughout the holiday and dived with us every day – every holiday has one!.
The resort in Santo was small, comfortable and perfect for divers – no carpets, a wet room and detached bungalow accommodation generously spaced out. The snoring noises barely made it from bungalow to bungalow. I said barely.
On to the dive site that was to become our second home over the next five days. It was so convenient it could almost have been built especially, like a kind of divers Disney world. The only thing missing as we often discussed, was a moving travelator or chair lift to take us up and down the beach with kit on. We split into groups and embarked on the first dive to the Promenade deck, with the charming Charles as guide. The water temperature was just perfect, even Etsuko was warm enough! I think…
That afternoon we moved on to Million Dollar Point – so named as I think the US army dumped at least a million dollars worth of kit in the sea in a big heap. A bizarre sight, loads of trucks, bulldozers etc all piled up on top of each other, and a new microwave, which frankly didn’t look very WW2. Heaps of fish, and a potato cod sat in a hole under the wreckage.
The next day our first dive was the cargo holds, with more tanks and bulldozers piled up in the bottom. The viz was amazing inside the holds so you could see loads when shining the torch around. At one point I wondered what the hell was creeping along the ceiling until I worked out it was our air bubbles! My first experience really inside a wreck.
The medical store – fantastic dive, my favourite bit was dropping in through a salvage hole in the top of the ship in skydive position. I’ve decided already by this point that I’m joining the wreck diver camp – fish are nice but wrecks are much more exciting! Being inside a contained space accentuates the experience of weightlessness. Inside we saw the aircraft refuelling shells which looked just like the egg cases in Alien, spooky.
That evening we set off in the bus again, hired by Pete to take us all to a Kava bar. When I say bar, I mean a tin shack with mud floor, in front of someones house with a single red fluorescent strip light and an attempt at a pot plant. The ‘bar’ was surrounded with a chicken wire screen, behind which some dodgy geezer was serving the said ‘Kava’ from an old tin kettle into coconut shells. We all tried to drink as much as we could, but it quickly became apparent it wasn’t a tipple one enjoyed for the taste. Only Etsuko managed to swing the body mass to volume drunk ratio in her favour, the rest of us remaining largely untouched. Several people reported miracle cures of old aches and pains though. I don’t think going straight off to a brightly lit Chinese restaurant helped the Karma of the Kava either. We must have been slightly intoxicated because we made the mistake of sending the Scotsman to purchase beer, who must have been the only known western tourist in history to have to borrow money from a local to pay the bill. Nice food though.
Day three - The lady. This was the best dive of the week for me. Dropped in through the favourite hole in the top again, down a corridor where the portholes had become the skylights in the ceiling, most still with glass in, allowing beautiful shafts of light down into the passageway. Then we went down further into the dark and gloom, and then there she was, a porcelain statue of a lady picked out with the torches, a strangely thrilling sight. I didn’t really fancy kissing her, but it’s the done thing to do so I gave her a peck. Matina however, went for it big time, for several seconds, twisting her head either way – she says her mask was in the way, but I reckon she was giving her a snog.
After lunch we boarded two little banana boats and cruised out to another part of the bay of islands to the Tucker wreck. We couldn’t find the bouy to moor to which led to an interesting demonstration of advanced boat handling skills which involved being outside the boat in the water and still steering it. The wreck was great, quite broken up but full of fish life and very pretty. Had a nice time hanging on the shot line getting a facial from the bubbles coming up from below. We also got the extended sunset tour on the way back, when one of the outboards failed to start – I wasn’t in any hurry to get back as the scenery was fantastic.
It was dark by the time we got back to the resort, and still being in wetsuits what better time for a quick night dive from the jetty! Shouldn’t have bothered. It was crap. Fast forward to the bar!
Nick, Pat, Ben and myself got a bit carried away with the late night drinking, and casually observed the staff clearing up around us, turning off the lights and locking up. We were quite happy sitting outside, enjoying the ambience while finishing our drinks, they were quite happy to leave us to it. Everything was cool, until we had finished the drinks and decided to go off to our respective bungalows to bed, and I realised that I had left the key to our bungalow at reception – inside the now locked up building! Panic! Visions of sleeping outside, with the bugs and rain were not appealing. Fortunately Ben’s shady background and criminal mind sprung into action, he quickly sized up the entry possibilities and set to work removing slats of glass from the window. Like a flash he has climbed in, swiftly moving the toaster to one side, and is back out with the precious key in hand. Unfortunately, the rest of the team were not so efficient, and raised the alarm by taking photos with flash and a certain amount of giggling. By the time the ‘security guard’ arrived on the scene (in Vanuatu time – i.e. not very quickly) the glass had been replaced and there was nothing to see… I don’t think he suspected anything!
Well, a final dive the next morning to the Captains Bathroom, it had an ashtray in it which I thought was disgusting – whoever smokes in the bathroom!! We made our way out through the library and first class accommodation – doesn’t look very first class anymore. Unfortunately my mask steamed up at this point, and that combined with the silt Nick had kicked up and the video lights in my face meant I couldn’t see a lot – I hung out for a while trying to work out if everyone else was going up or down, and worked it out eventually when I felt bubbles on my face from below! Came out into the open part of the ship to see Nick sitting on a beam waiting for me looking like a gnome. Cheeky git, well, I’ve got plenty of air so I’m in no hurry…
That afternoon most of us set off to go swimming in the Blue hole. An amazingly clear spring water pool about 12 metres deep I think – with a McLarish in the bottom! (he took his pony and reg – the man just cannot stop diving...) It was a little fresh jumping in – plenty of ear splitting screams from the girls, but we soon got used to it and it was very pleasant. Fed the fish with bread until they were virtually eating out of our hands. We swam off around the corner where the pool turned into more of a stream. The crystal clear water and fine weeds hanging off the tree roots pulled like wizards beards in the current made it seem very mystical.
That evening we went to the dive shop (for the first time!) and each received our ‘certificates’ for diving the Coolidge. Aquamarine are a friendly but shrewd operation, they got us drunk on homemade beer on the premises so of course we all spent money on t-shirts, books, stubby holders…
A great break, didn’t want to come home, but rain on the departure day made that somewhat easier to bear.
SSAC go to Chuuk Lagoon - April 2006
Twelve of us made the trip. What follows is a brief synopsis of the twelve and their experiences in no particular order.
Steve & Etsuko - Steve organised the Thorfinn, the liveaboard in Chuuk that hosted us. Pulled the group together including two individuals not of our club but from the far reaches of the world. One of those individuals, Hoho has known Steve for ever in particular when Steve was a younger fitter person hence the nickname Hoho coined for Steve. Etsuko sleeping champ of our club was no match for Hoho. Both Steve and Etsuko had been on Thorfinn several times previously.
Myself (Robert) - I organised the flights to Chuuk and accommodations in both Guam and Cairns. Given the prefix of Mac due to my frugal ways and always managing to get the best value for money deals. Did however manage to have the largest bill at the end of the trip; what went wrong? Completed 28 dives. Two of which were 62m, two others over 50m. Favourite dives were the Nippo Maru 45m, San Francisco Maru 62m, Fujikawa Maru 30m, Amagisan Maru 55m, Aikoku Maru 62m, and Shark Dive 20m. Dove* my Kiss Classic rebreather which allowed great bottom times e.g. 27 mins on the San Francisco.
Stephen T - Stephen brought his Inspiration. Bets were taken on how long it would last before it broke down. A bet that Steve P would have well and truly lost as would most of the group. He did have a weight problem and was aided by other members in bringing in parts of his equipment. One of those being Richard who will never forget the experience. Apparently Stephens's torch has the same chemical residue smells of explosives and Richard was thus detained in Guam until the all clear was given sometime later. We still wonder if a full body cavity search was required. Stephen was one of the persons that helped coin the nickname of Witch Doctor for Hoho due to his infected finger during the trip.
Richard - The pack mule of the group, the one with the least luck and the quiet stirrer. Had a pony cylinder confiscated in Cairns by an over zealous security officer due to the chemical residue the officer could smell on the cylinder, did however allow Stephen's cylinders through as the officer was thus provided with a win of sorts. Managed to get thoroughly checked in Guam due to Stephens's torch he was carrying. Also managed to slide under the radar with his stirring and nicknaming of myself, Gilles (Chippisan Keiru - explanation to follow) and Witch Doctor Hoho. May have gotten into a lot of grief with his better half due to the fact he was the only one not to buy a gift.
Jon - Accomplished the least diving due to his illness on the trip. Would take 20 mins to achieve 15m depth, however never gave up. Something that was respected by all. Was the first (guinea pig) patient of the witch doctor Hoho. Always kept his spirits up.
Simon - "I'm allergic to beer but that can wait till we're back in Sydney". The person we counted on to keep Sloaney company into the wee hours of the night. Had some success, then again did dive more than Sloaney.
Ben - The photographer of our group. We eagerly await the results of his photo's, but mind not whatever the result as his camera equipment did make a useful extra seat in the bus to and from the Thorfinn. Managed the most dives of our group at 29. Well done.
Gilles - aka Chippisan Keiru. Name offered by the local dive tender operators meaning small willie rainmaker. Another of the victims of Richard pack mule stirrer. When Paco the dive tender captain and guide nicknamed Chippisan, Keiru due to his ever need to take a pee after a dive onto people that were yet to emerge from their diving. Richard was very quick to add the small penis to it. However Chippisan did deserve a little ribbing as being the only Frenchman he took every opportunity to direct any stirring away from himself to others from fear the English would prevail against the French.
Roy - aka Grandpa, so nicknamed by Chippisan. Also came down with a nasty bug. Had been on the Thorfinn previously. Was glad the Chippisan was tight/wise enough to get wine duty free rather than being stuck with the swill on board.
Hoho - aka Witch Doctor. The second Aussie but from Hong Kong. Provided many with cures and remedies, namely Jon, Stephen, Roy and Chippisan. Undisputed sleeping champ of the trip. Without Hoho I fear the dive tenders would have been emptier.
Steve S - aka Sloaney. "Who needs breakfast", "Where's my beer". Was the fastest to pay his deposit to join the group. Was fastest to consume his pre ordered beers. Was last to go to bed, last to get up, but quickest with the beers.
The travelling was long yet everyone did get through relatively unscathed. All the luggage turned up that was supposed to. We were met in Chuuk by some of the crew of the Thorfinn. Transported to the mother ship via tender, bags turned up well later. Welcomed by Lance the captain, who although appears to be in a drug induced semi catatonic state is a sly old bugger whose real concern is the money. After a somewhat over lengthy introduction from Lance (mainly due to him playing for time) we were allocated cabins.
Our dive tender had been damaged the previous day and so most of us were only able to get a single dive in on the first day through the use of a large dingy. For those of us on rebreathers there was also the additional nervous wait until the Sorb actually arrived on the boat. Seems Lances planning is not as clockwork as one might expect. Eventually it was great to get into the water and have that first dive. All were well and truly buggered and needed a very good nights sleep.
The second day we were on the new dive tender, which is like chalk and cheese to the little dingy like thing we had the day before. What a pleasure they were to be on. Comfortable, protected, roomy even with twelve of us on there plus three crew. An absolute joy, quick clean and efficient. Best dive tender I've every been on. The crew was also great, helpful and friendly.
The following days were pretty much a routine. Get up have breakfast at 7am, first dive 8am, second dive 11am, lunch at 12.30, third dive 2pm, fourth dive 5pm, dinner 7pm and a night dive after dinner at 8.30pm and then a couple of beers before retiring to do it all over again.
Be warned Lance charges for every extra. Example, for O2 he charges for the number of times he fills the cylinder not for the litres or cubic feet you use and the charge is hefty due to the fact they need to import the O2.
The dive sites are best described by looking at http://truk-lagoon-dive.com/Wrecks.htm this is a better website than the Thorfinn's own site. The Thorfinn's site is http://www.thorfinn.net for information about the ship itself. I would wouldn't describe the Throfinn as luxury in any way, but comfortable. The dive tenders I would describe as luxury.
The diving is all about wrecks. There is some coral and a very little fish life, seems that Chuuk lagoon is well and truly fished out. Visibility is good mostly 20m, water temp is a constant 29C, no currents. The deeper the wreck the better, in my opinion. My notable favourites were the San Francisco and the Amagisan. Great dives, great visibility and some real interesting things to see not to mention the depths.
It became a bit of a joke with the dive briefings from Paco. Seems every wreck has an engine room, sake bottles, shoes and a gun somewhere (bow, stern or both). Paco was great, would generally take anyone that wanted to follow to the engine room and any other points of interest. Paco was also able to bring out a few bones and skulls along the way to wow some of us.
I did ask Paco to take me on a shark night dive one time but he was very reluctant. I did manage to do the shark dive as the last dive of the trip during daylight hours and having now done the dive I fully understand. Lots of grey reef sharks that come very close. No cage just the sharks being fed some 3-4m away. After the feed we had a relaxed look around the area and when it came time to get back to the dive tender I realised that the sharks were slowly circling below us while we were decompressing. What's more they were ever so slowly getting bigger/closer. Made my mind up not to be the last out of the water.
On our final day we all packed, paid up and readied for our long journey back. Make a note to check you extras bill before paying, Lance has a habit of making mistakes in his favour, at least on our trip this was the case.
Farewells to the crew as they were great and our first of many flights to get back home. Chuuk check in was painless and the flight left 50mins early. All were on board and they saw no reason to stick around. First ever flight where we took off early I must admit.
Uneventful flight to Guam where we got through customs and were greeted by our hotel transfer. We checked in had a quick beer or two and then off to the Lone Star to meet up with Hoho for a meal. Now Guam is a very strange cross between the good old USA and Japan. It's pricey. A steak meal and two beers on average set us back US $60 for an OK steak.
Next day was an adventure in finding breakfast and shopping for our better halves (all except Sly Richard that is). Some of us found a very ordinary breakfast at the Hard Rock other at McDonalds. All of us found the duty free shops and some of us found Tiffany's. Bugger they should have hidden it better. Then a quick beer and some of us a bite to eat before we got our transfer back to the airport.
More searching of bags and explosives checks. We're on our way back to Cairns for a nights stop over for most. Uneventful flight arrived near midnight in Cairns. Minor issue with Ben's luggage, one went missing/left behind on the tarmac but was quickly found. Quick taxi ride to the hotel/apartment most were staying at. I stayed behind to catch some sleep while Ben, Stephen, Richard, Chippisan, Jon and Simon went for a couple of beers at PJ O'Brien's where I discovered the next day they had all lusted over several of the scantily clad bar maids. All they could talk about for the rest of the day.
Finally back to the airport and another uneventful flight back to Sydney and home. Thanks to Simone and Chippisan for giving me a lift to and from the airport. I know it was at great pain that Chippisan offered as it delayed his welcome home.
I believe all had a good if not great time even those that came down with various bugs and ills. Thanks to Steve for organising the boat. Robert..
*Much contention about the word "dove," according to latest dictionaries both UK and American, has the same meaning as dived and is more often used in North America.
